Summer Shape Up at Home: Women's 6 Week Fat-Burning Workout

Summer is a time of traveling, celebrating, and big events. Many people want to get in the best shape possible so they can fully enjoy these moments. Also, you never know when a camera is on you until you get tagged on a post.

All women want to be and look their best for those summer events, but what if they are restricted to home gym workouts? This doesn’t have to stop you. As a matter of fact, you can embrace the challenge thanks to this six-week program. If you were looking for a program outside of summer, don’t let that stop you. Give this a go anywhere. The program works year-round.

For those of you that may have missed it, there is a gym version of this program available as well. For the ladies that may go back and forth between the gym and home workouts, make good use out of both routines.

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Workout Schedule

This program is going to require five days a week of training. The split is two days on, one day off, three days on, one day off. The order of workouts is as follows:

• Day 1 – Upper Body Pull Day
• Day 2 – Lower Body Posterior Chain Day
• Day 3 – Off
• Day 4 – Upper Body Push Day
• Day 5 – Quadriceps and Calves
• Day 6 – Core and Tabata
• Day 7 – Off

The plan for these workouts is to perform them in a circuit-style fashion. All of the exercises on that day’s schedule should be performed without rest until you complete the final one. You then get a short break and will repeat the circuit two more times.

Equipment You'll Need

The equipment for home workouts is more limited than they are in gyms and health clubs. The workouts below will require the following equipment:

• Barbell
• Weight Plates
• Dumbbells (Adjustable if possible)
• Resistance Bands
• Bench

If you don’t have access to that kind of equipment, swap in substitution exercises that can work the muscles in similar ways. If you have more than this, then you can make the workouts more challenging by replacing these movements with more advanced choices.

Recovery and Rest

The key to making the most out of this program is how you recover from them. That means the nutrition must be consistent and steps in recovery must be taken. Let’s talk about the food first. There are several nutrition plans, and you can choose any of them that are available here on M&S. The only suggestions I have is that the protein is around 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, you drink plenty of water (most recommendations are around 12 glasses a day), and that you stick to the plan you choose. Going back and forth helps no one.

As for recovery, strategies like massages, electronic stimulation, and percussion therapy are all very effective. Give any or all of those a chance. Keep the methods you like the best, and stop the others when you figure out they don’t work for you.

The biggest key is the rest. You must be able to get quality sleep every night. That means at least seven hours of sleep. If you can get eight or even nine, that would be even better. If you learn one thing from this program, I hope it is that recovery is vital to success. 

Related: Complete Guide to Increasing Workout Recovery

Summer Shape Up Women's Home Workout

Day 1 – Pull Day

Since you’re training at home, you have control of the weight room setup. Set everything up so that the stations are close together. This will make the transition from one movement to the other easier and faster. This workout will focus on the upper back, rear delts, and finish with biceps. Give it all you got!

Complete the following exercises back-to-back with no rest between exercises. This counts as one round. Rest 2 minutes between each round. Repeat 3 times.

Day 2 – Lower Body/Posterior Chain Day

Training the posterior chain will be a challenge with free weights. Don’t be afraid of it. Concentrate on getting a full range of motion and feeling quality contractions with each repetition. The goblet squats will hit the quads, but focus on squeezing the glutes at the top of the rep. Make sure the feet are pointed slightly out as well.

Complete the following exercises back-to-back with no rest between exercises. This counts as one round. Rest 2 minutes between each round. Repeat 3 times.

Day 4 – Push Day

The Arnold press will target all three heads of the shoulder, which will also take a toll on you by the third set. Don’t be surprised if you have to use lighter weights for movements like the lateral raise. As for the pushups at the end, if you need a greater challenge than your bodyweight alone, hold the ends of a band in each hand and wrap it around the back.

Complete the following exercises back-to-back with no rest between exercises. This counts as one round. Rest 2 minutes between each round. Repeat 3 times.

Day 5 – Quadriceps and Calves

Going with a traditional barbell squat is certainly an option, but the Zercher squat is a great choice for ladies that don’t have access to a squat rack. Following these up with vertical jumps will pump up the quadriceps a lot. Use dumbbells for the seated calf raises. The standing calf raises could be performed with bodyweight only or while holding dumbbells.

Complete the following exercises back-to-back with no rest between exercises. This counts as one round. Rest 2 minutes between each round. Repeat 3 times.

Day 6 – Core and Tabata Cardio

All areas of the abdominals will be targeted with this workout. The lying leg raise can be done with ankle weights or with a dumbbell between the feet. The weighted crunch should be done with a plate on the chest. The side bends are a quality exercise for the obliques. They won’t build wide waists unless you go super heavy, so go lighter and focus on the stretch.

The Tabata workout is eight rounds of 20 seconds of work. The rest period in between is 10 seconds, which is short. Any bodyweight exercise can be performed for this workout. If you have access to cardio equipment, then, by all means, use it to the best of your ability. If you don't know where to start, check out this 8 Minute Squat & Push Up Tabata Workout.

Conclusion

Ladies, you can and will reach your fitness goals with consistent dedication. The training space isn’t as important as the space between your ears. Commit mentally to go all-out physically, and the home gym space you have will be very effective in helping you reach those fitness goals. Take pictures when you start this program and track whatever metric of progress you like (clothes size, measurements, scale, etc.). Seeing the changes every two weeks can help you build momentum. Looking and feeling your best will make those summer moments even more memorable.