Weight Training For Women Fat Loss

Weight training is a powerful tool for women looking to lose fat and build a strong, toned physique. Unlike common myths, lifting weights won’t make you bulky—instead, it boosts metabolism, preserves lean muscle, and enhances fat-burning even at rest.

I’m here to dispel the myths surrounding women’s fat loss plans and offer some helpful advice on customizing a program to meet your needs. I’m a woman who will always encourage other women to stop avoiding the weight room and to properly fuel their bodies (even if they’re trying to get leaner).

What is weight training?

Weight training is a type of physical training that focuses on increasing strength and muscular mass by using weighted equipment, such as plate-loaded kits or dumbbells and barbells. Additionally, it can assist increase muscular endurance, power, and general health.

Your muscles sustain small tears during weight training, which are subsequently healed to produce stronger, more toned muscle. Continue reading to learn more about the various forms of weight training and their advantages.

What are the advantages of exercises involving weight training?

Weight training has a wide range of benefits, and many people discover that it helps them in different ways. Here are some of our top arguments for incorporating weight training into your fitness regimens:

• Increased strength: You should see a significant increase in the amount of weight you can push, lift, or raise with regular exercise. You’ll notice the difference in your everyday routines and trust in your power and talents, in addition to the satisfaction of feeling these changes in the gym. Aim to perform fewer repetitions with more weight to concentrate on developing strength.
• Encourage daily activities: Weight training at the gym can help you in your daily life outside of the gym by improving your ability to walk up stairs, carry heavy objects (great for grocery shopping and moving), and support your progress in other sports and activities like football, tennis, running, or rowing.
• Increase muscle: Bodybuilders use this training strategy because it can help them gain strength and modify the way their bodies look by increasing the size of their muscles through consistent, long-term lifting of weights. By choosing the right exercises, weight training allows you to focus on the muscles you wish to develop. We recognize that not everyone is training to alter their body composition or looks, but weight training is essential if you want to tone or bulk up certain body parts.
• Make bones stronger: You begin to lose bone density around the age of thirty. Applying pressure to your bones keeps them strong and can help lower your risk of injury.
• Improved posture: Strengthening your back, shoulders, and core with regular weight exercise that works your entire body can help you sit and stand more erect, which will improve your stance and posture.
• Help with weight loss: Muscle mass can be lost along with some of the weight. It’s a good idea to incorporate weight training into your fitness regimen because muscle serves to support and strengthen your body, and you probably want to keep as much of it as possible when reducing weight. Additionally, your basal metabolic rate, which affects how many calories you naturally burn when at rest, can be influenced by your muscle mass.
• Enhance balance: Strong leg and core muscles assist avoid limb weakness and wobbling. As we age, weight training can help keep us more stable on our feet and reduce our risk of falling. Additionally, it can assist correct any physical imbalances. For instance, if one arm is stronger than the other, you can strengthen it by performing exercises on it.
• Reduce anxiety: Research has indicated that weight training, in particular, can help reduce depressive symptoms. Weight training helps release mood-enhancing endorphins that can reduce anxiety and enhance mental health, in addition to the confidence-boosting effects of noticeably improving your skills and physical appearance.

Do Women Have an Easy Time Losing Weight?

Women generally struggle more than males to lose weight. This does not imply that women cannot pursue fat loss programs and succeed. It just indicates that we might lose fat at slower rates than males and that these difficulties are frequently caused by uncontrollable circumstances.

Some of the reasons why women typically struggle with weight loss are listed below.

Women’s lean muscular mass is lower.

Women usually carry less lean muscle mass and a larger percentage of body fat than men.

This is due to several factors. One reason is that women have lower levels of testosterone, the hormone that builds and sustains muscular mass. The level of testosterone in men is four to five times that of women.

Additionally, because fat aids in biological processes like childbirth and lactation, women often carry more of it. Regular menstrual cycles also depend on having a greater body fat percentage.

Hormonal shifts are more common in women.

The menstrual cycle causes higher hormonal variations in women. Your hormones may cause you to feel more exhausted or hungry than normal, depending on where you are in your cycle. You may eat more as a result, which could make fat loss more challenging if you aren’t regularly tracking your caloric consumption.

