There’s a version of the five-day gym week that looks great on paper and falls apart by Thursday. Monday is glutes, Tuesday is “arms and abs”, Wednesday is glutes again, and by the end of the week you’ve done 40 sets of hip thrusts and barely touched your back. You’re sore, busy, and not much stronger than a month ago.
A good five-day plan is less exciting than that and works far better. It trains every major muscle at least twice, gives your lower body the attention most women want without ignoring the rest, and leaves two full days off so you actually recover.
This is a 5 day workout split for women built that way: an upper/lower/glute structure with exact exercises, sets and reps, a dumbbell-only version, a machine-friendly version, and honest notes on what five days a week can and can’t do for you.
Is five days a week right for you?
Five days is a big commitment. It suits you if you already train consistently three or four days a week and want more, or if you enjoy the gym as a daily routine. If you’re brand new, a three-day full-body plan will get you the same early progress with half the time. Our 3 day workout split for beginners is the better starting point.
The CDC’s guidelines for adults call for at least two days of muscle-strengthening work for all major muscle groups each week, plus 150 minutes of moderate activity. A five-day split clears that bar comfortably. The point of going beyond it is more practice and more weekly volume, not more soreness.
The split at a glance
- Monday: Lower body (quad focus)
- Tuesday: Upper body (push focus)
- Wednesday: Rest or easy cardio
- Thursday: Glutes and hamstrings
- Friday: Upper body (pull focus)
- Saturday: Full body and core
- Sunday: Rest
Every major muscle gets trained at least twice. Glutes get worked on three of the five days, which is where most women want the extra emphasis, but your back, shoulders and arms are never an afterthought.
Day 1: Lower body (quads)
- Back squat or goblet squat: 4 sets of 6 to 10
- Leg press: 3 sets of 10 to 12
- Walking lunge or Bulgarian split squat: 3 sets of 8 to 10 per leg
- Leg extension: 2 sets of 12 to 15
- Standing calf raise: 3 sets of 12 to 15
Day 2: Upper body (push)
- Dumbbell bench press: 3 sets of 8 to 10
- Seated dumbbell shoulder press: 3 sets of 8 to 10
- Incline push-up or machine chest press: 2 sets of 10 to 12
- Lateral raise: 3 sets of 12 to 15
- Triceps rope pushdown: 2 sets of 12 to 15
Day 3: Glutes and hamstrings
- Barbell or machine hip thrust: 4 sets of 8 to 12
- Romanian deadlift: 3 sets of 8 to 10
- Seated or lying leg curl: 3 sets of 10 to 12
- Cable glute kickback: 2 sets of 12 to 15 per leg
- Hip abduction machine: 2 sets of 15 to 20
Day 4: Upper body (pull)
- Lat pulldown or assisted pull-up: 3 sets of 8 to 12
- Seated cable row: 3 sets of 10 to 12
- One-arm dumbbell row: 2 sets of 10 per side
- Face pull: 2 sets of 12 to 15
- Dumbbell biceps curl: 2 sets of 10 to 12
Day 5: Full body and core
- Trap bar or dumbbell deadlift: 3 sets of 6 to 8
- Dumbbell step-up: 2 sets of 10 per leg
- Push-up: 2 sets, stop 2 reps short of failure
- Glute bridge: 2 sets of 15
- Pallof press and dead bug: 2 sets each
How much weekly volume this adds up to
Counting hard sets, this plan gives glutes around 15 to 20 a week, quads and hamstrings around 10 to 14, and back, chest and shoulders roughly 8 to 12 each. That’s a deliberate tilt toward the lower body without starving the upper body.
Why those numbers? In his write-up of his training volume meta-analysis, Brad Schoenfeld reports that 10 or more weekly sets per muscle produced almost twice the muscle gain of fewer than five sets (9.8% versus 5.4%). And his 2016 frequency meta-analysis in Sports Medicine found that training a muscle at least twice a week beat once a week. This split hits both marks for every major muscle.
The honest trade-off: more volume means more fatigue. If you feel run down for more than a week, drop one set from every exercise for a week, then build back up.
How to progress
Use the same simple rule on every exercise. When you reach the top of the rep range on all sets with good form, add the smallest weight jump next session and drop back to the bottom of the range. Log every session in a notebook or app, because you won’t remember what you lifted two Thursdays ago.
Leave one or two reps in reserve on most sets. Training to failure on every set makes five days a week very hard to recover from.
Dumbbell-only version
Training at home or in a small gym? Swap in goblet squats, dumbbell split squats, dumbbell Romanian deadlifts, single-leg dumbbell hip thrusts, floor or bench presses, one-arm rows, and band pull-aparts in place of face pulls. Use slower lowering phases and higher reps when your heaviest dumbbells start to feel light.
Machine-friendly version
If free weights feel intimidating, every day can be built on machines: leg press and hack squat for Day 1, chest and shoulder press machines for Day 2, hip thrust machine, leg curl and abduction for Day 3, pulldown and seated row for Day 4, and a mix on Day 5. Machines are a fine way to build strength, and they make it easy to add small amounts of weight.
Rest days, cardio and your life outside the gym
Wednesday and Sunday are real rest days. A walk, a gentle bike ride or a stretch session is great. A spin class that leaves you flattened is not rest. If you want more cardio, add 20 to 30 minutes of easy walking or cycling after your upper body days.
Some weeks you’ll only make four sessions. When that happens, skip Day 5 and keep the other four. If you can only make three, our weekly workout plan template helps you rearrange without losing the thread.
Keep building
Want more lower-body detail? Our leg day workout for beginners breaks down squat and hinge technique. If running is part of your week too, the hybrid athlete training plan shows how to combine both. And pack your bag the night before with our gym bag essentials for women checklist.
This plan is general information for healthy adults, not medical advice. SportsFable’s writers train regularly but are not certified coaches. If you’re pregnant, injured or managing a health condition, check with a doctor or physical therapist before starting.
Questions people ask
What is a good 5 day gym split for women?
Lower body, upper push, rest, glutes and hamstrings, upper pull, full body. It trains every muscle at least twice and gives glutes extra attention.
Can I do a 5 day split with only dumbbells?
Yes. Use goblet squats, split squats, Romanian deadlifts, single-leg hip thrusts, presses and rows, and add reps or slow the lowering when weights get light.
Is a 5 day split good for beginners?
Usually not as a first plan. Start with three full-body days for two or three months, then move to five days once training is a habit.
How do I make this split more glute focused?
It already trains glutes three days a week. To add more, put two sets of hip thrusts or kickbacks on Day 2 or Day 4 and keep everything else the same.
Does this work for women over 40?
Yes. Start a little lighter, leave more reps in reserve, and treat the rest days as non-negotiable.
Will a 5 day split make me “bulky”?
Not by accident. Building noticeable muscle takes years of focused effort. What most women see is a firmer, stronger, more defined shape.
Images in this article are AI-generated illustrations and original graphics created by SportsFable. They show workout setups, not real people, teams or events.
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