4-Week Beginner Workout Plan for Weight Loss

A beginner workout program should be easy enough to get you motivated to move from the couch to exercising at least three times a week.

By the third week, your body should have adjusted, and you should be ready to progress from doing easy to moderate exercises.

Some workout resources available online today are not considerate of people who have never exercised or stepped in a gym. This 4-week beginner workout plan for weight loss is for people starting their fitness journey from scratch.

How often should you exercise as a beginner?

Experts recommend that beginners stick to 30-45 minutes of easy-to-moderate exercise at least three times a week.

Easing into an active lifestyle allows you to make small changes without feeling overwhelmed.

You can increase the frequency to six days a week as you grow stronger and fitter.

Most beginners want to hit the gym daily, but this is unrealistic and will cause fatigue.

Your body needs rest and recovery after a training session just as much as good nutrition.

Helpful resources

About this workout program

The first 2 weeks of the workouts in this 4-week beginner workout program are easy and low impact.

In weeks 3 and 4, the intensity is moderate as the repetitions and sets increase.

Some exercises require dumbbells, but if you don’t have any, you can use canned food, sandbags, or even water bottles to add a little resistance to your workouts.

If you are unsure what size weights to use, get at least three different sizes. An ideal weights collection for a beginner should include at least 2.5 lbs, 5 lbs, and 8 lbs dumbbell sets.

This is important because some exercises, such as lateral raises, require low weights, while compound exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, and floor presses, require heavier weights.

Daily warm-up and cool-down

Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before you start every session to reduce the risk of injury and ‘wake’ your muscles.

After the workout, you should do static stretches to help improve flexibility and reduce injury.

5-minute warm-up

This warm-up is a guideline only. If you prefer doing a longer warm-up or an entirely different warm-up activity, such as treadmill walking, there is nothing wrong with that.

60 seconds hip circles (30 seconds clockwise, 30 seconds anticlockwise)
30 seconds arm circles (15 seconds clockwise, 15 seconds anticlockwise)
60 seconds jog in place
60 seconds torso rotations
30 seconds good mornings
60 seconds bear hugs

4-Week Beginner Workout Plan

On the days that you will have to do strength training and cardio, start with strength training and finish your session with cardio.

Cardio options include walking, elliptical, and cycling. In weeks 3 and 4, your cardio can comprise brisk walking, jogging, rowing, stair climbing, spinning, or even an aerobics class at the gym.

If you don’t have access to a gym, you should still be able to walk or jog; all you need is a good pair of shoes and a pavement.

The exercises in this beginner workout plan do not require gym equipment, apart from the sets of dumbbells that we discussed above.

Therefore, you can do this 4-week workout schedule at home or the gym.

Week 1

Monday – Legs and biceps and back

10×3 basic squats
10×3 bicep curls
10×3 bent-over dumbbell rows
10×3 dumbbell deadlifts
10×3 hammer curls
10×3 good mornings
10×3 donkey kicks
10×3 reverse flys
10×3 concentration curls

Tuesday – Rest and recovery

Wednesday – chest, triceps and shoulders

10×3 dumbbell bench/floor press
10×3 triceps dips
10×3 dumbbell shoulder press
10×3 chest flys
10×3 lateral raises
10×3 triceps kickbacks

15 minutes cardio

Thursday- cardio and abs

10×3 bicycle crunches
2×20 seconds side planks
10×3 flutter kicks
2×20 seconds planks
10×2 Russian twists

30 minutes cardio

Friday- Legs and biceps and back

10×3 glute bridges
10×3 bicep curls
10×3 kettlebell swings
10×3 sumo squats
10×3 dumbbell biceps drag curls
10×3 dumbbell bench/floor press

Saturday – cardio

30 minutes cardio

Sunday- Rest and recovery

Week 2

Monday – Legs and biceps and back

12×3 sumo squats
12×3 bicep curls
12×3 bent-over dumbbell rows
12×3 dumbbell deadlifts
12×3 hammer curls
12×3 supermans
12×3 hip thrusts
12×3 reverse flys
12×3 concentration curls

Tuesday – Rest and recovery

Wednesday – chest, triceps and shoulders

12×3 dumbbell bench/floor press
12×3 triceps dips
12×3 dumbbell shoulder press
12×3 chest flys
12×3 lateral raises
12×3 triceps kickbacks

20 minutes cardio

Thursday- cardio and abs

12×2 Russian twists
12×2 reverse crunches
3×20 seconds side planks
12×3 bicycle crunches
12×3 flutter kicks
3×20 seconds planks

30 minutes cardio

Friday- Legs and biceps and back

10×3 kettlebell swings
10×3 bicep curls
10×3 one arm dumbbell row
10×3 glute bridges
10×3 sumo squats
10×3 dumbbell biceps drag curls
10×3 dumbbell bench/floor press

Saturday – cardio

35 minutes cardio

Sunday- Rest and recovery

Week 3

Monday – Legs and biceps and back

12×3 single leg deadlifts
12×3 sumo squats
12×3 bicep curls
12×3 bent-over dumbbell rows
20 high knees
12×3 dumbbell deadlifts
12×3 hammer curls
12×3 supermans
20 high knees
12×3 dumbell squats
12×3 hip thrusts
12×3 reverse flys
12×3 concentration curls
20 high knees

Tuesday- Cardio

30 minutes low intensity cardio

Wednesday – chest, triceps and shoulders

20 jumping jacks
12×3 dumbbell bench/floor press
12×3 triceps dips
12×3 dumbbell shoulder press
20 jumping jacks
12×3 chest flys
12×3 lateral raises
12×3 triceps kickbacks
20 jumping jacks

30 minutes cardio

Thursday- Rest and recovery

Friday- cardio and abs

12 mountain climbers
12×3 Russian twists
12×3 reverse crunches
12 mountain climbers
3×30 seconds side planks
12×3 bicycle crunches
12 mountain climbers
12×3 flutter kicks
3×30 seconds planks

30 minutes cardio

Saturday – Cardio

30 minutes low intensity cardio

Sunday- Rest and recovery

Week 4

Monday – Legs and biceps and back

10×4 dumbbell deadlifts
10×4 side lunges
10×4 sumo squats
10×4 hip thrusts
10×4 standing calf raises
10×4 bicep curls
10×4 concentration curls
10×4 bent-over dumbbell rows
10×4 supermans
10×4 reverse flys

Tuesday- chest, triceps and shoulders

10×4 dumbbell bench/floor press
10×4 chest flys
10×4 pushups
10×4 triceps kickbacks
10×4 triceps dips
10×4 dumbbell shoulder press
10×4 lateral raises

40 minutes cardio

Wednesday- Rest and recovery

Thursday- cardio and abs

16 mountain climbers
12×4 Russian twists
12×4 reverse crunches
16 mountain climbers
4×30 seconds side planks
12×4 bicycle crunches
16 mountain climbers
12×4 flutter kicks
4×30 seconds planks

40 minutes cardio

Friday- cardio

30 minutes cardio

Saturday- Legs and biceps and back

10×4 kettlebell swings
10×4 bicep curls
10×4 one arm dumbbell row
10×4 glute bridges
10×4 sumo squats
10×4 dumbbell biceps drag curls
10×4 dumbbell bench/floor press
10×4 standing calf raises

Sunday- Rest and recovery

4-Week Beginner Workout Plan for Weight Loss

How often should you exercise as a beginner?

About this workout program

Daily warm-up and cool-down