Everything on this site is free. There is no email gate, no account and nothing to unlock: the plans are written out in full on their pages, each has a printable PDF, and the calculators run in your browser. This page is the index. The articles explain the why; the things below are the ones you use.
Each entry says what it is and who it suits, in the words of its own page. Pick one, print it if it's a plan, and give it eight weeks.
Workout plans to print
12 plans, each written out on its page and printed as a PDF with the sets, reps and progression rule. The plans page has a table that matches the days you have and the equipment you own to one of them.
How to start lifting weights: the first four weeks
How to start lifting weights as a beginner: six movements, two or three short sessions a week, weights that feel too easy, and exactly when to add more.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 4 pages)
A dumbbell workout plan: three days a week, at home
A three-day dumbbell workout plan for home: six movements a session, two to three sets, weights that feel too easy, and a four-week rule for adding more.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
A bodyweight workout: no equipment, full body, at home
A no-equipment bodyweight workout for beginners at home: a squat, hinge, push, pull and core move, an easier and harder version of each, and how to progress.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 4 pages)
A 30-minute workout: the full-body session that fits
A 30-minute full-body workout for the gym or home: a short warm-up, a squat, then two pairs. When 30 minutes is enough, what to cut first, and how to progress.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 4 pages)
A college workout routine: three days around your classes
A college workout routine built around your classes: three full-body sessions a week, a two-day version for exam weeks, and a plan for the whole semester.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
Hotel workout: one session for the room or the hotel gym
A full-body hotel workout in two versions: the room with no equipment, or the hotel gym with dumbbells. Print the PDF and keep a travel week on track.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 4 pages)
A workout plan for new dads: three short sessions, built for broken sleep
A workout plan for new dads: three full-body sessions of 30 to 45 minutes at home or in the gym, a one-session floor for the bad weeks, and a rule for short nights. Printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
A workout plan for shift workers: training around rotating hours
A workout plan for shift workers: two or three full-body sessions anchored to the shift instead of the clock, a schedule for day, night and 12-hour rotas, and a floor for long runs. Printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
A wedding workout plan: twelve weeks you can actually keep
A wedding workout plan built around the date: what to do with a year, six months, three months or six weeks, the 12-week structure, and what not to do in the last month. Printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
A full-body workout plan: three days a week in the gym
A free 3-day full-body workout plan for the gym: three sessions of six movements, the sets, reps and rest, an eight-week progression rule, and a printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
The upper/lower split workout plan: four days a week
A free 4-day upper/lower split workout plan: two upper and two lower sessions with sets and reps, how to count weekly sets, progression and a printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 5 pages)
The push/pull/legs routine: six days a week, and the three-day version
A free push/pull/legs routine: two push, two pull and two leg sessions with sets and reps, the 6-day week, the 3-day version, progression and a printable PDF.
Read the plan · Print it (printable PDF, 6 pages)
Free calculators and the plan quiz
5 tools: four calculators and a workout plan quiz, each on a page that explains what it gives you and where it comes from. They work in your browser and store nothing.
Heart rate zone calculator: your five zones, and where zone 2 sits
Free heart rate zone calculator: max heart rate from two formulas, five zones in beats a minute, zone 2 by max and by heart rate reserve, and the talk test.
One-rep max calculator: estimate it from one hard set
Free one-rep max calculator with RPE and reps in reserve: Epley and Brzycki estimates, a 60 to 95% load table, and how accurate the formulas are.
Plate calculator: what goes on each side of the bar
Free barbell plate calculator in lb or kg: enter a weight, your bar and your plates, and get the plates per side, the nearest loadable weight and a bar diagram.
Warm-up set calculator: the ramp to your first working set
Free warm-up set calculator: enter your working weight and reps, and get warm-up sets rounded to weights you can load, plates per side, and the research behind it.
Which workout plan? Six questions, one plan
A free workout plan quiz: six questions about your week, your equipment and your experience point you to one of the free plans on this site, with its printable PDF.
Logs and references
Workout log: five columns that make overload work
What a workout log needs: exercise, weight, reps per set, reps in reserve and a note. A layout to copy on paper or in a notes app, and how to read it.
Read the page · Print the log sheet (printable PDF, 5 pages)
How to choose an online fitness coach: seven things to check
Seven things to check before you hire an online fitness coach: whether they ask about your life first, how they track progress, how often you'll talk and what they promise.
Read the page · Print the checklist (printable PDF, 1 page)
Exercise library: every lift on this site, by body area and by equipment
A free exercise library: {{n:exercises}} exercise guides, each on its own page, grouped by body area (legs, glutes and hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders, arms, core, conditioning) and by equipment (barbell, dumbbell, cable and machine, bodyweight, kettlebell, other kit), with one line on how each is done.
Training terms, in plain words
A training glossary in plain words: 98 gym and lifting terms, from reps in reserve and RPE to deloads, supersets, zone 2 and progressive overload, each linked.
Free workout plans: pick the one that fits your week
Free workout plans for the gym, dumbbells at home or no equipment, sorted by days a week, plus plans for a newborn, a rota and a wedding date. What a plan needs, which one fits your week, and the body-part days.
Data tables
Eight CDC, NOAA and Census Bureau data tables for U.S. states, metros and cities: what each holds, its source and vintage, its CSV and how to cite it. Data tables for writers explains each one and how to cite it.
- How active is your state?: Every state and DC in one table: the share of adults who report no leisure-time activity and the share who lift two or more days a week, from the CDC's state survey. CSV.
- How active is your metro?: 48 large U.S. metros in one table: adults reporting no physical activity in the past month and adults lifting twice a week, from the CDC's metro-area survey. CSV.
- How active is your city?: The CDC's PLACES estimates for 27 U.S. cities: adults with no leisure-time physical activity and adults reporting short sleep, with 95% ranges and how to read them. CSV.
- Summer heat by metro: NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at weather stations in 48 big U.S. metros: days a year at or above 90 F, the average July high, and when to move outdoor training. CSV.
- Winter cold by metro: NOAA's 1991–2020 average January low at weather stations in 48 big U.S. metros, and what cold, dark months change in a training week: the walk, not the lifting. CSV.
- Rain by metro: NOAA's 1991–2020 average annual precipitation at a named weather station in 40 U.S. metros, and what a wet day changes in a training week: the walk, not the lifting. CSV.
- Commute times by state: The Census Bureau's average trip to work and work-from-home share for all 50 states and DC, with margins of error, and where training fits around each. CSV.
- Commute times by metro: The Census Bureau's average trip to work and work-from-home share for 40 U.S. metro areas, with margins of error, and where training fits around each. CSV.
When free isn't enough
A plan on paper covers the plan and the progression rule. It doesn't notice when you stop, and it doesn't change when your week does. If you've run one of the plans above and the thing that failed wasn't the plan, read do I need a fitness coach? for how to tell whether a free plan, an app, a trainer at your gym or an online coach is the right amount of help, and can't afford a personal trainer? for the free options, and what they don't cover.
Coaching is the paid option on this site, and the coaching page says what it is and what a week looks like. If that's the missing piece, apply: it takes about two minutes and we talk before anything else.
General education only, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or take medication, check with your doctor before changing how you train or eat.