A plan to make moving stick.
If you have quit before, the problem was not the training plan. It asked for too much, too soon. This one starts small.
Create my plan
An example week
2 active days a week: 1 strength and 1 walking.
Example for a person aged 30 to 44 who hardly moves.
- MonRest
- TueWalking15–30 min · easy
- WedRest
- ThuRest
- FriStrength15–30 min · moderate · whole body
- SatRest
- SunRest
The real plan adapts to your age, how much you move, what you like and anything to keep in mind.
Every day
5,000
5,000 steps, or about 15 minutes of walking across the day.
What the strength session involves
- 1Warm up for 5 minutes, moving your joints.
- 2Five exercises: squat, push (push-ups or press), pull (row), hip hinge (deadlift or glute bridge) and core.
- 31 or 2 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions, with 1 or 2 minutes of rest.
- 4Finish each set feeling you could do two or three more.
- 5Body weight, bands, dumbbells or machines all work. When it gets easy, add weight or repetitions.
And with food
- Vegetables or fruit at every meal.
- Water as your usual drink.
- Minimally processed food most days.
With your weight and height, the plan also tells you how much to eat, in portions you measure with your hand. Calorie and macro calculator.
Why it works this way
Start with two days
Two active days a week, one of them strength, and a step goal within reach. It looks like little, and that is the idea: what you can do, you repeat.
Weeks, not streaks
Your goal is weekly. If Tuesday falls through, you still have the rest of the week. There is nothing to break, and that is what stops you quitting after the first miss.
21 days, then another 21
A habit takes about two months to settle. The plan moves in 21-day challenges: short enough to start today, and three in a row get you there.
Frequently asked questions
Are two days a week enough?
To start, yes. The WHO guidelines stress that some activity is better than none. When two days stop being hard, the plan suggests moving up.
What if I miss a week?
Nothing. You pass a challenge by meeting your goal in two out of three weeks. And if you get ill or travel, you mark a break and the goal adjusts.
What activity do I have to do?
Whatever you like. At this stage any activity counts: what you are training is coming back.
Learn more
Habit · 3 min read
How long does it take to build an exercise habit?
Consistency · 2 min read
Why daily streaks do not work for exercise
Consistency · 3 min read
How many days a week should you exercise?
Other plans
Lose fat
A weekly plan for losing fat: strength to keep your muscle, cardio you can sustain, daily steps and how much to eat, without logging every meal.
Build muscle
A weekly plan for building muscle: three full-body strength days, how much protein to eat and how to progress, at the gym or at home.
Build endurance
A weekly plan for building endurance: easy-paced cardio, one day with changes of pace and strength to back it up. No heart rate monitor.
Your first challenge lasts 21 days. Start today.
Two minutes to tell us where you are starting from, and the method adapts to you.
Start my first challenge