Beginner full-body gym workout with machines
A beginner full-body machine workout: two alternating days with exact machines, sets, reps and rest, plus seat setup, a starting-weight test and progression.
Short answer
Machines are a good way to start lifting. The seat and the track set your position, so you can learn to push hard without balancing a bar. The plan below is two full-body workouts you alternate, with every machine named and every set, rep and rest time given.
The workouts
Day A
| Order | Machine | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leg press | 3 × 10 to 12 | 2 minutes |
| 2 | Machine chest press | 3 × 10 to 12 | 90 seconds |
| 3 | Lat pulldown | 3 × 10 to 12 | 90 seconds |
| 4 | Seated leg curl | 2 × 12 to 15 | 90 seconds |
| 5 | Plank, on your knees if your back sags before 20 seconds | 2 × 20 to 40 seconds | 60 seconds |
Day B
| Order | Machine | Sets × reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith machine squat | 3 × 10 to 12 | 2 minutes |
| 2 | Seated cable row | 3 × 10 to 12 | 90 seconds |
| 3 | Machine shoulder press | 3 × 10 to 12 | 90 seconds |
| 4 | Leg extension | 2 × 12 to 15 | 90 seconds |
| 5 | Back extension | 2 × 10 to 12 | 60 to 90 seconds |
If you have 10 minutes spare, finish with 2 sets of 12 to 15 on cable triceps pushdowns and cable curls.
Schedule. Twice a week: A on Monday, B on Thursday. Three times a week: A, B, A on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then B, A, B the next week. For the first two weeks, do 2 sets of everything and stop with 3 reps left while you learn the machines. From week 3, do the full sets and stop with 2 to 3 left.
Warm-up. Five easy minutes on a bike or rower. Then two lighter sets on the first machine: about half your working weight for 10 reps, then about three-quarters for 5. Later machines don’t need a warm-up set unless they’re new to you.
Set up each machine
Most machines have numbered seat and pad settings. Write yours down next to the weight, so the next session starts set up. Push the pin all the way in before your first rep.
| Machine | Set it so | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Leg press | Your knees reach about 90 degrees at the bottom; feet hip-width, mid-platform | Your lower back lifting off the pad means you’ve gone too deep |
| Chest press | The handles line up with the middle of your chest | Shoulders stay down; press without slamming your elbows straight |
| Lat pulldown | The thigh pad sits snug on your thighs; hands just wider than your shoulders | Pull to your upper chest, not behind your neck |
| Seated leg curl | Your knee lines up with the machine’s pivot; the ankle pad sits just above your heels | Thigh pad snug, so your hips stay on the seat |
| Smith machine squat | The bar sits on your upper back with your feet a little in front of it; safety stops just below your lowest point | Twist the bar out of and back into the hooks, and test the stops, with the empty bar first. Heels lifting or your back rounding means your feet are too far forward |
| Seated cable row | Feet on the platform, knees soft, sitting tall | Pull to your lower ribs without rocking back |
| Machine shoulder press | The handles start at about shoulder height | Keep your lower back on the pad |
| Leg extension | Your knee lines up with the pivot; the pad sits on your lower shin | Back against the pad |
| Back extension | The hip pad sits just below your hip bones, so you bend at the hips | Stop at a straight line from head to heels. Once 12 reps are easy, hold a plate to your chest |
Use the biggest range you can control without pain. If a movement hurts, stop it, and see a qualified professional if the pain is sharp or lasting.
Pick your starting weight
Pin numbers don’t mean the same thing from one brand to the next. Some stacks are marked in kg, some in lb, and some just number the plates. So don’t copy a number; test it.
- Set the pin at a weight you’re sure you could lift 12 times easily, and do 8 reps.
- If that felt easy, move the pin one or two plates heavier, rest a minute and do 8 more.
- When 8 reps start to feel like work, do a full set of 10 to 12 at that weight. If you could have done 2 or 3 more with good form, that’s your working weight.
- Log the machine, the seat setting and the pin.
The test takes 3 or 4 sets on the first day. Count them as warm-ups. If you overshoot and can’t reach 10, drop a plate.
How to progress
Use double progression. Keep the weight until you reach the top of the range on every set, say 3 × 12 on the chest press, with about 2 reps left. It’s normal for the last set to feel a rep harder than the first. Then go up one plate next session and start back at the bottom of the range. The double progression calculator does the sums.
