Weight loss is the goal for most people who exercise, but it can be hard to know where to start. A three-day a week workout plan can help you reach your goals while only committing to a small amount of time each week.

This workout plan is designed to be done over three days, with each day focusing on different muscle groups. It’s important that you give yourself enough rest between workouts to avoid injury and allow your muscles time to repair themselves.

It’s also important not to lift too much weight or go too fast when you’re lifting weights. This will help prevent injuries and allow you to build up strength over time.

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3 Day Split Workout For Weight Loss

If you’re trying to lose weight, a weight loss workout plan can be very helpful. Getting regular exercise can help you meet your goals in a healthy, sustainable way—but sometimes, just knowing where to start can be a high hurdle to clear. From how often you sweat to the types of workouts you do, there are endless possibilities when you’re getting into a fitness routine, and it can be a lot to think about.

Before we really get into it, we want to make it clear that weight loss as a goal isn’t necessarily for everyone. For anyone who has a history of disordered eating, even if you’re in recovery, you should speak with a doctor before you pursue any weight-loss goal, including starting a new exercise routine. And even if you don’t have a history of disordered eating, it’s really important to have realistic expectations and make sure you’re pursuing weight loss in a healthy way. Results can be incredibly difficult to come by, may take a very long time to achieve, and are also really hard to maintain. Plus, exercise is only part of the equation. Your eating habits matter (more on that below), and getting sufficient sleep and keeping stress levels low are both important, too. With so many factors at play, it’s no wonder weight loss is a very unique experience for every person.

When it comes to the exercise part, we’re here to take some of the guess work out of the equation. Trainer Adam Rosante, C9 Champion brand ambassador and author of The 30-Second Body, developed a weight loss workout plan just for SELF readers to get you going. It incorporates the strength training, cardio, and rest days you’ll need to meet your weight-loss goals.

It’s not enough to get out there and get sweaty: Weight loss requires strategy.

We can’t talk about working out for weight loss without mentioning one other crucial element of meeting your goals: your eating habits. To create a calorie deficit that leads to weight loss, you have to eat fewer calories than you’re burning, says Rosante. You also need to be cognizant about what you’re eating, making sure to eat quality calories and watch portion sizes.

“Nutrition is priority numero uno—you can’t out-train a bad diet,” he adds. “Eighty percent nutrition plus 20 percent training equals 100 percent beast!” But there’s no need to completely overhaul your life at once if it feels too overwhelming at first, he says. “If you’re in the habit of working out, that may naturally lead you to start exploring healthier eating options. If you’re not there yet, that’s cool—just start working out and make some tweaks. Start small.”

And when it comes to working out, Rosante says, “Variety is the spice of life.” But that doesn’t mean changing it up willy-nilly. “I am not a fan of randomly programmed workouts where you’re just doing different things every day,” he says. “You want a program that you can progress with, and you have key indicators that you’re making progress.”

That’s exactly what the plan below does. You can use it as a starting point, and tailor it to your needs once you’re comfortable. And if you miss a workout once in a while? No big deal—get back on board with your next one and keep going. It’s a marathon, not a sprint (unless it’s HIIT day—but we’ll get to that).

Here’s the basic breakdown of what you’ll be doing:

  • Strength training three days a week, one hour per session
  • High-intensity interval training one day a week, 20 minutes per session
  • Steady-state cardio one day a week, 35 to 45 minutes per session
  • Two days of active recovery
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Every workout should begin with at least five to 10 minutes of warming up. Rosante likes to start with foam rolling, which helps with mobility. Then move into a dynamic warm-up to get the blood flow going. Here’s a five-minute warm-up to try.

After your workout, make sure you take time to cool down to relax your nervous system, says Rosante. “My favorite thing to do with a client is to lay them down, put their feet up a wall so that their legs are elevated, and just have them breathe into the belly, five seconds to inhale and five seconds to exhale, just to mellow everything out.” After a couple minutes, stretch out your major muscle groups (flexibility is increased when muscles are warm), and hold each stretch for at least three breaths. Here are four cool-down stretches to try.

Now, get ready to lift heavier, move faster, and lose more.

