A 4 week weight loss workout plan from a certified trainer (2023)

meet your coach

My name is Tyler Read. I have a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and am certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.Personal trainer. I have been training fitness clients for over a decade.

During this time, the vast majority of my general fitness clients wanted to lose weight and get healthier, and they typically didn't have a lot of time to exercise every day.

With that in mind, I always stick with short, hard-hitting workouts that my clients can complete daily, alternating between cardio andWeight trainingand carry out independent training.

Losing weight requires a calorie deficit, which means you must burn more calories than you take in in a given period of time, usually broken down by calories per day.

While effective exercise programs can certainly accelerate your weight loss, it's important to remember that long-term weight control requires maintaining healthy habits over a period of time.

This includes eating a variety of whole foods, drinking enough water, and making sure you get enough sleep and manage stress.

However, research shows that exercise plays an important role in weight loss (2).

My 4 Week Weight Loss Workout Plan is a great way to start your journey to better health or add some variety to your workouts if you already exercise regularly.

Structure of the 4 week weight loss program

I build my program around three types of training:

• Strength training for the upper and lower body.
• Interval Training/Condition
• low intensity cardio

Strength training helps you build muscle and strength that you can use for interval training.

Plus, the extra muscle will increase your metabolism over time, which means you'll burn more calories at rest just to maintain yourself, which can contribute to the calorie deficit needed for weight loss (3,4).

Interval training provides a massive metabolic boost immediately after training. Interval training involves short periods of high-intensity exercise followed by relatively short periods of rest.

This method keeps your heart rate elevated throughout your workout and gives youaerobic benefitswhile maintaining enough intensity to fuel your metabolic fire.

Finally, low-intensity cardio, such as walking, jogging, swimming, or bicycling, will give you a slight boost in daily calorie burn and allow you to exercise while recovering from more intense strength and activity.interval training.

You can do an hour or more of cardio, but just 20 minutes is enough.

Each workout should last approximately 20-22 minutes, allowing you to fit the program into a busy schedule.

Over the course of 4 weeks, this training structure will help you achieve weight loss on all fronts, both by burning calories daily and by increasing your metabolism over time.

Start with a lighter weight and increase the weight with each set until you find the point where the last rep becomes really hard.

week 1

Label 1:less physical strength

Equipment: Dumbbells or kettlebells, barbell and plates, leg curls and/or leg extensions

1. 3×12 dumbbell/kettlebellgoblet cock
2. 3×12 bar or kettlebelldead weight
3. 3×20walking lungewith dumbbells (10 per side)
4. Optional: 3×12Beinbeugerand extension in the gym

Label 2:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

• Choose walking, light jogging or your favorite cardio method, even better if you can do it outdoors!

Label 3:Upper body strength

Equipment: pull-up bar or cable machine, dumbbells

1. 3×12pulling upo lat pulldown
2. 3×12 dumbbellsshoulder press
3. 3×12 dumbbellsFila
4. 3×12 dumbbellsbench press
5. Optional: 3×12Bizeps-CurlYtriceps extension

Label 4:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

Label 5:interval conditioning

Equipment: plyometric box, slamball

Perform the following exercises at a brisk pace for 15 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds and move on to the next exercise. I have added two options to choose from depending on your current level.

The exercises focus on lower body movements performed at a moderate to fast pace.

Large muscle groups in this area help the heart pump much more efficiently than exercises involving smaller muscle groups.

For week 1, perform 3 rounds of the following exercises as described above:

1. raidor jump squat
2. Caja-Step-upor increased performance
3. alternating lungejumping lunge
4. Side access box orskater
5. burpees

week 2

Week 2 includes the same exercises as week 1. However, you should do 1 warm-up set and then switch to the weight you finished last week, increasing the weight each set if possible.

Increase the intensity or duration of your cardio sessions by 5-10%. Make sure it's easy enough that you can do at least 20 minutes without stopping.

For conditioning, do a total of 4 rounds instead of 3.

Label 1:less physical strength

Equipment: free weights or kettlebells, barbell and plates, leg curl/extension machines

1. 3×12 goblet squats with dumbbells/kettlebells
2. 3 × 12 barbell deadlift or kettlebell
3. 3×20 walking lunges with dumbbells (10 per side)
4. Optional: 3×12 leg curls and extensions

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 2:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

• Increase time or intensity by 5-10% from week 1.

Label 3:Upper body strength

Equipment: pull-up bar or lat pulldown, dumbbells

1. 3×12 pull-up o lat pulldown
2. 3×12 Dumbbell Overhead Press
3. 3x12 dumbbell rows
4. 3×12 dumbbell bench press
5. Optional: 3×12 biceps curl and triceps extension

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 4:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

Label 5:conditioning

Equipment: plyometric box, slamball

Perform the following exercises at a brisk pace for 15 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds and move on to the next exercise.

For week 2, perform 4 rounds of the following exercises as described above:

1. Squats or jump squats
2. Box-Stepup o Power-Stepup
3. Change lunge or jump lunge
4. Caja lateral stepup or skater
5. burpees

week 3

In week 3, I'll lower the resistance training reps to 8 reps per set, which should allow you to increase the weight relative to your 12-rep sets.

