Who this plan is for
This plan is for anyone whose main goal is losing body fat, from complete beginners to people who have lifted on and off. It assumes you are also eating in a calorie deficit, because no workout plan can out-train a diet that is in surplus.
The structure is deliberate. The heavy strength work tells your body to keep its muscle while you eat less. The conditioning burns extra calories and improves fitness without the recovery cost of hours of cardio. If you are new to lifting, spend the first two weeks learning technique with lighter weights; the beginner gym guide covers the basics.
Your diet does the heavy lifting
Fat loss requires a calorie deficit. Work out your maintenance with the TDEE calculator, then eat 300 to 500 kcal below it, or use the weight loss calculator to set a target date. A loss of about 0.5 to 1% of bodyweight per week is fast enough to stay motivated and slow enough to keep muscle.
Protein is the most important number in a diet. Higher intakes, around 1.8 to 2.2 g per kg of bodyweight, help preserve muscle during a deficit and keep hunger down. Use the protein calculator, and see how to calculate calories for weight loss for the full method.
How to progress week to week
In a deficit, the goal on the strength lifts is to maintain or slowly improve, not to set personal records every week.
- Strength exercises: keep the weight the same and aim to add a rep. When you hit the top of the range on all sets, add the smallest increment.
- Intervals: start with 6 rounds. Add one round per week up to 10, then make the hard 30 seconds harder.
- Circuits: keep the reps fixed and try to cut the rest between rounds, or add a fifth round.
- Steps: raise your daily average by about 1,000 steps every two weeks up to a level you can sustain.
If your strength drops noticeably over two or three weeks, your deficit may be too aggressive. Add 100 to 200 kcal, mostly from carbohydrates around training.
Track your waist measurement weekly alongside your weight. Waist going down while lifts hold steady means you are losing fat, not muscle.
Warm-up
Five minutes of easy cardio, followed by dynamic movements for the day's lifts: leg swings and bodyweight squats on lower days, arm circles and band pull-aparts on upper days. Do two or three ramp-up sets before the first heavy lift.
How to pick weights
Use weights that leave two reps in reserve on the strength work. If you already know your numbers, start at about 70 to 75% of your one rep max; estimate it with the one rep max calculator.
For circuits and finishers, choose weights that let you move steadily without long pauses. They should feel hard because of the pace, not because the load is near your limit.
HIIT, steady cardio and walking
This plan uses both short intervals and steady cardio, and each has a role. Intervals are time-efficient for fitness. Steady cardio and walking burn calories with very little recovery cost. Daily walking is the most underrated fat loss tool there is. The trade-offs are covered in HIIT vs LISS for fat loss, and the calories burned calculator estimates what each session adds.
Deload and swaps
Take an easier week after week 6, or sooner if you feel run down: halve the strength sets, skip the intervals and keep walking. Dieting lowers your recovery capacity, so listen to the warning signs in rest days and recovery.
Swaps: use a rower, ski erg or hill sprints for bike intervals; a leg press for squats if your back is tired; dumbbell bench for barbell bench; and a trap bar for deadlifts. Training at home? The home dumbbell workout plus daily walks works well with the same diet.
Common fat loss mistakes
Most stalled diets come down to the same handful of problems:
- Switching to light weights and high reps. Heavy lifting is what tells your body to keep its muscle. Keep the strength work heavy.
- Too much cardio, too soon. Hours of extra cardio raise hunger and fatigue. Add steps first.
- Chasing the scale daily. Water shifts can hide fat loss for a week or more. Compare weekly averages.
- Not adjusting. As you lose weight, your maintenance drops. Recalculate every 4 to 5 kg (10 lb).
Expect plateaus. When the weekly average has not moved for two to three weeks, cut 100 to 150 kcal or add 2,000 daily steps, not both at once. The body fat calculator is a better progress check than weight alone.
Frequently asked questions
Should I do cardio or weights to lose fat?
Both, but weights are the priority. Strength training preserves muscle while you diet, and cardio adds calorie burn. The calorie deficit from your diet is what actually drives fat loss.
How fast will I lose weight on this plan?
That depends on your calorie deficit, not the workouts alone. A steady target is 0.5 to 1% of bodyweight per week; faster than that tends to cost muscle and is harder to sustain.
Can I spot-reduce belly fat with ab exercises?
No. You cannot choose where fat comes off. Ab exercises strengthen your core, but belly fat drops as your overall body fat goes down.
Why am I not losing weight even though I train hard?
Most often the calorie deficit is smaller than you think. Track your food carefully for two weeks, check portion sizes, and recalculate your targets as your weight drops.
Is it safe to do this plan while dieting?
For most healthy adults, yes, with a moderate deficit. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or have a history of disordered eating, speak to a doctor before starting a diet and new program.
Check with a doctor before starting a new training programme if you have a medical condition or injury. See our medical disclaimer.