Strength Training — 1 Hour — 3 Days Per Week

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You may think you have to do cardio, cardio, cardio if you’re trying to lose weight, but strength training is incredibly important because having more muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, which means you’ll burn more calories at rest while your body works to maintain muscle tissue.

You’ll want to do full-body training sessions, says Rosante. Working specific body parts for a full session (like chest and triceps) can be great, but when life happens and you have to miss a workout, your routine (and muscles) will be imbalanced, he says. Hitting it all in one training session is a better bet for most people.

What to do:

1) Compound lower-body exercise (e.g. deadlift, squat)

Any compound lower-body move or variation will work for this one, like a goblet squat or a dumbbell deadlift, says Rosante. (A compound movement is one that works multiple muscle groups.) The key here is to lift heavy—”You’re talking about using some of the biggest muscle groups in your body, and in order to get those muscles to respond, you need to challenge them,” he says.

There’s no set amount of reps or sets for this part of the workout—he recommends working up to your five-rep max during every session. This means starting at a weight that’s not challenging and working your way up. Do five reps with a relatively light weight, rest, do five reps with weight that’s five pounds heavier, rest, and keep repeating this pattern, using five more pounds every time. When you hit a weight where you can only do five with good form, you’re done—keep that number in mind and try to beat it over time.

2) Upper-body superset: Upper-body pushing exercise (e.g. dumbbell bench press, push-up) & upper-body pulling exercise (e.g. single-arm bent-over row, dumbbell curl)

You’ll be supersetting these moves, which means doing one set of the first exercise followed immediately by a set of the other. Rosante recommends doing three sets of 12 reps of each move. Don’t rest in between the two movements (raising your heart rate incorporates some cardio work), but you can take up to a 60-second break before starting a new set. Alternating between pushing and pulling movements allows you to work opposing muscle groups, says Rosante.

3) Lower-body/core superset: Unilateral lower-body move (e.g. reverse lunge, step-up) & core move (e.g. plank, Russian twists)

A unilateral lower-body move is one where you work one leg at a time (another example is a Bulgarian split squat). By working only one side at a time, you can be sure you’re not relying on one leg more than the other. After you’ve done both sides, you can superset it with an abs movement. Again, do three sets of 12 reps without resting in between the exercises (feel free to take 60 seconds between sets). If you choose a plank for the core move, hold for 30 seconds.

4) Metabolic finisher

This is where you’ll get a boost of cardio in. Rosante has his clients do a metabolic finisher at the end of a strength workout to get the heart rate going for more immediate calorie burn. You could choose an exercise and do it for a certain amount of time (say, three minutes of quickly jumping rope), or decide to do a certain number of a move and finish them as quickly as possible (for example, doing 15 burpees as fast as you can). The time you take and what you do are entirely up to you, says Rosante, so mix it up. If you need a starting point, he suggests doing 10 burpees, 10 mountain climbers, and 10 plank ups for seven minutes, trying to do as many rounds as possible (and aiming to beat yourself next time). Then, cool it down, and you’re done for the day!

High-Intensity Interval Training — 20 Minutes — 1 Day Per Week

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The first of your two days of cardio should be a high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. Steady-state cardio does have a place in your routine (we’ll get there), but don’t forget that intensity is your friend.

“This is going to incite way more fat loss than just steady-state cardio,” says Rosante. “When you’re working in that high-intensity threshold you’re not only burning a lot of calories during the workout, but you raise your metabolic rate significantly afterwards.” Your body will need to work harder and longer to return to a resting state, burning more calories in the process.

What to do:

Choose an activity you like as a template—maybe it’s running, cycling, or bodyweight moves (burpees, anyone?). Whatever it is, push as hard as you possibly can for 30 seconds, then back off for a rest period. How long you rest will depend on your fitness level. If you’re just starting, you may want to try a 2-to-1 rest-to-work ratio, says Rosante (so, 30 seconds of work followed by 60 seconds of rest). Then you can reduce your rest time every week. You could also try Tabata intervals once you get comfortable—that’s 20 seconds of extremely hard work to 10 seconds of rest. Whatever you choose, repeat that work/rest circuit until your 20 minutes are up.

