The 4-Week Beginner Workout Plan for Fat Loss and Muscle Building

Muscular female doing core workout in the gym

Irrespective of whether you are a man or woman, this workout plan is perfect for getting started on serious fat loss and muscle building to sculpt that perfect dream body.

There is just too much confusing advice out there on fast weight loss and strength training or bodybuilding. One guru tells you to do ‘X’ and the next expert says ‘X’ is the worst mistake! So what do you really do?

Lets keep it really simple. Here is a 4-week program that set fire to calories and builds full body strength. It involves 3 workout days in each week and just three basic rules you must follow. No complicated science jargon to understand, just plain common sense!

Before you get to the actual workouts, make sure you learn 3 rules that make the workouts more effective.

The 7 Fundamental Exercise Categories

You can choose 1-3 exercises from the following seven categories to build a full body program that suits you. These exercises are the best tools for getting stronger and more athletic, setting the foundation for whatever future plans you have.

  1. Single-leg work: Reverse lunges, forward lunges, lateral lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg RDL, single-leg hip thrust, step-ups
  2. Carries: Farmer’s carry (bilateral), suitcase carries (unilateral), waiter carries, cross-body carries
  3. Pushing exercises: Bench press variations, dumbbell press variations, military press, push press, landmine press, push-ups
  4. Pulling exercises: Seated cable row variations, chest-supported rows, barbell rows, single-arm dumbbell rows, single-arm standing cable rows, chin-ups, pull-ups
  5. Squats: Front squat, back squat, box squat, goblet squats.
  6. Hip hinge: Trap-bar deadlift, conventional deadlift, sumo deadlift, romanian deadlift
  7. Core lifts: Pallof press, chops, half-kneeling lifts, tall-kneeling lifts, overhead lifts, split-stance exercises, plank variations, roll-outs

If your goal is fat loss, then these movements help burn the most calories for fat loss. Combine this with a sensible weight loss diet plan that is low in carbohydrates and has adequate fats and protein.

If you are lean enough and wants to build muscle mass, these very same exercises allow you to use the most weights to provide the training stimulus your body needs to grow. Diet again plays an important role here, so make sure you are taking the right combinations of nutrients required for building muscle mass.

The 4-Week Beginner Workout Plan

A very important point to keep in mind [as mentioned in the 3 rules of working out] is that you should choose exercises that you will actually do. The most amazing workout plan is useless if you can’t or don’t execute it. Body weight exercises, dumbbell exercises, barbell workouts, cable exercises… your choice of exercises from the 7 categories should be based on your current strength, stamina, access to equipments, etc. The workout plan you customize must be workable if you want it to succeed. Don’t think that the more complicated exercises are more effective. Sometimes it’s the simplest ones that have the most impact.

Make your own workout plan with various combinations of the 7 seven fundamental exercises – like the following:

1. Reverse lunges

2. Farmer’s carry

3. Dumbbell chest press

4. Single-arm dumbbell rows

5. Goblet squats

6. Conventional deadlift

7. Plank

Do 3 sets of 10 reps each for exercises like dumbbell rows, lunges, squats, and chest press.  Try to build up holding the plank position for two minutes. Don’t worry if you can’t seem to hold it for even thirty seconds. Be consistent with your training program, you will find that the strength and stamina does build up over a period of time.

About Tilottama Bose 48 Articles
With a Masters in Food Science and Nutrition, Tilottama has carved a niche for herself in the Health Writing Industry. She is passionate about helping her readers make informed decisions about the food they eat. She believes in the healing power of food and in food as medicine. Tilottama is an editor and writer at Fitnesshacks.org.