How Many Exercises Per Workout? A Simple Guide by Muscle and Goal

Most beginners do best with about 4 to 6 exercises per workout, and 1 to 3 exercises per muscle group, depending on how often they train that muscle. A full body workout usually needs one exercise per major muscle group. A split routine that trains fewer muscles per session can use two or three exercises for each. What matters most isn’t the exercise count at all, though. It’s the total number of hard sets each muscle gets across the week.

When I started lifting, I copied a magazine chest workout with seven different chest exercises and four sets of each. I was exhausted after the third exercise, rushed the rest with terrible form, and felt it mostly in my shoulders the next day. Cutting that down to two good chest exercises done properly made my chest stronger and my shoulders happier within a month.

This guide gives you simple, practical numbers: how many exercises per workout, how many per muscle group, how that changes with your training split, and why weekly sets are the number you should really be watching.

The short answer

If you’re a beginner and not sure where to start, choose a full body workout with 5 exercises covering legs, pushing, pulling, hinging and core. You can’t go far wrong with that.

Why weekly sets matter more than exercise count

The number of exercises in a workout is only useful because of what it adds up to: the total number of hard sets each muscle does across the week. That weekly volume is one of the main drivers of muscle growth and strength.

A well-known 2017 meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger found a clear relationship between weekly training volume and muscle growth, with higher weekly set counts generally producing more growth than very low counts. For most people, somewhere in the region of 10 or more sets per muscle per week works well for building muscle, while beginners can make excellent progress with less.

So two chest exercises of three sets each, done twice a week, gives you 12 chest sets a week. That’s excellent, even though it’s only two exercises per session. Seven chest exercises in one session, done once a week, might give you 20 sets, but most of them will be done with poor form and heavy fatigue.

What counts as a “hard set”?

Weekly set numbers only mean something if the sets are genuinely challenging. A hard set is one you take close to the point where you couldn’t do another rep with good form.

A simple way to judge this is reps in reserve: how many more good reps you could have done when you stopped. For most beginners, finishing a set with about one to three reps in reserve is ideal. You’re working hard enough to drive progress, but you’re not grinding out ugly reps or risking injury.

This matters because two people can do “three sets of ten” and get completely different results. If one stops at ten with five reps left and the other stops with one left, only the second person is really training.

How many exercises per muscle group

These numbers assume you train each muscle twice a week, which works well for most beginners.

Smaller muscles like biceps and triceps get a lot of work during bigger exercises. Rows and pull-ups train your biceps. Push-ups and presses train your triceps. That’s why one direct exercise is usually plenty.

How many chest exercises per workout?

One to three. Most people do well with a press and either a second press at a different angle or a fly. Beginners can get excellent results from just push-ups and a dumbbell press. My push day workout shows a sensible example.

How many shoulder exercises per workout?

One to two. An overhead press covers the front of the shoulders, a lateral raise covers the sides, and rows or reverse flys cover the rear. Because chest pressing already works the front shoulders heavily, you rarely need more than one direct pressing exercise for shoulders.

How many leg exercises per workout?

Two to four. A good leg session usually includes a squat pattern, a hinge like a Romanian deadlift, a single-leg exercise like lunges, and sometimes a glute or calf exercise. Legs are a big muscle group, so they can handle a little more variety.

How many back exercises per workout?

One to three. A horizontal pull like a row and a vertical pull like a pull-up or pulldown cover most of your back. Adding a reverse fly or face pull helps your upper back and posture.

How your goal changes the numbers

The right number of exercises depends on what you’re training for. Health guidelines, strength training and muscle building ask for different things, and a lot of confusion online comes from mixing them up.

The American College of Sports Medicine’s position stand on resistance training suggests that beginners start with about 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, two to three days a week, with an emphasis on multi-joint exercises. That lines up neatly with the 4 to 6 exercise full body workouts recommended in this guide.

Short on time? The minimum that still works

If you only have 20 or 30 minutes, you can still make real progress. A 2021 narrative review in Sports Medicine by Iversen and colleagues looked at time-efficient strength training and concluded that beginners can make meaningful gains with a surprisingly small amount of weekly work, as long as the sets are hard and the exercises are well chosen.