Women’s metabolisms might also be impacted by hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy and menopause. Furthermore, diseases like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which affects 5–20% of women who are of childbearing age, can result in serious hormonal abnormalities that make weight loss more difficult.

A few females are hesitant to lift weights.

Any large chain gym will probably have a male-dominated weight room when you walk in. The majority of women prefer to use the cardio machines or group fitness programs, while there may be a few lifting weights.

Although society has made significant progress in tolerating women with muscular bodies, many women continue to shun weightlifting out of fear of becoming overweight.

However, if you want to gain more lean muscle mass, which aids in burning more calories throughout the day, you must lift weights. Women who don’t do strength training might be losing out on the benefits of increasing lean muscle mass for their metabolism.

Women have to balance numerous obligations to their families and their careers.

Women are typically the ones who get up in the middle of the night to nurse a baby, drive children to and from school or extracurricular activities, and prepare meals for the family, even when they have a lot of assistance from their spouses. In addition to all that, many women have full-time careers.

Women have little spare time because of all these obligations. Exercise and a healthy diet can occasionally take a backseat when they are prioritizing the health of their family over their own and attempting to fulfill their professional responsibilities at work.

Emotional eaters are more common in women.

Males can be emotional eaters, but research has shown that when males are under stress, their appetites tend to drop, while women are more prone to eat items high in fat, sugar, and carbohydrates.

The above-discussed hormonal variations in women are partially to blame for this. Additionally, scientists have theorized that women are more likely to have a gene feature that inhibits serotonin, the hormone that governs mood stability and overall happiness.

This gene feature makes women more likely to overeat because they are more likely to indulge in emotional eating.

The Issue With The Majority Of Female Fat Loss Exercise Programs

Insufficient variety

For ten weeks, you will follow the same set and rep schemes while doing the same exercises in this Muscle & Strength training plan. It provides no advice on how to modify your reps and sets throughout a fat reduction phase.

The exercises it recommends aren’t all that horrible. They target all of the main muscle groups and, to my liking, combine isolation exercises—which train only one muscle group at a time—with complex exercises, which work for many muscle groups simultaneously.

However, fatigue might result from repeating the same task for ten weeks. Additionally, it doesn’t provide you with enough of a challenge to train your muscles in diverse ways or to strengthen any weak spots.

No suggestions for days of rest

Muscle & Strength’s aforementioned training regimen requires you to work out seven days a week. The notion that you need to work out more to lose weight is perpetuated even when three of those days are dedicated to cardio or low-impact core exercises.

The great majority of women don’t need to train daily. You can just concentrate on stretching or walking enough on your rest days to avoid overtaxing your body.

Absence of instructions on load management

How to choose the right weight for each exercise is not included in the same Muscle & Strength training plan. When it comes to adding weight to each lift once a week, there are no rules to follow either.

I realize it’s difficult to accomplish that when writing for a large audience and you can’t possibly know the strength and workout history of every single reader. However, you can offer broad suggestions to at least get folks going.

Irrational weight choices

Telling women to lift weights that only make no sense is worse than not assisting at all when it comes to choosing a weight.

Consider this exercise regimen from Muscle and Fitness Hers. The trainer suggests performing a glute movement with a 3-pound ankle weight on one of her strength training days.

For the majority of healthy women, three pounds is far from sufficient motivation to genuinely gain muscle. That weighs less than the majority of the items you carry around every day!

When they are born, healthy babies that are carried to term weigh more. I’d even venture to guess that the tote bag or handbag you carry to work each day weighs more than three pounds.

If your training doesn’t require you to lift weights heavier than the grocery bags or children you carry around daily, you can’t expect to get stronger.

Unsustainable diet plans

Diet culture and “health experts” who play on women’s fears by advising them they should eat less irritate me more than anything else. Particularly troubling is this diet plan from Women’s Health magazine, which bills itself as “the best diet plan for weight loss ever.”

