3 Steps to a Stronger, Healthier Year
Your Strongest Year Starts Now
As you step into 2025, it’s the perfect time to focus on health goals that truly support your midlife journey.
I’m not talking about all the “quick fixes” and unrealistic plans that clog up social media feeds this time of year.
This year is all about building strength, energy, and confidence for the long haul.
Whether it’s improving mobility, fueling your body wisely, or adopting a powerful mindset, small, sustainable changes lead to big results.
Let’s make this your strongest, healthiest year yet!
Why This Matters
Women are falling short of meeting physical activity guidelines, and the health implications are serious. Only 22% of women aged 35–49, 17% of women aged 50–64, and 10.8% of women over 65 meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. It’s time to change that!💪
FITNESS SIMPLIFIED
Unpopular Opinion: Walking Isn’t Enough!
For most women, walking alone won’t help you achieve your 2025 health goals.
Fitness Tip For Better Health Goals In 2025
Prioritize Strength Training
If you're in a walking group or hitting your 10,000 steps daily, you’re off to a great start.
Walking is easy, relieves stress, and helps manage blood sugar.
BUT it’s only part of the bigger picture.
To stay strong and pain-free through your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond, you need muscle mass and flexibility.
Two things walking alone doesn’t provide.
Walking gets your muscles moving, but it doesn’t provide enough resistance for your muscles to actually be challenged and grow.
Walking only moves your big joints (knees, hips, shoulders) through very minimal ranges of motion, which isn’t enough to maintain flexibility as you age.
Without flexibility and strength, joint pain and reduced function become common issues.
Strength training, on the other hand, challenges your muscles with resistance—using weights or bodyweight—and moves your joints through full ranges of motion.
This builds muscle, improves mobility, and reduces pain, helping you stay strong and capable for years to come.
That’s why your primary focus should be on strength training.
Allowing walking to be a fantastic secondary form of exercise.
Here’s an at-home routine to help you build both muscle and flexibility.
Strength & Flexibility Routine
- Quadruped thoracic rotations - Do 6-8 reps per side. This works your upper back/posture muscles PLUS the mobility of your shoulders & thoracic spine!
- Bear crawl to downward dog - Do 6-8 reps. This move strengthens your shoulders and core, while improving the mobility of your upper back, hamstrings and calves.
- Side split squats - Do 6-8 reps per side. These strengthen your thighs (quads, hamstrings & glutes) while working on the mobility of your inner thigh & groin muscles.
- Do this circuit 2-4 times through for a complete routine.
Extra tip: You can do the Quadruped Thoracic Rotations standing, with your feet on the floor & hands on a chair, still working to maintain a flat tabletop position with your back.
Did You Know...
- Losing muscle mass (sarcopenia) is a huge problem as you age. It leads to decreased bone density, poor blood sugar regulation, slowed metabolism and serious functional decline.
- Walking is a supplement to a good strength & mobility routine. Let it be a good baseline when you find yourself in a situation when you can’t do any other activity.
- Incorporate strength training & mobility work in to your weekly routine and you’ll see your fitness level and joint health soar! Even a 10 minute routine is often all you need to see a difference.
NUTRITION SIMPLIFIED
If you commit to one healthy habit in 2025, let it be eating slowly.
Nutrition Tip For Better Health Goals In 2025
Eat Slowly
Slow eaters tend to:
Have less body fat.
Experience better digestion.
Avoid overeating.
Make smarter food choices.
Feel more satisfied, especially women with lower estrogen levels.
In contrast, rushing through meals can lead to weight gain, digestive issues, overeating, poor choices, and rarely feeling satisfied.
If your meals currently take less than 15 minutes, start small by adding just 1 minute to your next meal.
Gradually increase over time to aim for 20-25 minute-long meals.
A hearty, crunchy salad with lots of fiber from kale or romaine lettuce is a simple and tasty way to help you slow down while eating.
Mexican Kale Salad
More ideas for fiber-rich foods:
- Raw veggie sticks (carrots, peppers, celery, broccoli) dipped in tzatziki sauce as a snack
- Add chickpeas, pumpkin seeds or pecans to any salad
- This delicious Rosemary Quinoa Salad with Walnuts & Cherries (recipe here).
MINDSET SIMPLIFIED
How will the health choices you make this year shape your life in 10, 20, or 30 years?
Focus on building habits that are sustainable and support your long-term health.
Avoid the trap of diet mentality.
Cutting calories and overdoing exercise won’t set you up for lasting success.
Your strongest year lies ahead when you prioritize simple, sustainable habits that keep you strong and healthy for decades to come.
Mindset Tip For Better Health Goals In 2025
Think Long-Term
THE TAKEAWAY
You have a fresh year ahead of you…
- Prioritize Strength Training
- Eat Slowly
- Think Long-Term
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Self Care Simplified podcast
Episode 420: 10,000 Steps a Day? The Shocking Truth About Walking & What to Do NOW
Episode 418: What is “Heavy Lifting” & Should You Be Doing It?
Episode 184: The Best Nutrition Hack for Sustainable Weight Loss and Better Health
SPECIAL RESOURCE
Need to work more on your flexibility, but ALSO your strength? This beginner routine accomplishes exactly that. Walk away from these easy 20 minutes feeling more mobile, stronger and energized.
20 MIN Beginner Flexibility Routine
Until next week... Be strong
