4 Day Machine Only Workout Plan: Beginner, Build Muscle
A 4-day program for beginners, aimed at building muscle.
- 4 days a week
- Upper/lower
- Machines only
- about 30–35 min
- No cardio
- You’ll need: adjustable bench, dumbbells, lat pulldown, cable row, cable machine, 10 weight machines
Each week
Upper A
- Chest Press Machine — 3 × 10–12
- Lat Pulldown (Wide Grip) — 3 × 10–12
- Shoulder Press Machine — 3 × 10–12
- Seated Cable Row — 3 × 10–12
- Cable Tricep Pushdown — 2 × 12–15
- Dumbbell Curl — 2 × 12–15
Lower A
- Leg Press — 3 × 10–12
- Seated Leg Curl — 3 × 10–12
- Goblet Squat — 3 × 10–12
- Seated Hip Abductor — 3 × 12–15
- Standing Calf Raise — 2 × 12–15
- Dead Bugs — 2 × 10–12
Upper B
- Incline Dumbbell Press — 3 × 10–12
- Close Grip Lat Pulldown — 3 × 10–12
- Pec Deck / Machine Fly — 3 × 12–15
- Reverse Pec Deck / Machine Rear Delt Fly — 3 × 12–15
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise — 3 × 12–15
- Overhead Dumbbell Extension — 3 × 12–15
- Hammer Curl — 3 × 12–15
Lower B
- Dumbbell RDL — 3 × 10–12
- Leg Extension — 3 × 12–15
- Glute Bridge — 3 × 12–15
- Lying Leg Curl — 3 × 10–12
- Seated Hip Adductor — 2 × 12–15
- Plank — 3 × 1 min
Report card
- Weekly volume — on target. All 8 scored muscle groups sit in the 4–19 sets/week range.
- Movement patterns — on target. Every movement pattern this goal cares about is covered.
- Training frequency — on target. Every high-volume muscle is trained 2x/week or more.
- Rep ranges — on target. The intensity mix fits this goal.
- Structural balance — on target. Push:pull and quad:hinge ratios are balanced.
- Recovery spacing — on target. Hard sessions for each muscle are spaced at least a day apart.
- Session workload — on target. No session is overloaded — the weekly work is sensibly distributed.
- Rest & session time — not assessed. Estimated session times — rest periods aren't stated, so pacing wasn't judged.
- Conditioning — on target. No conditioning — fine for this goal, though 1–2 easy sessions a week would cost nothing and buy health.
- Progression plan — not assessed. A written program doesn't show how loads should move week to week — progression gets assessed once the program is being tracked.
More workout programs · Workout plan builder · Rate my workout routine