Ready to amp up your fitness level and commit to your goals? This 4 Day workout routine is designed to help females strengthen and tone their muscles… at home.
Instead of guessing which workout you should do today, get stronger, leaner, and more confident by working out four days per week and making the time you DO have, count.
Getting into a routine of hitting the gym three times per week is a wonderful habit. However, stepping up your routine to four days per week can be a game changer.
The trick is making sure you’re maximizing the time you do have and not wasting it.
A proper 4-day workout routine can help females:
- Build solid muscle
- Lose stubborn weight
- Get super strong
Strength Training & Cardio: Which Is Better For Fat Loss & Toning
Most women are striving for that lean, sculpted look… but stick to endless hours on a cardio machine!
The truth is, strength training is what will help you with muscle growth and moderate cardio is what will help your muscles look toned (once you have them). It’s a combo effect.
And yet, so many women shy away from a heavy lifting workout routine not realizing that building muscle is what tones!
Learn more about strength training for beginners.
The Workout Split
As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, I can tell you that in fitness, there are always multiple paths you can take to achieve a goal (this 2 day workout split is great for beginners to get started with).
There are even multiple ways to rock a 4-day workout split!
This workout routine uses a standard upper/lower split though so that you’re hitting all of your muscle groups a couple of times per week (here's a 2-day upper lower split workout if you need to scale back).
The focus of this workout split is on basic level strength of the major muscle groups with some isolation exercises thrown in.
This means that instead of bouncing around, you need to place extra focus on:
- Time under tension
- Proper muscle engagement
- Pushing yourself in weights
Basically, if you don't focus on the muscle group you're working on, your results won't be as potent.
If you don’t have access to multiple-size dumbbells at home, learn how to make workouts harder without adding weight.
Warming Up
As with any strength training routine, warming up is a crucial component in any workout split (learn how to warm up).
Make sure you focus on dynamic mobility drills to really get the joints happy before diving into anything strength-based.
Just hopping on the treadmill won’t do it. Use the 5-minute warm-up videos below because your workouts
What Equipment Do You Need For The Workouts
The best part about these workouts is that you can do them at home with some dumbbells and a mini loop.
Opt for dumbbells that challenge you by the last repetitions.
My suggestion is to start with a set of 15lbs and move from there. This is because for the exercises you need a lighter weight, you can just use one of the dumbbells.
You will need a mini loop for these workouts as well so place a bit more tension on the smaller muscle groups we’ll be targeting.
If you're an amazon lover, you can get everything you need from my Amazon store.
Your Workout Schedule
You can schedule your workouts any way you like. However, I recommend not placing your upper body days back to back or your lower body days back to back.
A sample workout schedule could look like this:
Monday: Upper body #1
Tuesday: Lower Body #1
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper body #2
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Lower Body #2
Sunday: Rest
Adding in some active recovery work like 5 minute upper body mobility sessions can help too. This way all your muscle groups get some rest between days.
Upper Body Workout #1
| Dumbbell pullover | 3x 10 reps |
| Push ups | 3x max reps |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| 1 Arm Dumbbell row | 3x 10/arm |
| Floor bow | 3x 30 seconds |
| Rocking plank | 3x 30 seconds |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Tricep extensions | 2x 15 |
| Rest | 20 seconds |
How to perform it: perform the first two exercises back to back without rest. Take 45 seconds to recover and perform them again for a total of three rounds.
Then, move on to the next three exercises performing them back to back without rest. Recover for 45 seconds and repeat for a total of three rounds.
Finally, move on to the tricep extensions for two rounds with 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Bote: "max reps" means performing as many push ups as possible until form breaks down. Learn how to perform push ups if you're a beginner.
Lower Body Workout #1
| Dumbbell front squats with pause | 3x 8 reps |
| Hamstring runner | 3x 30 seconds |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Deficit lunge | 3x 10 reps per leg |
| Wall glute bridge | 3x 30 seconds |
| Deadbug with mini loop | 3x 30 seconds |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Sumo walks | 2x 45 seconds |
| Rest | 20 seconds |
How to perform the workout: perform the first two exercises back to back without rest. Take 45 seconds to recover and perform them again for a total of three rounds.
