Fat loss is a common goal for a lot of women.
However, there’s a lot of misinformation out there on how women should diet and work out to achieve this goal.
Most women’s magazines will tell you that some fad diet, some basic ab & glute workout circuit, or even tons of cardio is the solution.
The truth is, these things can work (when part of a larger, complete plan) – but there’s nothing special about them and they can make your fat loss journey a lot more difficult than it has to be.
In reality, hard work with some resistance training balanced with some additional cardio to ramp up your daily calorie expenditure is the best approach.
And when paired with a diet that puts you in a slight calorie deficit, will help you shed any unwanted body fat you may have.
Editor's Note: Make sure you’re doing all the right things you need to be doing to lose body fat. For those looking for a more in-depth resource to teach them how to lose fat, we’ve created a FREE 5 day Fat Loss Email Course.
The course will teach you how your body loses fat, how to utilize workout plans on our website to maximize fat loss, how to eat for fat loss, how to supplement to lose body fat and how to track your progress.
Sign up below today to learn and ensure you get the most out of this workout program.
This 10 week workout program is perfect for any healthy woman who is looking to lose unwanted body fat through a good weight lifting and cardio program.
The goal is to increase the amount of calories you burn by performing exercises that require multiple muscle groups to help complete the exercise. These are known as compound lifts and will help you burn way more calories than isolation exercises will in the long run.
By the end of the 10 weeks you should notice tighter, slimmer, and stronger muscles and a better body composition than when you began.
The workout itself will focus predominately on building the muscles of the legs and glutes. There will also be upper body workouts that will focus on sculpting the muscles of the arms, back, and shoulders.
Lastly, we’ve included cardio and core training to help you burn additional calories during the day and to tighten up your midsection for a more slender figure.
Rest periods for these workout programs should be kept to 30-90 seconds in between sets and exercises. On days you perform a circuit, no rest should be taken until after the circuit is complete.
Day 1: Upper Body Focus
| 1. Pull Down | 3 | 12 |
| 2. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press | 3 | 12 |
| 3. Cable Lateral Raise | 3 | 15 |
| 4. Seated Cable Row | 3 | 12 |
| 5. Dumbbell Curls | 2 | 12 |
| 6. Tricep Overhead Extension | 2 | 12 |
| 7. Machine Curl | 2 | 12 |
| 8. Rope Pressdown | 2 | 12 |
Day 2: Lower Body Focus
| 1. Barbell Squat | 3 | 12 |
| 2. Romanian Deadlift | 4 | 10 |
| 3. Walking Lunge | 3 | 15 Each |
| 4. Bodyweight Curtsey Lunge | 3 | 12 Each |
| 5. Glute Kick Back | 3 | 15 Each |
Perform 10-15 Mins of Preferred HIIT Cardio on exercise machine of choice following a 20 Sec: 10 Sec work to rest ratio.
Day 3: Cardio, Abs, & Glutes
Perform 20-30 mins of low intensity steady state cardio. After cardio, perform the following abs and glute circuit:
| Plank | 3 | 30 Secs |
| Bodyweight Glute Bridge | 3 | 15 |
| Ab Crunch | 3 | 20 |
| Glute Kick Back | 3 | 12 |
| Mountain Climbers | 3 | 12 Each |
| Side Lying Clams | 3 | 12 Each |
| Oblique Crunch | 3 | 12 Each |
Day 4: Upper Body Focused
| 1. Dumbbell Row | 4 | 12 |
| 2. Seated Shoulder Press | 3 | 12 |
| 3. Cable Face Pull | 3 | 12 |
| 4. Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 12 |
| 5. Close Grip Pull Down | 3 | 15 |
| 6. Seated Curls | 3 | 12 |
| 7. Lying Tricep Extensions | 3 | 12 |
Day 5: Lower Body Focus
| 1. Reverse Hack Squats | 3 | 12 |
| 2. Leg Press | 3 | 12 |
| 3. Leg Extension | 3 | 15 |
| 4. Leg Curls | 3 | 15 |
| 5. Standing Calf Raises | 3 | 25 |
Perform 10-15 Mins of Preferred HIIT Cardio on exercise machine of choice following a 20 Sec: 10 Sec work to rest ratio.
Weekends: Cardio, Abs, & Glutes
Perform 20-30 mins of low intensity steady state cardio. After cardio, perform the following abs and glute circuit:
| Plank | 3 | 30 Secs |
| Bodyweight Glute Bridge | 3 | 15 |
| Ab Crunch | 3 | 20 |
| Glute Kick Back | 3 | 12 |
| Mountain Climbers | 3 | 12 Each |
| Side Lying Clams | 3 | 12 Each |
| Oblique Crunch | 3 | 12 Each |
10 Week Women’s Fat Loss Workout Notes
The workout listed above is set up so you only have to dedicate 4 days to making it to the gym. Ideally, you’d have some form of physical activity as part of your healthy lifestyle every day. That is why some low intensity cardio is recommended, along with glute and core work, on rest days.
Most intermediate-advanced women trainees should have no problem recovering from the structure of this workout. The layout is structured in such a way to maximize the amount of work that can be done each week while allowing full recovery for women.
If you need to miss a training day during the program (which will happen), try to make sure it’s a cardio, glute, and core day. The key to being successful with this program is ensuring you hit the majority of the weight training sessions during the week.
The main form of progression for this workout should be increasing the weight used when able to do so. That is why your training days will be the same during the entire duration of the program.
Track your workouts, the weight used, and how you feel after each session. This will allow you to better gauge when it’s an appropriate time to increase the weight on a given exercise the following session.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to share your progress with us! We’d love to help out, keep you motivated, and even feature your success. Tag us in your transformation posts on social media!
Women’s Fat Loss Nutrition Overview
The specific diet you use when performing this program will not affect your eventual results too much – so long as you’re in a calorie deficit.
To achieve a calorie deficit, you must burn more calories than you are consuming.
To figure out how many calories you should normally consume, use this bmr calculator.
Once you have your calorie maintenance needs, subtract 100-250 calories from this number. This is a good starting point for a deficit, as you don’t want to drop your calorie intake too drastically.
Measure your progress while you are performing the program and reassess your calorie intake as needed.
As mentioned, the specific type of diet you eat doesn’t matter too much. Although, to get adequate nutrients, you’ll want the majority of your calories to come from whole food sources such as lean meats, whole grains and oats, fruits and veggies, low fat dairy, nuts and seeds, and other healthful food options.
Once You’ve Finished…
Congratulations! You’ve finished the 10 week fat loss specific workout and accomplished a ton of goals along the way! What’s next?
Our first recommendation would be to take a week to deload and relax from the stress caused by weight training and a calorie deficit.
Then, it’s time to continue on with your fitness goals. If you liked this program and still have more weight loss goals, you can continue performing this workout.
Or, you might enjoy our main women’s workout program here.
Whatever you decide, stay motivated and keep achieving your goals!
Post your post-workout swolfies in M&S gear on IG and tag @muscleandstrength, #muscleandstrength, or DM them to us to get a shoutout on Muscle & Strength stories!