How to Design a Workout Program: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

To design a workout program, pick one goal, decide how many days you can really train, choose a split that fits those days, and fill each session with 4 to 6 exercises ordered from big compound lifts to small isolation work. Then set sets, reps, rest and effort (RIR), and write down how you will progress from week to week. That is the whole method: this guide walks through each step, with sample full body and upper/lower tables you can copy, and shows how to build the program in NoSpot.

It works for people training alone and for personal trainers. For guidelines we use the 2026 ACSM position stand on resistance training (published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, April 2026) and the earlier 2009 ACSM position stand on progression models.

How do you design a workout program? The 8 steps

1. 1Choose one primary goal for the next 8 to 12 weeks.
2. 2Set a realistic weekly frequency, based on your worst weeks, not your best.
3. 3Pick a split that matches that frequency (full body, upper/lower, push/pull/legs).
4. 4Select exercises by movement pattern, compound lifts first.
5. 5Assign sets, reps and rest that fit the goal.
6. 6Set the effort with RIR (reps in reserve).
7. 7Plan the progression: how and when the load or reps go up.
8. 8Track every session, review every few weeks, adjust.

Step 1: What is your training goal?

The goal decides almost every other variable. Strength, hypertrophy, power and general health overlap, but they are not trained the same way. Choose one primary goal for the block and let the others ride along.

Fat loss is driven mostly by nutrition: for that goal, design the program like a strength or hypertrophy block, so you keep muscle while you eat less.

Step 2: How many days a week should you train?

The best workout program is the one you actually follow. The 2026 ACSM infographic puts it plainly: "The best plan is the one you'll stick with." Count the days you can train in a bad week and build around that number.

As reference points, the 2009 ACSM position stand suggested 2 to 3 days a week for novices, 3 to 4 for intermediates and 4 to 5 for advanced lifters. The 2026 update adds a simple floor: every major muscle group at least 2 days a week.

• 2 days: full body both days, otherwise some muscles get trained only once.
• 3 days: full body A/B/C (or A/B alternated). The best starting point for most people.
• 4 days: upper/lower, each half of the body twice a week.
• 5 to 6 days: push/pull/legs run twice, or upper/lower plus extra days, only if sleep and recovery can support it.

Step 3: Which workout split should you choose?

A split is just how you distribute muscle groups across your training days. When weekly volume is the same, the main splits tend to give similar results: a 2021 study by Evangelista and colleagues (with Brad Schoenfeld among the authors) found similar strength and muscle gains from a split and a full body routine with matched weekly sets in untrained people over eight weeks. The 2026 ACSM review also found that complex periodization did not consistently change outcomes for healthy adults. So choose the split that fits your calendar and that you will enjoy running.

Step 4: How do you select exercises for a workout program?

Think in movement patterns, not in muscles or trendy exercises. A balanced program covers these patterns across the week:

• Squat: back squat, front squat, goblet squat, leg press.
• Hinge: deadlift, Romanian deadlift, hip thrust.
• Horizontal push: bench press, dumbbell press, push-ups.
• Horizontal pull: barbell row, dumbbell row, seated cable row.
• Vertical push: overhead press, dumbbell shoulder press.
• Vertical pull: pull-ups, lat pulldown.
• Single leg and core: lunges, split squats, planks, cable crunches.

Order matters. The 2009 ACSM stand recommends large muscle groups before small ones and multi-joint exercises before single-joint ones, and the 2026 summary places heavy strength work at the start of the session. A simple template per session: 1 or 2 main compound lifts, 1 or 2 secondary compounds, 1 or 2 isolation exercises. That gives you 4 to 6 exercises, which is enough for almost everyone. The 2026 review found that equipment type matters little for most healthy adults, so machines, free weights and bands are all valid.

Step 5: How many sets and reps, and how long to rest?

Start from weekly sets per muscle group, then spread them across the week. For hypertrophy, the 2026 ACSM stand points to at least about 10 sets per muscle group per week. For strength, 2 to 3 sets per main exercise at heavy loads.

For reps, the 2009 ACSM stand recommended an 8 to 12 repetition maximum range for novices. A practical setup that most coaches will recognize:

• Main compound lifts: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps.
• Secondary compounds: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.
• Isolation exercises: 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Rest: the 2009 stand suggested 1 to 2 minutes for hypertrophy work and 3 to 5 minutes for heavy strength and power work. The 2026 review treats rest as one of the details that do not consistently change results much, so use it as a tool: rest long enough on heavy lifts that the next set is still good, and keep isolation work shorter, around 60 to 90 seconds.

Step 6: What is RIR and how do you use it?

RIR means reps in reserve: how many more clean reps you could have done when you ended the set. RIR 2 means you stopped two reps before failure. The RIR-based effort scale was described by Zourdos and colleagues in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2016.

