7-Day Workout Plan for Beginners: The Simple Guide to Getting Started on your Weight Loss Journey
New to working out? Don’t know where to start when it comes to getting lean? With this 7-day workout plan for beginners, you’ll feel like a pro in no time.
When you’re just starting out training in the gym (or at home), the best workout plan is one that’s straightforward, but effective. You don’t need to go hard with complex movements straight away – that can come at a later point.
Focus on your form and how much you can push your body and you’ll soon start to see real fat loss results.
So where to begin?
To get lean, you need an effective way of burning calories and building toned muscle. That can be achieved through a mixture of cardio and weight training. So, without holding you up any longer, let’s get into this 7-day workout plan for beginners.
Your 7-Day Workout Plan Starts Here
Level:
Beginner
Program duration:
7 days
Workout duration:
20-30 minutes daily
Equipment required:
Body weight, dumbbell
Monday: Body weight circuit
This workout will get you burning through those cals like no tomorrow. We’ve designed it to ramp up your heart rate, fast.
As you work through each move, your body will be working hard to provide enough stored energy, AKA fat, to cope with the demands of each exercise. Your metabolism will get a kickstart and be hiked up too. This is because an increase in heart rate triggers the metabolism to speed up to convert more calories into energy to keep you functioning properly.
Because it’s a no-equipment day, you can try this workout in the gym or in the comfort of your own home. Aim to complete the complete circuit of exercises for 3 rounds, with a 5-minute break in between each round.
The workout
20 Mountain climbers
20 High knees
10 Push-ups
20 Shoulder taps
15 Air squats
10 Burpees
Take your time and make sure you get the technique right for every exercise. Using good form helps to prevent injuries and makes each exercise effective.
Tuesday: Cardio circuit
If you’re feeling a little sore from yesterday’s workout, remember to top up on some protein and try some dynamic stretches before getting into Tuesday’s cardio circuit.
These movements are all about speed. They’ll get your heart rate firing on all cylinders and melt through those fat stores faster than ever.
Complete 3 rounds of the circuit as quick as you can – giving yourself at least 5-minute rest between each round. Set a timer so you can record your finishing time – and try to beat it next week!
The workout
30 High knee sprints
20 Leg raises
20 Squat jumps
20 Burpees
20 Dumbbell Russian twists
10 Tuck jumps
20 Jumping Jacks
Wednesday: Rest day
We all know balance is key when it comes to getting lean and building muscle. No matter how motivated you are, it’s important to give your body a rest.
Rest days are vital and could be a deciding factor between success and failure. Any successful fitness regimen isn’t complete without them. They allow your body to recover and repair.
If you insist on training, you can throw in a little low-intensity cardio – but nothing that elevates your heart rate too high. Remember to stick to your calories on rest days too and fuel up on the best post-workout foods.
Thursday: Body weight strength circuit
Today is all about building strength and giving those muscles some shape.
Building muscle is key to building a calorie-burning physique. This is because the growth of muscles consumes energy and burns calories, plus muscle tissue is metabolically more active and burns more calories than fat tissue[1].
These exercises are designed to hit your body in a different way and help you feel like a boss.
In this workout, we recommend you blast out as many reps as you can in 60 seconds. Grab a timer that signals every minute but also runs a continuous time, just so you can keep track.
Power through each 7 exercises without a break, giving yourself a 2-minute rest at the end. You should aim to complete a total of 4 rounds.
The workout
60 Second wall sit
Chair dips
Seated dumbbell lateral raise
60 Second plank
Dumbbell hammer curls
Mountain climbers
Dumbbell deadlift
Friday: High-intensity interval sprints
Friday = HIIT day. You can do this in the fresh outdoors, or hit up the treadmill in the gym. Aim to do the below sprint/walk combination on repeat for around 20 minutes.
The workout
Sprint for 20 seconds (as fast as you can without causing yourself any injuries)
Walk at a slower pace for 45 seconds
Saturday: Rest day
Rest, relax and repair. It’s the weekend after all.
Sunday: Low-intensity walking
We’re going pretty easy on you for day 7.
It has been quite an intense week for your body with this 7-day workout plan, and if you’re a beginner you might be feeling a bit sore.
Because of this, Sunday is all about getting in some low-intensity cardio. It’s true, you don’t need to go hard all the time to burn those calories and that stubborn fat – as long as you’re upping your energy expenditure, you’ll be shredding fat.
In fact, researchers have discovered that walking is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and reduce your waist circumference[2]. Walking one mile (1.6 km) burns approximately 100 calories, depending on your gender and weight[3]. Other research also identified that people on a calorie-controlled diet who walked for 60 minutes, five times per week for 12 weeks were able to drop inches off their waistlines as well as lose more body fat, compared with those who followed the diet alone[4].
What’s the Sunday workout in this 7-day workout plan for beginners?
It’s a long, low-intensity walk. Go out and complete at least a 60-minute walk. Get those steps in. Fill those lungs with some fresh air and enjoy the outdoors.
If you have the time, walk for longer. Each step you take brings you closer to your goal of shredding fat and getting leaner!
The bottom line
If you’re new to training or have been out of the game for a while, this 7-day workout plan for beginners will help you kickstart your fitness journey in the best way. Better yet, it’ll work in complete harmony alongside your Instant Knockout Cut.
If you need some motivation to just get started, why not partner up with a training buddy and keep each other accountable?
Either way, don’t wait around! You know exactly what you need to do. So, get at it and start carving a leaner, fitter and more confident version of yourself.