The practical takeaways for a busy week:

• Choose compound exercises that train several muscles at once, like squats, rows and presses.
• Use supersets, pairing exercises for different muscles, such as a press followed by a row, and resting after the pair.
• Keep sets hard, finishing with one or two reps in reserve.
• Skip long warm-ups for every exercise. A short general warm-up and one light set of the first exercise is usually enough.
• Train at least twice a week. Two short, focused sessions beat one long one you keep postponing.

A 25-minute session of three supersets, three rounds each, covers your whole body. That’s six exercises in less time than most people spend scrolling between sets.

Is 4 exercises enough for a workout?

Yes, very often. Four well-chosen exercises can train your whole body, especially if they’re compound exercises that use several muscles at once.

A four-exercise full body workout might look like this:

Three or four sets of each, done two or three times a week, is a genuinely effective programme for a beginner. My guide to compound exercises for beginners explains why these multi-muscle exercises give you so much for your time.

Exercises per workout by training split

Full body workouts

If you train two or three times a week, full body workouts are usually the best choice for beginners. Each session trains every major muscle, so you only need about one exercise per muscle group.

My full body workout for beginners is built exactly this way.

Upper and lower body split

Training upper body and lower body on separate days lets you include slightly more exercises per session, usually 5 to 7, with one or two for each muscle.

Push, pull and legs

In a push, pull and legs split, each session focuses on related muscles, so you typically do 5 to 6 exercises, with two or three for the main muscle and one for the smaller muscles. My guide to which muscle groups to work out together explains how these splits are organised.

One muscle per day

Splits that train one muscle per day, like a chest day or an arm day, often use 4 to 6 exercises for that muscle. This works for experienced lifters, but it’s rarely the best choice for beginners, because each muscle only gets trained once a week.

How many sets per exercise?

The last couple of reps of each set should feel challenging, but you should still be able to do them with good form. A set that’s too easy barely counts towards your weekly volume.

How long will your workout take?

A rough guide: each exercise with three sets and normal rest takes around 6 to 10 minutes. So:

If you only have 30 minutes, choose four compound exercises rather than rushing through eight. My guide on how long a workout should be goes into this in more detail.

What order should your exercises go in?

The number of exercises matters, but so does the order. A good sequence lets you put your best effort into the exercises that matter most.

1. Warm-up first. Five to ten minutes of general movement and a light set of your first exercise.
2. Big compound exercises next. Squats, deadlifts, presses and rows, while you’re freshest.
3. Secondary compound exercises. Lunges, single-arm rows or push-up variations.
4. Isolation exercises. Lateral raises, curls, tricep extensions or calf raises.
5. Core and carries last. Your core helps stabilise all your big lifts, so tiring it early isn’t ideal.

If you do your arm exercises first, your arms will be tired for rows and presses, which limits how much work your bigger muscles get. The same goes for core work before heavy squats.

The one sensible exception: if a particular muscle is a priority for you, it’s fine to train it first while you’re fresh, as long as your form stays good for everything that follows.

Exercises per workout at home with limited equipment

Home training with bodyweight or a pair of dumbbells doesn’t change the basic numbers, but it changes how you get there.

With lighter equipment, each exercise is often less challenging, so you may need slightly more sets or reps to reach the same effort. It can be tempting to add lots of different exercises instead, but that usually isn’t necessary. A few extra sets of your main exercises, a slower tempo or a harder variation often works better.

Sample plans using these numbers

Here’s what a sensible beginner week looks like with three full body workouts, each using five exercises:

Each session takes about 35 to 45 minutes. Across the week, your major muscles each get somewhere around 6 to 9 hard sets, which is ideal for a beginner.

If you train four days a week instead, an upper and lower split might look like this:

If you’re returning after a break

If you haven’t trained for a few months, start with fewer exercises and fewer sets than you used to do, even if you were fairly experienced before. Three or four exercises of two sets each is plenty for the first couple of weeks. Your muscles and joints need time to readjust, and starting too hard is one of the fastest ways to end up extremely sore or injured. Build back up over three or four weeks and you’ll be back to your old workouts before you know it.

