What’s THE BEST Fitness Routine For Me?
4 Simple Moves to Launch Strong into 2026
🎉 Happy New Year 🎉
As the calendar flips, it’s natural to ponder resolutions and fresh starts.
Especially around fitness.
“What’s the BEST fitness routine for me in 2026?”
🤷♀️ Lifting heavy?
🤷♀️ Steady state cardio, like running?
🤷♀️ Yoga or Pilates?
🤷♀️ Brisk walking with a weighted vest?
Before you dive into something new, you need to understand a few things about your 40+ midlife body:
👉 Lower estrogen can make tendons and joints more vulnerable to injury & inflammation.
But…
👉 Your body still NEEDS strength, bone density, balance and confidence to move through full ranges of motion with stability.
The sweet spot?
A smart plan that eases you into strength training, builds a solid foundation, incorporates mobility work and prepares you to lift heavier over time.
This is how you train for your body, not against it.
JUST ONE THING
The research is clear.
Doing heavy strength training and consistent mobility work is the healthiest action you can take to keep your body strong, thriving and resilient for decades.
But that doesn’t mean you jump straight into it.
Especially if you’re new to it or it’s been a while.
Your JUST ONE THING to Strengthen Your Body this Year
Ease In and Slowly Build up
A recent participant in my Jumpstart 30 program told me she’d previously tried doing an at-home weightlifting program, which involved very heavy loads and more advanced moves.
After she endured two slipped discs in her neck and nearly constant migraines as a result, she wished she’d taken the wiser route and started with Jumpstart 30 instead.
👉 You have to start with the basics and master them first.
Hip hinges, bodyweight squats, bent-over T’s and planking-style positions are the base movements upon which you’ll build more complex moves over many years of strength training.
Ease into strength training by mastering these motions.
Then gradually build up with more sets, more reps variations and even weights (eventually!).
Here’s a quick run through of those basic moves for you to try today!
Full Body Beginner Workout - No Equipment Needed
- Hip Hinge (10 reps): Stand with feet parallel and knees slightly bent; push your glutes back to fold at your hip crease, then straighten back up.
- Bent-over T’s & W’s (10 reps total): Stay in bent-over “hinge” position and pull your arms back into a “T” and then a “W”, alternating positions for total rep count. Squeeze shoulder blades together.
- Staggered Squats (5 reps/side): Do bodyweight squats but with feet slightly staggered. Sink into squat—it’s okay for back heel to lift slightly but don’t allow knees to collapse inward— then stand up strong.
- Elevated Push-Ups (10 reps): Begin with hands on wall in front of shoulders, hold straight plank position as you sink down to have elbows at 45-degrees, then push up strong through arms squeezing shoulder blades together. Graduate to chair or counter as strength progresses.
Extra Tip: Do 3-4 rounds through this circuit of exercises. Move slowly and carefully for the first round to help warm up your muscles and joints.
Did You Know...
- Your body takes a little longer to recover between workouts as you get older. Therefore, the harder the workout, the more intentional you should be about recovery days.
- For many women that jump straight into heavy weight training, it is common to experience wrist pain, elbow pain and even neck pain as a result. Gradually building up your routine and learning good technique along the way can help you avoid these injuries all together.
- Starting with bodyweight exercises builds a strong foundation — and also gives you go-to, no-equipment moves you can do anytime, anywhere!!
Until next week... Be strong💪
