Short answer: two to four days, and the best number is the one you can keep doing for a year. The old internet argument about "the perfect split" matters far less than turning up. In your first months almost any sensible plan works, because your body is so new to the stimulus that it responds to very little.
The World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines for adults suggest 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week (or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity), plus muscle-strengthening on two or more days a week. That is the floor for health, and it is a low one. Two short lifting days already meet the strength part.
Beyond the floor, more days buy you more practice and a little more growth, with diminishing returns. In studies, training a muscle about twice a week tends to do slightly better than once, but the gap is small for beginners and shrinks further if you can't recover from the extra work.
Pick the days that realistically fit your life, not the ones that sound impressive. The planner labels each session, counts how often each muscle gets worked, and warns you if your days are stacked in a way that leaves little recovery.
A plan you follow at 80% beats a perfect plan you follow at 30%. Three full-body sessions a week is the classic beginner answer because every muscle gets hit three times, each lift gets plenty of practice, and a missed day costs you very little. If three is too much, two full-body days still work well. If you enjoy the gym and recover easily, four days as upper and lower body is a good next step.
Five days is rarely needed in your first year. It can work with short sessions, but it leaves less slack for a busy week, poor sleep or a cold, and that is when beginners tend to quit.
Full body means every session covers legs, push, pull and trunk. It suits two or three days a week and is the simplest way to get frequent practice. Upper/lower splits the work: one day for chest, back, shoulders and arms, the next for legs and hips. It suits four days a week, with sessions that are shorter and more focused.
If you only have two or three days, full body is the better choice. A "push/pull/legs" split run once a week hits each muscle only once, which is fine for general health but not the most useful way to start.
Start easier than you think you need to. Soreness in the first couple of weeks is mostly your body meeting new movements, and it fades. The goal of month one is to learn the lifts and build the habit, not to find your limit.
| Week | Sets per exercise | How hard |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Easy. Stop with 4+ reps left in the tank |
| 2 | 2 | Easy to moderate. 3–4 reps left |
| 3 | 3 | Moderate. About 3 reps left |
| 4 | 3 | Moderate to firm. 2–3 reps left |
Each session, choose around five or six exercises: a squat or leg press, a hinge such as a Romanian deadlift, a push, a pull, and something for your trunk. Add a little weight or a rep when the last set feels clearly easier than planned.
This is general guidance for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you have pain, an injury, a heart or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant or have been told to avoid exertion, check with a doctor or physiotherapist before you start and ask them how to adapt the plan. Sharp pain is a reason to stop and get advice, not something to push through.