Today I’m going to give you a complete total body weight loss workout plan for beginners (and really anyone looking to tone and lose weight).

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I’ll break down not only why it is so important for you to get up, move and then pick up heavy things, but I’ll also explain the ins and outs of how and when you should train.

At the end of this article, you’ll get my best strategies for maximizing the most simplistic weight loss workout plan. And you’ll even get a free workout that you can print and take to the gym today.

But first … allow me to introduce myself … my name is Pete.

I’m lover of chocolate … drinker of coffee, wine and bourbon … husband to a beautiful wife … dad to two little nuggets of curiosity and Protector of the Realm (a.k.a., my small Brooklyn apartment).

When I’m not dropping random Game of Thrones metaphors into my writing, I’m busy cooking up fat loss strategies for busy people.

Including myself.

Despite being a fitness enthusiast and coach for years, I let myself go due to the stress and rigors of the daily grind. I just “didn’t have the time” to train or watch my eating.

So, my waist and belly reacted accordingly and expanded mercilessly.

I’ve since gotten my act together by utilizing the best weight loss workout plan that I’m going to provide for you today.

Don’t just take my word and before/after pics for it. I’ve worked with a ton of friends, and even family, to develop the right plan for them. Including my first lady.

But, enough about us.

My work with my clients speaks volumes, too. Check out the transformation of my online coaching client, Bruce.

It’s time to get into the hows and whys of your own weight loss workout plan.

In this guide, you’re going to get all kinds of awesome sauce:

• What is the best weight loss workout plan for beginners
• Why strength training is the best weight loss workout plan
• How often you should workout
• Which exercises to include in your weight loss workout plan
• The best weight loss workout plan in action: A full body routine you can do today

Let’s get into it.

But before we start, if you’re super busy or just not really into reading, feel free to go ahead and grab your free strength training workout plan here.

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The Best Weight Loss Workout Plan for Beginners

Let me know if this sounds familiar:

• Those go-to pair of jeans in your closet are suddenly feeling a little tighter than they should.
• Or maybe you’re an avid runner and “eat clean” but you’re struggling to lose those last 10-15 pounds of flab around your belly.
• Or perhaps it’s been tough trying to keep up with the kids on the playground and realize it’s time to make a change.

It happens to the best of us. What comes next is a choice. You can throw up your hands and accept that this is just the way it is and do nothing. Or you can take action. Bravo on taking that first step by reading this article.

Now, if this is your first time here and weight loss is your ultimate goal, you should hit the pause button right now and check out my guide to the most efficient way to lose weight … by checking your diet and finding the right calorie needs for weight loss.

Make no mistake about it, nutrition is the driver of your fat loss journey.

You see, no amount of exercise, no matter how intense, will make up for a poor diet. So the best weight loss workout plan starts with how much food you stuff into your face hole. That’s the most important exercise of this entire process. Hands down.

Once you have that nutrition covered with a reasonable calorie deficit, then you can start complimenting your newfound diet with the best weight loss workout plan for your journey.

Exercise is one of the best things you can do for yourself

In the past, you likely grabbed your running shoes, hit the pavement (or treadmill … or elliptical … or StairMaster) and started cranking away like a hamster on a wheel a few times per week.

This isn’t a terrible approach. Working on cardiovascular health has many benefits. And getting more movement every day is never a bad thing.

It’s just not the most effective and efficient way for you to finally hit those weight loss goals.

Instead, you should focus the majority of your available time and energy on getting stronger through some form of regular resistance training.

Why strength training is the best weight loss workout plan

Strength training (or resistance training) is any type of “workout” that focuses on getting stronger and/or building muscle.

Simply put, when you are stronger, life is a lot easier. Seriously.

That stubborn jar of pasta sauce? You can finally open it.

Have a ton of groceries in the car? You don’t have to make a bazillion trips back and forth between the trunk and the kitchen.

Kids need someone to pick them up off the floor, or to keep up with them on the playground? You’ve got this.

Whether you need to lose the last 10 pounds or you’re just getting started and need to lose 50 or more, strength training is the most effective way to burn fat and build muscle.

And to be clear: when you say that you want to lose weight, the actual goal should be to burn fat and strengthen muscle.

Typically, when most of us are talking about losing weight, it’s really a desire to burn more fat, which is more commonly referred to as “toning” or “shaping” or even “leaning out.”

And there is a difference.

You see, losing weight is a simple formula. When you eat fewer calories than you burn (otherwise known as a caloric deficit) you will lose weight. Period.

Starve yourself by restricting enough calories … toss in some cardio … and you will lose weight.

Do this long enough, and you’ll also look like Tom Hanks stranded on a lonely island with only a volleyball to keep him company. 

While calories are the driver of weight loss, it’s strength training that will shape, tone and lean out your body to help you look great nekkid.

