MACRO—06MACROCYCLE

Foundations for Fat Loss — 13 Weeks

Four lifting days and two conditioning days for a complete beginner — learn the patterns, lose fat, and keep the muscle you build doing it.

GOAL
Conditioning & Fat Loss
LEVEL
Beginner
LENGTH
13 weeks
SESSIONS
6 per week

Thirteen weeks written for someone starting from nothing. Weeks 1 to 4 teach eight movement patterns at loads light enough that technique never breaks down; weeks 5 to 8 add weight to those same movements; weeks 9 to 12 push them properly. Week 13 halves the volume and retests everything. The lifting is four days, split lower/upper/lower/upper, and it is what protects muscle while you are eating less. The conditioning is Zone 2 — steady, conversational, boring on purpose — and it is what does the calorie work. Fat loss comes from the deficit and the daily step count, not from making the sessions harder. If you only get one thing right, make it the protein target and the steps.

WHO IT'S FOR
  • →Complete beginners who have never lifted weights
  • →Anyone whose goal is fat loss without losing muscle
  • →People who can commit four gym days and two walks a week
  • →Anyone returning after years away who wants to relearn the patterns properly
BEFORE YOU START
  • →Clearance to exercise if you have any cardiac, joint or pregnancy-related concern
  • →A resting heart rate measured across five mornings, for setting the conditioning zones
  • →Access to dumbbells, a kettlebell, a cable stack and an assisted pull-up machine or band
  • →A way to count daily steps
EQUIPMENT
DumbbellKettlebellCableMachineBenchBoxBosuPlateFoam rollerMassage ballMatPull-up barBandTreadmill
Learn the MovementWeeks 1–4

Own eight patterns: squat, hinge, step, lunge, push, row, vertical pull and carry. Loads stay light enough that every rep looks the same as the first. Soreness is expected in week 1 and should be gone by week 3.

  1. MondayBeginner Lower A — Squat & HingeBodyweight or the lightest bell on everything. Learning week.Strength · 60 min
  2. TuesdayBeginner Zone 2 — Steady Walk30 minutes at 50–60% HRR. You should be able to talk in full sentences the whole time.Conditioning · 40 min
  3. WednesdayBeginner Upper A — Push & RowMachines and the floor before benches and free weights.Strength · 60 min
  4. ThursdayWalk only — Zone 1, 40–50% HRREasy. This is a step day, not a session.
  5. FridayBeginner Lower B — Hinge & BalanceGoblet squats to a box so the depth is the same every rep.Strength · 60 min
  6. SaturdayBeginner Upper B — Pull & CoreTwo rounds of the core circuit this block, not three.Strength · 60 min
  7. SundayRestAn easy walk or a gentle yoga session if you want one. Nothing structured.

PROGRESSIONThree seconds down, one-second pause, one second up on the main lifts. Two to three sets of 10–12 reps, stopping every set around RPE 5–6 — four reps left in the tank. Rest 75 seconds. Do not add weight this block even if it feels easy; add it in week 5. Conditioning stays at 50–60% of heart-rate reserve for 30 minutes, three times a week. Steps: 8,000 a day, building to 10,000 by week 4.

Add the LoadWeeks 5–8

Same movements, real weight. This is the block where strength starts to show up and where the muscle that protects you through the deficit gets built.

  1. MondayBeginner Lower A — Squat & HingeFirst loading week. Add weight to the goblet squat and the sumo deadlift only.Strength · 60 min
  2. TuesdayBeginner Zone 2 — Steady WalkOut to 35 minutes this block.Conditioning · 40 min
  3. WednesdayBeginner Upper A — Push & RowMove the dumbbell press off the floor and onto a bench.Strength · 60 min
  4. ThursdayBeginner Heart-Rate IntervalsFirst interval session of the plan. Five rounds, not six.Conditioning · 40 min
  5. FridayBeginner Lower B — Hinge & BalanceDrop the box on the goblet squat once the depth is repeatable without it.Strength · 60 min
  6. SaturdayBeginner Upper B — Pull & CoreThree rounds of the core circuit from this week on.Strength · 60 min
  7. SundayRest

PROGRESSIONThree sets of 8–12 at RPE 6–7 — three reps left. Tempo shortens to two seconds down, one up. Add load when you hit the top of the rep range with clean technique on two consecutive sessions: 2 kg upper body, 4 kg lower. Core circuit goes to three rounds. Conditioning: three Zone 2 sessions of 35 minutes, plus one interval session — five rounds of two minutes at 60–70% HRR against two minutes at 40–50%. Steps hold at 9,000–10,000.

