How to create a workout plan for a client: a step-by-step method

Step 1: Assess before you program

Every decision in the program comes from four answers. Collect them in your intake form (see our client intake form template):

• Goal. Muscle, strength, fat loss, sport performance or general health. One primary goal per block.
• Training age. A complete beginner, someone who trained on and off, or a lifter with years of consistent logs. This decides how much volume and complexity they can handle.
• Real schedule. Not the days they wish they could train: the days they trained in their best recent month.
• Equipment and limits. Commercial gym, home gym or bodyweight; injuries or exercises they cannot do.

Step 2: Choose the weekly split

Fit the split to the days, not the other way around:

• 2 days: two full-body sessions.
• 3 days: full body three times, or full body plus upper and lower.
• 4 days: upper/lower twice.
• 5 to 6 days: push/pull/legs, or upper/lower plus specialization days.

The rule that matters: each muscle group should be trained at least twice a week for most goals. A beginner on three full-body days usually progresses faster than on a five-day bodybuilding split they cannot keep up.

Step 3: Select exercises around movement patterns

Build each session from patterns before picking specific exercises: a squat or lunge, a hinge, a horizontal push and pull, a vertical push and pull, plus accessories for the client's goal. Then choose the version that fits the client:

• Can they perform it safely with good range of motion?
• Is the equipment always available at their gym?
• Can they load it progressively for weeks?

Keep the main lifts the same for the whole block. Changing exercises every week makes it impossible to see progress in the logs.

Step 4: Set sets, reps and effort

A practical starting point for most hypertrophy and general strength clients:

• Main compound lifts: 3 to 4 sets of 5 to 8 reps.
• Accessories: 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps.
• Weekly volume: about 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle group, starting lower for beginners.

Then add the number most programs leave out: effort. Prescribe a target RIR (reps in reserve) for each exercise, for example RIR 2 on squats and RIR 1 on curls. "3 x 8" means very different things at RIR 4 and at RIR 0, and the target tells the client how hard each set should feel.

Step 5: Write the progression rule in advance

Do not leave progression to "add weight when it feels easy". Write the rule into the program:

• Double progression: when the client hits the top of the rep range on all sets at the target RIR, add the smallest load increment next session and go back to the bottom of the range.
• Load progression for beginners: add a small fixed load every session on the main lifts until the target RIR can no longer be met.
• Deload: plan a lighter week (about half the sets) every 4 to 8 weeks, or when performance drops on several lifts at once.

Step 6: Deliver, then review the logs

A program only works if the client follows it and you can see what happened. Every set should be logged with weight, reps and RIR. Once a week, check:

• Adherence: how many planned sessions were completed?
• Progress: did loads or reps go up on the main lifts at a similar RIR?
• Fatigue: is the client reporting RIR 0 on sets planned at RIR 2? That is a sign to reduce volume.

Adjust one variable at a time between blocks: volume, exercise choice or frequency. Change everything at once and you never learn what worked.

Templates save hours

Most experienced coaches do not write every program from scratch. They keep a small library of tested templates (for example "3-day full body beginner" and "4-day upper/lower intermediate") and customize exercises, volume and starting loads per client. In GoHarder you build a template once with sets, reps and RIR targets, duplicate it for each client, and assign it. The client logs every set in the mobile app, and you see the results on your dashboard.