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Want to lose fat, but feel a little lost every time you walk into the gym? You’re not alone, and this plan is here to fix that.
It’s an 8 week gym plan for complete beginners. You’ll lift three days a week for about 45 minutes, and do two easy cardio days. Every exercise uses machines or dumbbells, so there’s nothing complicated to learn on day one.
It works for men and women. The only thing that changes from person to person is the weight on the machine, and we’ll show you how to pick that yourself.
Keep reading for both workouts, your cardio, what to eat, and what progress should actually look like.
The plan at a glance
| Level | Complete beginner |
| Lifting days | 3 a week, about 45 minutes each |
| Cardio days | 2 a week, 30 to 40 minutes each |
| Cardio after lifting | 10 minutes, easy |
| Length | 8 weeks |
| Rest between sets | 60 to 90 sec |
| Protein | 0.6 to 0.9 g per lb bodyweight a day (1.4 to 2.0 g per kg) |
| Target loss | 0.5% to 1% of bodyweight a week |
| Equipment | Any gym with machines and dumbbells |
Your week
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Workout A + 10 min easy cardio |
| Tuesday | Cardio day |
| Wednesday | Workout B + 10 min easy cardio |
| Thursday | Rest, or a walk |
| Friday | Workout A + 10 min easy cardio |
| Saturday | Cardio day |
| Sunday | Rest |
The next week starts with Workout B, so A and B swap places each week.
Can only get to the gym three times? No problem. Do the three lifting days, and go for a walk on two other days instead.
The workouts
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Chest press machine | 3 | 10-12 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell Romanian deadlift | 3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell shoulder press | 2 | 10-12 |
| Plank | 3 | 20-30 sec |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Goblet squat | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated cable row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Lying or seated leg curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Dumbbell step-up | 2 | 10 each leg |
| Cable crunch or dead bug | 3 | 10-12 |
A goblet squat is a squat holding one dumbbell upright against your chest, like a goblet, or a big cup. It’s the easiest squat to learn, because the weight in front helps you sit back and stay upright.
A Romanian deadlift is a hinge, or a movement that bends at the hips rather than the knees. Keep your knees soft, push your hips back, and lower the dumbbells down the front of your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Then stand back up.
Your back stays flat the whole time.
Cardio days
Pick anything you can keep going at a steady pace for half an hour: incline walking on the treadmill, the bike, the elliptical or the rower. Whichever one you don’t dread is the right choice!
| Weeks | Cardio days | Each session | After lifting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 2 a week | 30 min, easy | 10 min |
| 3 to 4 | 2 a week | 35 min, moderate | 10 min |
| 5 to 8 | 2 a week | 40 min, moderate | 10 to 15 min |
Just to be clear: that’s two cardio sessions a week of 30 to 40 minutes each, not one long session.
Moderate means you can talk in full sentences, but you’d rather not. Easy means you could happily hold a whole conversation.
By weeks 5 to 8, that adds up to around 110 to 125 minutes a week, heading toward the WHO’s 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. A daily walk on top gets you there.
Do you need HIIT?
Nope! HIIT, or high intensity interval training, means short bursts of hard effort with rests in between. It’s handy if you’re short on time.
But in adults with overweight, a review of 13 trials found that intervals and steady cardio led to similar fat loss. The intervals just took about 40% less time.
So start steady. From week 5, if you’d like, swap one cardio day for 20 minutes of intervals: 30 seconds hard, 90 seconds easy, repeated.
Want ideas? Take a look at the best cardio for weight loss. And if your knees or joints complain, low impact cardio gives you gentler options.
How the 8 weeks progress
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Weeks 3 to 5 | Week 6 | Weeks 7 to 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sets | 2 per exercise | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Weight | Light, learning | Add when you hit 12 | 60% of normal | Add when you hit 12 |
| Effort | 4+ reps left | 2 to 3 reps left | Easy | 1 to 2 reps left |
“Reps left” just means how many more good reps you could have done when you stopped the set.
