A set of simple exercises for a month for losing weight: a program for home

The easiest and fastest way to improve your appearance is to burn fat. If you want to look slimmer, spend calories by actively exercising. Weight loss workouts for men and women are radically different. A competent comprehensive approach should include a balanced diet, exercise programs from a professional trainer and rest.

Today, weight loss workouts for men and women are becoming increasingly popular, but with the same goal, these are completely different programs. The features of programs for boys and girls are dictated by the physiological differences in their bodies.

Also, in addition to the training itself for weight loss for men and women, it is important to know the basics of proper nutrition before and after training.

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.

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.

What workouts will help you lose weight

First, let's figure out which workouts in the gym are most effective. Maybe cardio? Or is it still power loads?

If you choose long-term low-intensity cardio (slow long running, walking, riding an exercise bike), your body will get used to the load after just a few sessions. As a result, you only burn calories while running.

In the case of strength training, things are a little different. After it (with sufficient intensity), the metabolism at rest remains elevated for a long time - sometimes more than 20 hours. And all this time, your body burns calories faster.

Thus, even if the same amount of calories is spent during strength training and cardio training (I emphasize once again that we are talking about low-intensity cardio, and not heavy interval training or sprints), after strength training you still burn more. Read more about the effects of cardio, HIIT and strength training in this article.

To speed up your metabolism and pump up all the muscles in your body, we combine circuit training with interval cardio.

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.

A set of exercises for weight loss

1. Squats
2. Bench press with medium grip
3. Military bench press
4. Wide grip lat pulldown to chest
5. Barbell row to the chin
6. Extension of arms on a block
7. Leg extension
8. Barbell curl
9. Standing leg curl

Note: All exercises are performed in 2 sets of 10-12 repetitions (taken from the book “The Abs Diet” by David ZincZenko). I recommend these comprehensive workouts because they help my brother stay lean and ripped all year round. The second exercise is provided so that you can make changes to the program after a couple of weeks if you want.

It is worth sticking to the program for at least 4 weeks.

Note : Rest and train according to the following schedule.

• Day 1 (training)
• Day 2 (rest)
• Day 3 (training)
• Day 4 (rest)
• Day 5 (training)
• Day 6 (rest)
• Day 7 (rest)
• Repeat the same thing!

Cardio training

Note : Just vary the way you do your cardio, such as 2 days on the stationary bike, then 2 days on the elliptical or treadmill. Next week, jump rope and swim. It's simple.

How much strength training should be included in a fat loss program?

In the same volume as you did before you started burning fat. However, if you have not burned fat before, you should train exactly as the program prescribes, whether you are a beginner or an experienced athlete.

Strength training is the key to burning calories and maintaining the anabolic process.

How much cardio should be included in a fat loss program?

As stated above, there should be no more than 4 workouts per week.

Note : Do cardio within 20 minutes after strength training because glycogen is used up during strength training and the body will primarily burn fat as an energy source.

Cardio helps you reach your goals

Do cardio for 15 minutes at an intensity that gets you sweating and breathing faster. The heart rate should be at least 65% higher than normal. Of course, you will adapt over time, so it only makes sense if you build up the intensity.

Here is a technique that will help you burn maximum fat:

• in the first week, write down the distance you covered in 15 minutes;
• next week try to walk a greater distance in the same amount of time.

You will, in turn, become stronger and burn more fat in the same amount of time due to the fact that you trained more actively.

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.

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

Adding cardio to strength training to burn fat

Some people go to the gym to tone up a specific part of their body, such as their abs. Such visitors come to the gym and perform several sets of crunches every day, but do not see any progress. Why?

It is important to know that there is no such thing as localized fat burning. If a person wants to reduce their waist size, several sets of crunches will not help.

For such a result, the fat content in the body must be quite low (for women 14-20%, for men 8-13%), and this can only be done by including cardio exercises in the program on the days between strength training. Aerobic training with elements of interval training is best.

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.

How Petichkin and Vasechkin trained

Let's look at this with an example:

Let's introduce two characters Petya Vasechkin and Vasya Petichkin and evaluate their workout plan for losing weight.

Vasechkin first lost 15 kg, he had 5 kg of excess fat left, and then he went to the gym. Petichkin decided to lose weight and exercise at the same time and began training immediately, having 20 kg of excess weight.

As a result, after a month they both gained 10 kg. But Vasechkin gained 6 kg of muscle tissue and 4 kg of fat, and Petichkin gained 2 kg of muscle and 8 kg of fat.

To create relief (dry out), Vasechkin needs to remove 4+5=9 kg of fat, Petichkin 8+20= 28 kg of fat.

That is, Vasya Petichkin, both visually and in reality, after a month of training, became even fatter, and Petya increased his muscle mass and is ready for the second stage - drying.

When you come to the gym, I am sure you will remember my words. Each gym has its own Petichkins who have been going to fitness classes for years and have not achieved any results.

“Why don’t the coaches tell them about this?” - you ask. Yes, because they also want to eat. They can’t refuse Vasya and not sell him a subscription and personal training.

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.

Principles for developing an initial weight loss program

Strength exercises are a determining factor for losing weight, but you shouldn’t take on heavy weights right away.
By adding weight, a beginning athlete will waste energy without completing the entire program. It is better to add several approaches or increase the volume of exercises. When performing any strength exercise, you should carefully monitor your technique. It is advisable to observe yourself in the mirror, tracking the position of your arms, legs and body in space. Correct technique is the key to effective training.

You should not rush, because if a beginner has never played sports in his life, then perhaps even the easiest program will be difficult for him in the first days. In this case, it is better to perform part of the exercises efficiently and correctly than to do the entire program through force and coercion.