How to Build a Training Program (From Scratch)

Building a training program from scratch is one of the most valuable skills a lifter can develop. Even if you use an app or hire a coach, understanding the "why" behind program design helps you make better decisions, troubleshoot problems, and avoid the trap of hopping between random internet programs every 4 weeks.

This guide walks you through the process step by step, with the same framework used by evidence-based coaches like Eric Helms, Mike Israetel, and Greg Nuckols. By the end, you will have a clear understanding of how to construct a program that is organized, progressive, and grounded in research — not guesswork.

Step 1: Define Your Primary Goal

This sounds obvious, but most lifters skip this step or give a vague answer like "get bigger and stronger." You need specificity because your goal determines nearly every downstream decision.

Hypertrophy (muscle growth): Higher volume (more sets per muscle group), moderate loads (60-80% 1RM), rep ranges of 6-15, shorter rest periods (90-120 seconds), and exercise variety to hit muscles from multiple angles.

Strength (maximal force production): Moderate volume, heavy loads (80-95% 1RM), rep ranges of 1-6, longer rest periods (3-5 minutes), and emphasis on the specific competition or target lifts (squat, bench, deadlift).

General fitness / body recomposition: Moderate volume and load, broad exercise selection, rep ranges of 6-12, and balanced programming across all muscle groups.

For most recreational lifters, hypertrophy-focused training with a strength component is the best default. You build muscle, you get stronger through the hypertrophy (bigger muscles produce more force), and the training is sustainable long-term. This is what most evidence-based programs target.

Step 2: Choose Your Training Split

Your split is determined by how many days per week you can reliably train. Reliability is key — do not plan for 6 days if you realistically make it to the gym 4 days.

3 days/week: Full Body (each muscle group 3x/week)
4 days/week: Upper/Lower (each muscle group 2x/week)
5 days/week: Upper/Lower + specialty day, or PPLUL (Push/Pull/Legs/Upper/Lower)
6 days/week: PPL x2 (each muscle group 2x/week)

The guiding principle from Schoenfeld's frequency meta-analysis (2016): each muscle group should be trained at least twice per week. Any split that achieves this with your available schedule is a valid choice. Beyond 2x/week, the returns diminish. Do not overthink the split — adherence matters more than optimization.

Step 3: Set Your Volume Per Muscle Group

Volume — weekly hard sets per muscle group — is the primary driver of hypertrophy. Here are evidence-based starting points per muscle group per week:

Beginners (less than 1 year): 8-10 sets per major muscle group
Intermediates (1-3 years): 12-16 sets per major muscle group
Advanced (3+ years): 16-22 sets per major muscle group

These numbers align with the MEV-MAV-MRV framework (Israetel, 2019). Start at the lower end of your range at the beginning of a mesocycle and add 1-2 sets per muscle group per week, reaching the upper end by week 4-5 before deloading.

Major muscle groups to program: Chest, back (lats + upper back), shoulders (front, side, rear), quads, hamstrings, glutes, biceps, triceps. Calves, forearms, abs, and traps are optional based on individual priorities.

Account for overlap. A set of bench press counts toward chest, front delt, and tricep volume. A set of barbell rows counts toward back and bicep volume. If you do not account for this overlap, you will massively over-count isolated volume and under-count compound contributions. For practical purposes:

• Count compound sets as full volume for the primary muscle and roughly half volume for secondary muscles
• Example: 4 sets of bench press = 4 sets for chest + ~2 sets for triceps + ~2 sets for front delts

Step 4: Select Your Exercises

Exercise selection should follow a simple hierarchy:

1. Compound movements first. Squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, rows, pull-ups/pulldowns. These are the most time-efficient exercises because they train multiple muscle groups simultaneously and allow the heaviest loads.
2. Compound accessories second. Dumbbell variations, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, incline press, dips. These provide variety, address specific weak points, and train muscles through different angles and ranges of motion.
3. Isolation exercises last. Curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises, leg curls, leg extensions, cable flies. These target specific muscles that may not receive adequate volume from compounds alone.

For each muscle group, include at least one compound movement. The isolation work fills gaps. A practical template for a muscle group like chest might be: barbell bench press (compound, primary), incline dumbbell press (compound accessory), and cable fly (isolation).

Exercise variety across the week. If you train a muscle group twice per week, do not repeat the exact same exercises. Use Day 1 for your primary compound variation (e.g., flat barbell bench) and Day 2 for a different variation (e.g., incline dumbbell bench). This distributes mechanical stress across different joints and tissues, reduces overuse risk, and provides a broader hypertrophy stimulus — muscles grow best when trained through multiple force vectors and ranges of motion.

Match exercises to your anatomy and injury history. If flat barbell bench causes shoulder pain, switch to a neutral-grip dumbbell press or floor press. If conventional deadlifts aggravate your lower back, try sumo deadlifts or trap bar deadlifts. The "best" exercise is the one you can perform pain-free through a full range of motion with progressive overload. There are no mandatory exercises.