The author just assumes that a woman should consume 1,500 calories a day to lose weight. That is insufficient nourishment to sustain an active lifestyle, even if you are not a professional athlete. To put 1,500 calories for an adult woman into perspective, consider that it is equivalent to the daily recommended calorie intake for a 7-year-old girl.

It is unrealistic to expect an adult woman, particularly one who engages in physical activity, to maintain a 1,500-calorie daily diet. Just by being alive, you probably burn more calories than that.

These diet plans also presume that regardless of activity levels, current body weight, and other lifestyle considerations, all women must consume the same amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats daily. Other than recommending that you take a post-workout snack if you frequently visit the gym, there are no rules on how to modify the diet to suit your unique demands.

Things To Take Into Account When Creating A Female Fat Loss Exercise Program

• Selection of exercises

Compound and isolated exercises should be incorporated into a women’s fat-loss training program.

Even if you’re eating fewer calories, compound exercises like squats and bench presses can help you maintain or even increase your strength. Because you’re using more muscles with each repetition, they also burn more calories.

On the other hand, if you’re attempting to lose weight, isolation exercises can help you keep your muscles in smaller areas like your biceps and calves.

Additionally, I advise alternating your movements every four to six weeks. As some of the greatest exercises for building general strength, squats, deadlifts, and bench presses should continue to be performed. You can choose from other types, like Romanian deadlifts or pause squats if you need a break from them.

However, switching up your accessory movements—for instance, from lunges to Bulgarian split squats—can help you avoid monotony and provide you with a variety of ways to stimulate your muscles.

• Volume of training

You should train to maintain as much lean muscle mass as feasible when you’re eating fewer calories than you’re used to.

Depending on the exercise, this usually entails training with rep ranges in the 5–10 or 10-15 range. I would suggest performing fewer repetitions for compound exercises like deadlifts or squats; for isolation exercises like triceps extensions or calf raises, I would suggest doing more repetitions.

As your calorie intake decreases, you could also discover that you cannot perform all of the sets or repetitions recommended for each exercise. You might even struggle to complete all of your exercises.

This can be mitigated by reducing your sets or repetitions. For example, you can complete two sets of back squats instead of the four that are required. You can even cut back on both sets and reps if you’re feeling particularly exhausted, depending on how much you believe you can manage that day.

• The level of training intensity

Because you’re not in a severe calorie deficit when you first begin a fat reduction phase, you might not notice a big drop in energy. Halfway through your workout, you should be able to maintain a high level of effort without experiencing fatigue.

However, you will probably find it harder to maintain high-intensity workouts as you go deeper into a cut and reduce your calorie intake more. In the last weeks of your cut, you might be able to take no more intensity than training with weights that are between 70 and 75 percent of your 1RM.

To figure out what level of intensity you can work at each day, you’ll need to keep a careful eye on how you feel.

• Frequency of training

To avoid losing muscle mass during a fat-loss phase, it is helpful to maintain a training frequency of four to five days a week. But you could find it hard to stick to that training regimen while you’re cutting calories and your energy levels are low.

As a result, you might have to stop working out at least once a week. You can still stay strong even if you only have the energy to work out twice a week. However, you can still feel weaker until your fat reduction phase is over and you start eating more calories.

• load management

When starting a new exercise regimen, seasoned lifters will probably know what weights to start with. However, you most likely don’t know where to begin if strength training is new to you.

Experimentation is the greatest technique to determine a beginning point. I suggest performing 10–12 repetitions of an exercise using a light set of dumbbells or an empty barbell.

The following time you perform that exercise, you can increase the weight if you can easily finish all of the repetitions while keeping proper form. You will need to reduce the weight if you are unable to perform all of the repetitions.

When determining whether to increase your weight from one workout to the next, you should adhere to the same procedure. Every week, you can probably increase your lower body weight by 10 pounds and your upper body weight by 5 pounds. However, you might only be able to increase the weight by 2.5 pounds every week on some lifts, such as the overhead press.

Avoid lifting to failure with every set; that is, your form shouldn’t deteriorate even in your final few repetitions. Additionally, you should feel as though you have two to three repetitions left in each set. Your weight is probably too heavy if you don’t.

