How to create an effective workout for weight loss

Workout plan for weight loss - what should it be? If you have already been interested in this issue, then most likely you have found a lot of conflicting information. Neither nutritionists nor fitness trainers have a unanimous opinion on this matter. Some recommend low-intensity training, others recommend alternating strength training with aerobic exercise, and still others recommend just running every day in the morning.

At the beginning of my weight loss, I was sure: in order to lose weight, you need, firstly, not to eat, and secondly, to work hard in the gym every day. Looking back, I am surprised at my own stupidity and naivety at that time.

In this article we will figure out what we should do with sports while losing weight, what training program to use, and at what point it is better to start it.

What are the advantages of the program

The program lasts 5 months and includes not only training, but also a diet with a calorie deficit. If you follow all the instructions, you will lose from 1.5 to 2.5 kg per month. This is the ideal speed: you will not harm your health and will only lose fat, not water and muscle. This means that you will get rid of extra pounds completely.

Lifehacker does not recommend quitting the program after achieving the desired weight. You can gradually return to your previous calorie intake, but continue to eat healthy and exercise. This will help you maintain your weight.

How to build muscle and lose weight at the same time

Let's get back to basics. What should be your workout plan for weight loss? What to do if you have excess fat?

Option two:

• the first is to immediately start working out and at the same time lose weight,
• the second is to lose enough kilograms and then go to the gym.

Let's go in order:

1. Losing weight is possible only under one main condition: a daily calorie deficit, that is, you need to spend more than you get.
2. You cannot consider training as a means of burning calories. Of course, you can lose something, but it is so small that if you plan to lose several tens of kilograms, it will not play any role.
3. You can only lose weight with a calorie deficit, and gain muscle mass with a calorie surplus, that is, it is impossible to do both at the same time.
4. Nutrition is 90% of success in losing weight, and sports are needed only to make the body understand: we also need muscles, we use them and we don’t need to burn them.

Conclusion: the first option will not suit us.

The second option is the only correct solution.

We will first lose weight, and then we will go to the gym and build muscle mass.

Who is this weight loss training program suitable for?

1. People without problems with joints and spine, heart and blood vessels.
2. People who are slightly overweight. This means that your body mass index is within the normal range, but you do not like your appearance and want to lose up to 10 kg.

Calculate your body mass index using the formula: body weight / height². Weight should be in kilograms and height should be in meters. Look for the resulting number in the table:

What's included in the program

There are many ways to force your body to lose fat. Lifehacker chose mixed workouts, which include:

1. Run. This is a great way to burn more calories.
2. Strength training with your own weight. They will help you strengthen and enlarge your muscles. The larger the muscles, the more calories are needed to maintain them. In addition, strength training increases testosterone, and this hormone helps burn fat reserves.
3. Interval training is exercise performed one after another with little or no rest. When the body adapts to the stress and stops losing fat, interval training will push progress. You can also use them on days when you don't have time for cardio or strength training.

About fat people and sports

I admit, I used to not like sports at all. This was partly due to laziness - training did not bring me pleasure and was associated with torture. In addition, there were a lot of complexes characteristic of overweight people - embarrassment due to their size, weakness, and the fact that they cannot perform basic exercises.

I came up with a lot of excuses: that I don’t have free time, that I’m tired at work, that there’s no financial opportunity, and so on. The purchase of a subscription was postponed until Monday, until next month and ultimately until the new year.

It’s interesting that I didn’t lie about being tired. A person who is overweight really gets tired of everything. It is more difficult for him to put on shoes, get dressed, climb stairs, work - it is generally more difficult for him to live than for an ordinary person. To understand a thin person, you need to take a fifty-kilogram bag of cement and spend a day with it.

What kind of training can we talk about if many people have difficulty walking, and just one full squat is like a feat. For a person with severe obesity, sports training is a difficult and dangerous challenge.

