By Will Duru | BSc Sport Science | Personal Trainer | 10+ Years Experience
Losing 5kg of body fat can feel incredibly hard if you do not know what you are doing. But if you do know what you are doing, it is completely achievable in 8 weeks or less.
I am going to keep this simple. To lose body fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. That is it. That is the entire science behind fat loss. Everything else is just detail.
I see this every year as a personal trainer. As soon as spring arrives, my clients come to me with the same goal. They want to tone up and lose some belly fat so they can wear their favourite dresses, jeans, and trousers without feeling too tight around the waist.
The good news is you do not need to starve yourself or spend hours on a treadmill. You just need to make a few simple changes, follow a proper training plan, and stick with it for 8 weeks. Here is exactly what I tell my clients.
Five Things I Tell Every Client Who Wants to Lose 5kg
- Start walking more
This is the easiest change you can make, and it makes the biggest difference. Aim for 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Walk to the shops instead of driving. Go for a long walk on the weekend and throw a backpack on if you want to make it harder. Walking burns calories without putting stress on your body, and it does not make you hungry the way intense cardio does.
- Start strength training
If you have access to a gym, even 2 to 3 sessions per week is enough to build lean muscle and speed up your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, even when you are sitting still. The more lean muscle you carry, the more calories your body burns throughout the day. I have put together a full Push, Pull, Legs program for you below.
If you do not have a gym, that is fine. Open the 12REPS app and go to the Trainer Program section. There is a weekly bodyweight program in there that I designed for people just getting started.
- Control your portions
Eat your meals on smaller plates. When you eat off a big plate, you fill it up and eat everything on it. A smaller plate means you naturally eat less without thinking about it. You are not cutting out any foods. You are just eating a bit less at each meal. Over time, that small change adds up, and your body starts using its fat stores for energy.
- Drink more water
Try to have at least 2 litres of water per day. And no, coffee does not count as water. Neither do juice nor fizzy drinks. Plain water. It helps your body burn fat, keeps you full between meals, and stops you from reaching for snacks when you are actually just thirsty. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere.
- Reduce your sugar intake
Sugar is one of the biggest reasons people struggle to lose body fat. It spikes your blood sugar, makes you crave more food, and adds empty calories your body stores as fat. Cut out the obvious stuff. Sweets, biscuits, sugary drinks, and the sugar in your tea or coffee. If you need something sweet, use a small amount of organic honey. After a couple of weeks, your cravings will drop, and you will not miss it.
Your 8-Week Push, Pull, Legs Program
If you are going to the gym 2 to 3 times per week, this is the program I want you to follow. It is a Push, Pull, Legs split. That means one session for pushing muscles, one for pulling muscles, and one for legs. Each session takes about 45 to 50 minutes, including your warm-up and cool-down.
You can find every exercise in this program on the 12REPS app. Open the app, search for the exercise, and watch the video demonstration before you do it. The app also lets you log your sets, reps, and weight to track your progress week by week.
Warm-Up (Do This Before Every Session)
5 minutes. Get your heart rate up and your joints moving before you touch any weights.
WARM-UP – EVERY SESSION | ||||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
Brisk walk or light jog | – | 2 min | – | Treadmill or around the gym |
Arm circles | 1 | 10 each way | – | Small to large circles |
Bodyweight squats | 1 | 10 | – | Slow and controlled |
Leg swings | 1 | 10 each leg | – | Forward and back, hold a wall |
Cat-cow stretches | 1 | 10 | – | Loosen up your spine |
Band pull-aparts | 1 | 15 | – | Wake up your shoulders |
Day 1 – Push (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
PUSH DAY | ||||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
Dumbbell bench press | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Chest, triceps |
Seated shoulder press | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Shoulders, triceps |
Incline dumbbell press | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Upper chest |
Lateral raises | 3 | 12–15 | 45s | Side delts |
Tricep rope pushdown | 3 | 12–15 | 45s | Triceps |
Press-ups | 2 | To failure | 45s | Finish strong |
Day 2 – Pull (Back, Biceps, Rear Delts)
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
Lat pulldown | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Lats, upper back |
Seated cable row | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Mid back, lats |
Single-arm dumbbell row | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Lats, rear delts |
Face pulls | 3 | 12–15 | 45s | Rear delts, posture |
Dumbbell bicep curls | 3 | 12–15 | 45s | Biceps |
Hammer curls | 2 | 12–15 | 45s | Biceps, forearms |
Day 3 – Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Core)
LEG DAY | ||||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
Goblet squat | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Quads, glutes, core |
Romanian deadlift | 3 | 10–12 | 60s | Hamstrings, glutes |
Walking lunges | 3 | 10 each leg | 60s | Quads, glutes, balance |
Leg press | 3 | 12–15 | 60s | Quads, glutes |
Leg curl | 3 | 12–15 | 45s | Hamstrings |
Plank | 3 | 30–45 sec | 30s | Core stability |
Cool-Down (Do This After Every Session)
5 minutes. Bring your heart rate down and stretch the muscles you just worked.
COOL-DOWN – EVERY SESSION | ||||
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
Slow walk | – | 2 min | – | Treadmill or around the gym |
Standing quad stretch | 1 | 30 sec each | – | Hold a wall for balance |
Standing hamstring stretch | 1 | 30 sec each | – | Foot on a bench, lean forward |
Chest doorway stretch | 1 | 30 sec | – | Arm on door frame, lean through |
Child’s pose | 1 | 30 sec | – | Stretch your back and shoulders |
Deep breathing | 1 | 5 breaths | – | Slow inhale, slow exhale |
How to Get Stronger Every Week
This is the most important part. It is called progressive overload, and it is why some people get results and others stay the same. The idea is simple. Every week, you make the workout a tiny bit harder. Here is how.
Week 1–2: Learn the exercises. Focus on good form. Use a weight that feels challenging but manageable for the rep range.
Week 3–4: Add 1 to 2 reps to each set. If you were doing 10 reps, try for 11 or 12.
Week 5–6: Increase the weight slightly. Go up by 1 to 2 kg on each exercise and drop back to the bottom of the rep range.
Week 7–8: Build the reps back up with the heavier weight. By the end of week 8, you will be lifting more than when you started.
Log everything in the 12REPS app. Write down the weight, the reps, and how it felt. When you look back after 8 weeks, you will see exactly how far you have come.
“If you are lifting the same weight in week 8 as you were in week 1, you have not progressed. Track it. Push it. That is how your body changes.” – Will Duru
Put It All Together
Walk 7,000 to 10,000 steps every day. Train 2-3 times per week using the Push, Pull, Legs program above. Eat off smaller plates. Drink 2 litres of water. Cut out sugar. Progress your weights every couple of weeks. Do all of that consistently for 8 weeks, and you will lose that 5kg.
You do not need to be perfect. Just be consistent. If you have a bad day, make the next one better.
“You do not need a perfect plan. You need a simple plan that you actually stick to. That is how real results happen.” – Will Duru
The 12REPS app has everything you need for this program. Search for any exercise and watch the video demonstration. Log your sets, reps, and weights. Track your progression over the full 8 weeks. All designed by me. Download the 12REPS appand start today.
