4-Day Strength Workout Plan for the Gym
This plan is built around a few main lifts done heavy and often, with lighter accessory work to keep the joints and weaker links keeping up.
Four sessions a week gives you room to train everything twice while keeping each session focused, for when three days have stopped being enough.
It uses a standard gym: a barbell and rack, dumbbells, a bench and a cable station.
At a glance
- Days per week
- 4 days
- Split
- Upper / Lower
- Session length
- 60–75 min
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Barbell, rack, dumbbells, bench, cable station
Your week
- Monday — Upper body A
- Tuesday — Lower body A
- Thursday — Upper body B
- Friday — Lower body B
Why this split
Four days split into upper and lower body trains everything twice a week while keeping each session short enough to finish with good form. Two hard days in a row never hit the same muscles, which is what makes four days sustainable rather than just ambitious.
The sessions
Monday · Upper body A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps or time | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Barbell bent-over row | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Seated dumbbell shoulder press | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Pull-up (or assisted pull-up) | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell curl | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
Tuesday · Lower body A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps or time | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell walking lunge | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Standing calf raise | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Plank | 3 | 30–45 s | 60 s |
Thursday · Upper body B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps or time | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing overhead press | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Lat pulldown | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Seated cable row | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Cable triceps pushdown | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
Friday · Lower body B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps or time | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 4 | 4–6 | 2–3 min |
| Leg press | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Bulgarian split squat | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Standing calf raise | 3 | 8–10 | 90 s |
| Hanging knee raise | 3 | 30–45 s | 60 s |
How to progress
Strength comes from adding load to the main lifts over time. Use double progression: when you complete every set at the top of the rep range with one or two reps left in reserve, add the smallest weight jump you have next session.
If a lift stalls for two weeks running, do not grind harder. Drop the load by about 10% and build back up — the second run almost always passes the old ceiling.
- Main lifts: finish each set with 1–2 reps in reserve.
- Add 2.5 kg to lower-body lifts and 1–2.5 kg to upper-body lifts when the top of the range is reached.
- Every fourth to sixth week, cut sets by a third for a lighter deload week.
Work out your starting weights with the one rep max calculator
When the week does not go to plan
No plan survives a real week unchanged. A bad night of sleep, a late meeting or a sore knee is not a reason to abandon the plan — it is a reason to change the next session while keeping the goal fixed.
Milo builds a plan like this one from your goal, the days you have and the equipment you own, then proposes changes when your sleep, schedule or progress say it should. You see the reason behind every change and decide whether to take it.
Questions
Is 4 days a week enough for strength?
It is more than enough. The extra days add practice and volume, so the limit is no longer time in the gym but recovery — protect your sleep and do not skip the deload weeks.
How long should I follow this plan?
Run it for 8–12 weeks, with a lighter week every four to six. After that, retest your main lifts and either keep progressing the same structure or move to a plan with more days.
What if I miss a session?
Skip it and carry on with the next session in the order. With four or five days, each session repeats later in the week or the next, so one missed day costs very little — doubling up the next day costs more.
How should I warm up?
Five minutes of easy cardio, then two or three lighter sets of the first exercise building up to your working weight. Sets of later exercises need at most one warm-up set.
General guidance for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, check with a professional before you start.