A complete full-body workout for extremely busy people who can only train once a week, based on personal experience and backed by resistance training volume research.
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Without wasting much of your time, here is the once-a-week workout I would follow if I was pressed for time. Then I will explain why.
| Movement | Exercise Options | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Light cardio + dynamic stretching | - | 10 min | - |
| Squat | Goblet squat, back squat, front squat | 4 | 8–12 | 2–5 min |
| Push | Bench press, overhead press, push-ups | 4 | 8–12 | 2 min |
| Pull | Pull-ups, lat pulldown, bent-over row | 4 | 8–12 | 2 min |
| Hip hinge | Deadlift, Romanian deadlift | 4 | 6–10 | 2–5 min |
| Single-leg | Lunges, Bulgarian split squat, step-ups | 3 | 8 each leg | 90 sec |
| Core | Plank, dead bug, farmer's carry | 3 | 30–60 sec | 60 sec |
| Cool-down | Light cardio + static stretching | - | 10 min | - |
If life were perfect, we would all love to go to the gym five days a week and chase maximum growth. But in reality, life happens. Jobs change. Kids arrive. Family pulls you in ten directions at once. Some weeks, traffic alone eats two hours from your day before you have even started. That is just how things are. But it does not mean you abandon your health.
My reason for this workout is simple: it targets every major muscle group with enough intensity that one session, done properly, is enough to maintain your strength and hold onto the muscle you have built. It maximises stimulus across every body part for the shortest time possible.
I have actually run this programme multiple times myself. The nature of my work sometimes takes me to remote locations where towns with a gym can be far from where I am. On those occasions, I usually spare Saturdays for working out. I have never noticed any meaningful loss of gains from it. The only thing that changes is soreness, which does increase when you are no longer training regularly. At least in my experience.
A 2018 study by Brad Schoenfeld, a well-known sports scientist, confirmed that training once per week (4 sets per muscle per week) is still enough to promote muscle growth.
"That said, substantial gains can nevertheless be achieved with volumes as low as 4 or fewer sets per muscle per week."
Your muscles do not know how many days you went to the gym. They know whether the signal they received was strong enough to demand adaptation. One session that pushes you close to your limit across all major movement patterns tells your body to maintain what it has. And during genuinely demanding seasons of life, maintaining is all you need.
Give yourself 60 to 75 minutes, or up to 90 if time allows. Leg workouts like squats can be very taxing and fatigue inducing, so on days when you have the extra time, use it for longer rest periods of 3 to 5 minutes on those movements rather than rushing through them.
Do not cut the warm-up. When you train infrequently, your injury risk goes up, and getting hurt means losing your only session for weeks. Spend 10 minutes on light cardio and dynamic movement before you touch any weight.
Work through the movements in the order shown. Rest fully between sets on the heavy compound lifts, 2 to 3 minutes at minimum. This is not a circuit. You only have one opportunity per week to get this right.
Squat
This is the foundation of the session. Goblet squats work well if you are still learning. Barbell back squats or front squats if you are more experienced. The goal is full depth and control, not the heaviest weight you can find. Four sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Push
Bench press, overhead press, or push-ups depending on your setup and experience level. This covers chest, shoulders, and triceps in one efficient movement. Choose the variation that genuinely challenges you, not the comfortable one.
Pull
Pull-ups if you can do them with good form. Lat pulldowns or bent-over rows if not. This is the movement most people skip and the one that will have the biggest impact on your posture, especially if you spend most of your day sitting. Four sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Hip Hinge
Deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts. Start lighter than you think you need to. This movement has the steepest learning curve but the highest return. It strengthens your entire posterior chain, which is almost certainly underdeveloped if you have been away from training. Four sets of 6 to 10 reps.
Our reviewer Brian Obwocha demonstrating the deadlift progression, from one plate to four:
Instagram Post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPEB5MfiCV3/
Single-Leg Work
Lunges, Bulgarian split squats, or step-ups. Three sets of 8 reps per leg. Your legs will feel this the most. Single-leg work catches imbalances that bilateral squats can hide and builds the kind of functional strength that carries over into daily movement.
Core
Planks, dead bugs, or farmer's carries. Three sets of 30 to 60 seconds. Quality over duration. Thirty seconds of a controlled plank is worth more than 90 seconds of a sagging one.
Cool down for 10 minutes. Light movement, static stretching, deep breathing. Your next session is a week away, so the recovery you start now matters.
Honestly, yes. However, it is not optimal if your goal is to maximise muscle growth. It is better suited for situations where you have no other option but still want to maintain your muscle mass or even achieve some growth, though at a slower rate.
This is a bridge, not a destination. It keeps you connected to your health during a demanding period of life. A lot of people drop fitness entirely the moment their schedule breaks. They tell themselves they will restart when things calm down, and things never calm down. This approach stops that from happening.
One session a week for a full year does more for you than three sessions a week for six weeks. Consistency over intensity, every time.
Show up once. Make it count. Move on with your week. When life opens up, even slightly, add a second session.
If you ever need training programmes for more than a day a week of training, you can download them here for free.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional fitness or medical advice. Consult a qualified trainer or healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise programme.
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