Rethink Your Fitness Resolution This Year With These 3 Revolutionary Guidelines

As we step into 2025, it’s time to reimagine what fitness resolutions look like. For years, women have been bombarded with advice to count calories, stick to light weights, and log countless hours on the treadmill. But the science is clear: to truly thrive in the long term, it’s about eating smarter, lifting heavier, and sprinting harder.

A recent guest on the mindbodygreen podcast, Vonda Wright, M.D., renowned orthopedic surgeon, author, and speaker, is leading the charge to redefine what fitness looks like for women. Her groundbreaking approach reframes what it means to be “toned.” No longer is the goal to be skinny–women want to be strong.

Food is fuel

When it comes to building muscle and staying strong, what you eat matters as much as how you train. Wright emphasizes that women need to leave behind the myth that eating less is the key to fitness. “You have to eat to be toned,” she explains.

Protein prioritization: Protein is the building block of muscle, repair, and recovery. Women should aim for a minimum of 30 grams of high-quality protein at every meal, whether from lean meats, fish, eggs, or whey protein isolate. This protein-first mindset ensures your body is equipped to handle strength training and recover efficiently. This is the foundation that your training relies on.

Don’t skip the carbs: Carbohydrates aren’t the enemy—they’re essential for energy and recovery. Focus on complex, fiber-rich carbs like sweet potatoes, beans, and avocado, which support gut health and stabilize blood sugar levels. Wright stresses the importance of these foods for nourishing your muscles and keeping your metabolism running efficiently.

Lift heavy to build strength & longevity

If you’ve been sticking to light weights and high reps, it’s time to challenge yourself. Wright emphasizes the importance of lifting heavy, especially with age. This approach not only strengthens your muscles and bones but also ensures your independence and vitality for the future. Plus, it leaves you feeling unstoppable today.   

Here’s how to structure your strength training sessions:

Focus on compound lifts: Prioritize multi-joint movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and pull-ups. These exercises engage multiple muscle groups, improve coordination, and build functional strength.

Choose the right weight: Select a weight that you can lift 4–6 times with good form, but that feels challenging by the last rep. This ensures you’re building muscle effectively.

Work in sets: Start with 3–4 sets of compound lifts (4–6 reps), then transition to accessory exercises like rows, curls, and tricep extensions (8–10 reps). Don’t skip core work—it stabilizes your body and helps prevent injuries.

Strength training does more than just sculpt your body—it enhances bone density, improves functional movement, and strengthens your ultimate longevity organ: your muscles.

Sprint it out 

The sprint protocol:

Wright recommends incorporating sprint intervals into your routine once a week:

VO2 max intervals are another powerful tool: perform 4 minutes of high-intensity effort, followed by 4 minutes of active recovery, repeating 3–4 times. This type of training strengthens the heart, boosts endurance, and even enhances fat-burning capabilities.

The takeaway

Women are no longer training to fit a mold—they’re training to live better. From eating enough to lifting heavy weights to sprinting hard, these revolutionary changes go beyond aesthetics and focus on healthspan, not just lifespan.

This year, ditch the resolutions that limit you. Focus on building strength, vitality, and a future where you feel empowered and unstoppable.