Spring is here! A season of change and renewal. Aside from Spring cleaning, there’s another reason to notice the shifting seasons – elongated daylight and warmer weather makes it the perfect time to change up your routine. In fact, April is “Move More Month” so what better time to examine our daily habits and find ways to increase movement and exercise!
If you’re anything like me, the arrival of Spring and warmer weather brings out feelings of reluctant responsibility. Because when it’s wintery and cold, I can stay snuggled in the house without guilt. Miserable weather creates its own excuse for not being active and I often take full advantage of that excuse! But when the weather warms up my built-in excuse melts away with the snow and I know I have to shift gears and consciously choose to move. Usually that means developing a routine and that’s where I sometimes get stuck.
So if you’re ready to get into shape but don’t really know where to start, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Whether your goal is to get stronger, lose weight, boost your energy, or just feel better, the key is creating a workout routine that fits you. Not the fitness influencer you follow. Not your super-fit coworker. Just you.
Here’s some thoughts on how to build a personalized, sustainable workout routine that you can stick with!
Start With Your Why
Before you pick up a dumbbell or lace up your sneakers, ask yourself: What do I want to get out of this?
Your goal might be to:
- Build muscle
- Lose fat
- Improve flexibility
- Increase endurance
- Increase energy
- Just move more!
Knowing your “why” helps you build a plan with purpose—and keeps you motivated when your energy dips. For me, my “why” is that I am doing an 11-day hike in August along a popular trail in Europe (it’s called the Tour du Mont Blanc). I have to train for this so my goals are to build leg muscles and overall endurance over the next 4 months.
Pick Your Training Style
You don’t have to hit the gym if that doesn’t excite you. Walking, dancing, biking, swimming, yoga, or home workouts —if it gets you moving, it counts! Start with what feels fun and manageable. The more enjoyable it is, the more likely you’ll stick with it.
So, based on your “why” that you determined above, you can choose a mix of workouts that align with those goals. Here’s some examples of workout types:
- Strength Training – Builds muscle, burns fat, improves posture (weights, resistance bands, bodyweight exercises).
- Cardio – Boosts heart health and endurance (walking, running, cycling, swimming).
- Mobility/Flexibility – Prevents injury, improves recovery (yoga, stretching, foam rolling).
- Functional Training – Mimics everyday movements to improve real-life strength (kettlebells, bodyweight circuits).
For general fitness, aim for a mix of strength + cardio + mobility each week. To prep for my long hike in August, my workout style would be strength training (focusing on quads and glutes), as well as cardio to build endurance. For strength training, I have resistance bands at home and can do bodyweight exercises such as squats or lunges. And for cardio, I’d like to power-walk along a paved river trail that goes through my town.
Be Honest About Your Schedule
You don’t need to dive into an intense 6-day-a-week schedule. In fact, starting small is smart. If you only have 30 minutes a few days a week, that’s perfectly fine. The best workout plan is one that fits your lifestyle. In examining my own schedule, I know that I cannot commit to hiking several days a week to build endurance (even though this would be a better choice than walking a flat paved trail). If I set a goal that’s too lofty then I won’t be consistent with it and I’ll likely get discouraged and stop altogether!
If you can, start with 3–4 days a week, even if it’s just 20–30 minutes. Build consistency first, then once that becomes a habit, you can add more by increasing frequency or intensity.
Lower the Barriers to Entry
For myself, simply starting a workout is the hardest part! The barriers (ie excuses) feel insurmountable and I talk myself out of it time and again. This is why it’s critical to create a workout routine that you feel confident in following through on. Identify the barriers that prevent you from starting a workout and create ways to work around them. My barriers to entry are the physical distance between myself and my workout equipment. It’s also the feeling of overwhelm when I think about the exercises I don’t want to do. In order to lower these barriers, I gave myself a few rules.
My Personal Rules to Help Lower Barriers:
- Don’t join a gym! I know I won’t go. Simple as that.
- Don’t set up a workout area in the basement. Even though a basement makes sense and it’s much closer than the gym, I know that when I feel lazy, the basement might as well be as distant as Mars!
- Create a tripping hazard! I don’t highly recommend this but I will say it works quite well for me. If I keep my handweights and resistance bands at the side of my bed, then I get to step on them every morning when I wake up!
- This serves as a very effective wake up call to not only do my exercises today but to do them right now in my pj’s! I treat it as my preliminary workout. Ten minutes is about all I need to feel the burn, set the tone for the day, and allow me to check a box before I even brush my teeth!
