Free plan · Free PDF
Three short sessions a week for four weeks, no equipment, every movement illustrated — the same plan the app gives every new user for free.
Foundations is the plan Lamplit gives you on day one: a four-week on-ramp built around four fundamental patterns — squat, push, hinge and brace — at a dose a beginner can actually recover from. Two full-body strength days, one core day and a Sunday mobility flow — roughly seven to twenty minutes each, sixteen sessions in total, nothing to buy.
This is that plan on paper. Every movement links to its illustrated guide in the free Movement Library, the calendar has a box for each session, and the rules page tells you when to make it harder. In the app the same plan runs with a guided session runner that counts your reps and rests; on paper, you do.
Every movement is bodyweight and scalable. If a set feels easy by the last round, the progression rules on the next page tell you what to change.
Mon · Thu · about 17 min
Strength — squat, push, hinge and brace at beginner dosage
Tue · about 15 min
Core stability — no sit-up marathons, just the movements that matter
Sun · about 7 min
A gentle head-to-toe flow to loosen the spine and hips
Tick a session when you finish it. Sixteen ticks is the whole plan. Miss one? Do it the next free day and carry on — never double up.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Full body | Core | — | Full body | — | — | Mobility |
| Week 2 | Full body | Core | — | Full body | — | — | Mobility |
| Week 3 | Full body | Core | — | Full body | — | — | Mobility |
| Week 4 | Full body | Core | — | Full body | — | — | Mobility |
The plan works if you do all sixteen sessions at the right dose. It does not work faster if you do them harder.
Form before reps. Check the illustrated guide for each movement before the first session, and again if something feels wrong.
Make it harder only when the last round feels easy: add two reps, then move to the next progression — chair squat to bodyweight squat, knee push-up to push-up. Light loads build muscle when taken close to effort.[3]
Take the rest. Sixty seconds between rounds is part of the programme, not a pause in it.
Mild soreness for a day or two in week one is normal. Sharp pain or joint pain is not — stop and get it looked at.
Walk on the other days. Daily step count tracks with lower mortality on its own, independent of intensity.[4]
Open the illustrated guide for each movement once before you start — the Movement Library on this site has every one of them, free.
Monday and Thursday: Full-Body Foundations. Tuesday: Core Essentials. Sunday: Morning Mobility. Walk on the other days.
Follow the reps and rests as written for week one, even if they feel easy. Progress from week two using the rules page.
Tick the calendar after every session. Sixteen ticks is the plan.
In Lamplit, the same plan runs in the free Train tab with a guided session runner — timers, rest countdowns, rep counts — and every session is logged as a workout automatically.
No. Every movement is bodyweight; the chair squat uses a chair. A mat is nice for the floor work but a carpet does the job.
Regress, don't skip. Wall push-ups train the same pattern at a fraction of the load; do those for the eight reps and move to knee push-ups when eight wall push-ups feel easy. The Movement Library shows the full chain from wall push-up to push-up.
Either a second round of Foundations with the progressions applied — bodyweight squats, full push-ups, a longer plank — or one of the app's longer curated plans, Stronger (Pro) and Conditioning (Max), which pick up where this one ends. Two strength sessions a week is the habit worth keeping either way.
Where an item rests on a specific source, the number in brackets points to it. Every source is linked.
Last reviewed: August 24, 2026
This plan is general fitness information for healthy adults and is not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, are pregnant, are recovering from injury or surgery, or have been advised to limit exercise, check with a clinician before starting. Stop any movement that causes sharp or joint pain.
