After last week’s newsletter, I got a fantastic question from a reader named Sharon that I don’t think gets talked about enough.
“What if you want to be healthy and strong, but you’re not all that interested in constantly improving your fitness?
You want to feel good and live long—but you’re also a nerd who would rather be leveling up other parts of life. What does ‘enough’ fitness look like?”
Such a good question, right?
There’s so much talk in the fitness world about progress and gains and chasing the next big goal… but what if your goal is actually maintenance?
What if you want to be strong enough, fit enough, and flexible enough to feel great in your body, avoid injury, and still have time and energy for the stuff you actually want to do?
While there are many different ways to approach this question, here’s what I recommend as a general guide for lifelong health and function:
✅ Full-body strength training 2x/week (20–30 minutes)
Think of this as insurance for your muscles, bones, and joints. It’ll help with strength, bone density, injury prevention, and long-term independence.
Pick ~3 full body exercises (squat, deadlift, pushup, row, etc.),perform 2 or 3 sets of each of them for somewhere between 5 and 12 reps making sure it’s still relatively challenging, but not all out.
You don’t have to crush yourself. You don’t have to PR. You don’t even need to love it.
Just show up. Lift things. Put them down. Repeat.
And here’s the good news:
Studies show that once you’ve built a base of strength, you can maintain it with as little as 1/3 to 1/9 of the original training volume (sets and reps)—especially if intensity (how heavy you lift) stays the same.
In other words:
You don’t need to keep doing more to maintain what you’ve already earned.
You just need to keep showing up with consistency. Bonus: Rotate your routine every ~12 weeks to avoid any overuse injuries or burnout.
❤️ 150 minutes/week of moderate aerobic movement
This could be walking, biking, gardening, sports, martial arts, or even dance parties in your kitchen. If your heart rate’s up and you’re breathing a little heavier, it counts.
Spread it out however you like:
- 5x 30-minute walks
- 3x 50-minute bike rides
- 15 minutes of ninja training every day
Experiment to find the things that work for you! Choose movement that makes your brain happy.
And this can change seasonally, as well. For example, in the summer, I LOVE getting a bike ride in. In the winter, it’s Just Dance with the kids a few nights a week. Want access to our super secret Nerd Fitness Dance? (It’s actually a real thing!) Send me a quick reply and I’ll send it your way!
🌀 5-minute daily flexibility check-in
This doesn’t need to be a full yoga flow. Just a quick warm-up or mobility drill to move your joints, loosen tight areas, and check in with how your body’s feeling. Stuff like Shoulder Circles, Hip Rotations, and Rockbacks are nice entries here.
It’s a small daily habit that helps you catch problems before they turn into bigger ones.
💡 Want to level up efficiency?
Combine them!
A strength circuit (supersetting exercises with minimal rest) can get your heart rate up and hit your cardio needs too.
Add a warm-up at the beginning and you’ve hit all three buckets in a single session.
Boom. Functional fitness trifecta complete.
The goal here isn’t “peak performance.” It’s “peak enough.”
Enough to stay strong. Enough to feel energized. Enough to support all the things you want to do OUTSIDE of the gym.
You don’t have to chase constant improvement to stay healthy—you just need a simple system you can stick with. That’s the kind of investment that keeps paying dividends for years to come.
Fitness doesn’t have to be your passion. But it is a tool that helps you do more of what you love for longer. And you never know! Maybe you’ll find something that sparks your interest along the way. 😃
– Coach Matt
P.S. Want help building your “just enough” fitness routine? Shoot me an email—I’d be happy to point you to some resources.
