What’s the best gym plan for weight loss?

What should a weight loss workout plan include?

Cardio and weights. The UK’s Chief Medical Officers, the government’s top doctors, advise at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous.

On top of that, do strength work on at least 2 days. The NHS says spread your exercise over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day.

Go at a pace where you can talk, but not sing. That’s moderate effort, the NHS says.

Put the five active days in your diary now. For the weights days in more detail, see our beginner gym plan.

Cardio or weights: which burns more fat?

You need both, for different reasons. A review of 149 studies looked at adults with overweight or obesity. Exercise took off 1.5 to 3.5 kg of weight and 1.3 to 2.6 kg of fat.

Steady cardio and HIIT, short hard bursts with rests, gave the same losses when they burned the same energy. So there’s no one best machine. Pick the ones you like.

The weights’ job is keeping muscle. In the same review, weights cut the lean mass lost while losing weight by about 0.8 kg. Lean mass is everything but fat, such as muscle.

Heard of a fat-burning zone? Our guide to fat-burning heart rate covers it.

Short on time? Cut cardio minutes before you cut a weights day. For more, see how to keep muscle while losing weight.

What should one gym session look like?

Warm up, lift, then do your cardio. The NHS warm-up takes at least 6 minutes: marching on the spot, heel digs and knee lifts.

For weights, ACSM, a US body of sports doctors and scientists, puts big muscles before small ones. Beginners use a weight they can lift 8 to 12 times.

How hard you go matters. In a Cochrane review of trials in adults with overweight or obesity, higher-intensity exercise took off about 1.5 kg more than lower-intensity.

Pressed for time? 75 minutes of vigorous activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate.

Vigorous means you can say only a few words before pausing for breath. When your lifts feel easy, our progressive overload guide shows when to add weight.

Why does food matter more than the gym?

Because exercise alone takes off only a few kilos. The Chief Medical Officers say diet is the important factor in weight management, with activity in a supporting role.

They add that more than 150 minutes, along with eating less, may be needed to lose weight. They can’t say how much more.

The two work best together. In the Cochrane review, exercise plus diet took off 1.1 kg more than diet alone. Our guide to the best diet to lose weight compares the options.

Want help with food? You may be able to refer yourself to a local NHS weight service without seeing a GP. Ask at your GP surgery reception.

Will the gym help keep the weight off?

That’s less clear. The review of 149 studies found no clear effect of exercise on keeping weight off, but only one review had looked.

The Chief Medical Officers are more hopeful. They say the evidence supports activity’s role in keeping weight off after weight loss.

NICE sets health advice for England. It says people who lived with obesity and lost weight may need 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day to avoid regaining it.

Scales not moving? The gym can still be working. In the Cochrane review, exercise was linked to better blood pressure, blood fats and blood sugar, even when no weight was lost.

So NICE says keep active even if you don’t lose weight. Once you reach your goal, keep the plan going.

Busy weeks? Try these short workouts.

When to speak to a GP

Speak to a GP first if:

• You haven’t exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns. The NHS says speak to your GP first.
• You have a health problem, an injury or any symptoms, feel unwell, or recently had a heart attack or an operation.
• You get chest pain that comes and goes, or goes away quickly but you’re still worried.
• You’re pregnant. Start new exercise gently, and don’t start a new vigorous activity, such as running.

Stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell. If symptoms worry you or don’t go away, call 111.

Call 999 for sudden chest pain or discomfort that doesn’t go away. It can feel like squeezing or pressure inside your chest, burning or indigestion.

The same goes for pain that spreads to either arm, your neck, jaw, stomach or back. Or chest pain with feeling sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath.