Get fit in 2026 with expert tips from personal trainers, nutritionists, and doctors. Simple, practical advice for lasting results.
13 Tips to Get Fit in the New Year from Personal Trainers, Nutritionists, Nurses, Doctors, and Fitness Enthusiasts
New year, new you?
Hold on.
Before you sign up for that expensive gym membership or commit to a diet you’ll hate in two weeks, let’s talk strategy.
I asked 13 fitness professionals (personal trainers, nutritionists, doctors, and coaches) for their number one tip to help people actually get fit and stay that way.
No gimmicks. No quick fixes. Just real advice from people who help others succeed every single day. What they shared might surprise you.
Spoiler alert: it’s not about going harder or faster. It’s about going smarter.
Here is what 13 thought leaders had to say.
But first! Don’t forget to check out my interview series with my fitness instructor Rhonda Goode! She’s got some amazing tips that will help you all year long:
Choose Consistency Over Intensity; Progress Gradually
Don’t go obsessively “all in” and go from “zero to hero”, sudden massive increases in stress on the body from training on the body can lead to burnout & increased risk of injury. Too many people start the new year with great intentions but are fatigued or injured 4-6 weeks in causing them to quickly relapse back to where they were before they started. Instead, focus on what you can sustain in the long term, gradually adding a little bit more after the body has adapted to a period of sustained effort at lower volumes. Consistency always beats Intensity.
– Richard Bennett, Strength & Conditioning Coach / Personal Trainer, Calibre Performance Coaching
Set Specific, Time-Bound Goals for Success
Just like any other goal: unless it’s specific and time-bound, it won’t work. So, instead of saying “I’ll lose weight in 2026”, say “I’ll lose 20 pounds by March 1, 2026 using this combination of workout and diet”. The more specific you are, the easier it is to stick to your promises to yourself.
– Daniel Kroytor, CEO, TailoredPay
Start with One Easy Daily Habit
The most effective advice I give to those looking to be healthier in the New Year is to commit to developing one small, easily manageable daily routine that will require minimal effort to develop into a consistent habit as opposed to making drastic changes to their entire lifestyle at once. Most people do have the motivation to begin a fitness regimen; however, they usually fail because the amount of change required to achieve their desired level of fitness is overwhelming for most people to adopt immediately.
A small number of consistent habits produce significantly less resistance to adopting and are therefore more likely to become an established part of your daily routine. When you elect to begin with something extremely easy—such as a 15-20 minute walk each day, or eating one additional meal that is well-balanced, or completing a quick mobility routine—you will find that this has become such an integral part of your day-to-day activities, that it will feel unnatural to stop (as opposed to a chore).
Over time, establishing this one habit will become second nature to you, and the positive effects of developing this habit will compound. Establishing a strong base of one or two small, healthy habits will create a springboard for you to establish a larger number of healthy habits as needed without feeling overwhelmed. Fitness is not developed by working out perfectly or being on a restrictive diet; it is developed by consistently performing healthy habits within your own realm of reality.
– Blen Tesfu, MD, Welzo
Hire a Coach to Beat Willpower Limits
I was a state champion quarterback, and back then I learned something that still shapes how I train today. I don’t rely on my own willpower anymore. Willpower’s like a battery that drains throughout the day as I make decisions for my real estate agency and radio show. By the time I need to train, that battery’s often empty.
So I hired a coach to call the plays. I refuse to think about the workout structure or intensity. I just show up and execute the plan. This removes the internal negotiation where I might talk myself out of a hard set.
Even though I lead a large team in business, I perform better physically when I answer to someone else. It turns fitness into a mandatory appointment rather than an optional task. If you have the means, there is no more reliable way to actually get in shape fast.
– Brandon Rimes, Radio Host, Consumer Quarterback Show
Plan Daily Actions and Schedule Workouts
My #1 tip for people who want to improve their fitness in the new year is to spend some time deciding what they want their goal for their fitness to be, but don’t stop there and just hope for the best.
In order to increase the chances of being successful with reaching a goal, we need to break it down into specific daily actions we can take to help us reach that goal step by step and plan out how we’ll fit those new daily actions or habits into our lives.
For example, it isn’t enough to set a goal or new years resolution to exercise for 30 minutes per day, we need to get more specific. I recommend planning out not just what, but when we’ll fit in those workouts, and think through other adjustments we might need to make to our lives in order to be consistent. This might be going to bed early, blocking off lunch hour, or taking care of other obligations at different times of day so they don’t interfere with our exercise time.
– Stephanie Hnatiuk RD, Registered Dietitian, Certified Running Coach, Stephanie Hnatiuk Performance Nutrition
Track Steps and Sleep for Small Wins
If you want to get fit this year, try this. I started tracking my steps and sleep, and suddenly I could see what was actually holding me back. Tracking little things lets you see you’re making progress, which keeps you going better than staring at some huge goal. It’s about the small wins, not some big overhaul.
– Max Marchione, Co-Founder, Superpower
Personalize Your Plan Around Health and Budget
My top tip is to build a fitness plan that is truly personal: consider your past medical history, current medications, and what you can realistically do each week. Make it practical by using household items for strength work and saving on fresh fruits and vegetables with coupons. This keeps your routine workable and aligned with your health needs.
