Weight Loss Workout Plan
Losing weight is decided by your diet. What training decides is whether the weight you lose is fat or muscle. This plan keeps heavy compound lifting at the centre and adds conditioning around it, which is the arrangement that protects muscle in a calorie deficit.
- Level
- Beginner
- Goal
- Lose fat
- Days / week
- 4
- Session
- 60m
- Exercises
- 14
Is this the right plan for you?
Run this if
- Included: Anyone in a calorie deficit who wants to keep the muscle they have
- Included: People returning to training while also losing weight
- Included: Anyone who has lost weight through diet alone and lost strength with it
Pick something else if
- Not included: Anyone not also managing their food intake, since training alone rarely creates the deficit
- Not included: People with the time and appetite to train purely for size
Weekly schedule
Strength, conditioning, rest, strength, conditioning, rest, rest
Equipment needed: Barbell or dumbbells, plus any cardio machine
The sessions
Session 01
Strength A
Lower body strength
Barbell Squat
Heavy, and non-negotiable. This is what tells your body to keep the muscle.
- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 6-8
- Rest
- 180s
Romanian Deadlift
Hinge, do not squat it.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8-10
- Rest
- 150s
Leg Press
Adds leg volume without much systemic fatigue.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10-15
- Rest
- 120s
Plank
Brace hard rather than just holding position.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 45-60 seconds
- Rest
- 60s
Session 02
Conditioning A
Steady state and intervals
Rowing Machine
Conversational pace. You should be able to speak in short sentences.
- Sets
- 1
- Reps
- 20-30 minutes steady
- Rest
- n/a
Jump Rope
Intervals after the steady work, not before.
- Sets
- 6
- Reps
- 45 seconds hard
- Rest
- 75s
Mountain Climber
A finisher. Stop before form breaks down.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 30 seconds
- Rest
- 45s
Session 03
Strength B
Upper body strength
Barbell Bench Press
Keep the load up even as bodyweight comes down.
- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 6-8
- Rest
- 180s
Bent Over Barbell Row
Match pressing volume with pulling volume.
- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 8-10
- Rest
- 150s
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Seated with back support is fine.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 8-12
- Rest
- 120s
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
Elbows down and back.
- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10-12
- Rest
- 90s
Session 04
Conditioning B
Circuit and incline walking
Walking On Incline Treadmill
The single most underrated fat loss tool. Low fatigue, high energy cost.
- Sets
- 1
- Reps
- 25-40 minutes
- Rest
- n/a
Goblet Squat
Loaded conditioning. Twenty unbroken reps is harder than it reads.
- Sets
- 5
- Reps
- 20 reps
- Rest
- 60s
Burpee
Only if the swings have not already emptied the tank.
- Sets
- 4
- Reps
- 30 seconds
- Rest
- 60s
How to progress
- 01Hold the strength lifts steady or creeping upward. Losing strength in a deficit means the deficit is too aggressive.
- 02Add conditioning volume rather than cutting calories further when weight loss stalls.
- 03Keep protein high enough that the strength numbers hold.
Questions about this plan
- Is cardio or weight training better for weight loss?
- Diet creates the weight loss. Weight training decides how much of what you lose is muscle rather than fat, so lifting is the part you should protect first and cardio is what you add around it.
- How much cardio should I do to lose weight?
- Start with two sessions a week alongside the lifting and add more only when progress stalls. Cutting food further and adding cardio at the same time is how people lose strength.
- Why am I not losing weight even though I train four times a week?
- Almost always because intake matches or exceeds output. Training burns less than most people assume, and appetite rises to meet it. The deficit has to be managed through food.
- Should I lift heavy while cutting?
- Yes. Dropping to light weights and high reps because you are in a deficit is the fastest way to lose muscle along with the fat.
Want this adjusted to you?
This is a fixed template. The generator writes the same structure around your level, goal, available days and equipment, and it is free for the first plan.
Other routines
Push Pull Legs (PPL)
The highest-frequency split that still gives each muscle group two sessions a week. Push days train chest, shoulders and triceps. Pull days train back and biceps. Leg days train everything below the waist.
6 days
Upper Lower Split
Four sessions a week, each muscle group trained twice. It is the split most intermediate lifters should run: enough frequency to grow, enough rest days to recover, and it survives a missed session better than a six-day plan.
4 days
Full Body Workout Plan
Three sessions a week, every major muscle group trained in each one. It is the most efficient structure in existence for the first year of training, and the best option for anyone who cannot guarantee more than three gym days.
3 days
Dumbbell Only Workout Plan
A full training week built entirely from dumbbell and bodyweight movements. Everything here works in a spare room with one adjustable pair, and it covers every major muscle group without a barbell, rack or cable stack.
3 days
Bodyweight Workout Plan
A complete training week that needs no equipment at all. Progress comes from harder variations and higher reps rather than heavier loads, so it keeps working long past the first month.
3 days