Steady-State Cardio — 35 to 45 Minutes — 1 Day Per Week

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And here’s your second day of cardio. This time it’s all about that long, slow burn. “Steady-state cardio raises the heart rate, speeds recovery, and improves your body’s ability to use oxygen properly,” says Rosante. “All movement is great movement!”

What to do:

Whatever you want! Running, rowing, swimming, hiking, kayaking…the list goes on. Anything that gets your heart rate up but you can still carry a conversation through, says Rosante.

Active Recovery — 2 Days Per Week

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Two days out of your week will be active recovery days—this is when your body has a chance to rest up and rebuild muscle fibers that you’ve been tearing during your workouts (this is where you really get stronger).

“You want to lay off those heavy workouts in favor of just some gentle movement,” says Rosante. Key words: gentle movement. An active recovery day isn’t a free pass to lie on the couch and do nothing. “Movement helps increase blood flow, driving more oxygen rich blood to your muscles to speed recovery,” he explains. “Faster recovery could equal faster results.”

So as long as you’re moving around a bit, you’re good to go. “If there’s something you really love to do, go do that. If you just want to go for a walk, do that. And if you just want to hang out, do that! Enjoy your life.”

3 Day Workout To Lose Belly Fat

If you only have 3 days per week to workout, then what you do in the gym to lose weight needs to be targeted.  

The key points in a 3 day per week workout program for fat loss are: 

  • You need to train most muscle groups multiple times per week.
  • You need to incorporate high reps that take your muscles to fatigue on most, if not all, of your sets.
  • You need to train compounded movements (like squats, deadlifts, overhead press, rows), in order to maintain muscle mass.
  • You need to be in a slight caloric deficit either through the calories you eat or the calories you burn through your workouts.
  • You need to pair your workouts with a high protein diet.

As well, workout programs for weight loss should emphasize weight training over traditional cardio.

Why?  

Because lifting weights is important for muscle retention, which ensures that the weight you lose comes from fat and not muscle.  This will give you that lean, toned, and muscular look when you lose weight, rather than being skinny-fat (i.e. thin with no muscle definition).  

5 Workout Rules For Fat Loss When Training Three Days Per Week

5 workout rules for fat loss when training three days per week

During a fat loss phase, your workouts should alter somewhat to allow you to maximize muscle retention (not losing muscle) and coincide with your dietary habits of being in a calorie deficit. 

Follow the tips below to maximize your fat loss and muscle retention. 

And if you are curious how much cardio you should do during this period, keep reading!

Rule #1:  Train Most Muscles Multiple Times a Week

Regardless of your diet phase (cutting, maintaining, or bulking) it is important that you train most muscle groups at least twice per week, with some muscle groups like arms, abs, and deltoids being trained 2-4 times a week. By training the muscles more frequently, you allow for more stimulus and adaptations to occur.

During non-diet phases, recovery is often easier since you are well fed and able to use the extra calories to recover, refuel, and rebuild your muscles. In a diet phase, recovery is often harder in later stages of a diet, however you must still aim to signal the muscles that they are receiving stimulus to grow, and in the very least they need to maintain their form and function and hold on. 

A lot of people will drop training frequency, most of the time doing less resistance training and more cardio, which can result in less muscle being retained, and ultimately more muscle loss during the diet phase.

Rule #2:  Take Muscles to Fatigue with Moderate to High Rep Ranges

Now that you know you need to train muscles more frequently, it is important to also understand what sets, reps, and intensities may be best during this time. 

Most of your workouts should be aimed at moving moderate to heavy loads, and sometimes lighter loads to place a muscle at muscular failure (the muscle itself fails rather than your entire body failing). By training in moderate to high rep ranges (8-15 reps, or sometimes 15-25 reps), you drive muscle fatigue and overall training volume up, which can help you maintain muscle as best as you can during a diet phase. 

Furthermore, by training in higher volumes, you are able to do more work and burn more calories than if you were to lift heavy (2-5 reps) for a few sets.

A good 3 day fat loss program will be able to offer enough stimulus to maintain or gain muscle, yet still balance out the fact you may have limitations with recovery if you do too much.