You see, when you are in a caloric deficit (again, just fancy terms for a diet) your body is basically eating itself.

But when you workout through resistance training during a diet, you are sending a signal to your body that, “Hey, I’m still kinda using these muscles, so as you eat yourself, kindly take away from this excess fat situation I’ve got going on over here … please and thank you.”

This is a really simplistic explanation, but it still gets the point across. Here’s another benefit that might finally entice you to pick up heavy shit:

Strength training boosts your metabolism, which enhances fat loss. Fat loss means sexy.

Therefore, any workout plan that includes some form of strength training is the best weight loss workout plan. Period.

Wait. Hold up. You said this was an article all about finding the best weight loss workout plan. I’m not in this to get big and bulky and build muscle. What gives?

Excellent question. Here’s the deal:

If your goal is fat loss (or weight loss), then you know the key is watching how much you eat. As long as you are actually dieting and burning more calories than you eat, you will burn fat and lose weight.

You cannot gain weight to the point of muscle-bound bulkiness while dieting. It’s scientifically impossible. In order to get there, you need an incredible amount of food. And sometimes, you might even need an extra pharmaceutical push to get the job done.

Repeat after me: You will not get bulky or gain weight as long as you are in caloric deficit. Even if you are lifting a metric fuck ton of heavy weights and eating all the carbs and chugging all the protein shakes. Promise.

Instead, you will lean out, look amazing and feel fantastic.

But on a more serious note, it’s not just about looking awesome. Strength training has an almost unlimited amount of benefits that include:

• Injury prevention –– Resistance training helps strengthen bones and connective tissue, which leads to a more durable body that can withstand a little more wear and tear.
• Keeps you young –– Strength training improves sleep, heart health, blood pressure and lowers cholesterol, all markers that can make someone as old as Gandalf feel young at heart.
• Mood booster –– Ever feel terrible after a great workout? No, of course not. Because strength training increases endorphins that signal the brain to be all happy inside. It might not be as good as sexy time, but it’s pretty close.

Bottom line: Can you lose weight (and even burn fat) by doing the same old cardio-based training and by neglecting resistance workouts altogether? Yes.

Is it the most effective way to look and feel like a million bucks? No.

How often you should workout

You don’t have to lift like a bodybuilder. You don’t have to look like a bodybuilder, either. Nor do you have to be in the gym pumping iron like a bodybuilder 5-6 days out of the week.

But you do need to commit to a consistent and regular strength training routine.

And it’s important to note that resistance training comes in many, many forms. As long as you are pushing your muscles and encouraging them to grow or get stronger, that counts as strength training.

It can be through a bodyweight-only (or calisthenics) program that looks a lot like a bunch of variations on push-ups and pull-ups and air squats.

Equipment required: None; although having benches or stairs can help increase the resistance on movements like pushups and lunges.

It can be through the more traditional approach of hitting the weights in the gym on variations of bench presses, deadlifts and squats.

Equipment required: The gym is your playground. Use the barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands, kettlebells and even the machines.

It can even be a fun mash-up of everything, or you can get really creative with things like tire flipping, truck pushing and just picking up heavy stuff around the house, farm, neighborhood block, etc.

Equipment required: Anything, get creative. A gallon jug of water for lifting, tree trunk for climbing/pull-ups, sand for crawling, even a large tire for carrying/flipping.

At minimum, you’d want to do this at least twice per week. That’s enough to preserve muscle and even make some slight improvements in strength.

If you are focusing on really pushing yourself and getting stronger with each workout, then this is all you really need in the beginning. If you enjoy working out and would like more volume, then by all means, increase your frequency. But always be sure to take at least one day off for rest.

Every single part of the body should be put to the test in these two strength training sessions. That’s not as difficult as it sounds if you commit to a few solid movements that provide the most bang for your buck.

Which exercises to include in your weight loss workout plan

Until Doc Brown revamps that DeLorean to send us back to 1985, time is the one resource that we simply cannot get back.

You need to be as efficient as possible when working out so you can get in, get out and get on with your day.

This can be achieved by focusing on exercises that work multiple muscles at once and do so in a pattern that matches our most basic human movements.

What do humans do?

• We push things;
• We pull things;
• We hinge at the hips;
• We squat;
• We lunge;
• We carry things.

A well-balanced workout program will emphasize these patterns of movement first and foremost. In doing so, all of your muscles will get some work.

On the surface, the most basic exercises that should be included are variations on the classics:

• Push: bench press, push-ups, overhead press
• Pull: pull-ups, rows, pulldowns, bicep curls
• Hinge at the hips: deadlifts, kettlebell swings
• Squat: variations on the squat (front, goblet, back, air squats, etc)
• Lunge (or single-leg): variations on the lunge and single-leg deadlifts
• Carry: variations on the weighted carry

When all of these are addressed in a weekly routine that includes at least two training sessions per week, you are well on your way to achieving maximum sexitude.

