This is your fitness and nutrition blueprint to make your 2026 your fittest year – ever!
If you’ve come out of the festive period more stuffed than the Christmas turkey and decided it’s definitely time to get in shape, don’t worry – we’ve got the perfect zero-to-hero plan to get you there. It’s our fitness blueprint!
The most important thing right now, is to commit to getting started. As Muhammad Ali once said: “Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don’t be afraid to take that first step.”
BEFORE YOU START
As you set out, remember this is a year-long journey, so try not to rush in and overdo it as you’ll either end up injuring yourself or feeling so sore that you’ll give up. Either way, you’re finished before you’ve truly started. It’s important to use the first couple of months as an induction period, the chance to familiarise your mind and body with the challenges ahead, just as an elite athlete begins gentle training for the Olympic games a long way out.
GUIDELINES
The strength training routines are designed to pair body parts so that different muscles groups are used on alternate exercises. This approach allows you to move directly from one exercise to the next, so you can get in and out of the gym in minimum time. But it also produces a great cardio benefit, in addition to muscle building.
The routines will always follow the same 3 phases – legs + back, chest + abs, biceps + triceps model and the 3 sets will be performed, for example legs-back-legs-back-legs-back, with no rest between. Then take a quick breath while you set up for chest + abs exercises and do the same.
Finally, in this fitness blueprint, take a quick rest before the last phase of biceps + triceps exercises. Don’t worry, we’ve not missed the shoulders, they will be incorporated in the back and chest exercises. This will ensure you achieve a total body workout in only 30mins. The resistance should be set to ensure you hit fatigue during the last couple of reps on each set.
• Always take at least 5mins to warm up, ideally with some aerobic exercise. The rower is your best option, as it targets the whole body, but running and cycling will also suffice.
• Similarly, take at least 2mins after each session for gentle cardio to bring your heart rate back down, slow your breathing and avoid blood pooling in your muscles that can lead to a risk of fainting.
• Your cardio and strength sessions start at 2 of each per week and build to 3. Ideally these will be done on different days, allowing you 1 full day of complete rest each week. However, you could also combine your workouts (although this will be very challenging once the intensity of each builds through the year) but if so, you are recommended to opt for strength first then follow with cardio to get optimum results.
• Although the plan includes target intensities, always listen to your body and learn to identify the important difference between the healthy sign of fatigue from a good workout and the warning hidden in sharp or shooting pains.
• If you are unsure how to correctly perform any of the exercises, seek advice from a one of the trainers in your gym.
JANUARY – Laying the Foundations
Cardio
Cardio exercises can be anything from rowing, cycling, swimming, running but ensure you spend around 30mins at 55% of your maximum working heart-rate (220-age) twice per week.
Strength
Resistance training at this point should be in the form of a circuit-based format, 2 times per week, allowing you to hit the whole body whilst also affording the opportunity to learn or refresh correct techniques. Opt for either studio circuit classes or go solo, working your way around the gym fixed-stations, alternating between upper and lower body exercises lifting only 1 set of 12 reps at only around 50% of your maximum.
Nutrition
Start keeping a food diary, making sure to record everything you eat and drink.
FEBRUARY – Really Getting Started
Cardio
Aerobic exercise will still be the mainstay of your workout, as good cardiorespiratory fitness is vital for all that is to follow, but now you should up the intensity so your heart-rate is at around 65% of your maximum working figure. Still aim for 2 sessions of 30mins duration each week.
Strength
For resistance, follow this routine, performing 15 repetitions of each exercise for 3 sets, remembering to alternate between legs and back, chest and abs, biceps and triceps, as described in the guidelines, above.
squat + seated row
bench press + ab crunch
barbelll curl + tricep pushdown
Nutrition
In your food diary, start to add, briefly, how you felt just before and just after each bout of refuelling.
MARCH – Moving on up
Cardio
Increase your aerobic efforts to 30mins at around 75% of your maximum working heart rate and now go for 3 sessions per week.
Strength
Keep your resistance exercises the same but now perform 15 repetitions of each exercise for 3 sets, 3 times per week rather than 2.
Nutrition
Start to reduce calorie intake by replacing fatty and sugary snacks with handy, healthy fruit and vegetable options.
APRIL – Spring into Action
Cardio
Replace your aerobic sessions with plyometrics or leaping and bounding exercises. This should still be a 30mins session using a little circuit of squat leaps, hops, depth jumps, lunge leaps, ski jumps (side to side) push-ups with a clap and rugby pass a medicine ball against a wall. Work as hard as you can for a minute on each exercise, take a quick breather then move on.
This is high intensity, high volume stuff, so technique is really important – always reduce the impact on your ankles, knees, hips and lower back by softening the landings. As you touch down, immediately bend the knee and hip joints to give a smooth return to the ground. The golden rule is, the quieter your landing, the better it is for you.
Strength
Change your resistance exercises to the following exercises, still for 15 repetitions, alternating, 3 sets of each, 3 times per week.
barbell front lunge + lat pulldown
incline chest press + reverse ab curl
dumbbell curl + triceps dumbbell extension
Nutrition
Start to eat a healthy, carbohydrate-based breakfast, every day.
MAY – Be Flexible
Cardio
Return to your cardio sessions of running, cycling, rowing and swimming, for 30mins at 75% of your maximum working heart rate, 3 times per week, but now you should notice you can record further distances, partly due to the extra power you can now generate, after last month’s plyometric work.
Strength
Keep your resistance routine the same but now go for 4 sets of each pairing.
Nutrition
To help the muscles grow try to increase your protein intake, ideally 3 portions of lean meat or fish each day.