It amazes me what kind of sophisticated exercises would-be nutritionists recommend to overweight people: crunches, pull-ups, burpees, except that headstand is not included in the program - so that the client will certainly not live to see the end of the workout.

Also, do not forget about the problems associated with weight: hypertension, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, atherosclerosis, etc. But people don't understand this. I constantly heard from those around me: “How did you bring yourself to this point?”, “Get involved in sports”, “Join a gym”, “Stop eating”...

How to train to lose 5-10 kg

You will study four days a week. On Wednesday, try to walk more and spend time actively. On weekends, you need to spend 30 to 90 minutes walking.

Diet for weight loss

You can’t buy an ideal body without excess fat and with beautiful muscles in a store or through an online catalogue. You really have to work hard to create it. This work is akin to a mosaic; each of its elements is important. Only together they will give an amazing result - a toned body.

Losing extra calories is just math. The number of calories consumed daily should be less than those expended. Professional bodybuilders and fitness models carefully calculate this ratio and therefore can burn as much as they need.

7000 kcal equals one kilogram. This means that if a person spends 1000 kcal more daily than he consumes, then the weight loss per week will be one kilogram.

Proper nutrition for quick weight loss, reasonable rest and recovery, sports supplements, strong motivation and focus on results, quality sleep - there are no trifles in achieving your goal. We study specifically what proper nutrition should be for weight loss.

Eat more vegetables; in the first half of the day you can treat yourself to fruits. Eat often, but in small portions.

How to create a nutrition menu and diet for weight loss will help:

• The best diets for weight loss, the best diet
• Protein diet for weight loss, menu for a week, 7, 10 and 14 days with menu
• A healthy and nutritious diet for weight loss
• How to learn to correctly count calories in food and products

Workout program for weight loss: month 1

Running according to the 30/30 scheme

This pattern will help you get used to running without much discomfort. The workout will take 30 minutes, and running without stopping should be at least 30 seconds.

Here's the pattern you'll follow:

• Warm up - 10 minutes walk.
• 15 minutes of alternating jogging (about 8 km/h) and walking: 30 seconds of running, walking until recovery. Walk until you feel strong enough to run for the next 30 seconds. If you can run for longer than 30 seconds, do it.
• Cool down: 5 minute walk.

How to start running: a complete guide for beginners →

Strength training: weeks 1-2

• Ab crunches - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Raises of arms and legs - 3 sets of 16 repetitions.
• Push-ups - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Reverse push-ups - 3 sets of 10 reps.
• Squats - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Glute bridge - 3 sets of 15 reps.

Ab crunches

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Lift only your shoulders and shoulder blades off the floor; your lower back remains motionless throughout the entire exercise. Place your palms behind your head, spread your elbows to the sides.

Raises of arms and legs

Lift the opposite arm and leg alternately.

Push-ups

This exercise will help prepare your muscles for classic push-ups. During push-ups, your elbows are at a 45-degree angle or less, your shoulders are down, your abs and glutes are tight, and your body is in a straight line.

How to learn to do 50 push-ups in a month →

Reverse push-ups

Turn your back to a static support, place your hands on it with your fingers facing you and do push-ups. Try to lower yourself until your shoulders are parallel to the floor.

Squats

Try to squat deeply, but at the same time keep your back straight, do not lift your heels off the floor, and spread your knees. Turn your toes 45 degrees.

Gluteal bridge

Raise your pelvis by tensing your gluteal muscles.

Strength training: weeks 3-4

• Ab crunches - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Superman - 3 sets of 10 reps.
• Knee push-ups - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Reverse push-ups - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Squats - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Glute bridge - 3 sets of 20 reps.

Superman

Lie on the floor on your stomach, and at the same time raise your arms and legs straight. Hold the pose for 1-2 seconds, then lower and repeat the exercise.

Knee push-ups

You can do push-ups from two knees or try a more difficult option - from one. Straighten your other leg and do not lower it to the floor until the end of the exercise. At the lowest point, touch the floor with your chest.