Then, move on to the next three exercises performing them back to back without rest. Recover for 45 seconds and repeat for a total of three rounds.
Finally, move on to the sumo walks for two rounds with 20 seconds of rest between sets.
Note: for the front squats, you want to pause for three full seconds in the bottom position. Learn more about pause reps and why they'll get you mega strong.
Upper Body Workout #2
| Bentover underhand row | 3x 10 reps |
| Inverted pike press | 3x 5 reps |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Alternating floor press | 3x 10 reps/arm |
| Overhead mini loop pulldown | 3x 10 reps/arm |
| Mini loop lateral raise | 3x 12 reps/arm |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Plank row | 2x 8 reps/arm |
| Rest | 30 seconds |
How to perform it: perform the first two exercises back to back without rest. Take 45 seconds to recover and perform them again for a total of three rounds.
Then, move on to the next three exercises performing them back to back without rest. Recover for 45 seconds and repeat for a total of three rounds.
Finally, move on to the plank rows for two rounds with 30 seconds of rest between sets.
Lower Body Workout #2
| Step out lunge | 3x 30 seconds per leg |
| Band glute march | 3x 40 seconds |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| 1.5 rep sumo squats | 3x 8 reps |
| Dumbbell leg extension | 3x 10 reps |
| Plank with mini loop abductions | 3x 30 seconds |
| Rest | 45 seconds |
| Froggy Pumps | 1x 50 reps |
How to perform it: perform the first two exercises back to back without rest. Take 45 seconds to recover and perform them again for a total of three rounds.
Then, move on to the next three exercises performing them back to back without rest. Recover for 45 seconds and repeat for a total of three rounds.
Finally, move on to the froggy pumps for one all-out round.
Stop FALLING OFF The Fitness Wagon
Do you start a new workout plan only to fall off of it weeks later?
Imagine the compliments you’ll get from family and friends when you finally lose those few extra pounds and skyrocket your confidence.
Discover the ultimate solution for busy moms seeking a quick and effective workout routine at home. As an exhausted mom of three, I designed these 25-minute sessions to fit seamlessly into your busy schedule to help you increase strength, stamina, and confidence.
Other programs have you doing cardio HIIT workouts complete with burpees and jump squats on the daily. But let’s be honest, just showing up for that is draining as a mom.
With SMASH Fit For Life you can say goodbye to that frustrated thought that you’re failing because you can’t seem to stick with it. Instead, these workouts focus on getting STRONGER with just one set of dumbbells and a mini band so that showing up for your workouts isn’t the worst part of your day.
Plus, you have direct access to a Certified Strength Coach anytime you have questions (or need some motivation!).
No more feeling guilty about missed gym sessions or overwhelmed about WHAT to do. The SMASH program was made for busy moms. Choose from a variety of packages and start prioritizing yourself today so that you can better help your family tomorrow.
More Fitness Tips To Help You Smash Goals
- 5 minute workouts
- 5 Day workout routine for women
- 3 day workout plan
- No equipment shoulder workout
- 25+ home workouts for weight loss
- 6 week fat loss workout plan
- How to make at home workouts harder
- The best mom workout for busy days
- Everything you need to know about home workouts
- How to master push ups as a beginner
- The best tricep exercises for women
- Wicked exercises for back strength
- 3 muscles to always stretch post-workout
- Why you should use pause reps
- Best bodyweight exercises for moms
- Follow-along at-home workouts
- Fitness tips
Frequently Asked Questions About A 4 Day Workout Split
Each workout is roughly 25 minutes long if you properly time your rests. This still gives you lots of training volume while making it practical to squeeze in.
There are multiple ways to schedule your workouts with four days of training time. You can do an upper/lower split, a muscle group split (glutes/hams, chest/quads/back), or a strength/HIIT split (upper/lower/total body strength/totally body HIIT). All of them can be effective. It depends on your personal goals, which muscle groups you want to focus on, and your preferences.
Follow the 4-day workout routine for at least five weeks before progressing your workouts.
Though there are subtle differences in regards to training for men and women. However, unless you are at an elite level both men and women can have pretty similar training sessions when the goals are building muscle mass or weight loss.
Shelby aka Mama Bear
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