12-Week Fitness Plan To Transform Your Body

Want to lose weight, get healthier, and totally transform your body? This fitness plan for beginners will help you get ripped in 12 weeks.

The goal of this fitness program is to teach any beginner to lose fat without any gimmicks, shortcuts, or fad diets.

After all, the concept of weight loss is pretty simple: you need to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and be patient.

Now, we’re gonna break down each of these three parts that create a realistic fitness plan and then focus on the dietary and workout schedule.

How To Eat Healthy To Lose Weight?

As I already told you, you must eat healthy foods. Now, this might seem a bit unclear, so let me break this down for you:

1. Vegetables should be served with each meal of the day.
2. Whenever you feel the urge for something sweet, opt for a fruit, preferably apples, oranges, or grapefruits.
3. Avoid deep-fried foods by all means. Get a grill pan and prepare your food without any added oils.
4. Alcohol, energy drinks, and all kind of soda drinks must be cut out from your shopping list. Drink only water during the entire 12-week program.
5. You shouldn’t eat sweets at all. But if you’re really into them, use this opportunity to create a simple reward system. Have a small dessert after every week you’ve managed to stick to this total body transformation plan.
6. Your muscles need protein, so try to add more protein-rich foods to your daily meals. These include lean meat, eggs, beans, and many more. Check out these high-protein foods to pick your favorite for your next meal.
7. Fast foods and highly processed foods are not welcome along with this dietary program.

This list is a short guideline that should help you understand the basics of dieting. Any diet that promotes these guidelines should be a good, realistic one.

How To Exercise Regularly?

Exercising on a regular basis should not be considered a chore.

I know it isn’t easy for a beginner to spend an hour a day doing physical exercises, but we need to create a habit here, and sacrifices may be required.

So try to commit to this workout schedule I’ve planned below, and you’ll get used to it pretty soon.

The good part about this exercise program is that you can pick your favorite activity and perform it along with these exercises.

So, for example, if you’re into swimming, then alternate your swimming days with the days when you perform a total body workout.

Combining something you like doing with something you must do is the best way to create a habit that will eventually last more than these 12 weeks of body transformation program.

And if you don’t have a favorite activity, just go for a walk/jog. You can use this time to reflect on your job, family, or whatever goes around in your life.

12-Week Workout Plan

When it comes to working out, a good tip would be to keep it simple. Don’t complicate things too much if it really isn’t required.

So here’s a simple 12-week workout schedule:

Week 1

The first week of the fitness plan is for accommodation.

• Day 1: 30-Minute total body workout;
• Day 2: 30-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 3: 30-Minute total body workout;
• Day 4: 30-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 5: 30-Minute total body workout;
• Day 6: 30-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 2

In the second week of the program, we’ll increase the time of the daily workout by 10 minutes.

• Day 1: 40-Minute total body workout;
• Day 2: 40-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 3: 40-Minute total body workout;
• Day 4: 40-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 5: 40-Minute total body workout;
• Day 6: 40-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 3

In the third week of the program, we’ll increase the time of the daily workout again by 10 minutes.

• Day 1: 50-Minute total body workout;
• Day 2: 50-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 3: 50-Minute total body workout;
• Day 4: 50-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 5: 50-Minute total body workout;
• Day 6: 50-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 4

In the fourth week of the program, we’ll increase the time of the daily workout again by 10 minutes.

This point marks the end of the accommodation period and implies working out a full hour every day.

• Day 1: 60-Minute total body workout;
• Day 2: 60-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 3: 60-Minute total body workout;
• Day 4: 60-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 5: 60-Minute total body workout;
• Day 6: 60-Minute cardio session of your choice (brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, riding the bike, etc);
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 5 + week 6

From now on, we’ll try to focus on different body parts each day.

In the next two weeks, we will alternate a half-hour of UPPER body exercises and a half-hour of cardio with a half-hour of LOWER body exercises and a half-hour of cardio.

