Crush Your Fitness Goals With a Solid Workout Plan

Starting the year with a workout plan is the best thing anyone can do to achieve their fitness goals. It’s a trend people have been on since the pandemic started. Google search trends indicates the portion of people searching for weight loss hit a 5-year high in May of 2020. This level even exceeded the quintessential New Year’s diet resolution season.

Workout Plan For The New Year

But here we are now, closing on 2020 and ready for the resolutions again. For those thinking of starting a healthier lifestyle, and wanting to try something, you know it’s no magic pill. A workout plan is key to consistency, giving us accountability and a map to follow. To help you in this endeavour, some bright minds have laid out some us ideas to reach those workout goals.

Life Planner

Mompreneur, Karen Rae wrote The Balanced Life Planner, a weekly planner centred around the 5 fundamental areas of life:

1. Faith
2. Family
3. Finances
4. Fitness
5. Friendships

It walks you through how to set your life goals and plan your days to achieve a proper life balance. When you devote time and energy to these areas, you will become more fit, confident, have more fruitful relationships, and begin to walk in your purpose.


The free planner keeps Karen motivated, on-schedule and showing real improvement:

• Choose a planning day for the week ahead
• Set a time in your workout plan
• Include workouts for different areas of your body or a full-body workout using pre-planned workout routines that are available for free
• Schedule different workouts that you actually love
• Workout with a friend, it can make working out so much more fun and it adds accountability
• Use your planner to keep track of your food intake and exercise. You can also write down your daily affirmations and inspirational quotes to motivate you.

Body Weights Exercise Plan

Do not let your inability to go to the gym derail you from working out. Today, living through the pandemic, working out in your own home is the newest, latest and the best trend. You do not need fancy equipment. Anyone can get a highly efficient and effective workout plan within the confines of your own home.

Trainer/pilates instructor Ilana Milstein, mom and CEO of No Xcuses Training, has drawn up a body weights workout plan to do at home. Whether you are a cardio queen, a strength training maven, or prefer more restorative exercises like yoga or pilates, there is a lot you can do. Below are a few quick and easy workouts for you to do using just your own body weight:

For The Cardio Bunny

Do the following circuit 3 – 4 times with a 30 second rest in the middle:

1. Running in place 30 seconds
2. 20 jump squats
3. 50 jumping jacks
4. 25 mountain climbers

For The Strength Lover And Tone Buff

Do the following circuit 3-4 times with 30 second rest between each set:

1. 15 pushups
2. 30 second plank
3. 15 lunges on each side with a pause at the bottom
4. 20 squats

Do the following circuit 3-4 times with minimal to no rest:

1. flow from plank to downward dog 3 times
2. on all 4s extend the opposite arm and leg 10x on each side
3. 10 bridges (on back lifting hips up and down taking time to stretch at the top of each

Go for a walk or a jog as you get both the benefits of movement and being outside in nature, which does wonders for your mental health as well. If you miss being in a class–type environment, there are thousands of fitness instructors who have taken their classes onto zoom. You can feel motivated by the people on the screen doing the workout with you.

Stress Relief Stretch Routine

Combo ACE-Certified trainer/pilates instructor Ilana Milstein knows we’re living through a period of utter anxiety and stress. It is hard to take a break from the endless chatter and fear in our minds. The tension that sits in our heads by no surprise, easily spreads into our physical body leaving our muscles feeling tighter than ever. Think about the stress you feel while working on a project at your computer. While your mind might be on overdrive, physically, your upper body rounds over your desk, your shoulders might hike up to your ears causing muscle soreness both in your upper and lower back.

Here are some stretches to alleviate physical tightness and hopefully mental stress as well.

Upper Body Stress in Your shoulders And Chest

• If you have a foam roller (or a small ball or rolled up towel placed at your shoulder blades), lay down vertically over it with your head rested at the end.
• Open up your arms to the side with palms up and try to reach the floor.
• Hold and take 3-5 deep breaths.

Stress in Your Lower Back

• Lie on your back and draw bent legs in towards your chest giving them a hug.
• Hold and take 3-5 breaths.

