What you need
The home preset in the planner is dumbbells, a bench, resistance bands and a pull-up bar. Both plans below use only that. The band-assisted pull-up is there for lifters who cannot yet do a full pull-up, and the app lists harder variants once you can.
The 40-minute plan
Full Body A Tue · about 32 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Goblet SquatSquat | 3 × 6–10 | 90 s |
| Incline Dumbbell PressHorizontal push | 3 × 6–10 | 90 s |
| Chest-Supported Dumbbell RowHorizontal pull | 3 × 6–10 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell Romanian DeadliftHinge | 2 × 6–10 | 120 s |
Full Body B Fri · about 40 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Hip ThrustHinge | 3 × 10–15 | 75 s |
| Seated Dumbbell Shoulder PressVertical push | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Band-Assisted Pull-UpVertical pull | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Dumbbell Reverse LungeLunge | 3 × 6–10 / side | 120 s |
| Farmer CarryCore | 2 × 20–40s | 40 s |
Generated by the free planner: build muscle, beginner, 40 minutes, Tuesday and Friday, home equipment, seed 4.
At 40 minutes the engine keeps the biggest movements and drops the extras. The honest cost is volume: in this plan chest gets 3 hard sets a week and calves get none directly. That is fine for staying consistent on a crowded week, and it is why the next plan exists.
The 60-minute plan
Full Body A Tue · about 60 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Goblet SquatSquat | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Incline Dumbbell PressHorizontal push | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Chest-Supported Dumbbell RowHorizontal pull | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Dumbbell Romanian DeadliftHinge | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Dumbbell Lateral RaiseSide delts | 2 × 10–15 | 75 s |
| PlankCore | 2 × 20–40s | 40 s |
Then: Brisk Walk or Easy Jog, 10 min.
Full Body B Fri · about 55 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Hip ThrustHinge | 3 × 10–15 | 75 s |
| Seated Dumbbell Shoulder PressVertical push | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Band-Assisted Pull-UpVertical pull | 3 × 6–10 | 120 s |
| Dumbbell Reverse LungeLunge | 3 × 6–10 / side | 120 s |
| Hammer CurlBiceps | 2 × 10–15 | 75 s |
| Single-Leg Dumbbell Calf RaiseCalves | 3 × 10–15 / side | 75 s |
| Farmer CarryCore | 2 × 20–40s | 40 s |
Same answers with 60 minutes: the engine uses the extra time for lateral raises, curls, calf work, core and a short walk.
| Muscle | Hard sets per week |
|---|---|
| Chest | 3 |
| Back | 8.5 |
| Shoulders | 9 |
| Biceps | 5 |
| Triceps | 3 |
| Quads | 6 |
| Hamstrings | 6 |
| Glutes | 7.5 |
| Calves | 3 |
| Core | 5.5 |
Weekly hard sets per muscle at 60 minutes (main muscle counts fully, secondary muscles count as half a set).
Compare chest at 3 sets in the short plan with 3 here, and shoulders at 7 versus 9. If a particular muscle is your priority, choose it as a weak spot in the survey or move to three days.
Which two days, and what if you miss one
Leave at least one rest day between the sessions: Tuesday and Friday, or Monday and Thursday. If you miss a session, do it the next day you can and keep the other one where it was; do not double up in a single day. A missed week is not a reason to restart, so pick up with the next session and the same loads.
When to move to three days
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 2 to 3 days a week for people new to lifting and 3 to 4 for intermediate lifters, so two days sits at the low end of the beginner range. Move to three when your loads stop rising for a few weeks, when you want more volume for a muscle, or when your schedule opens up. Three days is a different plan, so rebuild it in the planner instead of adding a third copy of session A.
General fitness guidance, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before you start if you have a health condition, and stop a set that causes sharp pain.
Build it in the planner
The free Liftcadence planner builds a weekly plan from your goal, schedule, minutes and equipment with fixed training rules and no generative AI, and it works offline. Read how the rules work or see what is free and what Pro adds.
Questions
Is working out two days a week enough?
It is a legitimate minimum. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 2 to 3 days a week of resistance training for novices, and the WHO 2020 guidelines recommend regular muscle-strengthening activity for all age groups. Two well-run sessions beat none.
Should I do two full-body days or an upper and lower split?
Full body, if you only have two days. A meta-analysis found that training a muscle twice a week gave better growth than once a week. Two full-body sessions train every muscle twice, while two sessions split into upper and lower would train each muscle once.
Will I still get stronger on two days?
Yes. A meta-analysis of strength outcomes found that once training volume was matched, training frequency made no significant difference to strength gains. What counts is enough hard sets and adding load over time.
How many sets do I need for each muscle?
More weekly sets were associated with more muscle growth in a dose-response meta-analysis, so a short plan builds less than a long one. Use the 40-minute plan to stay consistent and the 60-minute plan when you want more volume.
Related
Sources
- American College of Sports Medicine. Position stand: progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009;41(3):687-708. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670
- Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 2016;46(11):1689-1697. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8
- Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017;35(11):1073-1082. doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
- Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Davies TB, et al. Effect of resistance training frequency on gains in muscular strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 2018;48(5):1207-1220. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0872-x
- Bull FC, Al-Ansari SS, Biddle S, et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020;54(24):1451-1462. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955