Build Your First Routine

You do not need a coach or a spreadsheet to build a solid routine. You need to cover the main movement patterns, train each a couple of times a week, and leave room to add weight. Everything past that is fine-tuning.

Cover the patterns

• Squat — a knee-dominant leg movement.
• Hinge — a hip-dominant movement like a deadlift or RDL.
• Push — horizontal and vertical, like bench and overhead press.
• Pull — horizontal and vertical, like rows and pull-ups.

Hit all four across your week and you have covered the body. A full-body three-day week or an upper/lower four-day week both do this cleanly — pick the one that fits your schedule, not the one that sounds hardcore.

Assemble it in Bikkel

1. 01Open the routine builder and add exercises from the searchable library.
2. 02Drag to reorder so big compound lifts come first while you are fresh.
3. 03Set working sets and a rep range for each — 3 sets of 5–8 is a fine default.
4. 04Save it, then run it for a few weeks before you change anything.

The best routine is the boring one you will actually repeat for two months.

Resist the urge to program-hop. Give a routine four to six weeks and let the logbook tell you whether it is working before you tear it up.