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
It's not too late to start at 40, and you don't need a special kind of training to do it. This plan gives you three full body sessions a week for 8 weeks, on machines that are easy on the joints, with a little more rest between sets than a 30-year-old gets and starting weights that take your age into account.
In the app: this program as your plan. The week, its workouts and the next one to start.
- Days a week
- 3
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- 8 weeks
- Session in week 1
- 39 min
- Equipment
- Full gym
- Goal
- Build muscle
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.
The weights next to the exercises are an example for one man: 44 years old, 82 kg, 180 cm, new to the gym. Yours start from your own body and age and then follow what you log.
Next to the same plan for a 30-year-old, week 1 keeps the same 30 working sets. What changes is the pace: 2 min 15 s of rest after each set on Wide Seated Leg Press instead of 2 min, and sets of 11 reps instead of 10. A session takes about 39 min instead of 36.
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 the lifts start to change, and by week 3 each day has its own main lifts.
Wednesday
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
Friday
Full body
- Wide Seated Leg PressQuads
- Smith Machine Chest PressChest
- Seated Underhand Wide Cable Bar RowUpper Back
- Seated Machine Shoulder PressShoulders
- Weighted Russian Twists EasyAbs
- 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
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03 Day 3 · 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.
- Wide Seated Leg Press, a main lift: 2 × 11 in week 1, 3 × 9 in week 2 and 3 × 11 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: 30 in week 1, 44 in week 2 and 51 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: 10.
- From week 3, 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 Friday. It measures:
- Wide Seated Leg Press: one set, as many clean reps as you can with the weight you trained with
- Chest Press Machine Plate Loaded: one set, as many clean reps as you can with the weight you trained with
- Dumbbell Hammer Grip Row: one set, as many clean reps as you can with the weight you trained with
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide Seated Leg Press | 2 × 11 | 3 × 9 | 3 × 7 | 3 × 11 |
| Working sets in the week | 30 | 44 | 51 | 51 |
Working sets in every week shown
- Week 130
- Week 244
- Week 351
- Week 451
- Week 830test 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 you're 40 or older and new to the gym, or coming back after years away. A session in week 1 takes 39 min. The muscle you build after 40 is the same muscle you'd build at 25; it just asks for steady work and enough recovery, which is what this plan is built around.
When another program fits better
If you've been training for a while, push pull legs or upper lower will suit you better at any age. Short on time? Two days a week is a real option too.
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 it too late to build muscle after 40?
No. Muscle responds to training at 40, 50 and well beyond. What changes with age is how long recovery takes, so the plan gives you more rest and grows step by step instead of asking for everything at once.
How is this different from a plan for a 30-year-old?
The exercises and the number of sets in week 1 are the same. You get longer rests, a few more reps per set and starting weights that take your age into account. In the app, the plan keeps adjusting to your age as it goes, and from 60 it adds more changes.
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.
2 days a weekFull body first, then an upper and a lower day.
Coach.AI
Get this week fitted to you
This is the week Coach.AI builds for a typical person with this profile (Beginner, Build muscle, 3 days, Full gym, age 44). 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.