Sets and reps on paper say nothing about effort, and RIR fills that gap. The 2026 ACSM infographic lists training to momentary muscle failure among the methods that did not consistently change outcomes for the average healthy adult, so you do not need to grind every set to failure. A sensible approach:

• Main compound lifts: RIR 2 to 3. Technique stays clean, recovery stays manageable.
• Isolation work: RIR 0 to 2. Lower risk, so you can push closer to the limit.
• First weeks of a new program: stay on the conservative side while you learn the exercises and the loads.

Estimating RIR takes practice. Writing it down every set is the fastest way to calibrate.

Step 7: How do you progress a workout program over time?

A program without progression is a snapshot, not a plan. The principle is progressive overload: over time you do more. The 2026 ACSM summaries list several levers: more load, more reps or sets, better control, shorter rest or faster movement. The simplest method to run is double progression:

1. 1Pick a rep range for the exercise, for example 3 sets of 8 to 12.
2. 2Start with a load you can lift for 8 reps on every set at the target RIR.
3. 3Each session, try to add reps while keeping the same load.
4. 4When you hit 12 reps on all sets, increase the load and go back to 8.
5. 5Repeat. If reps stop going up for two or three sessions in a row, check sleep, food and effort before changing the program.

How much load to add? The 2009 ACSM stand suggested a 2 to 10% increase once you can exceed the target reps. Use smaller jumps on upper body and isolation work, bigger ones on squats and deadlifts. None of this works without one condition: you log loads and reps every session. After two weeks, memory is guesswork.

Sample workout program: 3-day full body

A good default for beginners and for anyone with three training days. Run the days in rotation (A, B, C) on non-consecutive days. Each major muscle group is trained every session, which covers the twice-a-week floor with room to spare.

Sample workout program: 4-day upper/lower

The natural next step when you have four days. Each half of the body is trained twice a week, with one heavier day and one higher-rep day. For example: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

How to build your workout program in NoSpot

Full disclosure: NoSpot is our app, made by ABCreate in Pisa, Italy. It is built for personal trainers and their athletes, and athletes use it free forever, with or without a coach. Here is how the method above turns into a program you can follow at the gym:

1. 1Create a rotating program with one day per session: A, B, C for full body, or four days for upper/lower. The home screen then tells you which day is next.
2. 2Add exercises from the library of 800+ exercises with images. Search understands gym shorthand, so typing "lat" brings up the lat pulldown variations, and the exercises you have already used appear first.
3. 3Set sets, reps and load for each exercise, add a warm-up, group exercises into supersets where you want them, and write notes (or record voice notes, with Pro) for technique cues.
4. 4Create custom exercises if something is missing. Anyone can do it; PTs on Pro can add their own photos and videos, visible only to their athletes.
5. 5Log the workout live: weight, reps and RIR for every set, with the loads from last time shown under each set and a rest timer between them. It works offline and syncs later.
6. 6Review progress per exercise, with an estimated max calculated from load and reps, volume per muscle group and consistency. That is your signal for when to add load or change the program.

If you are a personal trainer

You build the program once and assign it to each athlete, then adjust it for the individual: a different exercise for a sore shoulder, a lighter load for someone new. Athletes connect with an invite code, QR or link. If you prefer a keyboard and a big screen, NoSpot Coach lets you build programs from your computer with the same account. To see how this compares with other coaching apps, read our honest comparison of personal trainer apps.

On pricing: athletes are always free. The PT Free plan is 0 euros, with up to 4 athletes (after completing the initial profile) and 2 template programs. Pro is 12.99 euros a month or 99.99 euros a year, with unlimited athletes and programs. Downgrading from Pro to Free does not delete anything. NoSpot does not take commissions and does not handle payments between you and your clients.

If you train on your own

You use the same tools for free: create your own rotating program, log every set and track your progress charts and a goal with a date. If you are still choosing a tracker, our guide to the best free workout tracking app explains what should never sit behind a paywall. You can also browse the exercise library before you start.

Workout program checklist: common mistakes to avoid

• Too many goals at once. One primary goal per block.
• Planning for your best week. Plan for the week when everything goes wrong.
• Too many exercises. More than 8 per session is usually noise and fatigue.
• Some muscles trained once a week or never. Check that every major group gets at least 2 days.
• No effort target. Without RIR, "3 x 10" can mean anything.
• Changing the program every two weeks. You cannot progress on exercises you rarely repeat. Give a program 8 to 12 weeks unless something hurts or stalls.
• Not logging. No records, no progression. Write every load, every rep.

A workout program does not need to be clever: it needs to fit your life, be hard enough and get a little harder over time. Coaches can read our guide to choosing a personal trainer app next.