The 30 Minute Minimalist Lifting Plan (Free 20-30 Minute Programs)

Okay, let me start out – first and foremost – saying that I am NOT a big fan of minimalist training plans long term.

However, I understand that some periods of life and instances call for minimalist routines. 

Below are a few such instances:

If you're very busy

If you're new to lifting

If you're coming back from injury or a break from training

If you just need something to do regularly without thinking.

That's who this "30 Minute Minimalist" program is for. 

The routine rotates through 3 sessions.

Each session is to be done in AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) style or straight set style. I'll share examples of both. 

You should train at least 3 days per week. But, as I often say when training in minimalist fashion, you MIGHT be best suited training more frequently – like 5 or even 6 days per week. A almost every day approach will probably provide better benefits on this plan.

Don't do this program forever. Stick with it for a few months or as long as you need to, but aim to advance to a more traditional program (I have many samples available – most for free) sooner or later. 

This plan is mostly designed to help people develop the habit of exercise. Once that habit is developed, move on to something else, such as a 3-4 day per week upper/lower program, a 3-4 day per week PPL program, or a 4 day per week "Garage Gym Bro Split" or "Big Bro Split."

Here's the plan (straight set style):

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A

Ex 1: squat variation-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: press (bench press or overhead press) variation-5x5-10 reps

Session B

Ex 1: hinge variation (kettlebell swing, Romanian deadlift, trap bar deadlift, or hip thrust)-5x5-10 reps

Ex 2: pull (row, pullup, or lat pulldown) variation-5x6-12 reps

Session C

Ex 1: bicep curl variation-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: tricep extension variation-5x10-15 reps

Okay, that's it. Rotate through these 3 sessions for 3-6 days per week. I don't care how long it takes you to complete each session. Just get through the work.

Here's a variation where you do the same program but alternate between the 2 exercises each session for 20-30 minutes. Accomplish as many rounds as you can with good form during that period. 

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: squat variation-6-12 reps

Ex 2: press (bench press or overhead press) variation-5-10 reps

Session B (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: hinge variation (kettlebell swing, Romanian deadlift, trap bar deadlift, or hip thrust)-5-10 reps

Ex 2: pull (row, pullup, or lat pulldown) variation-6-12 reps

Session C (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: bicep curl variation-6-12 reps

Ex 2: tricep extension variation-10-15 reps

Make sure you take a 30-60 minute walk every day, as well. 

For bonus points, do some jump rope to warm up as a finisher at the end of each session or just do some jump rope on your non-lifting days. Just 3-5 minutes of jump rope goes a long way in the quest for increasing cardiovascular fitness, muscle endurance, lower leg strength, and fat loss. You'll also build some wicked calves and strong feet by jump roping a few times each week. 

Why This Plan?

This is a good minimalist plan because it's brief, flexible, and covers all the BIG bases.

By big bases, I mean it's focused on the primary 4 movement patterns:

1. Squat

2. Push

3. Hinge

4. Pull

Within those patterns, you have plenty of variation opportunities, if you wish.

For example, you could do a standard 2 leg squat for one session, then do a single leg squats (split squat, lunges, or Bulgarian split squats) during the next "A" session.

You could do standard Romanian deadlifts one session, then single leg Romanian deadlifts the next session. 

You can do overhead presses one session, then bench presses the next session.

Finally you can do a pullup or lat pulldown one session, then rows the next session.

But why biceps and triceps?

Well, most minimalist programs totally ignore arms and as a result, the physiques created by minimalist programs look weird. 

Also, many people fail to recognize that isolating the biceps and triceps actually helps with our ability to get stronger on pushes and pulls. 

Minimalist Volume?

While the program is minimalist in exercises – only 2 exercises per session – the volume is actually fairly high. 

Let's say you do just 3 sessions per week, hitting each session (A, B, & C) just once weekly. If you use the straight set style, you'll get 5 sets of direct work per muscle group per week. If you're using AMRAP, you'll get probably more than 5 sets per muscle group per week (likely between 6-10 sets per muscle).

If you're doing 6 days per week, hitting each muscle twice per week, you'd obviously double that volume. Odds are most people won't do 6 sessions per week, but even 4-5 sessions per week will give a 10+ sets of direct volume per muscle group every 9 or 10 days. That's pretty darn good. 

Plus, let's not forget that I'm not even counting indirect volume, which is obviously present, and increases the volume even more.

So, in short, this plan is minimalist in exercise selection and structure, but not minimalist in volume. It's actually quite moderate on the volume front, which bodes well for muscle building and body composition.

This program prioritizes compound, big bang for buck exercises, while focusing less on isolation, supportive exercises (with the exception of an Arm Day).

Why is it NOT an Ideal Routine?

What's ideal actually is whatever program you consistently do, enjoy doing, and progress while doing. But, on paper this program isn't ideal because it's too few exercises. You're not getting a lot of variation, unless you switch up the exercise variations every 3-4 sessions (which you could). But while compound exercises are great, compound exercises without some key isolation exercises leaves some potential gains on the table.

I remedy some of this problem by including direct bicep and tricep work (an entire day dedicated to an exercise for each muscle). Most minimalist programs ignore this and, as I mentioned above, the results are negative (weird, even).

I try to fix some of these issues by including some ab work, rear delt work, glute bridges or clam shells, and even calf raises as the warm up before every session. 

But, a program that includes specific work for lateral raises, calf raises, and hamstring curls will likely provide slightly better results.

