Weight Loss Workout Plan: Weekly Gym and Home Schedule

If you're trying to lose weight, the usual advice is to eat less and do more cardio. That works, but part of what you lose that way is muscle. This weight loss workout plan adds lifting: three strength sessions a week, a walk every day, and cardio once or twice when there's time. The calorie deficit still comes mostly from food. Lifting tips the loss toward fat, and walking burns extra without leaving you too tired to train. Expect 3–4 hours of training a week, plus 7,000–10,000 steps a day.

Below: the week day by day, three gym workouts, a home version with dumbbells, and what to change if the scale stalls. The case for lifting during a diet is made in our strength training for fat loss article. This page is the schedule.

Why this mix of lifting, walking and cardio

Cardio and lifting do different jobs. In one 8-month trial with 119 overweight adults, people who did aerobic training lost more weight and more fat than people who only lifted, but the lifters were the ones who added lean mass (Willis et al., 2012). Cardio burns more. Lifting saves muscle. You want both.

A trial in 160 older adults with obesity found the same thing during a diet. Everyone who exercised lost about 9% of their body weight. Those who lifted, alone or alongside cardio, lost less lean mass than the cardio-only group, and the combined group improved the most in physical function (Villareal et al., 2017).

How much movement it takes matters as well. The American College of Sports Medicine reviewed the research and concluded that 150–250 minutes of moderate activity a week gives only modest weight loss on its own, while more than 250 minutes is linked with clinically meaningful loss and with keeping the weight off afterwards (Donnelly et al., 2009). Brisk walking counts toward that number. So the plan doesn't rely on long gym cardio, it relies on steps.

The weekly plan

Lift on three days that aren't back to back. Walk every day. Cardio is optional and goes on two of the other days. You can move the days around, as long as you leave a day between the lifting sessions.

A week of training for weight loss
Day	Training	Time
Monday	Workout A + walk	45–55 min + steps
Tuesday	Cardio: brisk walk, bike or cross-trainer	30–40 min
Wednesday	Workout B + walk	45–55 min + steps
Thursday	Steps only, or an easy walk	7,000–10,000 steps
Friday	Workout C + walk	45–55 min + steps
Saturday	Cardio or a long walk outside	40–60 min
Sunday	Rest	Short walk if you like

Start the step target from wherever you are now. If you average 4,000 steps, aim for 5,000 in the first week and add about 1,000 each week after that. The WHO 2020 guidelines ask adults for 150–300 minutes of moderate activity a week plus regular muscle-strengthening work (Bull et al., 2020), and this week covers both.

Three gym workouts

Each session trains the whole body. Rest 1.5–2 minutes between sets of the big exercises and about a minute on the rest. Pick weights you could lift 1–3 more times at the end of each set. Light weights for high reps "to burn fat" are the wrong idea here: the load is what tells your body to keep its muscle.

Workout A3 × 8–123 × 6–103 × 8–123 × 8–102 × 30–45 s
Workout B3 × 8–123 × 8–123 × 8–122 × 10–122 × 8–10
Workout C3 × 6–103 × 8–123 × 10–122 × 10–153 × 30–40 m

Count lunges, the one-arm row and the dead bug per side. New to these lifts? Start with two sets of each for the first two weeks, then go to three. The rest between sets guide explains why longer rest on the big lifts isn't time wasted.

The home version

No gym? With a pair of adjustable dumbbells you can alternate two workouts, three times a week: A, B, A one week, then B, A, B the next.

Home A3 × 10–153 × 6–153 × 10–153 × 12–152 × 20–40 s
Home B3 × 8–123 × 8–153 × 10–152 × 12–152 × 8–10

Walking and the cardio days don't change at home. More home options are in our dumbbell workout at home.

Where cardio fits

On lifting days, do the weights first and walk afterwards, or walk at another time of day. A hard run right before squats makes the squats worse. The details are in cardio before or after weights. For the two cardio sessions, choose something you can keep going for 30–40 minutes while still able to talk in short sentences. Intervals are fine if you enjoy them, but they aren't required, and they make recovery for the next lifting day harder.

How to adjust the plan over 8 weeks

Weeks 1–2: learn the exercises, use two sets, and find out how many steps you really take. Weigh yourself 3–4 mornings a week and look at the weekly average, not a single day.
Weeks 3–6: go to three sets. When you reach the top of a rep range on every set, add the smallest weight step. Raise your steps by about 1,000 a week until you reach your target.
Weeks 7–8: keep the weights. If they start falling on several lifts at once, sleep, protein or a deficit that's too large is the usual cause, so fix that before adding more exercise.

If the weekly average hasn't moved for 3 weeks, look at food first. Adding a fourth cardio session is the second option. The weight on the bar should hold steady through the whole diet: if your main lifts stay level, you're keeping muscle. Logging every set is the easy way to see that, as our workout log guide shows, and progressive overload explains how to add weight in small steps.

Food: the part training can't replace

An hour of lifting burns a few hundred calories, which is easy to eat back with a snack. A moderate deficit with plenty of protein (about 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day, see the protein guide) works better with this plan than a crash diet, because you still have the energy to lift. If you'd rather keep your weight and change your shape, read about body recomposition.

Common mistakes

Turning every workout into a sweaty circuit. It feels productive, but heavier sets with proper rest do more to keep muscle.
Making up for a big meal with extra cardio. One meal won't change much, and the next week matters more.
Judging progress by a single weigh-in. Water and salt shift the number by a kilogram or more from day to day.
Changing the plan every week. Give it at least 4 weeks before you decide it isn't working.

Common questions

How many days a week should I work out to lose weight?

Three lifting days and daily walking is enough for most people. Cardio on one or two more days speeds things up a little, if your recovery and schedule allow it.

Is cardio or weights better for weight loss?

Cardio burns more during the session. Weights keep your muscle. In studies, combining them gave the best result for body composition and fitness.

How fast will I see results?

The scale usually moves in the first 2–3 weeks if your diet is in a deficit. Clothes and photos tend to show a change after 6–8 weeks.

Can I lose belly fat with this plan?

You can't choose where fat comes off, and that includes the belly. It goes down as your total body fat does, which is what this plan works on. More in our article on lower belly fat.

Is it safe for beginners?

Generally yes, for healthy adults. Begin with two sets and modest weights. Heart trouble, sore joints or a lot of weight to lose? Check with your doctor first.

Weight Loss Workout Plan: A Weekly Schedule for the Gym or Home