You need to try this simple, science-backed workout routine

Do you ever feel like there's SO much information on health and fitness that you don't know where to start? And when you finally do start, you can’t stick with it?

After finding out I lost five pounds of muscle and gained three pounds of fat earlier this year, I was determined to get my strength back. I buried myself in research trying to figure out the perfect workout routine and became hyperfixated on the aesthetics of it all. When I didn’t see the results I wanted when I wanted, I gave up.

It wasn’t until I had a conversation with physiotherapist Will Harlow that I realized I had completely lost sight of what actually matters to me: staying strong, mobile, and capable for the rest of my life. Will’s mission is to help women build and protect what he calls the four pillars of independence–mobility, strength, balance, and bone health–so that we can live longer, stronger, and more independently well into our 80s and beyond.

Of course, I asked him what I needed to be doing in the gym. I was shocked when he said I didn't even need one! If you commit to just twenty minutes a day, he said, in your own home, you will get results. He breaks the workout up by those four pillars of independence, and today I’m sharing every piece of it with you so you can join me in getting stronger.

Pillar One: Strength

Will gives his patients a simple 3-2-1 method to building strength: three compound exercises, twice a week, progressing one variable each session. Here’s an example plan he gave me:

• Exercise one: Sit to stand. From a chair, stand up and sit back down. 10 reps.
  
  • Next week, try 12, or hold a weight to your chest for resistance.
• Exercise two: Wall press-up. Place both hands on the wall, step back, and press. 10 reps.
  
  • Next week, move to a countertop and when you’re ready, try it on the floor.
• Exercise four: Overhead press. Hold a light weight in each hand at shoulder height, press both arms straight up overhead, then lower back down. 10 reps.
  
  • Next week, try 12, or move up in weight when it starts to feel easy.

Pillar Two: Mobility

Everyone has a problem area. For me right now, it's my back. Will's recommendation is simple: pick your sticky spot and spend 10 minutes a day on gentle mobility work focused just on that one area. Don't try to fix everything at once.

• For specific exercises, Will's YouTube channel is the best place to start. Search Will Harlow and you'll find videos for every problem area, filmed with minimal equipment in a small room, specifically to show you that you can do all of this at home. Find the video that matches your area and start there!

‍

Pillar Three: Balance

This one surprised me. Will says research shows that people who do short balance bursts throughout the day often outperform people who go to hour-long classes. The key is doing them in dead time, the moments you are already standing around doing nothing: brushing your teeth, waiting for the kettle, on hold with the bank. He calls them exercise snacks, and they are exactly that.

• Single leg stand: Stand on one leg for 30 seconds, then switch. Do it every time you brush your teeth and you have already done it twice today without thinking about it.
• Tightrope walk: Walk heel to toe in a straight line across the room. As ridiculous as it sounds, Will says it works exceptionally well for balance.
• Mini squats or knee bends: Stiff knee? Bend it 10 times whenever you have a spare moment. Weak quads? 10 mini squats whenever you get a few minutes. Little and often is the whole point.

‍

Pillar Four: Bone Health

This is the one most women skip, and Will says for us it is essential. As we age, our bones lose density. The good news is that you can actually stimulate new bone growth in just two minutes by performing certain exercises.

• Heel drops: Rise up onto your toes, then drop your heels back down to the floor briskly. 20 reps. The impact sends a shockwave up through the legs into the hip, which signals the body to build new bone right where you need it most.

That's it. The simple, effective routine from a physiotherapist that actually fits into your life. If you try it, let me know how it goes. For more from Will, the full conversation is out now on The Tamsen Show wherever you listen. He answers listener questions about knee pain, frozen shoulder, pickleball falls, and whether walking actually counts.

This is one of those episodes you will want to share with a friend, so send it to the woman in your life who needs to hear it.

‍