Week 6 is a deload, or a lighter week. You keep showing up, you just do less.
It’s tempting to skip it, but beginners who do often feel flat in week 7. Trust the process!
How to pick a weight and when to go up
Pick a weight where reps 10 to 12 feel hard, but your form holds.
Once you can do 12 good reps on every set, two sessions in a row, add the smallest step the machine allows. You’ll drop back to about 10 reps, and that’s exactly right. Climb back up to 12 and repeat.
Why lift at all, if the goal is fat loss?
Because when you diet without lifting, some of what you lose is muscle. Lifting is what tells your body to hang on to it.
This is one of the better-supported findings out there. A 2025 review of 25 trials and 1,608 adults with overweight found that adding resistance training to a diet protected lean mass, increased the amount of fat lost, and made people stronger, compared with dieting alone.
What does that mean in real life? At the same weight on the scale, you’ll look and feel more toned, because more of what’s left is muscle.
Eating for fat loss
The workouts make the plan work. Food decides how fast it works.
1. Eat a little less than you burn. That’s the only thing that causes fat loss. Not a special food, not meal timing, not the cardio machine you pick. A moderate deficit, or a small daily calorie gap, is enough.
Would you rather follow a plan than count? Try the 1,800 calorie meal plan or the 2,000 calorie meal plan, depending on your size.
2. Eat enough protein. Aim for 0.6 to 0.9 g per pound of bodyweight a day (1.4 to 2.0 g per kg), the range the International Society of Sports Nutrition gives for people who train. For a 176 lb (80 kg) person, that’s roughly 110 to 160 g a day. It helps you hold on to muscle, and it keeps you fuller too.
3. Don’t crash diet. Eating very little feels fast for two weeks. Then your training falls apart, and the plan usually goes with it.
What progress should look like
Aim to lose 0.5% to 1% of your bodyweight a week. For a 176 lb (80 kg) person, that’s about 1 to 1.75 lb (0.4 to 0.8 kg) a week.
Reviews of fat loss in lifters recommend this range and favor the slower end, because it keeps more muscle. Slow and steady really does win here!
Here’s what’s completely normal, so you don’t panic:
- The first week or two often drop faster, then it slows. The slower rate is the real one, not a stall.
- The scale can stall or nudge up in the first few weeks of lifting. Keep going and judge it on the weekly average, not one weigh-in.
- Day to day weight jumps around by 2 pounds (1 kg) or more. Weigh yourself most mornings and go by the weekly average.
A real stall is three weeks with no change in your weekly average and no change in your waist.
Only then should you eat slightly less, or add a walk. Track your waist and your lifts too. If the weights are going up and your waist is going down, it’s working!
One myth worth dropping
“HIIT burns fat for hours afterwards.” The afterburn, or the extra calories your body uses after a workout, is real, but small.
A review of the research put it at about 6% to 15% of the calories the workout itself used, even after very hard sessions. The review’s own conclusion is that what counts is the energy you use during the workout. So the best cardio is simply the one you’ll keep doing.
Questions people ask
Is 3 days of lifting enough for a beginner?
Yes! Three full body sessions hit every muscle three times a week. More days isn’t better until your body can recover from more.
Should I lift or do cardio first?
Lift first. You’ll lift better while you’re fresh, and the 10 minutes of cardio afterwards works as a cool-down.
I’m really unfit. Is this too much?
Not if you go at your own pace. Start with weeks 1 to 2 and repeat them if you need to, and walk instead of using the cardio machines. The plan will wait for you.
Can I train at home instead?
Not with this plan, since it’s built around gym machines. If you want another gym option, try the beginner gym plan or the women’s 12 week fat loss gym plan. For home, take a look at the bodyweight plan in the related section below.
What machines will I need?
Leg press, chest press, lat pulldown, cable row and a leg curl. Most gyms have all five. If one’s missing, the guide to leg machines has swaps for the leg work.
You’ve got this. Enjoy your first week, and good luck with your fat loss journey!
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, an injury, or are pregnant, talk to your doctor before starting a new training or diet plan.
