Many people prefer spending 90 minutes at the gym, whether they want to lose weight or build muscle. However, utilizing that time in an organized way is crucial as it can help you accomplish far better results than following a poor workout program.
Recently, I’ve designed an easy-to-follow and effective 90-minute gym workout routine to help you achieve your best shape.
This article contains two separate programs, one for muscle gain and the other for weight loss; depending on your fitness goal, you can save one of them.
Should You Train 90 Minutes a Day?
Whether you should train for ninety minutes or not depends on your fitness level, the kind of exercise you do, and the goal you want to accomplish.
For example, I’ve been exercising 90 minutes a day (4-5 days a week) for the last 12 months and my fitness goal is to increase strength, sustain muscle mass, enhance endurance, and improve balance and flexibility. So, I integrate various exercises into my 90-minute gym workout plan and perform them throughout the week.
Training for one and a half hours can be challenging as it requires decent energy and endurance level. But if you have been working out for a while and want to achieve a particular fitness goal, you have to train slightly more than recommended.
You can learn more about how much physical activity adults need on CDC.com (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention).
90-Minute Gym Workout Plan to Build Muscle
If you aim to put on muscles, enhance your lifting ability, and improve your look, this training program can help you achieve that goal.
It includes training every muscle group twice a week, making it suitable for those who want to increase muscular hypertrophy.
Despite having six sessions per week, this workout plan will allow you decent recovery time between workouts so your muscles can recover and prepare for each session.
Brief Summary
- Split Type: Combined Upper-Lower Body Part Split
- Sessions/Week: 5-6 Days a Week
- Duration/Session: 1.5 Hours
- Workout Goal: Strength and Muscle Development
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Target Gender: Male and Female
- Suggested Program Duration: 12-16 Weeks
- Rest Time Between Sets: 2-3 minutes while performing compound lifts, such as squats, bench presses, overhead presses, and deadlifts; and 1-2 minutes during single-joint exercises, for example – biceps curl, triceps extension, and leg curl.
90-Minute Split Workout for Muscle Gain
- Day 1: Chest, Arms, and Abs
- Day 2: Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
- Day 3: Shoulder, Quads, and Calves
- Day 4: OFF
- Day 5: Chest, Arms, and Abs
- Day 6: Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
- Day 7: Shoulder, Quads, and Calves
- Day 8: OFF
- Repeat
Warm-up: Begin your session with a few warm-up sets to prepare your muscles for heavy lifts.
Day 1: Chest, Arms, and Abs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Incline Machine Bench Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Flat Machine Bench Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Peck Deck Fly | 3 | 12-15 |
| Skull Crusher + Preacher Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Press Down + Incline DB Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Bar Dips + Hammer Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Hanging Knee Raises + Sit-ups (Superset) | 2 | 10-20 |
Day 2: Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Close Grip Lat Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 12-15 |
| Bent-Over Barbell Row | 3 | 12-15 |
| One-arm DB Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| DB Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Curl | 3 | 15-20 |
| Hip Thrust | 3 | 10-12 |
Day 3: Shoulder, Quads, and Calves
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension + Lateral Raises (superset) | 4 | 12-15 |
| Machine Leg Press + Overhead Press | 4 | 12-15 |
| Dumbbell Lunges + Rear Delt Flyes | 4 | 10-12 |
| Calf Raises + Shoulder Shrug | 4 | 10-12 |
Day 4: OFF
Day 5: Chest, Arms, and Abs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Incline DB Bench Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Low-to-High Cable Chest Fly | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cable Upward Fly | 3 | 12-15 |
| Overhead Rope Extension + Barbell Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Press Down + Concentration Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Bench Dips + Reverse Curl (Superset) | 2 | 10-15 |
| Hanging Knee Raises + Sit-ups (Superset) | 2 | 10-20 |
Day 6: Back, Hamstrings, and Glutes
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Front Lat Pull Down | 3 | 12-15 |
| Chest-Supported Row | 3 | 12-15 |
| Standing Lat Pulldown | 3 | 12-15 |
| Low Back Extension | 3 | 10-12 |
| DB Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg Curl | 3 | 15-20 |
| Long Leg March | 3 | 10-12 |
Day 7: Shoulder, Quads, and Calves
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension + Lateral Raises (superset) | 4 | 12-15 |
| Back/Hack Squat + Front Raises | 4 | 12-15 |
| Bulgarian Squat + Overhead Reverse Fly | 4 | 10-12 |
| Calf Raises + Shoulder Shrug | 4 | 12-15 |
90 Minute Gym Workout Routine to Promote Weight Loss
Consuming nutritious, low-calorie foods that can fill for longer will help you limit your calorie intake and reduce your body fats over time.