• Weight increases

Along with choosing the right weight for each workout, you’ll also need to figure out how to control your weight increases as you gain experience and cut back on calories. Whether or not you are in a fat loss phase, your progress will eventually plateau.

You might therefore choose to train according to your rate of perceived exertion (RPE). How difficult a weight feels to you on any given day is known as RPE training. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents an easy lift and 10 represents an all-out effort, you will score how tough a lift feels rather than increasing weight to what you performed the week before.

Assume that my 1RM for the back squat is 200 pounds. At 75% of that weight (150 pounds) and an RPE of 6, I might typically be able to complete three sets of five. However, those sets can seem more like an RPE of 8 when I’m low on energy and in a calorie deficit.

I might have to reduce the weight to 140 pounds if my exercise regimen calls for three sets of five squats at an RPE of 6.

Because you can still train safely and efficiently manage your exhaustion, RPE training is advantageous during a fat reduction period.

• Healing

During a fat loss phase, proper recuperation is essential. You might find that you’re more sore than normal or that a workout that used to be easy becomes difficult to complete because you won’t be ingesting as many calories.

While consuming at least 75 ounces of water each day can help you stay hydrated and avoid muscle soreness, getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep can help you properly control your fatigue levels. During a fat reduction phase, it’s also critical to plan a deload week every 4-6 weeks and take 2-3 rest days. This will allow your body and mind to recuperate from intensive exercise.

Muscle soreness can also be reduced by stretching for 15 to 20 minutes each day and doing mild active recovery exercises like walking or light cycling. Your recovery may take longer if you increase the intensity of your active recovery activities.

Does a Fat Loss Workout Plan Require Cardio?

Cardio is not required for fat loss if you are truly in a calorie deficit and prioritize lean proteins, healthy fats, and nutrient-rich carb sources at every meal.

This does not imply that exercise should be completely avoided. Cardio is excellent for the heart. However, working on a treadmill for hours is not necessary. You may be able to increase your fat reduction with just three 30-minute, moderate-intensity aerobic sessions per week.

You can also look for techniques to boost your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) if you want to raise your daily caloric expenditure without engaging in any cardio.

The physical activity you engage in outside of the gym that you wouldn’t often consider exercise is referred to as NEAT. NEAT activities include using a standing desk, cleaning the house, gardening, taking the stairs at work, and spending extra time with your children.

Female Fat Loss Workout Plan

The CDC suggests two days of muscle-strengthening activities and 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, such as brisk walking or casual cycling. This sample seven-day workout plan will help you develop consistency. For weeks two, three, and four, use the same strategy.

Monday: Core and Upper Body

These workouts work the muscles in the chest, triceps, and biceps. Do each exercise ten times. Finish all three sets, taking a minute to relax in between.

Bicep curls

Use both hands to hold a barbell or a dumbbell in each hand.
Stretch your forearms parallel to the floor and keep your elbows at your sides.
Lift the weight to your shoulders by bending your elbows, then return it to the beginning position.

The chest press

Place your feet flat on the floor and lie on a bench.
Use both hands to hold a barbell or a dumbbell in each hand.
Hold your arms palms forward and perpendicular to your body.
Extend your elbows to push the weight upward, then bring it back down.

The Triceps Dip

Grasp the edge of a chair or bench close to your hips.
Lower yourself until your elbows bend at a 45- or 90-degree angle by sliding your butt off the chair.
Push up to get back to the starting position.

Tuesday: The lower body

Perform three sets of ten repetitions for every exercise. In between sets, take a minute to rest.

Deadlifts

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Keep your back straight while you lean forward, push your hips back, and gently bend your knees.
Use both hands to hold a dumbbell or barbell.
Maintaining a flat back, push your hips forward to lift the weights.
Slowly return the weights to the ground.

Hip Thrusts

Place your shoulders on a sturdy chair or bench and sit on the floor.
Put both of your feet firmly down.
Squeeze your glutes and push your hips up until your knees are at a 90-degree angle.
Drop your hips back to the ground.

