The Minimalist Muscle Plan: A Two-Workouts-a-Week Program for Strength and Size

According to studies published on PubMed, as many as 50% of people list lack of time as why they are unable to exercise regularly (1, 2). This is hardly surprising as, according to many fitness authorities, you need to work out four, five, or even six times a week to get results from your training.

While such a commitment may be doable for some, for others, it’s a schedule that’s doomed to failure. After all, even if you are motivated enough to work out so frequently, the reality is that when life gets busy, workout time is usually the first casualty.

Missing the occasional workout is nothing to worry about and won’t have much of an impact on your progress. However, start skipping more workouts than you complete, and your progress will soon grind to a halt.

I’m a 30-year veteran personal trainer and it’s my job to help my clients reach their fitness and health goals. This often involves creating programs and routines that fit around very busy schedules.

In this article, I share a proven two-workouts-a-week program for muscle size and strength that’s perfect for even the busiest exerciser. It’s also a great plan for anyone who finds it hard to recover from more frequent training sessions.

Are Two Workouts a Week Enough?

While just two workouts a week may not be optimal for building muscle size and strength, studies show that a low-frequency approach to training can still produce meaningful results (3).

Plus, it goes without saying that training just twice a week will always be more effective than not training at all!

That said, as I tell my clients, if you can work out more than twice a week, you probably should. In my experience, training a little more often will produce even better results. So, consider two workouts a week the absolute minimum you need to build muscle and strength.

Even so, just two workouts a week are not enough to offset the damaging effects of chronic sedentarism, so I recommend that you combine this program with as much daily walking as you can fit in. The blend of walking and lifting covers pretty much everything you need to optimize your long-term health and achieve your fitness goals.

Training Program Overview

To build muscle and strength with just two workouts a week, you must forget all about complex split routines and long lists of isolation exercises. Instead, you’ll need to follow a simplified full-body training program and make compound exercises the focus of your workouts.

For this program, organize your workouts so that they are 2-3 days apart, e.g., Monday and Thursday, or Wednesday and Saturday. While you’ll be doing different exercises during each workout, there is some overlap between sessions, so you’ll need this time to recover and grow.

You’ll also need to take most of your work sets to within a couple of reps of failure. Many programs use training volume (lots of exercises and sets) to build muscle and strength. However, two weekly workouts mean that you’ll have to rely more on intensity than volume to achieve your goals.

Begin each workout with a warm-up comprising 5-10 minutes of easy cardio followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for your major muscles and joints. Do a couple of light sets of each exercise to ensure you are fully warmed up and ready to lift.

Read more about warming up for strength training in this detailed guide.

Finally, it goes without saying that you cannot afford to miss either of your bi-weekly workouts. A single gym session per week really won’t do anything for your progress.

Workout One

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Squat	5	5	3 minutes
2	Seated leg curl	4	8-12	90 seconds
3	Bench press	4	6-10	2 minutes
4	Pendlay row	4	6-10	2 minutes
5	Standing calf raise	3	12-15	60 seconds
6	Diamond push-up	1	50/75/100*	60 seconds
7	Barbell rollout	3	12-20	60 seconds

*Choose a rep target and achieve it in as few sets as possible, resting no more than 60 seconds between efforts.

Workout Two

	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Recovery
1	Deadlift	5	5	3 minutes
2	Dumbbell lunge	4	8-12 per leg	90 seconds
3	Military press	4	6-10	2 minutes
4	Pull-up/chin-up	4	6-10	2 minutes
5	Seated calf raise	3	12-15	60 seconds
6	Barbell curl	1	50/75/100*	60 seconds
7	Hanging knee raise	3	12-20	60 seconds

*Choose a rep target and achieve it in as few sets as possible, resting no more than 60 seconds between efforts.

Exercise Instructions and Alternatives

There are two ways to do any exercise – the right way and the wrong way. The right way delivers the best training effect with the lowest amount of risk. In contrast, the wrong way is often less effective and more likely to cause harm.

Needless to say, I’m a stickler for good form!

So, follow these step-by-step instructions to ensure your workouts are both effective AND safe.

Workout One

1. Squat

Target muscles: Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, core.

Steps:

1. Rest and hold a barbell across your upper back. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward. Brace your core.
2. Bend your knees, push your hips backward, and descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.
3. Drive your feet into the floor and stand back up.
4. Take a breath, reset your core, and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Dumbbell squats
• Smith machine squats
• Leg press

2. Seated Leg Curl

Target muscles: Hamstrings

Steps:

1. Lie face-down on the leg curl machine so your knees are in line with the weight pivot point and the pad rests across your lower calves. Grip the handles and brace your core.
2. Keeping your hips pushed down, bend your knees and curl your heels into your butt.
3. Pause at the top of the movement for 1-2 seconds and then slowly extend your knees, stopping just before the weights touch down.
4. Continue for the prescribed number of reps.

Alternatives:

• Seated leg curl
• Cable leg curl
• Dumbbell leg curl

3. Bench Press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, triceps, deltoids.

Steps:

1. Lie on the bench so your eyes are directly beneath the bar. Hold the barbell with an overhand slightly wider than shoulder-width grip.
2. Unrack the bar and hold it over your chest.
3. Bend your elbows and lower the barbell until it gently touches your sternum.
4. Press it back up and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Incline bench press
• Dumbbell bench press
• Chest press machine

4. Pendlay Row 

Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, biceps, forearms, core.

