Workout Plan for Weight Loss: A 4-Week Guide

You don't need to spend hours on the treadmill to lose weight. In fact, that's one of the least effective approaches.

What you need is a structured workout plan for weight loss that combines strength training with the right amount of cardio, fits your schedule, and includes a clear progression system so you keep seeing results week after week.

This guide gives you a complete 4-week plan with two phases, three schedule options (3, 4, or 5 days per week), cardio templates, and the nutrition basics that make the whole thing work.

TL;DR

• This weight loss workout plan runs for 4 weeks in two phases: Foundation (weeks 1-2) and Intensity (weeks 3-4)
• Strength training is the backbone. Cardio supports it, not the other way around
• Pick the schedule that fits your life: 3-day, 4-day, or 5-day version
• A calorie deficit of 300-500 calories per day drives fat loss. Exercise supports it but doesn't replace it
• Expect to lose 0.5-1% of bodyweight per week if your nutrition is dialed in
• Track strength gains, measurements, and photos. The scale tells only part of the story

Why Strength Training Beats Cardio for Weight Loss

Most people start a weight loss exercise plan by running or cycling. That works at first, but it stalls fast. Here's why strength training is a better foundation.

Muscle drives your metabolic rate. Each pound of muscle burns roughly 6-10 calories per day at rest. That doesn't sound like much until you consider the compound effect over months. Building 5-10 pounds of muscle while losing fat means your body burns more calories 24/7, even when you're sleeping.

The afterburn effect is real. Resistance training creates excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Your body continues burning calories at an elevated rate for 24-48 hours after a hard lifting session. Steady-state cardio? The calorie burn stops almost as soon as you step off the machine.

Body composition matters more than scale weight. Two people can weigh 160 pounds and look completely different. The person with more muscle and less fat looks leaner, feels stronger, and has a healthier metabolism. Cardio-only plans often lead to "skinny fat" results: you lose weight but don't look or feel much better.

Strength training preserves muscle in a deficit. When you eat fewer calories than you burn, your body doesn't just tap into fat. It also breaks down muscle tissue for energy. Lifting weights sends a strong signal to your body: "Keep this muscle. It's being used." Without that signal, you lose muscle along with fat, which tanks your metabolism and makes regaining weight easier.

For a deeper dive into this topic, read Weights vs Cardio for Fat Loss.

The 4-Week Weight Loss Workout Plan

This fat loss workout plan is split into two phases. The first two weeks build your foundation. The second two weeks ramp up the intensity.

Both phases use the same core exercises so you can refine your technique while progressively challenging your body.

Week 1 to 2 Foundation Phase

The goal here is to learn proper form, build work capacity, and establish a consistent training habit. Weights should feel challenging but manageable. You should finish each set with 2-3 reps left in the tank.

Foundation Phase guidelines:

• Rest periods: 90 seconds between sets
• Tempo: 2 seconds down, 1 second up
• Focus: Movement quality over load
• RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion): 6-7 out of 10

Workout A: Lower Body

Workout B: Upper Body Push

Workout C: Upper Body Pull

Week 3 to 4 Intensity Phase

Now you know the movements. Time to push harder. The Intensity Phase increases volume, shortens rest periods, and adds a few harder exercises to accelerate fat loss.

Intensity Phase guidelines:

• Rest periods: 60-75 seconds between sets
• Tempo: 2 seconds down, 1 second up (same, but shorter rest makes it harder)
• Focus: Progressive overload and higher heart rate
• RPE: 7-8 out of 10

Workout A: Lower Body (Intensity)

Workout B: Upper Body Push (Intensity)

Workout C: Upper Body Pull (Intensity)

Daily Schedule Breakdown

The workouts above (A, B, C) are your building blocks. Now slot them into the weekly schedule that fits your life. All three options use the same exercises. The difference is how often you train and how much recovery you get between sessions.

3-Day Version

Best for: beginners, people with limited gym time, or anyone who wants maximum recovery.

This is the minimum effective dose. Three lifting sessions per week is enough to build and preserve muscle while losing fat. If you can only commit to 3 days, this will still get you results. See our 3-Day Busy People Workout Plan for another time-efficient option.

4-Day Version

Best for: intermediates who want more volume without training every day.