- Never start without a plan. I know that if I’m left to my own devices without a plan, I won’t know what exercises to do! So I rely on the pre-set routines in a workout app called 7M. Their plans makes me feel at ease and is one less thing to think about.
- Avoid exercises that feel overwhelming: for me that’s flat-out running as well as kicking and punching the air to music. To work around this, I power-walk instead and choose other cardio activities that don’t resemble martial arts such as jump roping.
- Keep it short but effective. I rarely exceed 30 minutes on any workout because if it’s any longer than that my motivation drops off a cliff. But if I know I’ll be done in a half hour or less, I’m way more likely to start…and stick with it. The app I use has timed workouts so I’m doing a lot of exercises within a short period of time. This means when I’m done, I’m sweating, sore, and breathing hard, which is my gauge for an effective workout 🙂
Tripping over my hand weights, using a workout app, choosing manageable exercises, and keeping exercises short, are the tactics that work best for me. These are pretty specific and one or two of them would likely never be found in an exercise guidebook. But that’s the point! Don’t look for pre-approved solutions to your own individual barriers. Instead, look at what works for you – in your space, in your schedule, with your energy level, and even with your personality! Modify your environment and create helpful reminders so that your barrier to entry is less of a hurdle and more of a hop.
Build a Weekly Plan
Here’s a beginner-friendly weekly structure:
Monday: Strength Training (upper body focus)
Tuesday: Light Cardio (walk, bike, dance)
Wednesday: Rest or Mobility/Stretching
Thursday: Strength Training (lower body focus)
Friday: Cardio (hike, jog, row)
Saturday: Active Fun (yoga, play, outdoor activity)
If you need to start with something a bit simpler with less days per week, try this one:
Monday: 20-minute walk + light stretching
Wednesday: Beginner bodyweight circuit (squats, push-ups, lunges)
Friday: Dance workout or YouTube fitness class
Saturday: Active fun: bike ride, hike, or yoga session
Not a fan of structure? Try the “Move More” rule—do something active every day, even if it’s just a walk around the block.
A Workout App I Recommend
Since I struggle with dreaming up any variety in my exercises, I have found a very helpful app called 7M. This app has dozens of pre-built workouts organized by ability level as well as by type. I can select workouts aimed specifically for quads and glutes or those that target the back or upper body (and anything else). It also includes pre-built cardio exercises as well as stretching/flexibility.
The best part about this app is that I can follow along with an animated video of someone doing each exercise! The workouts are timed too, so you can crunch a lot into a short period! The app seems to be geared towards women based upon the images/advertising you see, but anybody can use it! Exercise is exercise regardless of gender!
My weekly schedule is to use the 7M app to do a different strength training workout three days a week, followed by a cardio-focused workout. Then, on two days per week, I will take a power-walk along the paved river trail through town. I mapped my turn-around point so I know how long it’ll take me and how many miles it’ll be.
Warm-Up and Cool Down
Never skip your warm-up! Aim for a 5–10 minute warm-up, like light cardio and dynamic stretches (these are stretches that involve a joints full range of motion such as arm circles or marching in place). Warming up helps prevent injury and gets your body ready to move. Finish each session with a cool down and static stretching (holding a stretch in a stationary position) to support recovery.
Track Progress
Seeing progress, even small wins, keeps motivation high. Keep a simple log—write down what you did and how you felt afterward. Also note the weights you used or the distance covered (for running, swimming etc). Apps, journals, or even a calendar checkmark system can give you that boost of accomplishment. Tracking helps you see what’s working and where to adjust. Keep it simple!
Adjust and Evolve
Your routine should grow with you. As you get stronger or your goals shift, tweak your workouts accordingly. Don’t be afraid to try new things, rest when needed, or make changes based on how you feel. The most important part of any fitness journey is just starting—and sticking with it in a way that feels good to you.
Tips for Success:
- Consistency beats intensity: Better to do a little often than a lot once in a while. I seem to live by this rule because I struggle with consistency!
- Rest is part of the plan: Recovery helps your body build strength and avoid burnout.
- Have fun with it: Movement should feel good, not like punishment!
- Create a Playlist: Music can turn a workout into a dance party.
- Find a Buddy: Workout with a friend or join a group—accountability helps!
- Reward Yourself: Set mini-milestones and celebrate. (New workout gear? Yes, please!)
- Mix It Up: Avoid boredom by trying new workouts each week.
- Be Kind to Yourself: Missed a day? No guilt. Just pick it back up the next day.
A great workout routine isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. Start small, stay consistent, and build habits that support your health and happiness. You don’t need to do everything at once. Just start! Your future self will thank you!