AKHADA

15 Minute Gym Workout

  • Intermediate
  • 2 or 4 days a week
  • About 15 min
  • Full gym

Updated

A woman getting ready on a leg press machine in a quiet gym

About this routine

Two short gym days with three lifts each. The upper day is bench press, barbell row and dumbbell shoulder press. The lower day is leg press, Romanian deadlift and leg extension.

For lifters who know the main barbell lifts and have 15 minutes before work or at lunch. If you are new to the gym, start with a beginner full body routine and learn the lifts with light weights first.

The week

2 days a week

One upper and one lower day. Each muscle trained once a week. A good minimum on a busy week.

  1. MUpper
  2. TRest
  3. WRest
  4. TLower
  5. FRest
  6. SRest
  7. SRest

4 days a week

Upper and lower twice each. Every muscle trained twice a week in about an hour of total gym time.

  1. MUpper
  2. TLower
  3. WRest
  4. TUpper
  5. FLower
  6. SRest
  7. SRest

The workouts

Before you start

If you have a medical condition or an injury, check with a doctor before starting a new exercise routine.

Stop any exercise that causes pain, dizziness, or strain somewhere you don't expect it.

3 exercisesAbout 15 minIntermediate

Warm-up, about 5 minSee moves
  • Spot jog45 seconds
  • Jumping jacks30 seconds
  • Arm circles10 each way
  • Shoulder circles10 reps
  • Cat-cow8 slow reps
  • Light practice set of Barbell Bench Press1 to 2 sets
  1. 1

    Barbell Bench Press

    3 × 6 to 10 repsChest

    How to do it
    1. Lie on the bench with your eyes under the bar and your feet flat on the floor.
    2. Hold the bar a little wider than your shoulders and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
    3. Lower the bar slowly to the middle of your chest.
    4. Press it back up until your arms are almost straight.
    5. Start light, and use a spotter or the safety bars.
  2. 2

    Barbell Bent Over Row

    3 × 6 to 10 repsMiddle back

    How to do it
    1. Hold the bar with your hands a little wider than your shoulders, feet hip-width apart.
    2. Push your hips back and tip your chest forward until your back is flat. Tighten your stomach.
    3. Pull the bar to your lower ribs, keeping it close to your body.
    4. Lower it slowly until your arms are straight.
    5. Go lighter than you think. If your back rounds or you have to jerk the bar up, the weight is too heavy.
  3. 3

    Dumbbell Seated Shoulder Press

    3 × 8 to 12 repsShoulders

    How to do it
    1. Sit on a chair or bench with a backrest, feet flat on the floor.
    2. Hold the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
    3. Tighten your stomach and press the dumbbells up until your arms are almost straight.
    4. Lower them slowly back to shoulder height.
    5. Keep your back against the backrest. Do not lean back to push the weight up.
Cool-down, about 3 minSee moves
  • Easy walk1 minute
  • Chest stretch30 seconds
  • Triceps stretch30 seconds each side
  • Child's pose30 seconds

3 exercisesAbout 15 minIntermediate

Warm-up, about 5 minSee moves
  • Spot jog45 seconds
  • Jumping jacks30 seconds
  • Hip circles8 each way
  • Leg swings10 each leg
  • Glute bridge10 reps
  • Light practice set of Leg Press (45 degree)1 to 2 sets
  1. 1

    Leg Press (45 degree)

    3 × 8 to 12 repsQuadriceps, Glutes

    How to do it
    1. Sit with your back and head against the pad, feet flat on the platform about shoulder-width apart.
    2. Release the safety handles and bend your knees to lower the platform toward you.
    3. Go down as far as you can while your lower back stays against the pad.
    4. Push through your whole foot to straighten your legs, without locking your knees.
    5. Machines vary by brand, so yours may look a little different from the video.
  2. 2

    Barbell Romanian Deadlift

    3 × 8 to 12 repsHamstrings, Glutes

    How to do it
    1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding the bar in front of your thighs.
    2. Soften your knees and tighten your stomach.
    3. Push your hips back and slide the bar down your legs, keeping your back flat.
    4. Stop when you feel a stretch in the backs of your thighs, usually just below the knee.
    5. Squeeze your bottom to stand back up. Start light: if your back rounds, the weight is too heavy.
  3. 3

    Lever Leg Extension

    3 × 10 to 15 repsQuadriceps

    How to do it
    1. Sit with your back against the pad and the roller resting on the front of your ankles.
    2. Line your knees up with the machine's pivot.
    3. Straighten your legs to lift the pad, then pause for a second.
    4. Lower slowly back to the start.
    5. Machines vary by brand, so yours may look a little different from the video.
Cool-down, about 3 minSee moves
  • Easy walk1 minute
  • Quad stretch30 seconds each leg
  • Hamstring stretch30 seconds each leg
  • Glute stretch30 seconds each side

Rest and progress

Rest between sets

  • Rest about 90 seconds between sets of the first lift. It is the heaviest of the day.
  • Rest 60 seconds on the other two. Set up the next machine or dumbbells while you rest.

How to progress

  1. Pick a weight you can lift for the bottom of the rep range with one or two reps left in the tank.
  2. Add a rep each session. When every set reaches the top of the range, add weight: 2.5 kg on the bench press, row and shoulder press, 5 kg on the leg press and Romanian deadlift.
  3. If you miss the bottom of the range two sessions in a row, drop the weight by 10 percent and build back up.

Swaps

Bench is taken
Dumbbell Bench Press, or a chest press machine.
Barbell Bent Over Row
Dumbbell Bent over Row, one arm at a time, if your lower back tires.
Leg press is taken
Dumbbell Goblet Squat.
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. Easier to learn and to set down.
No leg extension machine
Dumbbell Step up onto a box or bench.

Questions

Is a 15 minute gym workout worth it?

Yes, if the sets are hard. Three big lifts for 3 sets each trains most of the body across the two days. Four sessions a week trains every muscle twice, which research links to more muscle growth than once.

How long does each workout take?

About 15 minutes including rest, after a 5 minute warm-up.

Do I need a warm-up for a 15 minute workout?

Yes. Do a few minutes of easy movement, then one light set of your first lift. The warm-up is not part of the 15 minutes.

How many days a week should I do it?

Two at minimum, four if you can. The ACSM suggests 3 to 4 training days a week for intermediate lifters.

Where do arms and abs fit?

Arms already work in the bench press, row and shoulder press. If you have five more minutes, add a plank at the end of either day.

More routines

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Sources

The Akhada team picked these exercises from our catalog of 7,000+ demonstrated movements. A strength coach reviewed the step-by-step cues for every exercise in our starter routines, these included. The schedule, the order of lifts and the progression follow the research below.

  1. Training each muscle twice a week builds more muscle than once a week. That is why the 4 day schedule exists.

    Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger. Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 2016.

  2. Multi-joint lifts go before single-joint ones, and load goes up 2 to 10 percent once you beat the target reps. That is the order and the progression rule here.

    American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults (position stand). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2009.