The best weight loss workout plan in action: A full body routine you can do today

Getting started with a strength training program is daunting. Which exercises? How many sets versus reps? How much time should I rest between movements?

Allow me to clear up the confusion and put everything you’ve learned so far into action with a full body workout plan you can execute right now.

It’s all about the basics. No need for overly complicated programming or a routine that will steal too much time from your day.

The following program works the entire body and can be performed twice per week on non-consecutive days.

But first, a few things you should know before you get started:

• Reps (or repetitions) are one time through a movement or exercise. A single rep of a squat would be executing the full range of motion by going down and returning back up.
• Sets are groups of reps. So if you performed 10 reps that would be 1 set of 10 reps. For example, you can say, “I did 2 sets of 10 reps of squats.”
• Always warm up to prevent injury. At minimum that should include a few minutes on a cardio machine of choice followed by warm-up sets of each exercise in your workout utilizing lighter weights and/or lower resistance.

Alright. Let’s get into this routine.

The best weight loss workout plan (Full Body Routine):

Perform three sets of each movement for the number of reps prescribed, resting 1-2 minutes in between sets. Complete this workout twice per week.

Additional notes:

• Focus on form to avoid injury and reap all of the benefits of your workout.
• Pay attention to your posture at all times and move with a controlled tempo to ensure your muscles are working, and not momentum slinging the weights around.
• Remember to breathe. Exhaling during the hardest part of an exercise can help fuel the movement.
• Once you are comfortable with form, you can slowly add more weight or resistance.

This seemingly simple routine hits every fundamental movement that your body needs for optimal performance.

And the workout itself should last no more than about 30-40 minutes.

The other advantage of a pretty simple set up like this? Simple gets done.

If you’re just starting out or need an extra push to get back in the gym, you need something quick and efficient to increase the likelihood of actually executing the workout.

That’s the key with this program.

If you found this workout helpful and would like to print out a similar full body strength training routine, I’ve got you covered with a free downloadable copy. 

So what is the best weight loss workout plan?

The most important takeaway from this entire piece really isn’t even about how effective strength training is for your weight loss journey.

It’s really all about finding something that you can enjoy and actually do for the long haul.

The hope is this becomes something that is more long-term. Like, rest-of-your-life long-term. So find a workout program that you can enjoy. Because if you enjoy it, you’ll be consistent.

And consistency is the key to success.

If you’re looking for more weight loss workout plans like the one in this article, I’ve got an entire Fat Loss Guide with a month worth of workouts that’s totally free for you to download.

If you love it, cool. If not and you think I suck, totally cool, too.

FAQs on Strength Training

Q: I don’t want to get bulky!

For all of the ladies out there concerned about this one, let’s bust this myth once and for all. I can assure you that working out with a focus on strengthening your muscles will never lead to a muscle-bound, bulky physique.

Especially if you are attempting to lose weight by dieting and cutting calories.

Just like eating fewer calories is the only way to successfully lose weight, eating more calories is the only way to successfully gain muscle to achieve that bodybuilder look you’re likely thinking of here.

Instead, when women train with weights and get stronger, it leads to a lean and toned look. Not a bulky frame. Promise.

Q: But, I’m fat and really need to lose weight first, right?

Yes. You should focus on losing weight (or fat) if that is your goal. Which means, you absolutely should emphasize strength training as the primary driver of your exercise programming.

Strength training keeps those hard-earned muscles while your body rids itself of the unwanted fat surrounding those sexy abs and biceps.

Work your muscles, get your eating right by tracking your calories or macros (here’s my comprehensive guide to counting macros) and the the fat will go away at a much more efficient pace.

Strength training increases your metabolism which means that even though the scale weight loss might seem a tad slower, the actual inches will come off faster.

As long as you are burning more calories than you eat, you will lose weight. Resistance training will only help speed up that process.

Q: But I’m an avid runner and I need to stay lean!

Great. Strength training is perfect for your running goals. It increases the endurance of your muscles, improves your nervous system and increases the activation of the motor units within your muscles.

This is just fancy speak that means when your strengthen your muscles, you will be able to run more efficiently.

All athletes, whether that’s running, surfing or playing Quidditch, should be strength training.

Let me help you figure out the best weight loss workout plan for you … 

Finding the right time and right workout plan can be incredibly overwhelming. But, I’m here to help you out.

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Best workout plan” and I’ll answer any questions you have about training.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, maybe you’d like more knowledge bombs from me. I’d be honored if you join my mailing list to get regular updates every time I post something pretty dope. Enter your name and your best email address below and you’ll get 52 Free Fat Loss Workouts as my gift to you for being awesome.