Steps:

1. Place your barbell on the floor and stand behind it.
2. Hinging from the hips, lean forward and hold it using an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
3. Keeping your legs slightly bent and your lower back arched, row the bar from the floor into your abdomen.
4. Return the weight to the floor, reset your grip and core, and repeat.

Alternatives:

• One-arm dumbbell row
• Seated cable row
• T-bar row

5. Standing Calf Raise

Target muscles: Gastrocnemius, soleus.

Steps:

1. Stand with the balls of your feet on the edge of the calf machine step. Place your shoulders under the pads and stand up straight.
2. Smoothly lower your heels down so they’re below the level of your toes.
3. Push up onto your tip toes, pausing for 1-2 seconds in this position.
4. Lower your heels again and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Single-leg calf raise
• Donkey calf raise
• Leg press calf raise

6. Diamond Push-Up

Target muscles: Triceps, pectoralis major, deltoids.

Steps:

1. Kneel on the floor and place your hands together so your thumb and first finger form a diamond.
2. Walk your feet out and back so your body is straight. Brace your core.
3. Bend your arms and lower your chest to the backs of your hands.
4. Drive your hands into the floor and push yourself back up.

Alternatives:

• Close grip bench press
• Triceps dips
• Bench dips

7. Barbell Rollout

Target muscles: Core, latissimus dorsi, triceps (long head).

Steps:

1. Place a barbell on the floor and kneel behind it. Hold the bar with an overhand shoulder-width grip. Brace your core.
2. Keeping your arms straight, push the bar away from you and lower your torso toward the floor.
3. Using your abs and lats, pull the bar back into your knees and return to the starting position.
4. Reset your core and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Kneeling cable crunch
• Weighted crunches
• Standing walkouts

Workout Two

1. Deadlift

Target muscles: Hamstrings, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, biceps, rhomboids, forearms, core.

Steps:

1. Place your barbell on the floor and stand behind it, feet hip to shoulder width apart.
2. Bend down and grip the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
3. Straighten your arms, drop your hips, and brace your core. Your lower back should be slightly arched.
4. Drive your feet into the floor and stand up.
5. Smoothly return the barbell to the floor and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Romanian deadlift
• Single-leg Romanian deadlift
• Rack pull

2. Dumbbell Lunge 

Target muscles: Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, adductors.

Steps:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet together and core braced.
2. Take a large step forward, bend your legs, and lower your rear knee down to within an inch of the floor.
3. Push off your front leg and return to the starting position.
4. Do your next rep with the opposite leg.
5. Alternate leading legs for the required number of reps.

Alternatives:

• Split squats
• Bulgarian split squats
• Kickstand squats

3. Military Press

Target muscles: Deltoids, trapezius, triceps, core.

Steps:

1. Rack and hold a barbell across the front of your shoulders using an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and brace your core.
3. Without using your legs for assistance, push the bar up and overhead to arm’s length.
4. Return the bar to your shoulders and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Dumbbell overhead press
• Javelin press
• Shoulder press machine

4. Pull-Up/Chin-Up 

Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, biceps, forearms.

Steps:

1. Hang from a bar using an overhand slightly wider than shoulder width grip (pull-ups), or an underhand narrower than shoulder width grip (chin-ups).
2. Without swinging or kicking your legs, bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar.
3. Descend smoothly and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Weighted pull-ups/chin-ups
• Band-assisted pull-ups/chin-ups
• Lat pulldowns

5. Seated Calf Raise

Target muscles: Soleus, gastrocnemius.

1. Sit on the machine so your toes are on the edge of the footrest. Position the leg pad across your lower thighs.
2. Push up onto your tip toes and pause for 1-2 seconds.
3. Next, lower your heels down below your toes until you feel a stretch in your calves.
4. Continue for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Alternatives:

• Seated dumbbell calf raise
• Seated barbell calf raise
• Seated single-leg calf raise

6. Barbell Curl

Target muscles: Biceps, forearms.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Hold a barbell with an underhand, hip-width grip.
3. Without using your legs or lower back, bend your elbows and curl the weight up to shoulder height.
4. Lower the bar and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Dumbbell curls
• Preacher curls
• Cable curls

7. Hanging Knee Raise

Target muscles: Rectus abdominis, hip flexors.

Steps:

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Brace your abs and, without kicking or swinging, flex your hips and pull your knees up and in toward your chest.
3. Smoothly lower your legs and repeat.

Alternatives:

• Lying leg raise
• Hanging straight leg raise
• Dragon flags

Closing Thoughts

Contrary to what a lot of people think, building muscle and strength doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. In fact, you can make excellent progress with just two straightforward workouts a week.

However, exercise choice is critical, and you must construct your workouts around the most effective movements. Triceps kickbacks and hip abductions are NOT the best use of your time!

So, short on time? Don’t let that stop you from achieving your health and fitness goals. Use this program to get in the best shape of your life with just two weekly workouts.

References:

1. Hoare E, Stavreski B, Jennings GL, Kingwell BA. Exploring Motivation and Barriers to Physical Activity among Active and Inactive Australian Adults. Sports (Basel). 2017 Jun 28;5(3):47. doi: 10.3390/sports5030047. PMID: 29910407; PMCID: PMC5968958.
2. Venn D, Strazdins L. Your money or your time? How both types of scarcity matter to physical activity and healthy eating. Soc Sci Med. 2017 Jan;172:98-106. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.10.023. Epub 2016 Nov 11. PMID: 27839899.
3. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. PMID: 27102172.

---