If you can, start with barbell movements instead of using dumbbells, but either is fine.

This requires muscular endurance and range of motion skills from weeks 1 and 2 and triggers more strength and power.muscle development.

Add another 5-10% to your cardio and complete a total of 5 cycles of your interval training.

Label 1:less physical strength

Equipment: free weights or kettlebells, barbell and plates, leg curl/extension machines

1. 3×8Barbell SquatoGoblet squats with dumbbells/kettlebells
2. 3×8 with barbell or kettlebelldead weight
3. 3×16 walking lunges with barbell or dumbbells (8 on each side)
4. Optional: 3 × 10 leg curls and leg extensions (keep reps higher on these isolation exercises)

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 2:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

• Increase time or intensity by 5-10% starting in week 2.

Label 3:Upper body strength

Equipment: pull-up bar or lat pulldown, dumbbells

1. 3×8 pull-up o lat pull-down
2. Barbell or dumbbell 3×8 overhead press
3. 3 × 8 rows with barbell or dumbbells
4. Bench press with barbell or dumbbells 3×8
5. Optional: 3x10 biceps curl and triceps extension (keep reps higher on these isolation exercises)

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 4:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

Label 5:Interval Training/Condition

Equipment: plyometric box, slamball

Perform the following exercises at a brisk pace for 15 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds and move on to the next exercise.

For week 3, do 5 rounds of the following exercises:

1. Squats or jump squats
2. Box-Stepup o Power-Stepup
3. Change lunge or jump lunge
4. Caja lateral stepup or skater
5. burpees

week 4

Week 4 is nothing special.

You will continue to add weight to strength exercises, increase your aerobic intensity, and complete 6 full rounds of conditioning. If this is too intense, you can redial if necessary.

Label 1:less physical strength

Equipment: free weights or kettlebells, barbell and plates, leg curl/extension machines

1. 3×8 barbell squats or goblet squats
2. 3×8 barbell deadlift or kettlebell
3. 3×16 walking lunges with barbell or dumbbells (8 on each side)
4. Optional: leg curl and extension 3 × 10 (keep reps higher on these isolation exercises)

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 2:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

• Increase time or intensity by 5-10% starting in week 3.

Label 3:Upper body strength

Equipment: pull-up bar or lat pulldown, dumbbells

1. 3×8 pull-up o lat pull-down
2. Barbell or dumbbell 3×8 overhead press
3. 3 × 8 rows with barbell or dumbbells
4. Bench press with barbell or dumbbells 3×8
5. Optional: 3x10 biceps curl and triceps extension (keep reps higher on these isolation exercises)

Perform 1 warm-up set with bodyweight or light weight before beginning the 3 working sets.

Label 4:Low intensity cardio for at least 20 minutes

Label 5:Interval Training/Condition

Equipment: plyometric box, slamball

Perform the following exercises at a brisk pace for 15 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds and move on to the next exercise.

In week 4, do 6 rounds of the following exercises:

1. Squats or jump squats
2. Box-Stepup o Power-Stepup
3. Change lunge or jump lunge
4. Caja lateral stepup or skater
5. burpees

What is a healthy 4 week weight loss goal?

The typical recommendation for weight loss is to lose 1 pound of body fat per week, which is achieved by maintaining a deficit of 500 calories per day (5).

With the program above, you may be able to continue to lose weight by reaching a deficit greater than 500 calories, but this is difficult for most people.

I should mention that losing a pound of fat per week usually results in more than a pound of weight loss due to weight loss.water weight.

While a pound of fat a week may not seem like a lot if you're currently overweight, even a small weight loss can result in dramatic improvements in your health (6).

Since weight maintenance is a long-term process, think of my 4-week program as a way to jump-start your journey, rather than a one-stop-shop for weight loss.

Train and stay motivated for the long term

Although I have structured this program in 4 weeks, you can extend it much longer if you wish. For example, you could do the 12-rep sets for 8 to 12 full weeks before switching to the 8-rep sets, giving you a 16-week program instead of a 4-week program.

Also, as you complete this program, you will learn what types of exercises or specific movements you prefer and will explore them in more detail later.

If you're more into strength training than cardio, you may want to look into a more comprehensive strength program or hire a personal trainer.

If conditioning is your thing, consider doing 2-3 conditioning workouts per week instead of 1 and consider taking a group fitness class.

Finally, if long, slow cardio is your thing, you may be bulking up too much.Endurancelevels over time while running,The bath, or your favorite aerobic training method.

The most important thing is that you stay in training for the long term.

Therefore, it is more important to focus on the types of exercise you enjoy than to try to optimize a program that you are unlikely to do long term.

The final result

There is no magic formula for losing weight other than burning more calories than you expend. Still, there are better and worse ways to approach this goal.

After all, the combination of frequent exercise and a healthy lifestyle is the most reliable way to improve your health.

My 4-week program is a great way to start your weight loss training, explore the basics of fitness, and hopefully get excited about training for the long haul.

Always remember that fitness is ideally fun.

No one has the definitive answer on the best way to stay active, but it all starts with your first workout.

Cheers to an active lifestyle!