The 4-day version doubles up on lower body because your legs are the biggest muscle group and burn the most calories. Alternating the lower body workout each week (week 1: Mon/Fri lower, week 2: Mon/Fri upper push or pull) keeps things balanced.

5-Day Version

Best for: experienced lifters who recover well and want maximum weekly volume.

Five days is the ceiling for this plan. More than that and recovery suffers, especially in a calorie deficit. Make sure sleep and nutrition are locked in before committing to 5 days per week.

For a deeper look at choosing the right training frequency, read the Best Workout Split Guide.

Cardio Integration

Cardio is the supporting player, not the star. It increases your daily calorie burn and improves cardiovascular health, but it should never replace your strength training sessions.

HIIT Sessions

High-Intensity Interval Training delivers maximum calorie burn in minimum time. Limit HIIT to 2 sessions per week. More than that increases injury risk and interferes with your lifting recovery, especially in a calorie deficit.

Sample HIIT session (15-20 minutes):

Warm up for 3 minutes with light movement (walking, arm circles). Then cycle through the following:

Repeat for 3-4 rounds. Total work time is 15-20 minutes.

The work-to-rest ratio is 1:1 for beginners. As you get fitter, shift to 40 seconds work / 20 seconds rest to increase the challenge.

When to do HIIT: On rest days or after your lifting session, never before. You want to be fresh for your strength training. If you do HIIT on a lifting day, lift first.

LISS Sessions

Low-Intensity Steady State cardio is the opposite of HIIT: low effort, longer duration, and very easy to recover from. This is walking, light cycling, incline treadmill, or easy swimming.

LISS guidelines:

• Duration: 20-40 minutes
• Intensity: You should be able to hold a conversation comfortably
• Frequency: 2-4 sessions per week (including rest days)
• Best options: brisk walking, cycling at a relaxed pace, incline treadmill at a walking pace

Why LISS works for fat loss. It burns calories without creating recovery debt. You can do LISS every day without it affecting your lifting performance. Walking 8,000-10,000 steps daily is one of the most underrated fat loss tools. It adds up to significant calorie expenditure over a week without any of the downsides of hard cardio.

LISS also complements strength training by improving blood flow to your muscles, which aids recovery. This is why many successful fat loss programs pair heavy lifting with daily walking rather than multiple HIIT sessions.

For a plan that works entirely without equipment, see our Beginner Fat Loss Workout Plan (No Equipment).

Calorie Deficit and Exercise

Here's the uncomfortable truth: you cannot out-train a bad diet. Exercise supports fat loss, but diet drives it. If you follow this entire workout plan perfectly but eat 500 calories over your maintenance level, you will not lose weight. Period.

How a calorie deficit works.

Your body needs a certain number of calories each day to maintain its current weight. That number is called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). To lose fat, you need to eat less than your TDEE consistently.

The recommended deficit: 300-500 calories per day.

This range is aggressive enough to produce visible fat loss (0.5-1% of bodyweight per week) but moderate enough to preserve muscle and keep your energy levels high enough to train hard.

A 300-calorie deficit means roughly 0.5 pounds of fat loss per week. A 500-calorie deficit means roughly 1 pound per week. Going below 500 calories is risky: you'll lose muscle, feel terrible, and probably quit within a few weeks.

Quick nutrition guidelines for this plan:

• Protein first: Aim for 0.8-1 gram per pound of bodyweight. This protects your muscle while you're in a deficit. A 170-pound person needs 136-170 grams of protein daily.
• Don't slash carbs: Carbohydrates fuel your training. Cutting them too low makes your workouts suffer, which defeats the purpose of having a workout plan.
• Eat whole foods: Build meals around lean protein, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and healthy fats. These foods are more filling calorie-for-calorie than processed alternatives.
• Stay hydrated: Dehydration mimics hunger and kills workout performance. Aim for at least 8 glasses of water daily, more on training days.
• Be consistent, not perfect: One bad meal doesn't ruin a week. One bad week doesn't ruin a month. What ruins progress is quitting because you had a bad day.

For a complete breakdown of how to eat while changing your body composition, read our Body Recomposition Guide.

Weight Loss Plateaus and How to Break Them

You will hit a plateau. Everyone does. It doesn't mean the plan stopped working. It means your body adapted and you need to adjust.

