The fat loss plan
you can finish.
Four days a week of lifting and conditioning across ninety days. Strength work can support muscle retention alongside adequate nutrition and recovery; outcomes vary.
- Length
- 90 days
- Days a week
- 4
- Sessions listed
- 12
- Equipment
- A gym with dumbbells, barbells, cables and machines.
The plan
Everything below is the actual programme, not a summary of one. Work down each session in order. The sets and reps shown are the starting prescription for that phase.
Foundation
Build movement quality, aerobic capacity and consistency without excessive fatigue.
Full Body A
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Goblet squat | 3 × 10 |
| Dumbbell bench press | 3 × 10 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 × 10 |
| One-arm row | 3 × 12/side |
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 15 min Zone 2 |
Cardio + Core
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 30 min Zone 2 |
| Dead bug | 3 × 10/side |
| Side plank | 3 × 30 sec |
| Pallof press | 3 × 12/side |
Full Body B
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Leg press | 3 × 12 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 10 |
| Hip thrust | 3 × 12 |
| Seated shoulder press | 3 × 10 |
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 15-20 min |
Conditioning
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Kettlebell deadlift | 4 × 10 |
| Incline push-up | 4 × 10 |
| Cable row | 4 × 12 |
| Farmer carry | 4 × 30 m |
Progression: Add repetitions within the range before increasing load. Keep technique controlled and take an easier week when needed. Rest 60-90 seconds on accessory exercises and 2-3 minutes on main lifts.
Build
Preserve muscle while increasing training density and weekly calorie expenditure.
Upper Strength
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Bench press | 4 × 6-8 |
| Chest-supported row | 4 × 8 |
| Overhead press | 3 × 8 |
| Lat pulldown | 3 × 10 |
| Triceps pressdown | 3 × 12 |
Lower Strength
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Back squat | 4 × 6-8 |
| Romanian deadlift | 4 × 8 |
| Walking lunge | 3 × 10/side |
| Leg curl | 3 × 12 |
| Calf raise | 3 × 15 |
Upper Volume
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Incline dumbbell press | 3 × 10 |
| Cable row | 3 × 12 |
| Lateral raise | 3 × 15 |
| Face pull | 3 × 15 |
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 20 min |
Lower + Intervals
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Trap-bar deadlift | 4 × 5 |
| Bulgarian split squat | 3 × 8/side |
| Hip thrust | 3 × 10 |
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 15-20 min |
Progression: Add repetitions within the range before increasing load. Keep technique controlled and take an easier week when needed. Rest 60-90 seconds on accessory exercises and 2-3 minutes on main lifts.
Perform
Drive a final result while managing fatigue and protecting strength.
Full Body Power
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Trap-bar deadlift | 4 × 4 |
| Push press | 4 × 5 |
| Front squat | 3 × 6 |
| Pull-up / pulldown | 3 × 8 |
| Farmer carry | 4 × 40 m |
Zone 2 + Mobility
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 40 min |
| Hip mobility flow | 10 min |
| Thoracic mobility | 8 min |
| Plank series | 3 rounds |
Upper / Lower Mix
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Bench press | 4 × 6 |
| Leg press | 4 × 10 |
| Single-arm row | 3 × 10 |
| Reverse lunge | 3 × 10/side |
| Sled push | 6 × 20 m |
Metabolic Circuit
| Exercise | Sets & reps |
|---|---|
| Kettlebell swing | 5 × 15 |
| Push-up | 5 × 10 |
| Goblet squat | 5 × 12 |
| Walking at a comfortable pace | 15-20 min |
Progression: Add repetitions within the range before increasing load. Keep technique controlled and take an easier week when needed. Rest 60-90 seconds on accessory exercises and 2-3 minutes on main lifts.
Days 85-90: recovery and review
Take easier activity days. Review completed sessions, movement control and energy. Keep a manageable schedule, and repeat or progress gradually. Seek qualified advice about pain or nutrition concerns.
Strength practice and cardio are separate jobs
Full Body A includes a squat, press, hinge and row, followed by easier cardio. Another visit focuses on cardio and trunk work. Keeping the entries separate makes it possible to see whether strength practice was maintained while the wider routine changed. Neither the session name nor a device calorie estimate establishes how much body fat changed. Avoid increasing every set or adding intervals to compensate for food.
Worked log: Goblet squat
This fictional example uses the Goblet squat entry in this routine: 3 × 10. It illustrates a way to record comparable sessions, not a starting load or an individual progression prescription.
| Appearance | Log entry |
|---|---|
| First | Same load: 10/10/10; controlled |
| Next | Same load: 10/10/10; less rushed |
| Following | Same load: 10/10/10; comparable control |
This prescription is a fixed ten reps, not an open 8–12 range. Better setup and control are observations worth recording. Review an appropriate load change only when the printed work is manageable; do not turn the example into an instruction to add unlisted reps.
Further reading: ACSM progression position stand. This supports general progression principles; it does not validate this particular template. See our worked progression guide for the shared method.
Reviewed 26 October 2026 by Phasebuilt. Worked examples are fictional teaching examples, not client results or individual prescriptions. No clinical review is claimed.
How to run it
Warm up for five to ten minutes before the first working set: easy movement, then one or two comfortable practice sets of the first exercise. For floor-only sessions use an easier bodyweight variation; for weighted sessions use a lighter load. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between accessory exercises and two to three minutes after main lifts.
Leave about three reps in reserve for the first fortnight of each phase. When the top of the rep range is clean on every set, add load. Compare like-for-like log entries before changing the demand. Keep fixed-repetition and effort-based prescriptions intact; the worked example below explains how to read this particular template. Progressive overload covers this in more detail.
Record what you lift. A plan you cannot compare to last week is a workout, not a programme.
Who this suits
- Fat loss is the goal and you want to keep the muscle you have.
- You can train four days a week.
- You want conditioning programmed rather than bolted on.
Who it does not
- You want to gain size. Use the muscle building plan.
- You are not willing to address food at all. Training alone rarely does it.
Equipment and pain
Use the listed equipment. To see a different setup, choose it in the builder. Start with easier practice repetitions of the movements you will use, then work at a controlled effort. No generic substitution can establish that an exercise is suitable for an injury. Stop painful movements and seek qualified advice.
For bodyweight sessions, progress repetitions and control before harder variations. For loaded sessions, increase load only after the prescribed repetitions feel controlled. Record what you did so you can compare the next session.
Make it yours
The plan above is one configuration. Phasebuilt will rebuild it around your goal, equipment, activity days, experience and approximate session length, and set the calorie and protein targets alongside it. It is free, takes about a minute, and runs entirely in your browser.