• Day 1: 30-Minute upper body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 2: 30-Minute lower body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 3: 30-Minute upper body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 4: 30-Minute lower body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 5: 30-Minute upper body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 6: 30-Minute lower body workout + 30-minute cardio session;
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 7 + week 8

On week 7 and week 8 we will alternate 40 minutes of UPPER body exercises and 20 minutes of cardio with 40 minutes of LOWER body exercises and 20 minutes of cardio.

• Day 1: 40-Minute upper body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 2: 40-Minute lower body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 3: 40-Minute upper body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 4: 40-Minute lower body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 5: 40-Minute upper body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 6: 40-Minute lower body workout + 20-minute cardio session;
• Day 7: Rest.

Week 9 + week 10 + week 11 + week 12

In the last 4 weeks of the workout plan, we’ll try to engage one body part at a time. One day we’ll work the upper body, the next day we’ll hit on cardio, then the lower body, cardio again, and so on.

• Day 1: 60-Minute upper body workout;
• Day 2: 60-Minute lower body workout;
• Day 3: 60-Minute cardio session;
• Day 4: 60-Minute upper body workout;
• Day 5: 60-Minute lower body workout;
• Day 6: 60-Minute cardio session;
• Day 7: Rest.

Total Body Workout

You need to perform this workout in the first four weeks, according to the above schedule.

Do each exercise for 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. One set is 10 minutes, so make sure to perform:

• 3 sets for a 30-minute total body workout;
• 4 sets for a 40-minute total body workout;
• 5 sets for a 50-minute total body workout;
• 6 sets for a 60-minute total body workout;

Here are the exercises that will target all your body muscles:

1. Burpees

2. Squats

3. Step-Ups

4. Pull-Ups

5. Push-Ups

6. Tricep Dips

7. Jump Lunges

8. High-Knee Jumps

9. Boat Pose

10. Mountain Climbers

Upper Body Workout

You need to perform this upper body workout from week five until the end of the fitness plan, according to the above schedule.

Do each exercise for 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. One set is 5 minutes, so make sure to perform:

• 6 sets for a 30-minute upper body workout;
• 8 sets for a 40-minute upper body workout;
• 10 sets for a 50-minute upper body workout;
• 12 sets for a 60-minute upper body workout;

Here are the exercises that will target all your upper body muscles, from biceps, triceps, and deltoids, to back, chest, and abdominal muscles:

1. Push-Up

2. Overhead Press

3. Dumbbell Pull-Over

4. Overhead Tricep Extension

5. Bicep Curl

Lower Body Workout

You need to perform this lower body workout from week five until the end of the fitness plan, according to the above schedule.

Do each exercise for 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. One set is 5 minutes, so make sure to perform:

• 6 sets for a 30-minute lower body workout;
• 8 sets for a 40-minute lower body workout;
• 10 sets for a 50-minute lower body workout;
• 12 sets for a 60-minute lower body workout;

Here are the exercises that will target all your lower body muscles, from quads, hamstrings, and calves, to adductors and glutes:

1. Squat Jump

2. Alternating Side Lunge

3. Alternating Donkey Kick

4. Left Side Lying Leg Raise

5. Right Side Lying Leg Raise

Best Cardio Exercises

You can pick a cardio exercise of your choice. Really, everything that will raise your heart rate is a good fit here; from speed walking, jogging, and running, to swimming, skipping rope, or bike riding.

Also, you can combine activities. For example, you can go for a run one day and the next day you can go for a swim.

What Are The Expectations?

Let’s not fool ourselves. Weight loss won’t happen overnight. It takes time for your body to adjust to the new lifestyle, and it takes time for the fat to melt down.

So you need to have patience until the fitness program ends. After 12 weeks you’ll be a new person with healthy habits and enviable physique.

You can lose up to 30 pounds with this 12-week fitness plan. And the best part is that you’ll do it in the most natural way possible: no pills or supplements, just healthy foods, and full-body workouts.