Besides diet, exercise plays a key role in accelerating fat loss, bolstering muscles, and sculpting physique.1 Swift, Damon L et al. “The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance.” Progress in cardiovascular diseases vol. 56,4 (2014): 441-7. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012
And those who want to transform their shape and fitness level can try this 90-minute weight loss gym workout.
About Program
- Routine Type: Strength and Cardio Split
- Frequency: 6 Days a Week
- Workout Goal: Bolster Muscles, Increase Fat-Free Mass, and Promote Weight Loss
- Difficulty Level: Intermediate
- Target Gender: Male and Female
- Recommended Program Duration: 3-4 Months
Weekly Schedule
- Monday: Cardio
- Tuesday: Strength Training
- Wednesday: Cardio
- Thursday: Weight Training
- Friday: Cardio
- Saturday: Strength Workout
- Sunday: REST
Monday – Cardio
| Exercise | Activity/Time | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill (At Your Own Pace) | 15-minute | 3-minute |
| Stationary Bike | 10-minute | 2-minute |
| Elliptical Cross Trainer | 10-minute | 2-minute |
| Half/Full Burpees | 3 sets x 10 reps | 1-minute |
| Kettlebell Swings | 3 sets x 15 reps | 1-minute |
| Dumbbell Clean | 3 sets x 10 reps | 1-minute |
| Abs Workout | 30-minute | – |
Tuesday – Strength Training
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Partial Deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Front Lat Pull Down | 3 | 12-15 |
| Seated Cable Rowing | 3 | 12-15 |
| Overhead Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Seated Peck Deck Fly | 3 | 10-12 |
| DB Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Lunges | 3 | 10/leg |
Wednesday – Cardio
| Exercise | Activity/Time | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill (At Your Own Pace) | 15-minute | 3-minute |
| Stationary Bike | 10-minute | 3-minute |
| Elliptical Cross Trainer | 10-minute | 3-minute |
| Battle Rope | 5-minute | 3-minute |
| Jumping Rope | 5-minute | 3-minute |
| Dumbbell Abs Workout | 30-minute | – |
Thursday – Weight Training
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg Extension | 3 | 15-20 |
| Machine Leg Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Incline Machine Chest Press | 3 | 12-15 |
| Lateral Cable Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Reverse Peck Deck Fly | 3 | 10-12 |
| One-arm Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Machine Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
Friday – Cardio
| Exercise | Activity/Time | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill (At Your Own Pace) | 15-minute | 3-minute |
| Stationary Bike | 10-minute | 3-minute |
| Elliptical Cross Trainer | 10-minute | 3-minute |
| Bar Over Burpees | 4 sets x 10 reps | 1-minute |
| Kettlebell Swings | 3 sets x 20 reps | 1-minute |
| Plank Dumbbell Drag | 3 sets x 20 reps | 1-minute |
| DB Sumo Squat Pulses | 5 sets x 20-sec | 1-minute |
| HIIT Abs Workout | 15-minute | – |
Saturday – Strength Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Smith Machine Back Squat | 4 | 15-20 |
| Flat DB/Machine Bench Press | 4 | 12-15 |
| Chest-Supported DB/T-Bar Row | 4 | 12-15 |
| Hip Thrust | 4 | 10-12 |
| Triceps Overhead Extension | 4 | 15-20 |
| Barbell Curl | 4 | 15-20 |
Download The Workout Routine PDF
The Bottom Line
Training 90 minutes daily is enough to achieve a specific fitness goal, whether fat loss or muscle building. It allows you to include a variety of exercises, from strength and cardio, and lets you focus on every muscle group effectively.
If you want to utilize your time in an organized and effective manner, you can follow one of the workout plans I’ve shared in this article.
Pairing these workout programs with a healthy diet will help you mold your physique and take your fitness to the next level quickly.
References
- 1Swift, Damon L et al. “The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance.” Progress in cardiovascular diseases vol. 56,4 (2014): 441-7. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012
