Sample Weekly Workout Schedule

A weekly training schedule should be a thoughtful organization of the days that you workout. This ensures that you can train each muscle group, each skill, or whatever your goal is with enough frequency for results, while also preventing overtraining. Many of us have never written a training routine, much less a training schedule. That seems like the territory of personal trainers, coaches, and expensive commercial workout plans. But no worries, if you have a limited budget and can’t pay a personal trainer to write you a routine, this post includes a sample weekly training schedule. To learn how to write your own, read on.

To make your own custom schedule, you’ll need to consider not just training days, but recovery days. Recovery = growth and progress. Below are general guidelines for muscle recovery. These guidelines can vary based on your goal and skill level.

Recovery days needed between workouts (guidelines are based on strength workouts):

1-2 days rest after training small muscle groups: arms, abs, calves (example below)

Mon: shoulders & triceps, Tues: legs,

Weds: chest & biceps, Thurs: off,

Fri: back & abs, Sat: off, Sun: off

3-5 days rest after training larger muscle groups: back, hamstrings, overall legs (example below)

Mon: legs, Tues: off,

Weds: chest & biceps,

Thurs: glutes and calves,

Fri: back & abs, Sat: shoulders & triceps,  Sun: off

Sample Weekly Workout Schedule:

Monday: shoulder/triceps/abs

Tuesday: morning cardio – legs in evening

Wednesday: off/optional cardio day

Thursday: chest/back

Friday: morning cardio – glutes/abs in evening

Saturday: biceps/shoulders

Sunday: off/optional cardio day

The preceding schedule follows the recovery rules above, creating an environment for muscle development, tone, or fat loss. Don’t forget to chase each workout with good nutrition for optimum recovery.

LLAFIT Senior Writer/Editor

As an athlete for over 21 years and a broke single mom for most of that time, I created brokesinglemomfitness.com, now LLAFIT.com, to aid anyone who believes the road to fitness requires a lot of cash or time. In reality, the way to fitness is paved with knowledge and firm principles; teaching readers how to master both is the goal of this site. LLAFIT – Lifelong Applied Fitness