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5-Day Gym Muscle Building Plan for Intermediates

A week for an intermediate lifter in the gym who wants to build muscle: 5 workouts of 60 minutes (Mon push, Tue pull, Wed legs, Thu upper body, Fri lower body).

Goal
Muscle gain
Days per week
5 days
Minutes per workout
60 minutes
Split
Push / pull / legs
Level
Intermediate
Where
Gym

Monday — push

≈ 61 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Arm Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Dumbbell Halo

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Cable Standing Single Arm Chest Press

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Arnold Press

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Machine Chest Press

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Cross-Body Cable Tricep Extension

    2 × 12 rest 60 s

Accessory work

  1. Dumbbell Decline Chest Fly

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Side Laterals to Front Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Dumbbell Tricep Kickback

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Standing Wall Shoulder Opening Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Tuesday — pull

≈ 61 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Seated Thoracic Extension (Chest Opener)

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Overhead Lat Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Row

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Hammer Strength High Row

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Barbell Wrist Curl

    2 × 12 rest 60 s

Accessory work

  1. Straight-Arm Lat Pulldown

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Spider Curl

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Controlled Forearm Pronation and Supination

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Seated Wrist Flexor Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Overhead Triceps Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Wednesday — legs

≈ 58 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. 90/90 Hip Switches

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Hip Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Machine Leg Press

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Barbell Power Snatch

    5 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Barbell Lunge

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

Accessory work

  1. Machine Hip Adduction

    2 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Nordic Hamstring Curl

    2 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Seated Calf Raise

    4 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Kneeling Hip-Flexor Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Rock

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Thursday — upper body

≈ 62 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Cat–Cow Mobility

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Arm Circles

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Decline Machine Chest Press

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Chest-Supported T-Bar Row

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Standing Palms-In Dumbbell Press

    3 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

Accessory work

  1. Cable Pec Fly

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Dumbbell Lying One-Arm Rear Lateral Raise

    6 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Doorway Chest Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Friday — lower body

≈ 59 min
Warm-up 2 exercises
  1. Front-to-Back Leg Swings

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. 90/90 Hip Switches

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

Main work

  1. Front Squat

    4 × 6 rest 2.5 min RPE 8

  2. Power Clean

    4 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  3. Barbell Split Squat

    2 × 10 rest 90 s RPE 8

  4. Prone Back Extension

    3 × 12 rest 60 s

Accessory work

  1. Bodyweight Hip Abduction

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  2. Dumbbell Leg Curl

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

  3. Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raise

    3 × 12 rest 60 s RPE 8.5

Cool-down 2 exercises
  1. Pigeon Glute Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

  2. Lying Figure-Four Glute Stretch

    3 × 30 s rest 15 s

RPE is how hard a set feels on a 1–10 scale: at RPE 7 you have about three more reps left.

This is a sample week the Workoutify generator built for this questionnaire. For your own days, time and equipment it will build yours. Built on October 25, 2026

Why it is built this way

  • Push, pull, legs, then upper and lower: on 5 days each muscle is hit twice a week, without overloading some and shortchanging others.
  • Reps: 5–20. The day's main lift sits near the bottom of the range, compounds at 8–12, isolation up to 20. Muscle grows from tension and sets taken close to failure.
  • Rest on the day's main lift is at least 2.5 min, so the next set goes with the same weight. Accessory exercises get shorter rest.
  • Effort is set on the RPE scale from 1 to 10. RPE 8–8.5 means roughly 1–2 reps left in reserve: you choose the weight by that feel, not by a percentage of your max.
  • The weeks undulate: moderate, heavy (2 fewer reps, RPE +1) and light (2 more reps, RPE −1) weeks rotate. This page shows the moderate one.

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