ConsolidateWeeks 9–12

Push the same lifts properly. By now the patterns are automatic, so the sets can get genuinely hard without technique being the thing that fails.

  1. MondayBeginner Lower A — Squat & HingeFour sets of 8 on the squat and the sumo deadlift.Strength · 60 min
  2. TuesdayBeginner Heart-Rate IntervalsSix rounds of 1 minute at 70–80% HRR now, not five of two.Conditioning · 40 min
  3. WednesdayBeginner Upper A — Push & RowAssisted pull-up assistance comes down, not the reps.Strength · 60 min
  4. ThursdayBeginner Zone 2 — Steady WalkThe long easy one — out to 45 minutes. Podcast pace.Conditioning · 40 min
  5. FridayBeginner Lower B — Hinge & BalanceBOSU squat hold to 40 seconds.Strength · 60 min
  6. SaturdayBeginner Upper B — Pull & CoreSwap the Pallof for a light half-kneeling windmill only if the overhead lockout is clean.Strength · 60 min
  7. SundayRest

PROGRESSIONFour sets of 6–10 on the two main lifts, three sets of 8–12 on everything else, at RPE 7–8 — two reps left. Rest 90 seconds on main lifts. Keep adding load on the same rule. The Pallof press can become a half-kneeling windmill if the overhead position is clean; if it isn't, stay on the Pallof. Conditioning: one 45-minute Zone 2 and two interval sessions — six rounds of one minute at 70–80% HRR against two minutes at 40–50%.

Deload & RetestWeek 13

Shed the fatigue that has accumulated over twelve weeks, then measure what changed. The retest is the point of the week — without it the block has no ending.

  1. MondayBeginner Lower A — Squat & HingeTwo sets per exercise, week-12 loads, nothing near failure.Strength · 60 min
  2. TuesdayBeginner Zone 2 — Steady WalkBottom of the band — 50% HRR, not 60%.Conditioning · 40 min
  3. WednesdayBeginner Upper A — Push & RowTwo sets per exercise. Leave feeling like you could do it again.Strength · 60 min
  4. ThursdayRest
  5. FridayBeginner Zone 2 — Steady WalkEasy. Nothing to prove the day before a retest.Conditioning · 40 min
  6. SaturdayRetest — measurements, photos, plank, sit-to-stand, pull-ups, HR recoverySame time of day and same conditions as week 1.
  7. SundayRest

PROGRESSIONHalf the working sets, same loads as week 12, every set stopped four reps short. No new loads, no intervals. Retest on Saturday: weight and tape measurements, photos in the same light, a maximum plank hold, thirty-second sit-to-stand, assisted pull-up reps at the week-12 assistance setting, and one-minute heart-rate recovery after a six-minute brisk walk. Compare against week 1, not against how you feel.

PROGRESSION RULES
  • →Add load only when you hit the top of the rep range with clean technique on two consecutive sessions — 2 kg upper body, 4 kg lower body.
  • →Technique is the ceiling. If the last rep of a set looks different from the first, the weight was too heavy — drop it next session rather than pushing through.
  • →Miss a session and move it, don't delete it. Miss a week and repeat that week rather than skipping ahead.
  • →Conditioning is prescribed by heart rate, not by speed or incline. Karvonen: target = ((max HR − resting HR) × intensity) + resting HR, with max HR estimated as 220 − age.
  • →Re-measure resting heart rate every four weeks and recalculate the zones — it drops as conditioning improves, and stale zones mean easy sessions.
  • →The deficit does the fat loss and the lifting protects the muscle. If progress stalls, check steps and food before making the sessions harder.
WHAT WE MEASURE
  • →Body weight — weekly, same morning, before eating, recorded as a seven-day average rather than a single reading
  • →Waist at the navel, plus hip, chest, thigh and arm at weeks 1, 7 and 13
  • →Front, side and back photos in the same light and clothing at weeks 1, 7 and 13
  • →Resting heart rate, weekly — the single best free marker that the conditioning is working
  • →Maximum forearm plank hold
  • →Sit-to-stand reps in 30 seconds
  • →Assisted pull-up reps at a fixed assistance setting
  • →One-minute heart-rate recovery after a six-minute brisk walk

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