Step 5: Order Your Exercises Within a Session

Exercise order significantly affects performance, especially for the exercises placed later in a session. The NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) guidelines recommend:

1. Large muscle groups before small. Squats before leg extensions. Bench press before tricep pushdowns.
2. Compound before isolation. Rows before bicep curls. Overhead press before lateral raises.
3. Higher priority before lower priority. If chest development is your main goal, bench press should come first in the session, not after 5 sets of rows.
4. Technically demanding before simple. Barbell squats early (when you are fresh and focused), machine leg press later.

A practical upper body session might look like: Bench Press (4 sets) then Barbell Row (4 sets) then Incline Dumbbell Press (3 sets) then Cable Row (3 sets) then Lateral Raises (3 sets) then Face Pulls (3 sets) then Bicep Curls (2 sets) then Tricep Extensions (2 sets).

Notice the pattern: heavy compounds first, lighter compounds and accessories in the middle, isolation at the end. This maximizes performance on the exercises that matter most and uses remaining energy for targeted isolation work.

Superset compatible pairs: To save time, pair non-competing exercises. Bench press supersetted with rows is efficient because pressing does not fatigue the muscles used for rowing (and vice versa). Squats supersetted with curls would also work. Do not superset exercises that compete for the same muscles or create excessive cardiovascular demand (e.g., squats supersetted with deadlifts).

Step 6: Plan Your Progression

A program without a progression plan is just a list of exercises. Progression is what turns a workout template into a training program. Use double progression as the default:

1. Assign a rep range to each exercise (e.g., 3x8-12)
2. Start at a weight where you can hit the bottom of the range on all sets
3. Each session, try to add reps while keeping weight constant
4. When you hit the top of the range on all sets, increase weight and reset to the bottom of the range

For volume progression across a mesocycle (typically 4-6 weeks):

• Week 1: Starting volume (lower end of your MAV)
• Week 2: Add 1 set per major muscle group
• Week 3: Add another set per major muscle group
• Week 4: Peak volume (approach upper MAV)
• Week 5 (deload): Drop to 50-60% of peak volume, reduce intensity slightly

This wave-like pattern of volume accumulation followed by a recovery week is the foundation of undulating periodization. It allows you to progressively push your limits while preventing chronic fatigue accumulation.

Step 7: Program the Deload

Deloads are not optional. They are a programmed component of effective training. After 4-6 weeks of progressive overload, accumulated fatigue will mask your true fitness level and increase injury risk.

During a deload week:

• Reduce volume (total sets) by 40-50%
• Reduce intensity (weight) by 10-15% or cap RPE at 6-7
• Keep training frequency the same (you still show up to the gym, you just do less)
• Focus on movement quality and recovery

Helms et al. in The Muscle and Strength Pyramid recommend a deload every 4-8 weeks, with more frequent deloads for advanced lifters (who accumulate fatigue faster) and less frequent deloads for beginners (who do not generate as much fatigue). A practical rule: if you are unsure, deload every 5th week.

Putting It All Together: Example Program

Here is a quick example for an intermediate lifter training 4 days/week (Upper/Lower) with a hypertrophy focus:

Upper A (Monday): Barbell Bench Press 4x6-8, Barbell Row 4x6-8, Incline DB Press 3x8-12, Cable Row 3x10-12, Lateral Raise 3x12-15, Face Pull 3x15-20, Barbell Curl 2x8-12, Overhead Tricep Extension 2x10-12

Lower A (Tuesday): Barbell Squat 4x6-8, Romanian Deadlift 3x8-10, Leg Press 3x10-12, Leg Curl 3x10-12, Calf Raise 4x10-15

Upper B (Thursday): Overhead Press 4x6-8, Weighted Pull-Up 4x6-8, DB Bench Press 3x8-12, Chest-Supported Row 3x10-12, Cable Lateral Raise 3x12-15, Reverse Fly 3x15-20, Hammer Curl 2x10-12, Cable Pushdown 2x12-15

Lower B (Friday): Trap Bar Deadlift 4x5-8, Bulgarian Split Squat 3x8-10, Leg Extension 3x10-12, Glute-Ham Raise 3x8-12, Seated Calf Raise 4x12-15

This program hits every muscle group twice per week, prioritizes compound movements, includes both heavy and moderate rep ranges, balances push and pull volume, and allows for double progression on every exercise.

How Forssa Does This in 2 Minutes

The program design process described above takes knowledge, experience, and time. You need to understand volume landmarks, frequency research, exercise selection principles, and periodization theory. Then you need to actually do the math: counting sets per muscle group, checking push/pull ratios, ensuring adequate compound-to-isolation balance, and planning weekly progression.

Forssa automates this entire process. You answer 7 questions — goal, experience level, available days, session length, available equipment, focus muscles, and any limitations — and the app generates a complete periodized program that follows every principle in this article.

It selects the optimal split for your schedule, sets evidence-based volume per muscle group, chooses exercises appropriate for your equipment and experience, orders them correctly within each session, enforces push/pull balance, programs double progression, and schedules deloads. The program passes an 11-point quality evaluation that checks for common programming errors.

You can absolutely build your own program using the steps above. Many lifters enjoy the process and learn a great deal from it. But if you want a research-backed program without the 30-60 minutes of planning, Forssa delivers one in about 2 minutes.