Body Recomposition Workout Plan: 8-Week Training Program

Last updated: May 2026

This 8-week body recomposition workout plan combines resistance training with strategic cardio to simultaneously reduce body fat and build lean muscle. The program uses an upper/lower split — the most efficient structure for body recomposition because it trains each muscle group twice per week while allowing adequate recovery.

Program Structure

This plan runs 4 lifting days per week in an upper/lower split, plus 2 cardio sessions and 1 full rest day. Each muscle group is trained directly twice per week — the minimum frequency for optimizing muscle growth during recomposition.

Day	Focus	Duration
Monday	Lower Body — Strength Focus	45–60 min
Tuesday	Upper Body — Strength Focus	45–60 min
Wednesday	Active Recovery / LISS Cardio	30–45 min
Thursday	Lower Body — Hypertrophy Focus	45–60 min
Friday	Upper Body — Hypertrophy Focus	45–60 min
Saturday	HIIT Cardio + Core	30–40 min
Sunday	Complete Rest	—

Schedule your two hardest lifting sessions (typically lower body strength on Monday and upper body strength on Tuesday) as your “carb refeed” days if you’re using calorie cycling — eat at or near maintenance on these days to fuel performance and maximize muscle stimulus.

Key Training Principles

Progressive overload

The most critical principle: muscles grow only when challenged with increasing demands over time. Add weight to the bar when you complete all prescribed reps for a given exercise. If you can’t add weight, aim for one additional rep. If you can’t do that, hold the weight and focus on form. Progress happens over weeks, not single sessions.

Rep ranges

• Strength days: 4–8 reps — heavier loads, primarily mechanical tension
• Hypertrophy days: 8–15 reps — moderate loads, higher volume

Using both rep ranges across the week targets different muscle fiber types and creates both types of hypertrophy stimulus (mechanical tension from heavy work, metabolic stress from higher-rep work).

Rest periods

• Compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench, rows): 90–120 seconds
• Isolation exercises (curls, extensions, raises): 45–75 seconds

Phase 1: Weeks 1–4 (Foundation)

Day 1 — Lower Body Strength

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Barbell Back Squat	4	5–7
Romanian Deadlift	3	6–8
Bulgarian Split Squat	3	8–10 each
Leg Press or Hack Squat	3	8–10
Standing Calf Raises	4	12–15

Day 2 — Upper Body Strength

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Barbell Bench Press	4	5–7
Bent-Over Barbell Row	4	5–7
Overhead Dumbbell Press	3	8–10
Lat Pulldown	3	8–10
Dumbbell Bicep Curl	3	10–12
Tricep Pushdown	3	10–12

Day 3 — LISS Cardio (Active Recovery)

30–45 minutes at Zone 2 heart rate (~64–76% max HR). You should be able to hold a conversation throughout. Options: brisk walking (incline preferred), cycling, elliptical, rowing at a moderate pace.

Day 4 — Lower Body Hypertrophy

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Goblet Squat or Front Squat	3	10–12
Leg Extensions	3	12–15
Lying Leg Curl	3	12–15
Walking Lunges	3	12 each
Seated Calf Raise	4	15–20

Day 5 — Upper Body Hypertrophy

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Incline Dumbbell Press	3	10–12
Seated Cable Row	3	10–12
Lateral Raises (Dumbbell or Cable)	4	12–15
Face Pulls	3	12–15
Hammer Curls	3	12–15
Overhead Tricep Extension	3	12–15

Day 6 — HIIT Cardio + Core

HIIT Protocol (20–25 minutes total):

• Warm-up: 5 min at light effort
• Work intervals: 20–30 seconds all-out effort
• Recovery intervals: 40–75 seconds easy pace
• Repeat 8–10 rounds
• Cool-down: 3–5 min easy

Equipment options: air bike, rowing machine, sprint on treadmill, cycling. Your work intervals should be genuinely difficult — if you can go longer than 30 seconds without slowing down, you’re not going hard enough.

Core work (10–15 minutes after HIIT):

• Plank: 3 × 30–60 seconds
• Hanging leg raises: 3 × 10–15
• Cable crunch or decline sit-up: 3 × 12–15

Phase 2: Weeks 5–8 (Intensification)

Increase weights by 5–10% from Phase 1 wherever possible. Introduce intensity techniques to push adaptation further:

Intensity techniques for Phase 2

• AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible): On the last set of key compound lifts, perform as many reps as possible with good form rather than stopping at the prescribed rep count
• Supersets: Pair isolation exercises back-to-back with no rest between them (e.g., lateral raises immediately followed by face pulls). Rest 60 seconds after completing both exercises.
• Drop sets: After completing the final set of an isolation exercise, immediately reduce the weight by 30–40% and continue to failure

Apply these techniques selectively — 1–2 per session on isolation exercises. Don’t use them on your primary compound lifts where form maintenance is critical.

Phase 2 adjustments to the schedule

• Day 1 Lower Strength: Add deficit deadlifts instead of standard Romanian deadlifts; apply AMRAP to Bulgarian split squats last set
• Day 2 Upper Strength: Apply AMRAP to bent-over rows last set; add a superset of lat pulldowns + lateral raises
• Day 4 Lower Hypertrophy: Add drop set to leg extensions final set; add walking lunges extra set
• Day 5 Upper Hypertrophy: Add drop set to lateral raises final set; superset hammer curls + tricep pushdowns
• Day 6 HIIT: Increase to 10–12 intervals (from 8–10)

Cardio for Body Recomposition: HIIT vs LISS

Type	Weekly Frequency	Duration	Purpose
HIIT	1–2 sessions	20–30 min	Maximum fat burning, metabolic boost
LISS	1–2 sessions	30–45 min	Active recovery, additional calorie burn

Don’t exceed 3 total cardio sessions per week when also lifting 4 days. Too much cardio competes with recovery from resistance training — the primary driver of body recomposition. The lifting comes first; cardio supports fat loss without interfering with muscle adaptation.

How to Track Progress on This Program

The scale is a misleading progress tracker during recomposition — you may be losing fat and gaining muscle while weight barely moves. Track these instead:

• Gym performance: Record your lifts every session. Rising strength numbers during a deficit confirm muscle maintenance or growth is occurring.
• Waist measurement: Take monthly. Shrinking waist = fat loss happening.
• Arm/chest/leg measurements: Take monthly. Growing arm circumference alongside shrinking waist = recomposition in action.
• Progress photos: Taken monthly under consistent conditions (same lighting, time of day, camera angle).

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days per week should I lift for body recomposition?

This program uses 4 days per week, which is optimal for most people. 3 days per week is the minimum that produces meaningful body recomposition for beginners; 4–5 days per week is ideal for intermediate trainees. Going beyond 5 days becomes difficult to recover from without impacting lifting quality, especially in a calorie deficit.

Should I do cardio before or after lifting?

After lifting, or on separate days. Performing cardio before resistance training impairs lifting performance — you’ll be fatigued going into your heaviest sets. Resistance training should always take priority during recomposition. On this program, LISS cardio appears on a dedicated active recovery day, and HIIT is on the Saturday training day after the week’s main lifting sessions are complete.