Keep the lifting when you start to cut
A common pattern when people set out to lose fat is to drop the weights and do cardio only. If keeping your strength matters to you, the strength sessions are the part of the week to protect. Conditioning and walking sit around them, not in place of them.
The World Health Organization's 2020 guidelines frame an adult's week the same way: aerobic activity spread through the week, plus muscle-strengthening work for all major muscle groups on two or more days. They list measures of adiposity, meaning body fat, among the outcomes that may improve with regular activity in adults. No guideline can tell you how much or how fast for your own body. For the strength side of one club, see strength training at RPM.
The weekly mix, part by part
Build the week in this order. When time runs short, cut from the bottom of each row's last column, not from the strength sessions.
| Part of the week | How often | What it looks like | Gym feature it needs | If the week goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength sessions | Two or three, on non-consecutive days | Full-body sessions with the same main lifts each week, so you can see whether strength holds | Racks, benches and machines open at your hour | Keep two sessions before anything else |
| Conditioning | One to three short sessions | Bike intervals, sled pushes, rope work or a steady session on a cross-trainer | A functional area and cardio machines you can get on | Drop it first and walk instead |
| Walking | Most days | Brisk walks, stairs instead of lifts, walking phone calls | Treadmills for the hot months | Short walks still add up |
| Recovery | Every night, plus one or two lighter days | Sleep, rest days and easy movement | Nothing special, though a recovery suite is a pleasant extra | Protect sleep before you add sessions |
Food is left out of this table on purpose. An eating plan for fat loss belongs with a registered dietitian or your doctor.
WHO advises adults to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mix of the two. It counts walking among aerobic activities and describes moderate intensity as roughly a 5 or 6 on a personal effort scale of 0 to 10. Brisk walking and conditioning can share that total.
Gym features that keep the mix going
- Treadmills or other cardio machines that are open when you train, so walking and steady work carry on through the summer months.
- A strength floor where your main lifts are available at your hour, because those sessions are the ones you keep.
- A functional area with a sled, ropes or bikes, so conditioning can be a short finisher instead of a separate trip.
- Opening hours that let you train before work or late in the evening, so a busy week does not wipe out the plan.
- Coaching if you want the strength sessions planned and checked while your eating changes.
If you are unsure whether to lift or do cardio first on days that include both, the session-order options in cardio and weights in one gym cover it.
Watching strength while the scale moves
The scale tells you one thing. Your training log tells you whether the strength side of the plan is working.
- Log the same main lifts every week with load, sets and reps. If those hold or creep up, you are keeping strength.
- Take a waist measurement at the same time of day every two weeks.
- Photos in the same light and clothes once a month show change the scale hides.
- Note sleep and energy. A run of poor sessions is a reason to ease off and talk to a professional, not to push harder.
For what to measure and how often, read measuring fitness progress.
Food, health and who to ask
This page does not give a diet plan, and a gym coach should not write a clinical one either. A coach can talk about everyday habits. For calorie targets, a medical condition, medication, pregnancy or a history of disordered eating, see a registered dietitian or your doctor before changing how you eat. The same applies to fasting in Ramadan if you have a condition that fasting affects.
Heat, Ramadan and the walking habit
From May to September, outdoor walking in Abu Dhabi shrinks to early mornings and late evenings, so many people move their daily walking onto treadmills or into malls. In Ramadan, people who fast often shift strength sessions to after iftar and keep conditioning short, then rebuild the full mix after Eid.
Where RPM fits a fat-loss week, and where it does not
RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal. Floor photos show plate-loaded machines, cable towers, benches, dumbbells and a squat rack for the strength days. The functional area has a turf lane with a sled and battle ropes, plus kettlebells and slam balls. The cardio row has treadmills, cross-trainers and an upright bike, plus spin bikes. The women-only Ladies section has strength and cardio equipment of its own.
RPM does not offer dietetics, and its coaches are not dietitians. If you want conditioning planned for you, two roster names fit: Taha Ragab, a general fitness coach in the Mixed section, and Asma Jamousi Zadeh, listed for HYROX-style training in the Ladies section. The recovery suite has a Finnish sauna, an aroma steam room and an ice bath. Ask which tiers include it, and check with your doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant, since heat and cold are not suitable for everyone.
Sources
Questions, answered.
How much fat can I expect to lose?
Nobody can promise a number. It depends on food, sleep, health and how consistently you train. A registered dietitian or your doctor is the right person to set a realistic target with.
How many steps a day should I aim for?
WHO's guidelines do not set a step count. They advise adults to limit time spent sitting and replace it with activity of any intensity. Start from your current daily average and add a little each week.
Should I lift lighter while I am losing fat?
Many people keep their main lifts at loads that challenge them for the planned reps. If you feel unusually tired or dizzy, stop and speak to your doctor, and tell your coach.
Do I need a personal trainer for this?
Not always. A coach helps most when you want the strength sessions planned and reviewed. At RPM, Engine adds coached programming and Atelier is built around one-to-one coaching, with inclusions confirmed on enquiry.