Add-on
Take a yoga class each week, learning the importance of marrying strength gains with improvements in flexibility. For any sport, pure strength is useless without a good range of motion and injury risk is reduced if your mobility is increased. Try to take away the postures you have learnt and perform them as stretching exercises at the end of your workouts and after hot bath in the evenings.
JUNE – Let’s go outside
Cardio
Take your 30mins cardio sessions to the park, remembering to pack a water bottle and some sunblock. If you’ve only ever swam in a pool, get ready for the exciting added challenge that comes with open water.
Strength
Change your resistance exercises to the following
barbell rear lunge+ t-bar row
ball push up + oblique twist
preacher curl + close grip push up
Nutrition
Read and learn to understand all you can about food labels. This will help you to choose the healthiest options and ensure you get the most from your workout plan.
Add-on
Add an outdoor sunrise or sunset relaxation session to each week, using some of the stretches you learned last month, a few deep breathing exercises and maybe even some tai chi moves stolen from a You Tube. This will help to recharge your body for exercise but also serve to freshen your mind.
JULY – Turn up the heat
Cardio
Mix your cardio work, indoor and out, but now introduce interval training principles to burn more calories and really boost your fitness level. Instead of maintaining a steady state for 30mins, vary your sessions by interspersing short fast bursts into your workout, then return to a slower, more comfortable pace. Sometimes sprint full-out for perhaps only 10secs, but other times go for maybe 20secs at just below top speed.
This can be applied to rowing, swimming, running and cycling, whether indoors or out. You will have developed a good base of aerobic fitness by now, so you can really push yourself in these sessions. Remember the old adage…the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
Strength
Keep the same resistance exercises, but this month try to get to the gym at different times. Notice how you feel at different times of the day and try to establish the optimum training window to enable you to get the most from your session.
Nutrition
Despite the garden party and barbecue season being in full flow, try to control your alcohol intake, remembering it is calorie-laden and so could sabotage the effects of your blood sweat and tears in the gym. Top tip here is to alternate between an alcoholic and soft drink on each round.
AUGUST – Core blimey!
Cardio
Keep cardio sessions the same but increase the amount of work in each by lengthening the sprint bursts to 15 or maybe 30secs.
Strength
The resistance exercises are now selected to not only improve your overall shape, but also to increase strength in the deeper, postural muscles. This will have the added benefit of reducing your likelihood of suffering lower back troubles that affect around 4 out of 5 of us.
single leg dumbbell squat + bent over barbell row
push up (1 hand and 1 foot on medicine balls) + cable woodchop
concentration curl + triceps kickback
Nutrition
If you’re eating out, try chapattis at the Indian instead of naan bread and go dry (tandoori) rather than saucy. If you’ve chosen Chinese, select boiled rice instead of egg-fried, clear soups and steamed veg. Finally, at the Italian, choose tomato rather than creamy or pesto pastas and chicken or fish over red meats. You can still enjoy a visit to the restaurant just make sensible choices when you get there.
SEPTEMBER – Tri harder
Cardio
Up your cardio sessions to 45mins and now mix them up by hitting the rower for 15mins, cycle for 15mins, then run for 15mins. Record your distances and aim to beat them on each return visit, as you’ll still be on 3 times per week.
Strength
Keep your resistance work the same but now increase to 5 sets of 15 repetitions of each pairing.
Nutrition
Attend a healthy cooking course to discover for yourself that healthy eating doesn’t have to mean boring eating. Since diet is a key factor within your plan to achieve and maintain optimum fitness, it makes sense to commit yourself to learning a little bit more about it.
OCTOBER – Sport for all
Cardio
Drop your cardio sessions to just 1 per week (same prescription as last month) but now challenge yourself to try as many sports as possible. Book a tennis lesson, attend a swimming club night, join your local football, rugby or netball team for a training night – whatever it is, just get in there and give it your all. As each sport requires and therefore places upon your body, differing requirements in terms of strength, speed, endurance, power and agility, the more disciplines you attempt, the greater will be your body’s development over the month.
Strength
Stick to the same 6 exercises as August and still 5 sets of 15 repetitions as September but now try to lift just slightly heavier weights on all.
Nutrition
Try to get plenty of oily fish in your diet. Tuna, mackerel and salmon will not only promote muscle growth but, since they are rich in omega 3, they can also help to reduce your risk of heart disease.
NOVEMBER – The Winds of Change
Cardio
Cardio work can be done using your choice of preferred mode either rowing, cycling, running or swimming, with the aim of completing 45mins on a gradually increasing intensity. Start very slowly then begin to increase either your speed or the resistance, every 5mins. By the last 5-10mins you should be near your limit, so make sure you dig deep.
Strength
Staying at 5 sets of 15 repetitions on each exercise, we change to
leg press + chin-up
decline chest press + fit ball jack-knife
reverse bicep curl + French press
Nutrition
If you’ve not already done so, swap fry-ups for grilled bacon wraps, French fries for chunky oven chips and swap butter for low fat spread (or better still drop it altogether).
DECEMBER – Celebrate!
Cardio
Stick with last month’s cardio directive but reduce to just 2 times per week and for your third session add a group exercise class such as reformer Pilates or combat fitness. Also, enjoy every minute of shopping for gifts as walking is still one of the best aerobic exercises you can do.
Strength
Repeat last month’s strength routine but incrementally increase your weights on each exercise.
Nutrition
There is nothing wrong with now enjoying the party season, but you don’t want to go completely off the rails and undo all the good work of the last year. You’d be amazed how many calories you could consume simply grazing so top tip is to stand away from the buffet table at parties.
Final Thought
As you look back on the year past and plan for next year, take a moment to dwell on the words of renowned American novelist, James Allen, ‘You are today where your thoughts have brought you and you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you…so think positively – you can do it!