I reckon, if you like the structure of the "30 Minute Minimalist" plan and just want to add additional work after, you could. For example, do the 2 main exercises each day, then do 2 sets of lateral raises, leg curls, hip thrusts, forearms, swings, snatches, additional bicep/tricep work, or whatever the heck you want to do. I. Fact, maybe I'll leave that option available down below, as well. Good idea, friends. 

With all that said, this is still a pretty great program for most people and it's superior to any minimalist program I've seen, which is why I created this 30 Minute Minimalist plan, to counter and be the elite program over all other minimalist programs. You're welcome.

Below I'm going to share 4 sample programs.

1 barbell straight set plan.

1 barbell AMRAP plan.

1 kettlebell and/or dumbbell straight sets plan.

1 kettlebell and/or dumbbell AMRAP plan.

Barbell Straight Set Plan

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A

Ex 1: barbell front squat-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: barbell overhead press or bench press (switch between an overhead press and bench press variation every other session if you'd like. Or just pick one)-5x5-10 reps

Session B

Ex 1: barbell glute bridge or barbell Romanian deadlift-5x5-10 reps

Ex 2: barbell row or pullups (alternate between rows and pullups every other session or just pick one)-5x6-12 reps

Session C

Ex 1: barbell bicep curl-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: barbell tricep extensions or band/cable pushdowns or band/cable overhead extensions-5x10-15 reps

Barbell AMRAP Plan

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: barbell front squat-6-12 reps

Ex 2: barbell overhead press or bench press (switch between an overhead press and bench press variation every other session if you'd like. Or just pick one)-5-10 reps

Session B (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: barbell glute bridge or barbell Romanian deadlift-5-10 reps

Ex 2: barbell row or pullups (alternate between rows and pullups every other session or just pick one)-6-12 reps

Session C (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: barbell bicep curl-6-12 reps

Ex 2: barbell tricep extensions or band/cable pushdowns or band/cable overhead extensions-10-15 reps

Kettlebell/Dumbbell Straight Set Plan

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A

Ex 1: goblet squat or front squat or Bulgarian split squat-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB overhead press or KB/DB bench press (switch between an overhead press and bench press variation every other session if you'd like. Or just pick one)-5x5-10 reps

Session B

Ex 1: single leg RDL or KB/DB Romanian deadlift or kettlebell swings-5x5-10 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB single arm row or pullups or lat pulldowns (alternate between rows and pullups every other session or just pick one)-5x6-12 reps

Session C

Ex 1: incline DB bicep curl or concentration curls-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: skull crushers or band/cable pushdowns or band/cable overhead extensions-5x10-15 reps

Kettlebell/Dumbbell AMRAP Plan

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: goblet squat or front squat or Bulgarian split squat-6-12 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB overhead press or KB/DB bench press (switch between an overhead press and bench press variation every other session if you'd like. Or just pick one)-5-10 reps

Session B (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: single leg RDL or KB/DB Romanian deadlift or kettlebell swings-5-10 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB single arm row or pullups or lat pulldowns (alternate between rows and pullups every other session or just pick one)-6-12 reps

Session C (as many rounds as possible x 20-30 minutes)

Ex 1: incline DB bicep curl or concentration curls-6-12 reps

Ex 2: skull crushers or band/cable pushdowns or band/cable overhead extensions-10-15 reps

Bonus Program: 30 Minute Minimalist Plus (the not so minimalist variation). Alternate between the 3 programs for 3-6 total sessions per week.

warm up for 1-2 sets before all workouts:

1. glute bridges OR clam shells

2. band pull aparts OR bent over rear delt flyes OR face pulls (cable, rings, or TRX) OR TRX T drill x 15-20 reps

3. core (sample options: leg raise, frog situp, loaded carries, side planks, Copenhagen planks, leg raises, double crunch, dead bugs, ab wheel rollouts) 

4. Optional 1 set of calf raises x 15-20 reps

Session A

Ex 1: goblet squat or front squat or Bulgarian split squat-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB overhead press or KB/DB bench press (switch between an overhead press and bench press variation every other session if you'd like. Or just pick one)-5x5-10 reps

Ex 3: lateral raise-2x10-15

Ex 4: tricep extension variation-2x10-15 

Ex 5: leg extensions or secondary squat variation-2x10-15

Session B

Ex 1: single leg RDL or KB/DB Romanian deadlift or kettlebell swings-5x5-10 reps

Ex 2: KB/DB single arm row or pullups or lat pulldowns (alternate between rows and pullups every other session or just pick one)-5x6-12 reps

Ex 3: bicep curl or hammer curl variation-2x6-12

Ex 4: hamstring curls-2x10-15

Ex 5: secondary hinge-2x10-15

Session C

Ex 1: incline DB bicep curl or concentration curls-5x6-12 reps

Ex 2: skull crushers or band/cable pushdowns or band/cable overhead extensions-5x10-15 reps

Ex 3: secondary bicep curl-2x6-12

Ex 4: secondary tricep extensions-2x10-15

Ex 5: lateral raise or any leg exercise or rear delt flyes-2x10-15

There you have it. 5 sample programs. A simple, repeatable structure. Workouts that can be easily completed in just 20-30 minutes, 3-6 days per week.

Focus on adding reps within the given rep range until you're consistently hitting 3+ sets at the upper end of the rep range, then increase the weight.

Do this as long as you need to do it. If it's working and enjoyable, keep doing it. When you're ready for a more ideal program, move on.

This is a minimalist routine but it will work and you have plenty of options to switch up exercise variations if you'd like. If you commit to this routine and train HARD, consistently, and focus on getting stronger, you WILL make very good progress. 

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