Monday
Full body
- Wide Seated Leg PressQuads
- Smith Machine Chest PressChest
- Seated Underhand Wide Cable Bar RowUpper Back
- Seated Machine Shoulder PressShoulders
- Ab CrunchAbs
- Cross TrainerCardio
Two days a week is a real program, not a compromise. This one starts with two full body sessions so you learn the main moves, and from week 2 it splits into an upper body day and a lower body day. It runs for 8 weeks and is built to keep you fit and strong when two visits are what your week allows.
In the app: this program as your plan. The week, its workouts and the next one to start.
- Days a week
- 2
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- 8 weeks
- Session in week 1
- 33 min
- Equipment
- Full gym
- Goal
- Stay fit
Week 1, day by day
Every exercise of the first week, in the order you do them. Sets × reps, and the rest is the pause after each set.
Week 1 is a practice week. It teaches the movements, so the same 4 base lifts open every session and only the core and cardio change. From week 2 each day has its own main lifts.
Thursday
Full body
- Wide Seated Leg PressQuads
- Smith Machine Chest PressChest
- Seated Underhand Wide Cable Bar RowUpper Back
- Seated Machine Shoulder PressShoulders
- Toe Touch CrunchAbs
- Incline Treadmill WalkingCardio
Built by the Coach.AI engine, version 55da4102.
Coach.AI
This is how the program looks in the app
Real screens from Coach.AI with this program in week 1: the overview of every workout, with each exercise, its sets, reps and rest.
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01 Day 1 · Full body
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02 Day 2 · Full body
Scroll inside the screen to see the whole workout
The first week of your .AI plan is free.
How the program moves on
Here is week 1 next to the weeks after it, from the same run of the engine. Each cell is sets × reps.
- Smith Machine Chest Press, a main lift: 2 × 12 in week 1, 3 × 10 in week 2 and 3 × 12 in week 4. Fewer reps per set leave room for a heavier weight. How and when to add weight: progressive overload, explained.
- Working sets in the whole week: 20 in week 1, 36 in week 2 and 36 in week 4.
- The cardio that closes the first session of the week: 10 min in week 1, 11 min in week 2, 12 min in week 3 and 13 min in week 4.
- Week 4 keeps every exercise you start with in week 1. New exercises that join: 6.
- From week 2, some smaller exercises are done in pairs, one straight after the other.
- This program has no planned lighter week.
- Week 8 ends with a test day on Thursday. It measures:
- Smith Machine Chest Press: one set, as many clean reps as you can with the weight you trained with
- Seated Underhand Wide Cable Bar Row: one set, as many clean reps as you can with the weight you trained with
- Plank Hip Twists: hold it as long as you can; the better of 2 attempts counts
- Treadmill Jogging: 12 minutes, and your result is how far you get (the Cooper test)
- Weeks 5-7 aren't shown here. In the app each of them is built from the sets you logged the week before.
| Main lift | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Machine Chest Press | 2 × 12 | 3 × 10 | 3 × 8 | 3 × 12 |
| Wide Seated Leg Press | 2 × 12 | 3 × 10 | 3 × 8 | 3 × 12 |
| Working sets in the week | 20 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
Working sets in every week shown
- Week 120
- Week 236
- Week 336
- Week 436
- Week 815test day
What comes after 8 weeks?
The last week closes with a test day: the same exercises, and you see in kilos and reps how much you added. Then the app opens the next program with one tap. It starts a little below where you finished, takes the weights you logged and carries on, so you never start from zero.
Beginner has three stages: Learning the moves, Adding weight and Getting ready for Skilled. Each program you train through without long breaks takes you up a stage. When the coach sees you’re ready for more, it offers you the next level, and whether to take it is up to you.
Who it's for
It's for you if two gym visits a week is honestly what fits around work, kids or everything else. A session in week 1 takes 33 min. Many people search for a 2 day full body split; this plan does full body in week 1 and then gives each day one half of the body, so every session can go deeper.
When another program fits better
If you can make a third day, the beginner full body plan trains the whole body three times a week. Four days? Try upper lower.
Still choosing between full body and a split? Here’s how to pick for your week.
Worth reading before you start
Questions people ask
Is 2 days a week enough to see results?
Yes, if you come every week. Two well planned sessions train every muscle and leave plenty of time to recover. Progress is slower than with three or four days, but it comes, and it lasts because the plan fits your life.
Why upper and lower, and not full body twice?
Full body twice a week works, and that's exactly how this plan starts. From week 2 it gives each day one half of the body, so the upper day has room for chest, back, shoulders and arms, and the lower day for legs and glutes, without sessions running long.
How do I pick a weight for week 1?
Pick a weight you could lift for two or three more reps than the card asks for. The first week is for learning the movements and finding your numbers, not for testing yourself. If you know a recent set on a lift, the 1RM calculator turns it into a working weight for any number of reps.
What if I miss a day?
Do the next session when you can and keep the order. Don't squeeze two sessions into one day to catch up. In the app the rest of your week moves to the days ahead.
Can I do this program at home?
This week is built for a full gym: machines, cables and free weights. With dumbbells at home, or with no equipment at all, the exercises would be different. In the app you tell it what you have, and the plan only uses that.
Other programs
All programs
Beginner full bodyThree full body sessions on machines that are easy to learn.
Push pull legsPush, pull and legs, one job per session.
Upper lowerTwo upper and two lower days, every muscle twice a week.
5 day splitPush, pull, legs, then upper and lower.
Weight lossStrength work plus more cardio and shorter rests.
Home with dumbbellsDumbbells, a bench and three full body sessions.
Gym plan for womenThree full body sessions, women's starting weights.
Strength, 4 daysHeavy barbell lifts in low reps, four days a week.
Gym after 40Full body three times a week, with more rest.
Coach.AI
Get this week fitted to you
This is the week Coach.AI builds for a typical person with this profile (Beginner, Stay fit, 2 days, Full gym, age 35). In the app it's fitted to your own goal, days, equipment and age, and to the sets you log: each next week is built from what you logged in the one before.
The first week of your .AI plan is free.