Why plateaus happen:

Metabolic adaptation. As you lose weight, your body requires fewer calories. The deficit that worked in week 1 might be maintenance by week 6. Your TDEE drops as your weight drops. This is normal, not a sign of a "broken metabolism."

Diet fatigue. After weeks of eating in a deficit, willpower erodes. Small extra bites, slightly larger portions, and unconscious snacking add up. What felt like a 400-calorie deficit might actually be closer to 100 calories or even maintenance.

Water retention. Stress, high sodium meals, poor sleep, and intense training can cause your body to hold water. This masks fat loss on the scale. You might actually be losing fat but can't see it because water weight is masking the change. This is incredibly common and incredibly frustrating.

Lack of progressive overload. If your workouts haven't gotten harder in weeks, you've stopped giving your body a reason to change. Same weight, same reps, same result.

How to break through:

• Recalculate your deficit. Use your current weight to find your new TDEE. Adjust your calories down by 100-200.
• Add a LISS session. If you're doing 2 walks per week, add a third. This increases your calorie burn without increasing training stress.
• Reduce rest periods. Go from 90 seconds to 60 seconds between sets. This increases the metabolic demand of each workout.
• Take a diet break. Eat at maintenance for 5-7 days. This sounds counterproductive, but a short break reduces cortisol, restores leptin levels, and often leads to a "whoosh" of weight loss when you return to your deficit.
• Improve sleep. Poor sleep raises cortisol, increases hunger hormones, and impairs recovery. Fixing sleep alone can break a plateau.
• Track honestly. Weigh and measure your food for one week. Most people underestimate their intake by 20-40%. A food scale doesn't lie.

FAQ

How much exercise per week do I need to lose weight?

Three to five resistance training sessions per week, combined with daily walking (8,000-10,000 steps), is the sweet spot. The 3-day version of this plan is the minimum effective dose. More training doesn't always mean faster results because recovery matters. Pick the schedule you can follow consistently for 4 or more weeks.

Can I build muscle while losing weight?

Yes, especially if you're a beginner, returning to training after a break, or carrying significant body fat. This is called body recomposition. Keep your protein intake high, train with progressive overload, and maintain a moderate (not extreme) calorie deficit. Read the Body Recomposition Guide for the full breakdown.

How fast should I expect to lose weight on this plan?

A realistic target is 0.5-1% of your bodyweight per week. For a 180-pound person, that's 0.9-1.8 pounds per week. The first week might show a larger drop due to water and glycogen loss. After that, expect steady and gradual progress. If you're losing faster than 1% per week, you're probably losing muscle along with fat.

Does it matter what time of day I work out?

No. The best time to train is whenever you can do it consistently. Morning, afternoon, evening. It doesn't matter for fat loss. Some people feel stronger in the afternoon due to natural hormonal rhythms, but the difference is marginal. Consistency beats timing every time.

Should I do cardio or weights first?

Weights first, always. You want to be fresh and focused for your strength training because that's where the most important stimulus comes from. Lifting in a fatigued state leads to poor form, lower performance, and higher injury risk. If you want to add cardio on a lifting day, do it after your strength session or as a separate session later in the day.

What if I'm not losing weight but I look different?

That's recomposition happening. You're gaining muscle and losing fat at roughly the same rate. The scale stays flat but your body is changing. This is why progress photos and measurements are more reliable than the scale. If your waist is getting smaller, your clothes fit better, and your strength is going up, the plan is working regardless of what the scale says.

Get Your Weight Loss Plan

You have the plan. You have the schedule options. You have the progression system. Now the only variable left is whether you actually start.

Option 1: Generate a personalized plan. The Free Workout Planner builds a custom workout plan for weight loss based on your goals, schedule, equipment, and experience level. It takes 2 minutes and gives you something you can follow starting today.

Option 2: Browse weight loss routines. If you want a structured program ready to go, check out the Weight Loss Workout Routines collection. These are pre-built programs designed specifically for fat loss.

Option 3: Download the app. The LoadMuscle app lets you track every set, watch exercise demos, follow your plan from your phone, and see your progress over time. It's the simplest way to stay consistent and keep the plan moving forward.

The best gym plan for weight loss is the one you actually follow. Pick a schedule, commit to 4 weeks, and let the results speak for themselves. If you want a broader foundation, start with our Full Body Workout Plan or explore all available workout routines.