This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click to view our full disclosure.
What's inside
Only have two days a week for the gym? Good news: that’s enough to build real muscle and strength, as long as you use those two sessions well.
This plan gives you two full body workouts, Day A and Day B, each about 45 minutes. Every major muscle gets trained in both sessions, so nothing waits a whole week for its turn.
It’s made for busy men and women who are new to lifting or coming back after a break. Keep reading for both workouts, how to progress, and the honest answer on full body versus upper/lower when you only have two days.
The plan at a glance
| Level | Beginner or returning lifter |
| Days | 2 a week, with 2-3 rest days between |
| Session length | 40-50 min |
| Exercises | 6 per session |
| Sets per session | 16-18 (2-3 hard sets per major muscle) |
| Rest | 2 min on the first 2 lifts, 60-90 sec on the rest |
| Length | 8 weeks, then reassess |
| Equipment | Gym: barbell, dumbbells, cable machine, leg press |
Your week
| Pick one | Day A | Day B |
|---|---|---|
| Early week | Monday | Thursday |
| Later week | Tuesday | Friday |
| Weekend plus midweek | Saturday | Wednesday |
Any two days work, as long as there are at least two rest days between them. Always alternate: A, then B, then A again.
The workouts
Before each session, warm up with 2 or 3 lighter sets of your first exercise, building up to your working weight. A 2021 review on training when you’re short on time suggests this kind of exercise-specific warm-up is all most people need.
Day A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat or goblet squat | 3 | 6-8 |
| Barbell or dumbbell bench press | 3 | 6-8 |
| Seated cable row | 3 | 8-10 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8-10 |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | 2 | 12-15 |
| Plank | 2 | 30-45 sec |
A goblet squat is a squat holding one dumbbell upright against your chest. It’s a great place to start if the barbell feels like a lot. If you pick it, do 10 to 12 reps.
A Romanian deadlift starts standing, with the bar in your hands. You push your hips back and slide the bar down your thighs with a slight bend in your knees, then stand tall again. It works your hamstrings and glutes.
Day B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift or trap bar deadlift | 3 | 5 |
| Lat pulldown or assisted pull-up | 3 | 8-10 |
| Seated dumbbell shoulder press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Leg press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 2 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell curl, supersetted with triceps pushdown | 2 + 2 | 10-12 |
A trap bar is a hexagon-shaped bar you stand inside, with the handles at your sides. A superset means doing two exercises back to back, then resting.
Short on time? Use supersets
Pair a push with a pull. On Day A, alternate the bench press and the cable row. On Day B, alternate the shoulder press and the lat pulldown. Do one set of each back to back, rest 60 to 90 seconds, and repeat.
The same 2021 review found that supersets roughly halve training time while keeping the same number of sets. They’re probably better for building muscle than strength, though, so keep your first lift of the day (the squat or deadlift) as normal sets.
How to pick your weights
Weeks 1 and 2: choose weights that leave about 3 reps in the tank. “Reps in the tank” just means how many more reps you could have done with good form. These two weeks are for learning the moves, so it should feel a little easy.
Weeks 3 to 8: push a bit harder, finishing each set with 1 or 2 reps in the tank.
How to progress
| Weeks 1-2 | Weeks 3-8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Effort | About 3 reps in the tank | 1-2 reps in the tank |
| Goal | Learn the moves | Add reps, then add weight |
Each session, try to beat last time by a rep on a set or two. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests adding 2 to 10% to the load once you can do one or two reps more than your target. So when you can beat the top of the rep range on every set, go a little heavier next time.
In practice, that’s usually 5 lb (2.5 kg) on upper body lifts and 10 lb (5 kg) on squats and deadlifts. On dumbbell moves, go up to the next pair.
After 8 weeks: still adding weight? Keep going! If you’ve stalled for a few weeks, or you’ve found time for a third session, it’s time to move up (see the questions below).
Full body or upper/lower?
Another way to split two days is upper body one day and lower body the other. That works, but here’s the catch: it trains each muscle only once a week.
Does that matter? Maybe a little. A 2016 review of 10 studies found that training a muscle twice a week built more muscle than once a week. But a larger 2019 review of 25 studies found that when the total number of sets was the same, how often you trained a muscle made little difference.
So the honest answer is that either can work if your total sets match. We still pick full body for most people, for two practical reasons:
- You practice the big lifts twice a week. You squat or hinge, press and pull in every session instead of once.
- Missing a session hurts less. Skip one upper/lower day and half your body goes two weeks without training. Skip one full body day and you’ve still trained everything that week.
Prefer upper and lower? Here’s that version
Upper day
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 3 | 6-8 |
| Seated cable row | 3 | 8-10 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 | 8-10 |
| Seated dumbbell shoulder press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 2 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell curl, supersetted with triceps pushdown | 2 + 2 | 10-12 |
Lower day
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 3 | 6-8 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8-10 |
| Leg press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Standing calf raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Plank | 3 | 30-45 sec |
Use the same schedule and progression rules. The total sets per muscle are about the same as the full body plan, so going by the 2019 review, results may well be similar as long as you rarely miss a session. If you’d like to train upper and lower twice each, that takes four days; our upper lower split workout lays it out.
Is two days a week really enough?
Yes, especially if you’re new or coming back after time off. Here’s what the research says.
It meets the guidelines
The WHO recommends muscle-strengthening work for all your major muscles on 2 or more days a week. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 2 to 3 days a week for beginners. Two full body sessions tick both boxes.
Even small doses work
A 2020 review found that just one hard set of 6 to 12 reps, done 2 to 3 times a week for 8 to 12 weeks, increased squat and bench press strength. The gains were smaller than more training would bring, and the studies were in trained men, but it shows how far a little consistent work can go. This plan gives you more than that, with 3 sets on most lifts.
More sets can build a bit more
Here’s the honest part. A 2017 review of 15 studies found a graded relationship: more weekly sets tended to mean more muscle growth.
This plan gives each major muscle 2 to 3 hard sets per session, so about 5 or 6 across your two days. That’s above the minimum of 4 sets per muscle a week recommended in the 2021 time-efficient training review, which also suggests every plan include a squat or leg press, an upper body pull and an upper body push. Both workouts do.
So two days is a great place to start. If you find time for a third day later, you’ll likely build a bit more.
Eating for it
Aim for about 0.6 to 0.9 g of protein per pound of bodyweight a day (1.4 to 2.0 g per kg), spread across the day, about every 3 to 4 hours. Building each meal around a protein food, like eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, fish or tofu, makes that much easier. Our list of the best foods to gain muscle has plenty more ideas.
Questions people ask
What should I do on my rest days?
Whatever you enjoy, or nothing at all! If you’d like to cover the WHO’s aerobic recommendation too, that works out to five 30 to 60 minute sessions a week of moderate activity, like walking or cycling at a pace that gets you breathing a little harder.
Can women do this plan?
Absolutely. It works the same way for anyone. Just scale the weights to you.
I only have dumbbells. Can I still do it?
Yes. Use goblet squats, dumbbell bench presses and dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, and swap the cable row and pulldown for one-arm dumbbell rows. For a plan built around dumbbells from the start, try our 3 day full body dumbbell workout.
What if I miss a session?
Just do the next workout on your next free day. Keep alternating A and B, so if you missed Day B, do Day B next.
When should I add a third day?
When you have the time and you’re recovering well between sessions. Our 3 day full body workout is a natural next step.
Happy lifting, and enjoy getting stronger on just two days a week!
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. If you have an injury or a medical condition, check with a doctor before starting a new training plan.
