My Personal Fitness Plan for 2025
Table of Contents
Why write this?
I've never been one for New Year's resolutions. I'm not sure that's changed, but there's something that had to: how I managed my personal fitness. The way I've been managing it is not sustainable.
Throughout 2024, I noticed a pattern. I would:
- Push myself with heavy weights for several weeks while also attending yoga classes
- Burn out before my scheduled "deload week"
- Fall off the wagon with lifting weights and largely replace it with more yoga classes
- Start to resent that the yoga classes weren't tailored to my needs/wants
- Try to do yoga at home, but fail to motivate myself
- Develop the motivation to lift weights gain, returning to step one
(Oh, I'd also do cardio sometimes…)
Now, all things considered, this has been a successful pattern. I've exercised in some capacity most days. I've gained muscle while maintaining a healthy weight and body composition. I'm happy with how I look and feel. I have achieved a consistently active lifestyle.
The issue is that the cycle wears on my mental health. I want a healthier, more stable relationship with fitness. I started thinking about and implementing changes in December 2024. I've now decided to make the plan concrete by writing it down.
My 2025 Fitness Plan
Prioritize cardio over lifting
I really dropped the ball with cardio in 2024. I told myself yoga-as-exercise classes and my daily dog walks counted as cardio. I was lying to myself.
I've been implementing this as 15-30 minutes on my stationary bike 4-6 days a week at a pace where I can hold a conversation. I'm on my third week of doing this and it seems sustainable so far.
I'd like to mix this up with longer sessions, high-intensity sessions, and other exercises (like running or riding a real bicycle). For now, I'm happy sitting on my stationary bike while I watch Frasier.
Use weights well below what I can actually lift
Throughout 2024, my workouts were centered around weights that were very close to the maximum weights I was capable of lifting. This wore me out physically. Despite this, progress was still very slow.
3 weeks ago, I started using lighter weights at the gym. My heaviest sets have been 50-65% of what I can actually lift. This has largely been influenced by reading Jim Wendler's 5/3/1.
Deload more often than I think I need to
Throughout 2024, I followed Barbell Medicine style programming. I'd increase volume over a 4 week period, deload/pivot on week 5, repeat with different exercises and rep schemes. Weight would be dictated by my perception of how much effort I exerted on each set (a system known as RPE).
In theory, this should work fine since you choose a weight you can handle.
In practice, I found it too difficult to not only assess how much effort I could exert that day, but how much I could exert without feeling burnt out the next day.
I'm going to schedule every 4th week as a deload week, but also give myself permission to make any workout a light workout. It's better to have a light workout than to skip a workout.
Next week is my first deload. I don't particularly feel like I need one yet. So far, so good.
Commit to a daily yoga practice
I've always struggled with a daily yoga practice. Despite being able to spend over an hour alone in my home gym, I can't spend a full 50 breaths on my mat without standing up and walking off without realizing it.
I want to do more yoga. I take pride in my flexibility and ability to execute challenging poses. I want to continue to develop this outside of a yoga class.
My plan is to commit to going onto my mat once in the morning and once at night. I will begin with a 10-breath seated meditation. I'll be happy with anything I do on the mat after that. As long as I sit on the mat for 10 breaths, I've done my job.
Conclusion
Now that I've written all of this down, I hope to spend minimal mental energy on my personal fitness routine for the rest of 2025. Obviously there will be tactical decisions to make (go to the gym 3 days a week or 4? Chinups or rows?), but it's largely on autopilot.
I want to instead focus on my career ambitions, my house, my hobbies, and my social life.
I'm looking forward to reflecting on this at the end of the year.