Athlete sitting on her bed, lacing her running shoes

The right workout plan for losing weight: What you need to know

1. Workout frequency
2. Workout duration
3. Exercise selection

4. Workout volume & intensity
5. Rest periods
6. Tips for your weight loss training plan

We will explain step by step how to create a detailed weight loss workout plan. In addition to the required workout duration, these details include training intensity and the right choice of exercises, as well as exciting tips for your workout plan.

Fundamentals of your weight loss workout plan

A well-designed workout plan for losing weight is characterised by an effective mix of strength and endurance elements. The intensity of the training is not comparable with a muscle building workout. Weight loss workout plans are always high intensity. Rest periods between sets are kept short. In addition to standard training with free weights as one aspect for weight loss, a special endurance training (interval training) is essential for good results.

The characteristics of a weight loss workout plan:

Weight training to maintain muscle mass
Endurance training to burn fat
High intensity training

1. Workout frequency

If you want to lose weight effectively, you should plan to do 3-4 workouts a week. If you just want to lose weight, an extreme exercise load of 5-7 workouts a week is not necessary. Maintaining a calorie deficit when trying to lose weight is stress enough for your body. Make sure to plan enough time for regeneration and avoid over-exercising and overloading the cardiovascular system.

Regular exercise is also important for your diet,

as it will help to keep you looking fit and toned.

The exercises for strength training can easily be divided into a split workout plan. What is a split workout? The individual workout days are "split" into specific muscle groups. A classic split would be to train chest and triceps or back and biceps individually on separate days. A quadruple split workout is perfect if you plan four workouts a week.

Individual muscle groups can be trained in isolation exercises and compound exercises can be included in the workout plan as well. Compound exercises like bench press, deadlift and squats work several muscle groups simultaneously. For those, who can only work out 3 times a week, a triple split, meaning the popular chest/shoulder/triceps, back/biceps and legs/stomach, is the right choice.

What you need to know about weight loss workout plans:

3-4 workouts per week
Split workout plan or full-body workout plan
Mix of basic and isolation exercises

Strength training should be followed up with a cardio unit twice a week. High-intensity interval training is perfect for fat-burning. Your metabolism benefits from the so-called "afterburn effect" after interval training. In addition to that, the body will start tapping into fat deposits, once all the energy reserves in the glycogen stores are used up – the perfect condition for weight loss.

2. Workout duration

You don't have to torture yourself at the gym for 2 hours a day to reduce body fat or lose weight. Less is more! A well-planned weight loss workout should take no longer than 60-90 minutes. That is plenty of time for an effective mix of strength training and intense endurance training. Positive side effect: "Short" workouts keep you motivated and allow you to see your workout plan through – no excuses.

Weight loss workout durations at a glance:

60-90 minutes in total
60-75 minutes of weight training
15-20 minutes of endurance training
(on 2 workout days)

Nutrition recommendation.
Just for you.
With our Body Check.

Go to Body Check Go to Body Check

3. Exercise selection

A weight loss workout plan also focuses on compound exercises. Working multiple muscle groups at the same time significantly increases the effectiveness of the workout. When trying to lose weight, countless isolation exercises for small muscle groups like your abs or arms are not advisable.

L-carnitine “Support your training with L-carnitine”

483 customer reviews

Learn more

For the endurance part of your workout, you can choose from various alternatives. A spinning bike, treadmill or stepper are great for high intensity interval training. And kettlebells are perfect for circuit training.

Weight loss plan exercise selection at a glance:

Focus on compound exercises
Supplement with isolation exercises
Interval training after strength set

4. Workout volume & intensity

For body fat reduction, you should aim to do about 12-15 reps (muscular endurance) for best results. In a weight loss workout plan, a split training day can include 5-6 exercises. Intensity techniques like supersets or drop sets round off the last set. The ideal stimulus for the muscles.

Interval training and circuit training are perfect for losing weight. These involve training for up to 30 minutes with short breaks or no breaks at all. This burns more calories than conventional weight training and promotes muscle growth and stamina.

5. Rest interval

You should rest for 30-60 seconds between sets in order to keep your metabolism and cardiovascular system going at full power during an intense workout. Fat burning is optimised and you will maximise your calorie consumption during the workout.

6. Tips for the weight loss workout plan

1. Increase your everyday activity levels

If you want to do something above and beyond your weight loss workout plan, simply increase your everyday activity levels. Take the stairs instead of the lift or ride your bike to work. You will burn plenty of additional calories and reach your goals faster.

2. Find like-minded people

Finding a suitable training partner can be the key to weight loss success. Motivating each other and meeting up to go to the gym together will help you deal with low phases easier and you can work together towards your common goal.

3. Supplementary sports nutrition

In addition to strength and endurance training and a structured nutrition plan, the intelligent use of sports nutrition as part of your workout plan is great for losing weight.

BCAA capsules help to protect the muscles during intense weight and endurance training and prevent muscle breakdown. They can be tremendously helpful both weight loss and body fat reduction.

Our foodspring Shape Shake is the perfect supplement for your weight loss workout plan. It supports your body sculpting efforts with valuable whey protein and L-carnitine – plus it tastes great!