Signs you’re doing too many exercises

• Your form falls apart in the second half of your workout
• Workouts regularly take well over an hour
• You’re constantly sore and not getting stronger
• You dread your sessions
• You feel your later exercises mostly in the wrong muscles, like shoulders during chest work
• You’re doing lots of similar exercises for the same muscle, like three chest presses in a row

If this sounds familiar, cut your exercise list down to the most effective ones and focus on doing them well.

Signs you’re doing too few exercises

• Some muscle groups aren’t trained at all during the week
• Your workouts finish in 15 minutes and feel easy
• You’ve stopped improving despite good consistency and recovery
• You’re avoiding entire movement patterns, like never doing any pulling

In that case, add one exercise at a time, or add a set to your existing exercises before adding new ones.

How to choose which exercises to include

1. Start with compound exercises. Squats, hinges, presses and rows give you the most results for your time.
2. Cover all movement patterns across the week. Squat, hinge, push, pull, carry and core.
3. Add isolation exercises only where needed. Lateral raises, curls or calf raises if you want extra work for a specific area.
4. Put the hardest exercises first, while you’re fresh.
5. Keep most exercises the same for several weeks so you can track progress.

If you’d like help building a full plan, my guide to how to build your own workout plan walks through the whole process, and the workout schedule planner helps you lay out your week.

Progress by improving, not adding

A common instinct is to add more exercises when progress slows. Usually, a better approach is to make your current exercises harder:

• Add a rep or two to each set
• Increase the weight slightly
• Slow down the lowering phase
• Add one set to a key exercise
• Reduce sloppy reps and improve form

Adding exercises should be a last step, not the first. My dumbbell workout plan for beginners shows how to progress the same exercises over four weeks.

Does training frequency change the numbers?

Yes. If you train a muscle more often, you need fewer exercises and sets for it in each session.

For most beginners, training each muscle two or three times a week with fewer exercises per session works better than cramming everything into one big session. My guide on how many days a week to work out can help you choose a schedule.

The bottom line

For most beginners, 4 to 6 exercises per workout and 1 to 3 exercises per muscle group is plenty. Full body workouts need about one exercise per major muscle, while split routines can include a few more for the muscles trained that day.

Focus on compound exercises, do 2 to 4 good sets of each, and pay attention to your total weekly sets rather than the length of your exercise list. A short list of exercises done well, consistently and with gradual progress will beat a long, exhausting workout every time.

Frequently asked questions

How many exercises should I do per workout?

Most beginners do well with 4 to 6 exercises per workout. Experienced lifters may use 5 to 8. Focus on compound exercises and quality sets rather than a long list of exercises.

How many exercises per muscle group per workout?

Usually 1 to 3. Full body workouts need about one exercise per major muscle, while split workouts that train fewer muscles per session can include two or three exercises for each muscle.

Is 4 exercises enough for a workout?

Yes. Four well-chosen compound exercises, such as a squat, a press, a row and a Romanian deadlift, can train your whole body effectively, especially for beginners training two or three times a week.

How many chest exercises should I do per workout?

One to three is enough for most people. A beginner can get excellent results from push-ups and one dumbbell press, done two or three sets each, twice a week.

How many sets per muscle per week should a beginner do?

Around 6 to 10 hard sets per muscle per week is plenty for most beginners. As you gain experience and recover well, you can gradually increase towards 10 to 16 sets for steady muscle growth.

How many leg exercises per workout?

Two to four leg exercises per workout works well, usually including a squat, a hinge like a Romanian deadlift, and a single-leg exercise such as lunges.

Can doing too many exercises slow progress?

Yes. Too many exercises often leads to poor form, excessive fatigue, long workouts and poor recovery. Fewer exercises done well, with gradual progression, usually produce better results.

Should I change my exercises every workout?

No. Keep most exercises the same for several weeks so you can track progress and get stronger. Changing everything too often makes it hard to know whether you’re improving.

Source: American College of Sports Medicine, Position stand: progression models in resistance training for healthy adults, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (2009)

Source: Iversen et al., No time to lift? Designing time-efficient training programs for strength and hypertrophy, Sports Medicine (2021)

Source: Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass, Journal of Sports Sciences (2017)