When the next plate is too big a jump, and on upper-body machines it’s often 5 kg (10 lb) or more:
- Add reps first, up to 15, then move the pin.
- Use the add-on weight if the machine has one, a small 1 to 2.5 kg (2.5 to 5 lb) plate that sits on top of the stack.
- If you move up and can’t reach the bottom of the range, go back down and keep adding reps.
If your reps drop for two sessions in a row on most machines, take an easier week: same weights, one fewer set per exercise. More on that in what a deload is.
When a machine is taken
Ask how many sets they have left. Machine sets are quick, so do your next exercise and come back. If it’s a long wait, swap to something that does the same job.
| If this is taken | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Leg press | Smith machine squat, hack squat or goblet squat |
| Chest press | Cable chest press or push-ups |
| Lat pulldown | Single-arm cable pulldown or assisted pull-up |
| Seated leg curl | Lying leg curl. If no curl is free, a dumbbell Romanian deadlift trains the hamstrings at the hip instead |
| Smith machine squat | Leg press or goblet squat |
| Seated cable row | Machine high row or chest-supported dumbbell row |
| Machine shoulder press | Smith machine shoulder press or seated dumbbell shoulder press |
| Leg extension | A cable leg extension for the same knee-only work. A heels-elevated goblet squat trains the quads as a squat instead. More in leg extension alternatives |
| Back extension | Glute bridge |
A new machine means new numbers. Do two quick ramp sets, as in the starting-weight test, and leave 2 to 3 reps in reserve on the first working set.
If the whole gym is packed, grab one pair of dumbbells and a bench and do this instead, with the same sets and 2 to 3 reps in reserve: goblet squat, dumbbell bench press or push-ups, one-arm dumbbell row, and dumbbell Romanian deadlift.
When to move on from machines
Machines aren’t a lesser option. In a review of 13 studies, machines and free weights gave similar strength and muscle gains in head-to-head comparisons. But people got better at the equipment they trained on, so if you want a big barbell squat or bench, you’ll need to train those lifts.
Stay on this plan while you’re adding reps or weight most weeks. After 2 to 3 months, or once you want to learn the barbell lifts, move to the beginner strength program or the 3-day full body workout. Keep any machines you like as extra exercises.
What the research says
- A meta-analysis of 13 studies and 1,016 adults found no head-to-head difference between free weights and machines for strength (12 studies), jump height (5) or muscle growth (5). People got better at the equipment they trained on: significantly so on free-weight tests, and as a trend on machine tests (Haugen and colleagues, 2023).
- In 36 novice men over 10 weeks, machines only, free weights only, or a switch from machines to free weights at 5 weeks gave similar changes in arm, thigh and chest measurements, strength and a movement screen. With 12 men per group, the study was too small to prove a switch costs nothing (Aerenhouts and D’Hondt, 2020).
- In 46 young adults, 26 of them women, 8 weeks of machines or free weights grew the biceps and quads by similar amounts. Free-weight squat and bench strength rose in both groups (Schwanbeck and colleagues, 2020).
None of these studies tested this exact plan. They show machines are a fair place to start, and that in one study, switching to free weights later didn’t set novices back.
Founder and editorial lead, Handler
Handler's founder writes general training guides and documents their sources. This article is educational, not an individual coaching or medical assessment.
Sources
The study findings below come from the linked abstracts. The workouts, machine setup, starting-weight test and progression rules are coaching guidance, not protocols tested in these studies.
Sources
- 01Haugen et al. 2023, BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil: free weights vs machines meta-analysis (Thirteen studies, 1,016 adults. Head-to-head, free weights and machines didn't differ for strength (12 studies), jump height (5) or muscle growth (5). People got better at the equipment they trained on: significant for free-weight tests, a trend for machine tests.)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37582807/
- 02Aerenhouts and D'Hondt 2020, Int J Environ Res Public Health: machines or free weights in novice men (In 36 novice men (12 per group) over 10 weeks, machines only, free weights only, and a switch from machines to free weights at 5 weeks gave similar changes in arm, thigh and chest measurements, strength and a movement screen.)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33114782/
- 03Schwanbeck et al. 2020, J Strength Cond Res: free weights vs machines (In 46 young adults (26 women) over 8 weeks, biceps and quad thickness grew similarly in both groups. Free-weight squat and bench strength rose in both; machine bench rose more with machine training.)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32358310/