Home workout plan

No-Equipment Home Workout Plan

Written by the GymStreak coaching teamUpdated 29 September 2026

Days: 3 days a week
Session: 35–45 min
Level: Beginner to intermediate
Equipment: None (a chair or sofa helps)

The short answer

This plan uses only your body weight and a sturdy chair. Do two full body workouts (A and B) on three non-consecutive days a week, 3 sets of each exercise with 45–90 seconds of rest. Keep each set within the rep range with 1–3 reps in reserve, and make an exercise harder once you can do the top of the range on every set.

01 / Who it’s for

Who this plan is for

Anyone training at home without weights, or while travelling.
People who can already do a few push-ups (on your knees is fine) and 15 bodyweight squats. If not, start with the beginner home workout.
Lifters who want a bodyweight fallback for weeks they can’t get to the gym.

Probably not the best fit if

Anyone chasing maximal strength: without added load, progress on heavy strength slows. A dumbbell plan or the gym takes you further.

02 / Schedule

Weekly schedule

Day	Session
Mon	Workout A
Tue	Rest (a walk is great)
Wed	Workout B
Thu	Rest
Fri	Workout A
Sat	Rest (or light cardio)
Sun	Rest

Alternate the workouts, so next week is B, A, B. A 4th day is fine once 3 feels easy: repeat whichever workout is next.

03 / The workouts

The workouts

Warm-up

3–5 minutes of easy movement: marching or jogging on the spot, arm circles, hip circles and a few slow bodyweight squats.
Do the first exercise once at an easy pace before your first real set.

Workout A

Squat, push, hinge, back

Home workout (no equipment), Workout A: exercises with sets, reps and rest
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Bodyweight Squats	3	12–20	60 s
PushupsToo hard? Use knee push-ups or incline push-ups with your hands on a table.	3	6–15	60–90 s
Single Leg Glute BridgeOr a two-leg glute bridge for 15–20.	3	8–15 each leg	60 s
Superman Pull	3	10–12	45–60 s
Lunges	2	8–12 each leg	60 s
Plank	3	30–60 s	45 s

Workout B

Single-leg, triceps, back, core

Home workout (no equipment), Workout B: exercises with sets, reps and rest
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Bulgarian Split SquatBack foot on a chair or sofa.	3	8–12 each leg	60–90 s
Decline PushupsFeet on a chair. Too hard? Do regular push-ups.	3	6–12	60–90 s
Bench DipsHands on a sturdy chair. Skip if it bothers your shoulders.	3	8–15	60 s
Superman	3	10–12	45–60 s
Side Bridge	2	20–40 s each side	45 s
Dead Bug	2	8–10 each side	45 s

Have a doorway pull-up bar? Add 3 sets of pull-ups (as many good reps as you can, stopping 1–2 short of failure) to either workout. Pulling is the one thing bodyweight training at home struggles to cover.

Tap any exercise for step-by-step form cues and the muscles it works.

04 / How hard

How hard to train

Choose the version of each exercise (easier or harder) that lets you finish the set in the rep range with about 1–3 reps in reserve. See reps in reserve.
Bodyweight sets can build muscle when they are taken reasonably close to failure: studies comparing light and heavy loads found similar muscle growth when sets were hard enough.
Move under control: about 2 seconds down, a short pause, then up. Faster reps usually mean the exercise is too easy.

05 / Progression

Progression rules

Add reps first. When you reach the top of the rep range on every set, move on.
Then make the exercise harder instead of adding weight: a harder version (knee push-up → push-up → decline push-up), a slower lowering phase (3–4 seconds), a pause at the bottom, or one leg or arm instead of two.
Then add a set to the exercises you most want to improve, up to 4 sets.
Progress one thing at a time, and only when every rep looks the same as the first.

This plan is general fitness guidance, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, an injury, are pregnant or are new to exercise and unsure, check with a doctor or physiotherapist first. Stop any exercise that causes sharp or joint pain.

06 / FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can you build muscle with home workouts and no equipment?

Yes, especially as a beginner. A meta-analysis comparing light and heavy loads found similar muscle growth when sets were taken close to failure. The limit is that bodyweight exercises get easy, so you need harder variations to keep progressing.

How many days a week should I do home workouts?

Three full body sessions a week is a good default. The WHO recommends muscle-strengthening activity on at least 2 days a week, alongside 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity.

What are the best home workout exercises?

Cover the main movement patterns: a squat (bodyweight squat, Bulgarian split squat), a push (push-up), a hinge or bridge (glute bridge), a back exercise (superman pull, or pull-ups with a bar) and core (plank). This plan uses all of them.

What if push-ups are too hard?

Start with incline push-ups with your hands on a table or kitchen counter, or knee push-ups. Lower the incline over the weeks until you can do full push-ups.

How long until I should add weights?

When the hardest version of an exercise gets easy for 15 or more reps, extra load is the simplest way to keep progressing. A pair of dumbbells covers most of it: see the home dumbbell workout.

Sources

More workout plans

Terms used in this plan

Reps in reserve

Related calculators

Get this plan in GymStreak

Set your equipment to bodyweight only in GymStreak and it builds a home plan around the days and time you have, with a demo for every exercise. You can also add a custom workout with the exercises above.

1. Download GymStreak and answer the set-up questions.
2. Choose 3 training days, your session length and your equipment (no equipment (bodyweight)).
3. GymStreak builds your weekly plan, with a demo for every exercise.

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Your plan and the exercise library are free to see. Starting and logging workouts needs GymStreak Premium, an in-app subscription; the app shows your local price before you pay.