Full Body Plan for Women

Women who are new to the gym, or coming back after a long break, and can train 3 days a week. Every session works the whole body with five exercises, 3 sets each:

• Day 1 — leg press, glute bridge, lat pulldown, chest press, plank
• Day 2 — Romanian deadlift, step-back lunge, seated cable row, seated dumbbell press, dead bug
• Day 3 — squat, hip abduction, single-arm dumbbell row, push-up, side plank

Your glutes work in every session: the leg press and glute bridge on Day 1, the Romanian deadlift and lunge on Day 2, the squat and hip abduction on Day 3. You need a regular gym: dumbbells, a barbell, a bench, a cable station, and leg press, chest press and hip abduction machines.

• Want more glute and leg work? After 8 weeks, Glutes and Legs Plan for Women trains 4 days a week, with glutes three times.
• Only 2 days a week? Beginner Upper/Lower Split alternates an upper-body day and a lower-body day.

No. Women have much lower testosterone than men, and building muscle is slow even for people who are trying hard: it takes months of training and eating enough. A bulky look comes from years of training aimed at exactly that, usually with a large food surplus.

What 3 sets of 10–15 reps does in 8 weeks is make you stronger and make your legs, glutes and arms firmer. You choose how far to take it from there.

This plan progresses by adding reps before adding weight. Start each exercise with a weight you can lift for every set with two reps to spare. Then:

• Every set reaches the target reps with one left in the tank → add weight the next time that exercise comes up: 2.5–5 lb (1–2 kg) on the presses and rows, 5–10 lb (2–5 kg) on the leg press, squat and Romanian deadlift.
• The last set falls short → keep the weight and go for the missing reps next time.
• Glute bridge → once 12 reps are easy, rest a dumbbell or plate on your hips.
• Push-ups → start with your hands on a bench; lower the bench as all three sets of 8 get clean, then go to the floor.

Each exercise comes around once a week, so you add weight about weekly. Don't add it mid-session.

Swap like for like and keep the sets and reps:

• Leg press → goblet squat with one dumbbell
• Lat pulldown → single-arm dumbbell row or band pulldown
• Chest press → dumbbell bench press or push-ups
• Seated cable row → single-arm dumbbell row
• Hip abduction machine → side-lying leg raise or a banded side step
• Squat → goblet squat

At home with dumbbells, a bench and a mini band, every day still works: goblet squats or lunges, dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, glute bridges, dumbbell rows and presses, and the core exercises as written.

You don't have to. Studies find the phase of your cycle makes little difference to strength for most women, and the right call is the one that fits how you feel.

• Feeling fine → train as written.
• Cramps or low energy → keep the session but use lighter weights or drop a set. Going in and moving usually beats skipping the week.
• Pain that stops you training, or very irregular periods → worth raising with a doctor, not something to push through.