Workout plan for weight loss

Choosing your starting weightEmerging evidence

Warm up, then pick a weight you think you could lift about 10 to 12 times at most. Do the bottom of the rep range (for 8 to 12, do 8) and ask: how many more could I have done with good form? Two or three more: that is your weight. Five or more: go up one step next set. None or one: go down one step.

For bodyweight moves, choose the version (the easier or harder option on each move's page) where you reach the bottom of the rep range with 2 or 3 reps to spare.

In the first two weeks, stop each set with 3 or 4 reps to spare. Most people misjudge how many reps they have left by about one, and you are still learning the movements.

Sources 1, 2, 3

Progressing week to week: double progressionEmerging evidence

Each exercise has a rep range, such as 8 to 12. Keep the weight the same and add reps, set by set and session by session, while still stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure.

When every set reaches the top of the range, add the smallest weight step you have (roughly 2 to 10%, smaller jumps for the upper body and small muscles) and go back to the bottom of the range. Adding reps and adding weight both work; this rule uses both.

With body weight, add reps, then slow the lowering, then move to the harder option. If a lift stalls for 2 or 3 sessions, hold the weight, check your sleep and food, and consider a lighter week.

Sources 4, 3, 1

How hard each set should feelStrong evidence

You do not need to train to failure. Stopping 2 or 3 reps short, often written as 2 to 3 reps in reserve (RIR), gives similar results for most people.

Big compound lifts stay at 2 to 3 reps in reserve; the last set of small isolation moves, such as raises and curls, can go to 0 to 2.

Sources 1, 5

Rest between setsEmerging evidence

Heavy compound lifts in sets of 5 to 8 (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin-up): 2 to 3 minutes. Other compound lifts in sets of 8 to 12: about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Isolation moves such as raises, curls, extensions and calf raises: 60 to 90 seconds.

For muscle growth, resting more than about a minute gives a small advantage, with no clear extra gain past about 90 seconds. For strength the evidence on rest is mixed: 1 to 2 minutes is enough for beginners, and trained lifters may do better with longer rests on heavy lifts.

Short on time? Pair two moves that do not compete, such as a press with a row or a leg move with a core move, and rest after the pair. Supersets like this roughly halve session time while keeping the sets.

Sources 6, 7, 1, 8

Lighter weeks (deloads)Mixed evidence

Not compulsory, especially for beginners. Take one in week 12, or sooner if your performance drops for two sessions in a row and you feel run down or achy: same days, same exercises, about half the sets, and weights that feel easy (4 or more reps in reserve). Then restart at your previous weights.

Deloads are common practice: in a survey of competitive strength and physique athletes they lasted about a week, roughly every 5 to 6 weeks. Direct evidence is thin. In the one trial, a full week off mid-programme did not change muscle growth but slightly reduced strength gains, so a lighter week looks better than a week off if strength matters. Whether recreational lifters benefit has not been tested.

Sources 9, 10, 11

Warm-up and cool-downEmerging evidence

Warm up with 3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, the moves listed at the start of each session, then 1 or 2 lighter sets of the first lift. A short warm-up specific to the exercise is enough.

The cool-down is optional. Its stretches are there for comfort and flexibility; they do not add strength or muscle.

Source 8

Missed days, soreness and when to stop

Missed a session? Do the next one in the order rather than doubling up. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.

Stop and get medical help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting. If a joint pain is sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to the move's easier option, and see a clinician if it persists.

WHO notes that people without contraindications generally do not need medical clearance before light or moderate activity. If you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, are pregnant, or have osteoporosis with fractures, ask your clinician first.

Source 12

What to expect in 12 weeksStrong evidence

Exercise on its own takes off a few kilos over months, not weeks. In 116 trials, 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise took off about 2.8 kg on average and 300 minutes about 4.2 kg, and European obesity guidance says to expect, on average, no more than 2 to 3 kg from exercise alone. The waist usually shrinks more than the scales suggest, by about 3 cm on average. If you also eat less, the NHS suggests aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week.

Those figures come from supervised trials, where the sessions were organised and checked, so people training on their own may lose less. The trials have limits: about half were at serious risk of bias, and only 2 lasted longer than 48 weeks. Measure your waist, your steps and the weights you lift, not just your weight.

Sources 13, 14, 15, 16

Eating less does most of the weight lossStrong evidence

Adding exercise to a diet takes off about 1 to 1.7 kg more than the diet alone, and programmes that combine both beat exercise alone by about 6 kg at a year or more. As NHS Better Health puts it, changing what you eat can help you lose weight, and moving more can help you keep the weight off.

Exercise is still worth it when the scales move slowly: in the Cochrane review it lowered blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar even without weight loss.

Sources 17, 18, 19, 20

How much activity this plan builds toStrong evidence

European obesity guidance advises 150 to 200 minutes a week of at least moderate aerobic activity to lose weight and fat. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) links more than 250 minutes a week with clinically significant weight loss, and in the 116-trial analysis each extra 30 minutes a week was worth about 0.5 kg, up to 300 minutes. Moderate means you can talk but not sing; brisk walking counts.

This plan builds from about 90 minutes a week to 200 to 250. The 12-week build and the weekly layout are our editorial choices, following the World Health Organization (WHO) advice to start small and build up.

