After last week’s newsletter, I received a fantastic question from a reader named Sharon, and I realized it’s a topic we don’t talk about enough.
She asked:
“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 a long life—but you’re also a human who’d rather focus on other parts of life. What does ‘enough’ fitness look like?”
Such a great question, right?
The fitness world often focuses on progress, gains, and chasing the next big goal. But what if your goal is actually maintenance? What if you just 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 things you actually want to do?
While there are many ways to approach this, here’s my general recommendation for lifelong health and function:
Strength Training 2x/Week (20-30 Minutes)
Think of this as insurance for your muscles, bones, and joints. It helps with strength, bone density, injury prevention, and long-term independence.
Choose around 3 full-body exercises (e.g., squats, deadlifts, push-ups, rows), do 2-3 sets of each with 5-12 reps, and ensure it’s challenging but not all-out.
You don’t have to crush it. You don’t have to set PRs. You don’t even have 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 strength base, you can maintain it with just 1/3 to 1/9 of the original training volume—especially if the intensity (how heavy you lift) stays the same.
In other words: You don’t have to do more to keep what you’ve already earned.
You just need to keep showing up consistently.
Bonus: Adjust your routine every ~12 weeks to avoid overuse injuries or burnout.
150 Minutes/Week of Moderate Aerobic Movement
This could be walking, cycling, gardening, sports, martial arts, or even dance parties in your kitchen. If it gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe a little harder, it counts.
Break it up however you like:
- 5x 30-minute walks
- 3x 50-minute bike rides
- 15 minutes of ninja training every day
Experiment to find what works for you! Choose movement that makes your brain happy.
And this can change seasonally. For example, I love cycling in the summer and dancing with my kids a few nights a week in the winter.
Want access to our super-secret Nerd Fitness dance? (It’s a real thing!) Reply to this email, and I’ll send it your way!
5-Minute Daily Check-In
This doesn’t have to be a full yoga flow. Just a quick warm-up or mobility session to move your joints, ease tight areas, and check in with how your body feels. Good options include shoulder circles, hip rotations, and cat-cows.
It’s a small daily habit that helps you catch issues before they become bigger problems.
Want to Maximize Efficiency? Combine Them!
Supersets (pairing exercises with minimal rest) can raise your heart rate and meet your cardio needs. Start with a warm-up, and you’ve hit all three buckets in one session.
Boom. Functional fitness trifecta complete.
The goal isn’t “peak performance.” It’s “peak enough.”
Enough to stay strong. Enough to feel capable. Enough to support all the things you want to do outside the gym.
You don’t have to chase constant improvement to stay healthy—you just need a simple system you can stick to. It’s an investment that pays dividends for years to come.
Fitness might not be your passion. But it is a tool to help you do more of what you love. And who knows? You might even find something that sparks your interest.
– Coach Matt
P.S. Want help building your “just enough” fitness routine? Shoot me an email—I’d love to point you to some resources!
