Goal program
Anywhere Full Body
Floor, chair, about 45 minutes: real training anywhere.
- 3 days a week
- 8 weeks
- Any level
- For everyone
- No equipment
About this program
Three full-body sessions a week with just your bodyweight and a chair: split squats, lunges, push-ups, glute bridges, core work and short squat circuits for conditioning. Bodyweight builds muscle only when sets end 1–3 reps short of failure, so once you pass the top of a rep range, make the move harder (slower lowering, pauses, feet elevated, a loaded backpack) instead of just adding reps. There is no real back exercise without a bar or band, so if you can, add 2–3 sets of bent-over backpack rows after your push-ups and bring proper rows back at the gym; over 8 weeks, expect clear gains in leg, glute, chest and core strength, not a total transformation.
Who it’s for
- Any level: beginners start with fewer sets and lighter weights, as the notes explain.
- For everyone.
- No equipment: a floor, a chair and a mat.
- 3 sessions a week, about 45 minutes each.
- 8–10k steps a day on top of the workouts.
The week
Warm up for 5–7 minutes first. Rest is the pause between sets. A1 and A2 (B1 and B2) are supersets: do one set of each back to back, then rest. Rest days: walk and recover.
Monday Full Body A: Day A: Split Squats + Push-Ups
Quads, glutes, chest, core, plus a squat and lunge circuit · about 45 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian Split SquatStart with an easy warm-up set of 5 per leg. Put your back foot on a couch, bed or a chair braced against the wall so it can't slide. Lower for 3 s and stop 1–2 reps short of failure. Easier: back foot on the floor, one hand on the wall. Once 15 is easy, add a 2-s pause at the bottom or wear a loaded backpack. | 3 × 8–15 per leg | 90 s |
| Push-UpKeep your body in one straight line, elbows about 45° from your sides. Stop 1–2 reps before failure. Can't do 8? Put your hands on a counter or bed. Doing more than 20? Put your feet on a chair and lower for 3 s. | 4 × 8–20 | 90 s |
| Single-Leg Glute BridgeRest your shoulders on the edge of a couch to get hip-thrust range. Drive through your heel, squeeze your glutes for 2 s at the top and keep your ribs down. Easier: shoulders on the floor, or both feet down. | 3 × 10–15 per leg | 60 s |
| Dead BugKeep your lower back pressed into the floor. Breathe out fully as you extend the arm and leg, and move slowly. | 3 × 8–10 per side | 45 s |
| A1 Bodyweight SquatConditioning circuit: 40 s of full-depth squats at a steady pace, then go straight into reverse lunges. Do 3 rounds (2 are enough in your first week). You should be breathing hard but still moving with good form. | 3 × 40 s | — |
| A2 Reverse LungeAlternate legs and step back softly, knee just short of the floor. Rest 60 s, then start the next round. | 3 × 40 s, alternating legs | 60 s |
Wednesday Full Body B: Day B: Lunges + Tempo Push-Ups
Glutes, quads, chest, obliques, plus a squat and plank circuit · about 45 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse LungeStep back and lower until your back knee almost touches the floor; stop 1–2 reps short of failure. Hold a wall for balance if you need to. Harder: stand with your front foot on a thick book or step for a deeper glute stretch, and lower for 3 s. | 3 × 10–15 per leg | 90 s |
| Push-UpTempo: 3 s down, a 1-s pause just above the floor, then push up. At this pace even bodyweight feels heavy. If you get fewer than 6, put your hands on something higher. | 4 × 6–12 | 90 s |
| Glute BridgePause for 2 s at the top of every rep. Walk your feet a little farther from your hips to make your hamstrings work harder. When 25 is easy, put your feet on a couch or switch to one leg. | 3 × 15–25 | 60 s |
| Side PlankHold a straight line from head to feet and don't let your hips sag. Easier: do it from your knees. | 3 × 20–40 s per side | 45 s |
| A1 Bodyweight SquatConditioning circuit: 45 s of squats, then go straight into the plank. Do 3 rounds. Add jump squats only if your knees and weight allow it. | 3 × 45 s | — |
| A2 Forearm PlankSqueeze your glutes, brace your abs as if you're about to take a punch, and keep breathing. Rest 60 s, then start the next round. | 3 × 30–45 s | 60 s |
Friday Full Body C: Day C: Harder Variations + Core
Legs, glutes, chest, deep core · about 50 min
| Exercise | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian Split SquatTry to beat Monday's reps. On the last set, after your final full rep, add 3–5 half reps at the bottom (if you're new, skip them for the first two weeks). | 3 × 10–15 per leg | 90 s |
| Push-UpUse the hardest version you can do for at least 8 reps (feet on a chair if you did more than 20 on Monday). On the last set, finish with 3–5 half reps at the bottom. | 4 × 8–20 | 90 s |
| Bodyweight SquatLower for 3 s and pause for 2 s at the bottom, heels flat. Once 20 is easy, hug a loaded backpack to your chest or do 1½ reps (down, halfway up, down again, then stand). | 3 × 12–20 | 75 s |
| Single-Leg Glute BridgeShoulders on the couch again. Aim for one more rep per leg than on Monday. | 3 × 10–15 per leg | 60 s |
| A1 Dead BugCore pair: dead bug, then go straight into the side plank. Keep it slow and controlled. | 3 × 8–10 per side | — |
| A2 Side PlankAim to hold 5 s longer than on Wednesday. | 3 × 20–40 s per side | 45 s |
How to progress
- Double progression: add reps within the range first. When every set reaches the top of the range with clean form, add a little weight (about 5–10 lb on lower-body lifts, 2.5–5 lb on upper-body lifts) and start again at the bottom.
- Stop most sets 1–2 reps short of failure. Beginners stop 2–3 reps short for the first weeks.
- Every 6–8 weeks, or when you feel run down, take an easier week: half the sets, same weights.
Food
Eat at maintenance to recomp, or in a deficit that loses 0.5–1% of bodyweight per week to drop fat, with 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg (0.7–1 g per lb) daily.
Find your numbers with the free TDEE calculator, the macro calculator and the protein calculator.