Interval cardio at the end of your workout

The workout ends with 15-20 minutes of interval cardio. You can use this scheme: 4 minutes of running at a speed of 8 km/h, a minute at a speed of 12 km/h.

If your treadmill has an interval running mode, select a timed workout, set it to 20 minutes and set the level to 8-10 depending on your fitness.

As a rule, the machines have a variety of different interval workouts with alternating slow and fast running, as well as different inclinations of the treadmill.

Workout program for weight loss: month 2

Run

• 10 minutes walk.
• 15 minutes of running, non-stop if possible.
• 5 minutes walk.

A simple exercise that will help you run correctly →

Strength training: weeks 1-2

• Abdominal folds - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Superman - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Push-ups - 3 sets of 20 reps: 3 classic + 17 from the knees.
• Reverse push-ups with straight legs - 3 sets of 10 reps.
• Squats - 3 sets of 25 reps.
• Single leg pelvic raises - 3 sets of 10 reps.

Press folds

Bend your knees at a right angle, hold your palms behind your head, try not to bring your elbows together.

Do not fix your feet by tucking them under a closet or sofa: if the abdominal muscles are not strong enough, fixing them can cause harm to the spine.

Classic push-ups

Place your wrists under your shoulders, tighten your abs and glutes, and don't bend your knees. At the bottom, touch the floor with your chest and hips.

Do push-ups 100 times a day for a month. This is what will happen to your body after this →

Reverse push-ups with straight legs

Rules for creating a workout

To create an effective circuit training for the whole body, follow a few rules:

1. Include exercises for different muscle groups. This will allow you to load your entire body evenly.
2. Alternate exercises based on the “push” and “pull” principles. Push exercises are those in which you push off the ground (lunges, squats, push-ups) or push free weights away from you (dumbbell bench press, barbell bench press). When performing pulling exercises, you pull either yourself (pull-ups) or implements (deadlifts). Pulling and pushing exercises provide different loads. By alternating them, you will not overwork your muscles and will be able to do more.
3. Finish your workout with high-intensity cardio.
4. Start with a warm-up, end with stretching and rolling on a massage roller.

Now let's move on to the training itself.

Workout program for weight loss: month 3

Run

Every week this month you will run 400 meters more than the previous week. Run at a pace that is comfortable for you, but do not stop until the end of the distance.

• Week 1 – 2.4 km run.
• Week 2 - 2.8 km run.
• Week 3 – 3.2 km run.
• Week 4 - 3.6 km run.

Before running, be sure to warm up:

• 5 minutes of brisk walking.
• Joint warm-up and dynamic stretching, as in the video below.

After your workout, do the following:

• 5 minutes walk.
• Static leg stretching. Select one exercise from this article to stretch your buttocks, thighs (front, back, outer and inner surfaces), and calf muscles. Hold each position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Strength training: weeks 1-2

1. Abdominal folds - 3 sets of 30 reps.
2. Superman - 3 sets of 20 reps.
3. Classic push-ups - 3 sets of 7 reps.
4. Reverse push-ups with legs elevated - 3 sets of 10 reps.
5. Jump squats - 3 sets of 15 reps.
6. Hip raises with legs elevated - 3 sets of 10 reps.

Reverse push-ups with legs elevated

Try to lower yourself until your shoulders are parallel to the floor, but not lower.

Jump Squats

Squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or slightly lower, and then jump up. You don't have to jump high. The main thing is that your feet are completely off the floor.

Common mistakes when performing squats and how to correct them →

Pelvic raises with legs elevated

Raise your pelvis as high as possible. The higher the support, the more difficult the exercise.

Strength training: weeks 3-4

• Abdominal folds - 3 sets of 30 reps.
• Superman - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Classic push-ups - 3 sets of 10 reps.
• Reverse push-ups with legs elevated - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Step-ups - 3 sets of 10 reps for each leg.
• Hip raises with legs elevated - 3 sets of 15 reps.

