Workout
Fat Loss Circuit
A four-day circuit that keeps training volume high and recovery cost manageable during a calorie deficit — because the diet does the fat loss, not this.
The session 18 working sets
Strength — straight sets first
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goblet squatHeavy. This is the part that protects your muscle. | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8–10 | 2 min |
Circuit — 3 rounds, 45s work / 15s rest
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push up | 3 | 45 sec | 15 sec |
| Lunge | 3 | 45 sec | 15 sec |
| Barbell rowDumbbell rows work equally well here. | 3 | 45 sec | 15 sec |
| Farmers carry | 3 | 45 sec | 90 sec between rounds |
This session starts with heavy straight sets and finishes with a circuit, in that order, for a specific reason.
Your diet does the fat loss
An hour of hard training burns a few hundred calories. A day’s calorie deficit is usually four to six hundred. Training cannot out-run food, and any plan that implies otherwise is selling something.
What training decides is what you lose. Run a deficit without resistance training and a meaningful share of the weight comes off as muscle. Run the same deficit while lifting heavy and eating enough protein, and the loss skews strongly toward fat.
That is why the heavy work comes first here, while you are fresh.
Why the circuit is second
The circuit adds work capacity and energy expenditure at a lower recovery cost than more heavy sets would.
It is not there because circuits are magic for fat loss — they are not, particularly. It is there because it is a time-efficient way to add training volume that does not compete with the strength work for recovery you no longer have much of.
Adjusting as the deficit bites
Recovery capacity falls with calories. Expect this session to get harder over a long cut even as you get lighter.
When it does, cut circuit rounds before you cut the strength sets. And read cutting for the deficit size and duration that make this sustainable — this page is only the training half.
Common questions
What is the best workout for weight loss?
The one that preserves muscle while your diet creates the deficit. No session burns enough to matter against food — an hour of hard training is a few hundred calories. What training decides is whether the weight you lose comes from fat or from muscle, and heavy resistance work is what settles that.
Should I do cardio or weights to lose fat?
Weights first, cardio as a tool to widen the deficit when food alone is not enough. Start with walking, which costs almost nothing in recovery. Replacing lifting with cardio during a cut is how people finish smaller rather than leaner.
How many days a week should I train when cutting?
Four is a reasonable ceiling for most people in a deficit, because recovery capacity drops with calories. If sessions are getting worse week on week, reduce volume before you reduce load — keeping the heavy work is what signals the muscle is worth keeping.