Lunges

In a split stance, place one foot forward and the other back.
Bend your knees till your back knee is near the floor while maintaining an upright torso.
Make sure your front thigh is parallel to the floor.
Return to the beginning position by pushing through your front heel.
Repeat after switching legs.

Wednesday: A Day of Active Recovery

After vigorous workouts, gentle exercises are part of active recovery routines. Your body recovers more quickly from these low-intensity exercises than from total rest or inactivity. However, if you’re hurt or in any pain, forgo active recovery.

Rolling Foam

Slowly roll your pecs, hip flexors, and calves until you locate sore points. On a scale of 1 to 10, the level of discomfort should be about a 7, which is uncomfortable but bearable. For 30 to 2 minutes, keep the roller in that position. You should move the roller if you experience tingling, numbness, or a heartbeat.

Stretching

Exert your pecs, hip flexors, and calves. Move slowly into each stretch until it feels like a comfortable stretch rather than pain. Let the muscles relax by holding each stretch for 30 to 1 minute.

Other Options for Active Recovery

Make sure your heart rate stays between 30% and 60% of its maximum by selecting low-intensity exercises. These consist of yoga, jogging, cycling, swimming, and walking. These exercises help you heal without putting undue strain on your body.

Thursday: Strength Training

Take a 60- to 90-second pause after completing 12 to 15 repetitions of the first two movements consecutively. Do this for two or three sets. Continue using the same pattern for the next two exercises.

Dumbbell Press Squat

• Objectives: Shoulders, hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps
• Hold a 2–5 kg dumbbell at shoulder height with the palms facing front in each hand while standing with your feet hip-width apart.
• Extend your arms high and lower yourself into a squat.
• Bring your arms back to the beginning position and stand up again.
• Keep going until you’ve completed the necessary number of repetitions.

Ball Push-Up

• Objectives: Shoulders, abs, chest, and triceps
• Using a stability ball, place your hands shoulder-width apart and perform a push-up. Maintain a straight back and active abs.
• With your elbows pointed outside, lower your chest towards the ball. Make sure your head is in line with your hips and your abs are taut.
• Repeat by pushing yourself back to the beginning position.

Bulgarian Split Squat

• Objectives: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, and Glands
• Place the top of your right foot on the seat behind you and stand two to three feet away from a bench or solid chair.
• Maintaining your left knee in line with your ankle, bend it to a 90-degree angle. After two counts of holding, straighten your leg for four counts.
• After completing one set, switch sides.

Dumbbell Clean and Press

• Objectives: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and shoulders
• In front of your thighs, hold dumbbells. Hold the palms inward.
• Drop the weights slightly above your knees and lower yourself into a squat.
• Maintaining the weights near your torso, raise them to your chest.
• Press the weights overhead while standing erect and turning your palms forward.
• Go back to where you were before and do it again.

Friday: Cardio Light

Start with a vigorous 30-minute walk.

Skaters

• Begin with both legs bowed in a curtsy lunge. Place your right leg over and behind your body.
• For balance, keep your right arm bent at your side and your left arm straight down.
• To stand, push off with your left leg, swinging your left leg back and across while you bring your right leg forward.
• As you move, switch arms. To maintain its low impact, move fast without jumping.

Jumping Jacks with Minimal Impact

• Place your arms at your sides to begin.
• Lift your arms above your head and step out with your right foot. Maintain your balance on your right foot.
• Go back to where you were before.
• Lift your arms above your head and step out with your left foot. Maintain your left foot’s weight.

Strength Training on Saturday

Dynamic Lunges

• Targets for Dynamic Lunge: Hamstrings, Quadriceps, and Glands
• Hold dumbbells at your sides while standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel.
• Bring your left knee close to the floor and bend your right knee to a 90-degree angle as you lunge forward with your right leg.
• Return to the starting position after making a powerful push off the right foot.
• Repeat after switching legs.

Opposite Arm/Leg Lift

• Objectives: Abs, glutes, and back
• Place your hands and toes on the floor and lie face down on the stability ball.
• Raise your left arm and right leg at the same time while contracting your glutes and core.
• Repeat after switching arms and legs.

