This workout plan is designed for people who simply want to stay in good shape. You’re not trying to bulk up. You’re not training for a marathon. You just want to feel strong, move well, and have enough stamina to go for a jog, a long walk, or a game of five-a-side without feeling completely wiped out.
General fitness is about balance. A bit of strength. A bit of cardio. Enough mobility and core work to stay injury-free. Nothing extreme, nothing specialised — just consistent, sensible training.
How This Plan Is Structured
You’ll train three times per week with full-body sessions. There’s also one optional light cardio day if you want it.
These are training days, not fixed calendar days. Spread them across the week with at least one rest day between sessions. A common structure would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with optional light cardio on the weekend.
Each session covers lower body, upper body pushing and pulling, core stability, and some cardiovascular work. Over the week, that keeps everything ticking over without overloading any one area.
You can follow this plan indefinitely. It’s designed to maintain and gradually improve your overall fitness, not peak for an event.
Before Each Session
Start with five to ten minutes of light cardio. A brisk walk, gentle cycle, or easy row is fine. The goal is simply to warm up, not tire yourself out.
Then move through a few dynamic movements such as bodyweight squats, arm circles, hip rotations and light lunges. Keep it simple and controlled.
Workout A
This session focuses on steady, controlled strength work with a moderate cardio finish to keep your aerobic base in good shape.
- Goblet squats for three sets of ten to twelve reps, resting about sixty to ninety seconds between sets. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at chest height, sit back and down into a squat, then stand up with control. This maintains leg strength and supports everyday movement like climbing stairs or lifting objects.
- Push-ups for three sets of eight to fifteen reps. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels and lower your chest towards the floor. If standard push-ups are too difficult, elevate your hands on a bench. If they’re too easy, slow the tempo down. This builds functional upper-body strength without heavy joint stress.
- Seated cable rows or dumbbell rows for three sets of ten to twelve reps. Pull your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades together. This balances your pushing work and supports good posture, which is part of feeling strong and healthy long-term.
- Dumbbell Romanian deadlifts for three sets of ten reps. Hinge at the hips while keeping your back flat and the weights close to your legs. You should feel the stretch in your hamstrings rather than strain in your lower back. This strengthens the posterior chain, which plays a major role in both strength and injury prevention.
- Plank holds for three rounds of thirty to forty-five seconds. Brace your core and breathe steadily. The goal is stability, not shaking yourself into exhaustion.
Finish the session with ten to fifteen minutes of steady cardio at a moderate pace. You should be breathing harder but still able to talk in short sentences. This maintains your aerobic base without turning the workout into a dedicated endurance session.
Workout B
This session shifts slightly toward balance and coordination, finishing with intervals to challenge your stamina without overdoing it.
- Reverse lunges for three sets of eight to ten reps per leg. Step back, lower your knee toward the floor, and drive back up through your front heel. This improves balance, coordination and single-leg strength, all important for general fitness.
- Dumbbell bench press for three sets of eight to twelve reps. Lower the weights under control and press them up steadily. You don’t need to chase heavy numbers here — just maintain solid pushing strength.
- Lat pulldowns or assisted pull-ups for three sets of eight to ten reps. Pull your elbows down toward your sides and avoid leaning back excessively. Strong upper back muscles support posture and shoulder health.
- Standing dumbbell shoulder press for three sets of eight to ten reps. Press the weights overhead while keeping your core braced. This builds shoulder stability and reinforces full-body coordination.
- Farmer’s carries for three rounds of thirty to forty seconds. Hold moderately heavy dumbbells and walk in a controlled manner. This builds grip strength, core stability and overall resilience in a very practical way.
Finish this workout with twelve minutes of interval-style cardio. Alternate one minute at a slightly challenging pace with one minute easy. The harder minutes should feel uncomfortable but sustainable — not all-out sprinting.
Optional Light Cardio Day
Once per week, add twenty to thirty minutes of low-pressure cardio. This could be a relaxed jog, brisk walk, cycle or swim. Keep the intensity comfortable. You should finish feeling refreshed, not drained.
This session helps maintain your aerobic capacity so spontaneous activity — a park run, a hike, a long day on your feet — doesn’t feel like a shock to the system.
How To Progress
Progression in a general fitness plan should be steady and sensible.
When you can comfortably hit the top of the rep range for all sets with good form, increase the weight slightly next time. Small increases are enough. There’s no need to push maximal loads.
With cardio, you can gradually increase duration by five minutes, slightly increase pace, or reduce rest during intervals over time.
The aim is gradual improvement without turning your routine into something you dread.
You should leave sessions feeling worked but capable. You shouldn’t need a full day to recover from them. After a few weeks, everyday tasks should feel easier, and a casual jog should feel manageable rather than punishing.
That’s what general fitness really is — strength, stamina and mobility working together so your body feels reliable, not fragile.