Stepping up to the high ground

When walking, the knee is slightly turned to the side; it should not turn inward. Do not lean your hands on your leg when lifting; straighten up completely at the top.

Sport - is life

In my heart I understood that movement is life. I wanted to be active, strong, fast, athletic, but I didn’t know where to start? There were attempts to go skiing, cycling, and went to the gym a couple of times, but it all ended after the second or third lesson. I went there as if to hard labor.

Only after losing weight did I realize how much I missed sports, how cool it was to experience euphoria and harmony after a hard workout. After these 20 years spent in a fat body ended, it was as if wings had grown: I learned to fly, breathe deeply and simply enjoy every new day. It's not about appearance - it's about feeling.

While you are significantly overweight, it is difficult to understand, but as soon as the fat starts to go away, you will feel the buzz from the results obtained, you will move forward with even more enthusiasm, and then the moment will come when you will be drawn to the gym. You will want to improve your appearance even more, turn your body into a beautiful muscular machine.

The results of muscle growth from training, the release of endorphins after strength training, ease from cardio - can turn fitness into an addiction (in the good sense of the word) and sport will become your companion for the rest of your life.

Trust the practitioner who lost 38 kilograms and was fat most of his life: a storm of emotions and happiness awaits you from what you get in the end. Life will change dramatically! I changed everything: my job, my social circle, my hobbies, my worldview, and even my city of residence!

Transformation is like a drug; once you start, it’s hard to stop.

Our body is a very complex mechanism. It consists of a mass of gears, each of which affects its operation. Your vacation starts to go wrong, the whole mechanism slows down, stress appears, a bad habit, a toxic relationship, a bad circle of friends, and so on, everything instantly affects you.

It’s the same with nutrition: if the diet contains the right amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, water, then the body will work like a clock. If there is a deficiency or excess of any one element, the entire mechanism begins to malfunction. You may not even notice it, but sooner or later health problems will definitely appear.

Workout program for weight loss: month 5

Run

Run 5 km each workout at a pace that is comfortable for you. Warm-up and cool-down are the same as last month.

If you still have strength and want to increase the distance, please do so. Just don’t add a lot at once: 400 meters will be enough.

Strength training: weeks 1-2

• V-folds for the abs - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Superman - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Push-ups - 3 sets of 15 reps.
• Jump squats - 3 sets of 20 reps.
• Reverse push-ups with legs elevated - 3 sets of 17 reps.
• Static wall squat - 3 sets of 30 seconds.
• Single leg elevated pelvic raises - 3 sets of 10 reps for each leg.

Static wall squat

Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor and hold the position for the specified time.

Single leg elevated pelvic raises

Raise your pelvis as high as possible.

Strength training: weeks 3-4

1. V-folds for the abs - 3 sets of 20 reps.
2. Superman - 3 sets of 20 reps.
3. Push-ups - 3 sets of 15 reps.
4. Reverse push-ups with legs elevated - 3 sets of 20 reps.
5. Wall Support Pistols - 3 sets of 10 reps for each leg.
6. Single leg elevated pelvic raises - 3 sets of 12 reps for each leg.

Wall-mounted guns

Squat on one leg, without turning your knee inward. Use a wall or post for support.

It is necessary to combine strength and cardio exercises

Women are afraid of exercise machines because they don’t want to “pump up.” But if you look around in the gym, you will notice that either the trainers or the regulars at the sports clubs are the ones who are really pumped up. In addition, they all take special supplements, some produce

It is necessary to train at least three times a week, and the break between training should not be more than 2 days, otherwise all efforts will go down the drain.

intramuscular or intravenous injections to achieve the best results. And in order for a woman to gain highly developed muscles, she needs to train 3 times more than a man and constantly take special medications, often without hormonal ones. Women are not predisposed to developing a powerful torso, so there is no need to be afraid of strength training. They will help you create a beautiful silhouette and get rid of cellulite.