Step-Up

• Targets: Quads, glutes
• Position your right foot on a bench or step (select one that is just above knee height), push through your right heel to straighten the leg, bringing the left foot towards the right (don’t let the left foot touch the step), lower the left foot towards the floor without letting it touch, then straighten your right leg again. Perform one set, then switch sides.

Prone Jackknife

• Targets: Abs
• Position your feet on the stability ball with your legs extended and your abs pulled in for balance.
• Slowly bring your knees in towards your chest without bending your back or moving your hips.
• Repeat after rolling the ball with your feet back to the beginning position.

Sunday: Recovery and Rest

Use Sunday as a day to relax and rejuvenate. Choose what you find most comfortable:

• Active Rest: To maintain muscle flexibility and avoid stiffness, practice yoga or light stretching.
• Total Relaxation: Unwind on the couch, read a book, or watch TV.
• It’s crucial to have both active and leisurely recuperation days to keep your weekly schedule balanced.

How Much Weight Loss Is Possible?

Several variables affect how much weight reduction you might anticipate from a fat loss program. Your performance can be influenced by some factors, including your initial body fat percentage, training style, diet, stress levels, genetics, and level of physical activity outside of the gym.

You should strive to lose 0.5 to 1 pound every week in terms of weight on the scale. This is a sustainable strategy because it will guarantee that you maintain as much muscle mass as possible and you probably won’t need to start with a drastically reduced calorie intake.

Measuring body fat % is more difficult unless you can visit a facility with a DEXA machine or a hydrostatic weighing system, which involves sitting on a scale while submerged underwater. However, if you can measure it, losing 1% to 3% of body fat each month is a realistic target to aim for.

Results may be on the higher end of the spectrum if your initial body fat percentage is high. You might get effects at the lower end of that spectrum if you’re already fairly lean.

Consuming the Proper Foods for Your Exercise Program

Eating the appropriate foods at the appropriate times of day is another aspect of a balanced fitness program.

Consume a Lot of Nutritious Protein

Healthy protein is crucial for muscle growth and repair when following a fitness regimen, particularly one that involves strenuous activities. About 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound, is the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein. Spread this intake evenly throughout the day. Fish, poultry, turkey, eggs, dairy products, lean meat, seeds, and nuts are all excellent sources of protein.

Incorporate High-Quality Whey Protein into Your Exercise Routine

Whey protein can accelerate the production of noticeable results when added to an exercise regimen. Whey protein smoothies are a convenient choice if you don’t have time for meal prep. They are easy to make, available in numerous flavors, and deliver 30 grams or more of protein per serving.

Trust the Appropriate Carbohydrates

Carbs should make up between 45 and 65 percent of your daily caloric intake, particularly if you exercise frequently. Eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans to acquire complex carbohydrates. These give you longer-lasting energy than simple carbohydrates, which are present in processed foods and sweets.

Each meal should include some healthy fat to increase satiety and offer consistent energy.
Cook with good fats: Avocado and olive oils are excellent choices for cooking.
Eat nuts and seeds for a quick and tasty snack that is also a good source of healthy fats.
Consume fatty fish: Salmon, sardines, and bluefin tuna are among the fish that are high in protein and good fats.

Conclusion

To prevent burnout, a well-rounded fitness program should incorporate strength training, cardiovascular activity, and active recuperation days. It is crucial to evaluate your present level of fitness before beginning, particularly if you have any health issues. Furthermore, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to choosing the best fitness program for women.

FAQs

Reference

• Set, S. F. (2025, February 13). Fat loss workout plan for women (4 weeks, 8 weeks, and beyond). SET FOR SET. https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/fat-loss-workout-plan-for-females
• What is Weight Training & What are the Benefits? (2023, November 13). PureGym. https://www.puregym.com/blog/what-is-weight-training-and-what-are-the-benefits/
• Nahida. (2024, December 23). Effective fitness plan for women to lose weight fast. Healthifyme. https://www.healthifyme.com/blog/fitness-plan-for-women-to-lose-weight/