Rule #3:  Still Do Some Heavier Compound Exercises

Despite the fact we just discussed the importance of lifting moderate to lighter loads in moderate to higher rep ranges above, it is still important and beneficial to lift heavier loads to keep strength numbers up and to still challenge fast twitch muscle fibers (which respond more to heavier loads and fast explosive movements).

During non-diet phases, you may be able to spend most of your time training heavier compound lifts in the 5-10 rep range, or even 2-5 rep range. 

However during a diet phase this can be tougher to do since recovery is often a major limitation. I generally recommend choosing one movement per session to train in the heavier rep range (5-10 reps), preferably a compound exercise like squats, presses, and deadlifts. 

The reason being is that you can still stimulate a ton of muscle and maintain as much strength as possible during a diet phase simply by doing the smallest effective dose necessary. 

The total sets may vary, however I like doing 3-6 total sets for 5-10 total reps for my main compound lifts and focusing on good reps and small progressions, or even repeating the same weights and reps in following weeks during a diet phase (with my strength movements).

Rule #4:  Eat a Protein Rich Diet, and Eat Carbs Too

While this is a nutrition based rule generally, it 100% will affect your ability to perform in the gym and maintain as much muscle as you can during the diet phase.

As discussed above, you will need to keep your training intensities hard and volumes higher, especially as you go deeper into a diet phase to ensure your body does not lose muscle. That hard and frequent training comes at a cost, and recovery is the price.

By increasing your protein intake, or hopefully keeping it similar to what it already is (assuming you are eating roughly 1g of protein a day per pound), you can help your body recover from hard training and allow you to keep training harder the next workout.

Carbs are also key during a fat loss phase, especially around your workouts. Despite what fad diets may tell you, your body needs some carbs to train hard, especially if your goal is to train hard to maximize muscle retention (prevent losing muscle) and getting lean, ripped, and toned after a diet phase. 

Your muscles store carbs in the form of glycogen within them, and that helps them train hard during tough workouts. 

When you diet or go low carb, your muscles can run empty of glycogen, which means your performance will suffer, the muscles will appear flat and not hard, and your recovery will be limited. 

The solution: aim to consume a carbohydrate rich meal after your workouts. This is typically around 30-50% of your total carbohydrate allowance (macros) for the day. This will ensure those carbs get put to good use and help you recover in time for your next hard workout.

Rule #5:  Be in a Calorie Deficit

This is one of the most critical aspects of fat loss, and that is to be in a calorie deficit. If you are in a deficit, you will lose weight. If you are “dieting” yet eating more calories than you are expending, you are not in a calorie deficit and are technically not “dieting”. 

Therefore, focus on eating less and training hard, and track your weight loss week to week. If you are able to do this without the need of doing additional cardio, amazing! 

The Best 3 Days a Week Workout for Fat Loss

3 days a week workout program to help you lose body fat

Below is a sample 3 days a week workout program to help you lose body fat AND retain as much muscle and strength as possible. 

On non workout days, I recommend you do 30-60 minutes of walking or leisure physical activity per day. Better yet, aim to hit 10,000 steps per day, every day of the week.

About the program…

To maximize the effectiveness of this program, the overall training volume and training frequency per muscle group is high. This is done by training total body workouts every training day. 

Additionally, one lower body strength movement and one upper body strength movement is trained per day to ensure fast twitch muscle fibers and strength are still being maintained throughout the fat loss cycle. 

Each workout should take roughly 60 minutes, not including warm ups or cool downs.

If you want to see how workouts progress week-to-week to ensure you don’t stall on your progress, then use the Fitbod App and select “weight loss” as your goal.  You also have the option of customizing the equipment that you have available.  

Day 1: Workout For Fat Loss

This workout starts with back squats for leg strength and pairs them with bodyweight TRX rows to prepare the lifter for some bench press (get the back activated). 

During the low incline bench press strength work, the lifter will also include kettlebell swings to target the glutes and hamstrings. 

Both of those segments should take no longer than 15 minutes EACH, leaving roughly 30 minutes for the last part of the workout.

The last part of the workout is a total body dumbbell workout that should be done with heavy enough loads that the lifter reaches muscle failure in those rep ranges. 

Each round should take about 7 minutes on average, including 30 seconds between exercises and a longer 60 second rest period after the sit ups and before the next round.

