BY EBENEZER SAMUEL
The biggest mistake with New Year’s resolutions: Overthinking. The interwebs make you think you need a long-term plan. But really, most people are more ready to attack the year than they think. A slow progression can lead to boredom. That’s why this total-body muscle blast is all about smart twists on fundamental moves, setting you up to lift heavy and hard (key for building muscle and strength).
Do it three days a week, patterning the habit of pushing yourself for all of 2026. Focus on your final sets of each exercise in the workout, aiming to go a bit heavier or add a rep onto the final set in each week.
It’s all setting a tone of aggression and momentum for the year. And that’s exactly what you need.
DIRECTIONS: Warm up with one minute each of planks, reverse lunges, and jumping jacks. Then do the exercises in order. Rest 90 seconds between sets and moves.
SPLIT STANCE ROMANIAN DEADLIFT
The strongest (and most critical) function your body has is its ability to bend down to pick something up. You’re doing a variation of that here – and you’re doing it from an athletic split stance. Aim to lower slowly on every rep, for at least 2-3 seconds. Do 3 sets; do 10 reps in the first set, then 6-8 reps in the next two sets.
SINGLE-ARM PUSH PRESS
Power (the ability to generate force fast) is an underrated key to building strength and muscle. You build some of that here, getting your hips and knees to essentially “jump,” helping you propel the weight overhead. Do 3 sets of 6 reps per side, focusing on being explosive as you press up, then lowering with control.
INCLINE ROW
The incline row is one of the best ways to train your back with heavy loads, because your lower back, supported on the bench, is completely shielded from an possible issues. You get to focus on moving heavy weights – and you should take this exercise heavy. Do 3 sets; do 10 reps on the first set, 6-8 reps on the next two.
SINGLE-ARM INCLINE PRESS
Yeah, everyone loves a bench press. But this pressing variation has two quiet strengths. First off, the single-arm press actually lets you load more weight than a standard two-armed incline press. Second, you’ll quietly blast your abs, which fight rotation whenever you lower the weight. Do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per side.