When it comes to achieving weight loss and muscle toning goals, having a solid workout routine is crucial. In this blog post, we will discuss a beginner friendly four-day workout routine focused on toning your full body muscle groups and burning calories.
Diet – Kept Simple
We will keep the diet part of this guide simple because we expand on diets in many of our other posts on Thriverous.com. Simply work out your calories by inputting your personal weight, height, age, gender and BMR into the calculator and it will tell you how many calories your body needs per day. Click advanced and it will tell you your Total Energy Expenditure. Take 500 calories off that and that’s how many you will eat every day to lose 1 – 2 lbs of fat a week. Use apps like Myfitnesspal to track your daily calories.
Harris Benedict Equation Calculator:
https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/bmr-harris-benedict-equation
Cardio – Walking 10,000 – 12,000 Steps
Walking 12,000 everyday consistently can be a convenient and accessible way to promote weight loss. This low-impact exercise burns calories, boosts metabolism, and reduces stress, creating a calorie deficit and aiding in weight loss. Instead of driving everywhere consider walking, if it means you get there slower but get your required steps in then that’s perfect because its becoming part of your routine. The best way to incorporate walking into your life is setting a place you need to walk to every day and walking there everyday, having a destination helps to take your mind off the activity itself.
Is Walking not intense enough for you? Start wearing a Weighted Vest. Walking 12,000 steps a day with a weighted vest provides multiple health and fitness benefits. The added resistance from the vest increases the intensity of the activity, promoting muscular strength and endurance. This makes you walk at a heightened intensity which in turn elevates the heart rate, resulting in higher calorie expenditure and more effective weight loss results.
Weighted Vest
If you want to make this even harder you can add a weighted vest to burn more calories and make you lose weight that much faster: Weighted Vest.
Day 1: Chest, Back and Biceps
- Bench Press
Week 1: 4×8
Week 2: 5×6
Week 3: 6×5 - Pendlay Row
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Incline Dumbbell Press
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Lat Pulldown
3×12-15 - Cable Row
3×12-15 - Barbell OR Dumbbell Curl
4×8-10
Cardio: Do 100 – 200 calories on any cardio machine in the gym. Focus on low intensity, the training program is already intense enough. Don’t worry about the intensity of the cardio, just simply getting the calories burnt is the number one goal. Use either a smart watch or the machine’s built in calorie counter to gauge how much you burn.
This workout targets your chest, back, and biceps. Start with a classic exercise: bench press. This exercise is great for building upper body strength and increasing your bench press numbers. Over three weeks, the number of sets and reps gradually increases, making sure you’re progressing in strength and endurance. The Pendlay row and incline dumbbell press are also great for strengthening your upper body and improving posture. For the lat pulldown and cable row, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together to engage your back muscles. Finally, the barbell or dumbbell curl will give your biceps a good pump.
Day 2: Shoulders, Legs and Triceps
- Squat
Week 1: 4×8
Week 2: 5×6
Week 3: 6×5 - Seated Dumbbell Press
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Romanian Deadlift
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Lateral Raise Variation
4×12-15 - Split Squat
3×10/Leg (Superset) - Reverse Pec
Dec 3×20 - Dumbbell Skull Crusher
4×10-12
Cardio: Do 100 – 200 calories on any cardio machine in the gym. Focus on low intensity, the training program is already intense enough. Don’t worry about the intensity of the cardio, just simply getting the calories burnt is the number one goal. Use either a smart watch or the machine’s built in calorie counter to gauge how much you burn.
This workout focuses on your shoulders, legs, and triceps. Squats are a classic compound exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Seated dumbbell press is a great exercise for building shoulder strength and adding definition to your shoulders. Romanian deadlift is a great way to target your hamstrings and lower back muscles, which can often be neglected in leg workouts. Lateral raises are great for building the muscles on the sides of your shoulders. Split squats and reverse pec dec are a great superset that will really work your legs, glutes, and back muscles. Dumbbell skull crusher is a great exercise for your triceps, which often get neglected in upper body workouts.
Mid Week: Rest Day
Rest days are crucial for workout routines as they allow the muscles to recover and repair from the stress of exercise. When working out four times a week, having a mid-week rest day provides an opportunity to prevent injury and overtraining, prevent burnout and fatigue, and focus on other aspects of health, such as nutrition, hydration, and sleep. Resting the muscles and taking time off from exercise is important for overall health and fitness and can help maximize workout results. It is essential to listen to your body and take rest days as needed to achieve the best outcomes from your workout routine.
DAY 3: Chest, Back and Biceps
- Pull Ups
Week 1: 4×8
Week 2: 5×6
Week 3: 6×5 - Incline Bench press
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Chest Supported Row
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Weighted Dips
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Machine Press OR Fly
3×12-15 - Incline Dumbbell Curl
4×12-15
Cardio: Do 100 – 200 calories on any cardio machine in the gym. Focus on low intensity, the training program is already intense enough. Don’t worry about the intensity of the cardio, just simply getting the calories burnt is the number one goal. Use either a smart watch or the machine’s built in calorie counter to gauge how much you burn.
This workout is similar to day 1 but with different exercises that target your chest, back, and biceps. Start with pull ups, a classic bodyweight exercise that targets your back and biceps. Incline bench press is a great variation of the bench press that puts more emphasis on your upper chest. Chest supported row is a great exercise for your back muscles, and weighted dips will target your triceps and chest. Finish with a machine press or fly to really burn out your chest and finish off with incline dumbbell curls to hit those biceps again.
DAY 4: Shoulders, Legs and Triceps
- Standing Press
Week 1: 4×8
Week 2: 5×6
Week 3: 6×5 - Trap Bar Deadlift
Week 1: 4×12
Week 2: 4×10
Week 3: 4×8 - Lateral Raise Variation
4×10-12 - Leg Press
4×12-15 - Lying Hamstring Curl
3×12-15 - Tricep Pushdown
4×12-15
Cardio: Do 100 – 200 calories on any cardio machine in the gym. Focus on low intensity, the training program is already intense enough. Don’t worry about the intensity of the cardio, just simply getting the calories burnt is the number one goal. Use either a smart watch or the machine’s built in calorie counter to gauge how much you burn.
This workout is similar to day 2 but with different exercises. Standing press is a great exercise for building shoulder strength and adding definition to your shoulders. Trap bar deadlift is a great exercise for your legs and lower back muscles. Lateral raises again target your shoulder muscles, and the leg press is a great way to work your legs, especially your quads. Finish off with lying hamstring curls, which target the back of your legs, and tricep pushdowns to finish off those triceps.
Home Gym Equipment
If the gym is difficult for you to get to or you just don’t feel comfortable going, then why don’t you bring the gym equipment to you?
Life Fitness has top quality gym equipment to order straight to your doorstep.
Most of this work out routine can be supplemented with different workout varieties however some key pieces of equipment which are very useful to have around the home are:
Treadmill
Every home gym needs a treadmill. Some days it’s cold, wet and miserable outside. You don’t need the distractions of the world getting in the way of your goals.
Having your own treadmill is a brilliant way to achieve your daily step goal without dealing with things like the elements.
Check out Life Fitness Treadmills here.
Adjustable Workout Bench
Cybex is the best of the best in terms of Gym equipment so you can be sure this is built with the user in mind. The Bench is ideal for all of your home workout needs.
Dumbbell Set
This dumbbell set pairs perfectly with a adjustable workout bench. Enjoy using your top quality gym equipment from the comfort of your home with no stress!