  • Barbell Back Squat: 4 sets of 5 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the TRX Row
  • TRX Row: 4 sets of 8-10 reps, with a challenging angle, rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Low InclineBarbell  Bench Press: 4 sets of 5 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the kettlebell swing
  • Kettlebell Swing: 4 sets of 12-15 reps, with a moderate to heavy load, rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Dumbbell Circuit: Perform 4 Rounds, resting 30 seconds between exercises, 60 seconds after each round
  • Dumbbell Walking Lunge: 10-15 reps per leg, with a challenging load
  • Dumbbell Floor Press: 10-15 reps, with a challenging load
  • Dumbbell Bicep Curl: 10-15 reps, with a challenging load
  • Dumbbell Sit Up: 10-15 reps, with a challenging load

Day 2: Workout For Fat Loss

workout for fat loss

This workout starts with barbell Romanian deadlift for leg strength and pairs them with pull up or band assisted pull ups for back strength and hypertrophy. 

During the standing overhead press the lifter will attack more upper body strength work. They will pair this with standing bicep curls either with the barbell or dumbbells.

Both of those segments should take no longer than 15 minutes EACH, leaving roughly 30 minutes for the last part of the workout.

The last part of the workout is a total body dumbbell workout that should be done with heavy enough loads that the lifter reaches muscle failure in those rep ranges. 

Each round should take about 8-10 minutes on average, including 30 seconds between exercises and a longer 60 second rest period after the sit ups and before the next round.

  • Barbell RDL: 4 sets of 5 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the pull up
  • Band Assisted Pull Up or Regular Strict Pull Up: 4 sets of 8-10 reps, with a challenging load/assistance, rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Standing Barbell Overhead Press: 4 sets of 5 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the kettlebell swing
  • Barbell or Dumbbell Curl: 4 sets of 12-15 reps, with a moderate to heavy load, rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Dumbbell Circuit: Perform 3 Rounds, resting 30 seconds between exercises, 60 seconds after each round
  • One Arm Dumbbell Row: 15-20 reps per arm, with a challenging load
  • Dumbbell Skull Crusher: 15-20 reps, with a challenging load
  • Dumbbell Step Up: 10-15 reps per leg, with a challenging load
  • Weighted Side Plank: 30 seconds per side , with a challenging load

Day 3: Workout For Fat Loss

This workout starts with the bench press for upper body strength and pairs them with one arm dumbbell rows for back strength. 

From there, the lifter will go into the leg press and close grip push up segment to increase lower body strength and hypertrophy and work more upper body strength. 

Both of those segments should take no longer than 15 minutes EACH, leaving roughly 30 minutes for the last part of the workout.

The last part of the workout is a total body barbell and bodyweight workout that should be done with heavy enough loads that the lifter reaches muscle failure in those rep ranges. 

Each round should take about 8-10 minutes on average, including 30 seconds between exercises and a longer 60 second rest period after the sit ups and before the next round.

  • Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 5 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the box jumps
  • One Arm Row: 4 sets of 8-10 reps, with a challenging weight, rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Leg Press: 4 sets of 8-10 reps, with a heavy load, go directly into the close grip push up
  • Close Grip Push Up: 4 sets of 8-10 reps, with a moderate to heavy load (you can add a weight plate to your back), rest 60 seconds afterwards
  • Conditioning Circuit: Perform 3 Rounds, resting 30 seconds between exercises, 60 seconds after each round
  • Barbell Push Press: 10-15 reps, with a challenging load
  • Bodyweight V-Up: 15-20 reps, with a challenging load or bodyweight
  • Barbell Split Squat: 10-15 reps per leg, with a challenging load
  • Bodyweight Plank: 45-60 seconds, with a challenging load or bodyweight

Final Notes

Losing fat comes down to being a calorie deficit through a sound diet plan and increased activity. 

Outside of nutrition, weight training is one of the most important aspects of losing fat and not losing muscle during a diet phase. 

All of the workouts above will help you prevent muscle loss, increase your metabolism, and burn tons of calories without needing to “do cardio”. 

Make sure to track your meals and use cardio only as needed if you are truly looking to lose weight and prevent muscle loss during a diet phase.

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