Tension in The Hips And Upper Body

• Take a child’s pose; sit on your knees, send your hips back over your feet and your arms out in the opposite direction.
• Feel like you are being pulled in two different directions.
• From your arms and as if someone had their arms around your waist and was pulling you back.

Stress in Hips

• This exacerbates pain in the lower back, so look to the happy baby stretch.
• Lying on your back, bring bent legs to chest and try to grab on to each foot with your hand, thereby opening the hips up.
• Rock side to side and take 3-5 deep breaths.

14-Day Mind-Body Reboot – Detox 101

Reset mind, body, and spirit with the 14-Day “Mind-Body Reboot – Detox 101. Spearheaded by food science and nutrition specialist Dr. Munzer Sundos, Ph.D., Nupeutics Health is led by in-house health advisor Bernadette Judge, RN, and joined by America’s “Fit Foodie” Mareya Ibrahim and R.I.P.P.E.D. fitness creator Terry Shorter.

Detox 101 leverages the gut-brain-skin connection, targeting every system to heal and prevent toxin-related disease with a powerful blueprint designed to support success:

• Clear steps to help prepare mind and body for successful detox, plus expert tips for managing challenges
• Delicious energy-boosting, whole-foods based recipes
• Get the real dish on clean eating and supportive nutrition to help change your relationship to food
• In-depth exercise tips for effective weight control, improved strength, mood, and sleep
• Tools for achieving a success mindset for long-term results
• Crucial self-care tips to support the mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing necessary for a successful detox, including mini-guides on mindfulness, meditation, breath work, yoga, journaling, and more
• A comprehensive list of all-natural foundational supplements to promote targeted, whole-person healing and optimal wellness, both during the program and beyond

Gamified Dieting

The efficacy of diet gamification is well-proven. Gamification led to significantly increased physical activity among overweight Americans as found by the JAMA Internal Medicine study. Pairing a step tracking device with social incentives led to sustained, long-term behaviour change. The competition aspect was the most effective. That’s something HealthyWager has seen play out since launching its weight-loss gamification platform in 2009. Double incentivizing methodology proves competition and rewards (especially if it’s cash), can triple the effectiveness of weight loss programs.

Pay to Play

A key element for the success of a gamification program is giving participants something to lose if they fail to meet their goal. Behavioural economics studies continually demonstrate that the threat of losing something of value is much more effective than the opportunity to win something of equal value. Program participants ‘pay to play’ and make an investment out of their own pocket to win large cash prizes for losing weight and becoming more active:

• Jean N. lost 71 lbs. and won $3,357.99.
• Kristin W. lost a staggering 114 pounds and won $4,000.
• Anastasia W. who lost 41 pounds and won a whopping $10,000.
• Blake S. lost an impressive 151 pounds and won $4,670.

There has been nearly 7.5 million pounds lost since the company’s launch in 2009. Over $55 million cash was paid since its inception. In 2020 alone, more than 30,000 dieters won over $13 million.

Healthy Wager Challenge

• Participants commit to a weight loss goal.
• They provide an upfront financial payment.
• Their money is given back plus a financial return if they accomplish their weight loss goal.
• The average participant loses 40.7 pounds and gets paid $1,245.

HealthyWage Step Challenge

• Participants commit money.
• They agree to increase their steps by 25% over 60-days.
• If they achieve their goal, they get their money back plus the money from those who don’t hit their goal.

The Gist of it

This year has been full of twists, turns, and stress eating for many. As the coronavirus rages on well into the fourth quarter, we collectively find ourselves again having to shelter-in-place. Those trying to reconcile how they will survive this next round of being home bound, and the holiday season at large, with mitigated waistline and budgetary wreckage, and who are even planning their New Year resolution approach, would be wise to consider the above workout plans. Whether it’s the life planner, workout and stretch plans, Detox 101, or the gamified dieting, sticking to it to avoid the the so-called ‘quarantine 15’ are timely as holiday gluttony and diet resolution seasons loom large amid renewed shelter-in-place mandates.

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, sign up to my newsletter to get the latest advice, tips, and giveaways right into your inbox!