Sources 14, 21, 13, 12

Why three strength daysStrong evidence

Strength training is not what moves the scales: in an 8-month trial of 119 adults, aerobic training took off more weight and fat than weights did. Its job here is keeping muscle. During weight loss it cut the loss of lean mass by about 0.8 kg in pooled trials, and European obesity guidance recommends it at moderate to high intensity. In 160 dieting adults aged 65 and over with obesity, the groups that did strength training lost less muscle than the group that did aerobic training alone, and combining strength and aerobic training improved physical function the most.

Sources 22, 23, 14, 24

How much training this isStrong evidence

Counting direct sets in the build phase, this plan gives about 7 to 8 hard sets a week for the chest, 9 for the back, 4 to 5 for overhead pressing, 12 for the quads and 12 for the glutes and hamstrings in the gym (the dumbbell workouts give about 9 each for the chest, the back, the quads, and the glutes and hamstrings, and 6 for the shoulders); the arms work through the presses and rows.

More weekly sets build more muscle, with diminishing returns that arrive sooner for strength than for size. The 2026 ACSM position stand saw extra growth from about 10 or more sets per muscle a week, and a review of time-efficient training suggests about 4 hard sets a week as a reasonable floor for busy people.

That clears the floor for every muscle. Here the strength days are there to keep muscle while you lose weight, so steady progress on the same lifts is the aim.

Sources 1, 25, 26, 8

Steady cardio or intervals?Strong evidence

Interval training and steady cardio reduce body fat by about the same amount when they burn the same energy; intervals take about 40% less time. One analysis found slightly more fat loss in kilos with intervals, but not a bigger drop in body fat percentage. The extra energy you use after a hard session, the afterburn, adds only 6 to 15% of the session's own cost, so it is not a fat-loss secret.

European obesity guidance advises high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for people living with obesity only after a heart risk assessment and with supervision. So in this plan intervals are optional, and they start in week 7.

Sources 27, 28, 23, 14, 29

Cardio does not cost you muscleStrong evidence

Doing cardio as well as strength training does not reduce muscle growth or maximal strength. It can blunt explosive strength, such as jumping and sprinting, mainly when both are done in the same session; keep them at least 3 hours apart if that matters to you.

Source 30

StepsEmerging evidence

There is no official step target for weight loss. In pedometer trials, people added about 2,500 steps a day, and having a step goal helped; walking programmes on their own took off weight slowly, about 0.05 kg a week. In large cohort studies, 7,000 steps a day went with a 47% lower risk of death than 2,000, with the curve flattening around 5,000 to 7,000 for several outcomes.

This plan adds about 2,000 to 2,500 steps a day to your own starting count. That target is our editorial choice, based on the pedometer trials. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) lists aiming to walk a certain number of steps each day among the everyday activities that help.

Sources 31, 32, 33, 34

Why the scales can lagEmerging evidence

The body makes up for part of the extra energy you burn. In a study of 1,754 adults, about 28% of the energy used in activity was offset by a lower resting burn. In a 24-week trial, exercisers ate about 90 to 125 calories a day more. In 411 women, the highest dose, about 194 minutes a week, gave about half the predicted weight loss, while the waist still shrank.

A large dose does work: in a 10-month trial, supervised sessions burning 400 or 600 calories, 5 days a week, took off 3.9 and 5.2 kg.

Sources 35, 36, 37, 38, 39

Keeping it offMixed evidence

NICE has long advised that people who have lived with obesity and lost weight may need 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day to avoid regaining it, counting everyday activity such as brisk walking, gardening or cycling. Trials are less clear than the advice: one review found no significant effect of exercise on keeping weight off, ACSM found no well-designed trial, and European guidance's 200 to 300 minutes a week is expert opinion.

In one trial, a year of exercise after a diet kept off 4.1 kg more than a placebo.

Sources 34, 23, 21, 14, 40

On weight loss injectionsEmerging evidence

A 2025 joint advisory from four US medical and nutrition societies says GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) medicines, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, should go with strength training at least 3 times a week plus at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, to protect muscle and bone. This plan's build phase has that shape. It is expert advice: this exact routine has not been tested in trials with these medicines.

The NHS says that if you feel dizzy or have vision problems on semaglutide, don't drive or ride a bike until it passes, and that low blood sugar is more likely if you also take other diabetes medicines.

Sources 41, 42

Higher weight or sore jointsEmerging evidence

Body weight on its own is not a reason to need a medical check before exercising. What counts is how active you are now, any symptoms on exertion or known heart, kidney or metabolic disease, and how hard you plan to exercise; with symptoms or known disease, speak to your GP first.

In trials, aerobic programmes caused about 2 extra mild to moderate complaints per 100 people, mostly in muscles and joints. If your joints are sore, start with the bike, swimming or the low-impact cardio workout, and do floor moves on a firm bed if getting down is hard: those swaps are our suggestions.

Sources 43, 13

Diabetes medicines and eating

If you take insulin or some other diabetes medicines, a lot of exercise without eating more carbohydrate or adjusting your insulin can bring on low blood sugar: feeling hungry, dizzy, sweaty or shaky, or a pounding heartbeat. Follow the plan agreed with your diabetes team, carry something sugary, and see our guide to exercise for type 2 diabetes.

If you have had an eating disorder, or find yourself exercising to earn food, talk to your GP, and set strength and fitness goals rather than calorie goals.

Source 44