Losing fat while building muscle is the goal for many fitness fans – and while it isn’t easy, it is possible, says FIIT personal trainer and coach Laura Hoggins. In this four-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to improve body composition in 2026.

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Short but intense

Her approach highlights the benefits of short but intense full-body sessions that are straightforward and easy to follow – something trainer and The Body Camp co-founder Rick Parcell, who has worked with Josie, is passionate about, too.

‘I told Josie it’s all about keeping it simple with three or four different exercises, all in sequence, and doing it three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday,’ he tells WH. ‘For example, you could do 10 squats, followed by 10 push-ups and 10 sit-ups – that’s the basic, very simple concept. Just picking three or four exercises and rotating them, spending 10 to 20 minutes maximum.’

‘When I’ve taken Josie to David Loyd’s, I pick four different machines and we do 10 or 20 reps on one machine, then we go straight to the next machine and do 10 or 20 reps, straight to the next machine, 10 or 20 reps, and the same again,’ says Parcell. Your only rest, he adds, is during the walks between the machines.

Doing three relatively short sessions like this per week is Parcell’s training recommendation for women over 40. ‘I’m into the old-school, bodybuilding training style, where it’s all about high intensity and pushing your body quite hard for a short period of time, but doing it properly, intensely, and then getting the hell out of there,’ he says.

Create a solid base

‘If you’ve already got a good base and you’re walking a lot already and you’re used to exercise, you can do high intensity,’ says Parcell, adding that you’ll likely struggle with that higher intensity work if not, which is why it’s so important to create a solid base first.

When it comes to lifting weights, in order to ‘challenge the ageing process’ and slow the accompanying natural decline in muscle mass, Parcell advises ‘pushing the muscle quite hard – I’d say go to a maximum of 10 reps if you’re using dumbbells as you can go quite heavy, but if you’re using machines, I would say 20 reps – you could do a lot more volume because you’re more in control of the machines and they are easier to use.’ Dumbbells and bars, while great, require more balance, so you’ll likely do less reps, but with more weight, he adds.

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis.  She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity.  A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.

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