– Sirisha Vadali, Cardiologist/ Physician, Sirisha Vadali MD
Choose Self-Compassion and Celebrate Small Wins
The pressure to be perfect when you start something new is what makes people quit. I see it all the time. What works instead is being kind to yourself. Did you manage to do that one small thing? That’s a win. Real change takes time, so moving at your own pace isn’t just okay, it’s the whole point.
– Amy Mosset, CEO, Interactive Counselling
Pick Enjoyable Activities and Build Up Slowly
You asked for one main tip for people who want to get fit in the new year, and for me it all comes back to being kind to yourself.
This one tip includes a few key ideas that all relate to long term success:
1. Pick an activity or sport that you actually like. If you do not enjoy the gym, there is no need to force it just because it feels popular. If you prefer walking, do that. If you enjoy running, do that. When you choose something you genuinely like, you are far more likely to stick with it.
2. Accept that it might feel hard or overwhelming at the start. If you have only been to the gym once in the past year, jumping straight to six sessions a week will be too much. Go two or three times and build up slowly. Something is always better than nothing.
3. Third, if you are adjusting your diet, try not to overly restrict your food. If you cut your calories too low or remove all the foods you enjoy in the hope that it will speed up your progress, you will only make the process harder and less enjoyable.
Taken together, these points all fit under the idea of being kind to yourself. When you avoid extremes, build up gradually, and choose things you genuinely enjoy, you give yourself the best chance of creating habits that last beyond January.
– Simon Graham, Specialist Personal Trainer, Nutritionist & Coach, simongPT.co.uk
Work Out at Home for Consistency
Start with something you actually like doing at home. At Hire Fitness, we saw that people with a treadmill or exercise bike at home stuck with it way more than those who relied on a gym. When your equipment is just down the hall, it’s so much easier to squeeze in a workout on a busy day.
– Paul Healey, Managing Director, Hire Fitness
Ditch Grand Goals; Stack Small Daily Wins
Here’s my advice: forget those huge, overwhelming goals. They just don’t work. Focus on something small instead, like walking every day or just prepping one healthy meal. I’ve seen people who track these little wins actually stick with their new habits. It’s the small stuff, piled up over time, that makes the real changes happen.
– Dr. Tomer Avraham, Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, Avraham Plastic Surgery
Record Meals and Review Weekly for Honesty
My suggestion for getting fit in the new year is simple, efficient: Record what you eat, and then review it weekly. Not to judge yourself, but to notice. I have been doing this for a few years now, and what has been most startling is not how much I eat, but how often I eat without realizing it. The act of writing something down, or logging it some way, makes you honest; and honesty is where real change begins.
– Chad Lipka, President | Marketing Director, North Shore Sauna
Skip the Wagon; Start Ridiculously Small for Consistency
There’s a passage in Stephen King’s The Shining where Jack Torrance, fighting his demons, describes sobriety as climbing aboard “the Wagon.” At first, it looks magnificent from the gutter spotless draped in bunting, pulled by brass bands and majorettes.
“You’re away from all the people who throw you nasty looks and tell you to clean up your act or go put it on in another town. From the gutter, that’s the finest-looking Wagon you ever saw, Lloyd my boy. “
But the deeper idea is that you are now part of a community that deems you “worthy” of their time. But once you’re on the wagon you see it is made up of : bare pine boards that give you splinters, hard pews instead of seats, and blank faces singing the praises of the wagon while someone demands you sing louder. Jack realizes the Wagon isn’t freedom, it’s a church with bars on the windows, and a prison for you.
This is exactly what happens every January with fitness.
People see the fitness wagon rolling by. The parade of exercise programs and gym specials. Influencers at the head of the parade handing out the supplements and insisting you climb on up and sing the songs of “no days off” and “no excuses,” demanding you push harder, restrict more, suffer better.
What looks like freedom becomes its own kind of prison, and by February, most have jumped, fallen, or been kicked off and landed right back where we started.
The Alternative? Start so small that you feel ridiculous. You want to add cardio to your life? Put on your jam dance to it. 3:48 seconds of your day just became cardio. Nothing big, nothing planned. After that week, maybe add a second song. In your pajamas if you want.
Don’t think it’s enough? Not enough for what? Who decided what “enough” is? The fitness industry? The people selling you programs and supplements? The wagon that thinks transformation requires suffering and wants your sweet sweet money?
The Wagon promises redemption through suffering if you’re not pushing yourself to the limit, you’re not really trying. It makes fitness into a moral issue. You’re either on the Wagon singing with the righteous, or you’re in the gutter with the failures. But research is clear: consistency beats intensity every single time. Have a good time with low investment, you will keep doing it. While the person who treats it like an all or nothing punishment will eventually stop punishing themselves.
King, Stephen. The Shining. Doubleday, 1977.
– Christopher Yeoman, Owner/ Operator, MyoBio Fitness
Your Fitness Plan Starts Right Now (Yes, Really)
Here’s the truth that all 13 experts agree on: getting fit doesn’t require suffering, perfection, or a complete life overhaul. It requires showing up consistently with something you can actually sustain.
Start small. Like, embarrassingly small. One song. One walk. One healthy meal. Track it. Schedule it. Find something you genuinely enjoy, not something that looks good on Instagram.
Hire a coach if you can afford it. Work out at home if that’s easier. Be kind to yourself when you miss a day. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who go all-in on January 1st and burn out by February. They’re the ones who pick one tiny habit and stick with it until it becomes automatic.
You don’t need to climb aboard some perfect fitness wagon. You just need to take the first step. Then another. Then another.
What will your first small win be?
