Goodbye, 2025! Hello 2026 Resolutions!

Lots of people write fitness goals in the New Year and then kind of forget about them (myself included). So, I thought I check back in with what I wanted to do last year and how it went. (You can read the full post here: Wellness Bingo)

2025 theme word: NOW

Status: That word was pretty effective, especially for work. I kept the post it note over my computer to urge me on to finish tasks I didn’t want to do. I’m not sure it really helped for fitness though. What did help me was having a hard but achievable goal – run a 5k with my son. More on that in a minute.

2025 identity model: Sarah Connor from The Terminator

Status: She’s still a badass and I love that she’s the bad guy in season 5 of Stranger Things. While I haven’t done a chin up in 12 years or battled AI, I’m probably going to stick with her as the ultimate role model. But for my own identity? I think I’m going to dig up a photo from my bodybuilding days when I felt really strong and confident. I think in 2026 I’d like to get back to myself, specifically the best version at my current age and stage of life.

My biggest badass moment of 2025

I won 2nd place for my age group at the 5k! That wasn’t even a goal. I wanted to run the full thing without having to stop and I wanted to complete the race without any injuries. Getting a little medal was an unexpected sign from the universe to keep working on my fitness goals.

Wellness Bingo

Last year I made a bingo card (inspired by my friend Jenny) to gamify things that would be good for me, that I didn’t necessarily want to do. I even made the print out and everything. I lost it somewhere around March, so it’s kind of interesting to see the list now, after actively forgetting about it. Here’s the list and how I did.

Write your fitness goals – Yes!
Do a five minute plank – No! (I did last 3 minutes around November).
Take a yoga class – Nope.
Get a mammogram – Yep. I’m fine 🙂
Call a friend – Yes! Yes! Yes! My friends are awesome. I even got a chance to take a mini girls weekend while at a writers convention in Vegas this June.
Vegas!
Declutter your work area – Yes, and it’s already messy again.
Try a new recipe – Yes. I ate a pomegranate for the first time in January. It’s not a recipe per se, but in my mind it counts because it took like 20 minutes to open the thing and get it ready to eat.
Run/walk in a park – Yes! Multiple times to prepare for the 5k
Listen to a positive podcast – Yes. My favorite is Alex Hormozi, who is a business guy in the manosphere who used to be a former gym owner and bodybuilder.
Keep a fitness journal – Sort of? I’ve been tracking my food on and off to eat healthier, or at least be more mindful. And for the 100 days leading up to the 5k I posted video updates on my Instagram account, which was fun.
Eat 3-5 servings of veggies. Inconsistently. Some weeks I ate veggies or a salad with every meal. Other weeks I’d eat 1 serving per day if I remembered.
Get a colonoscopy. Yes, and yuck.
FREE! (That was a space on the bingo card).
Lift weights. Yes, because I love lifting weights, slamming ropes and flipping tires. If only I loved healthy food as much as lifting weights I’d be Sarah Connor by now.
Wear something that makes you feel badass. Yes. I bought a purple v-neck shirt that fits well and looks good on Zoom calls.
Watch a funny movie/TV show. Yes! My husband and I went to a comedy show for a date night.
Throw away expired food. Yes, but I felt a little guilty.
Write a thank you letter and send it. Yes, and it made me feel great. (It it made her feel great too!)
Delete 100 old emails. Yes, but I need to delete like 5,000 more. Damn spam email!
Read a book about menopause. Nope.
Get a massage. Hell, yeah!
Go to bed 15 minutes earlier. Hell, no.
Donate 10 things. Done.
Do 20 modified push ups. Yep!
Write 3 things you are grateful for. Yes, and here they are again: My family, my friends, and YOU. I’m seriously grateful you’re still reading this blog!

2026 Goals

2026 theme phrase: What is Required? (I got this from Alex Hormozi)

2026 identity inspiration: Amateur Bodybuilder (me around 2015)

2026 Fitness Goal: Run a Spartan Sprint race with my family.

A Spartan sprint is a 5k (3.1 miles) with 20 obstacles in between (climbing a rope, scaling a wall, crawling through the mud beneath barbed wire…). It’s difficult and fun and gives me five months to prepare. The last time I ran one was 2015. I’m ready to get back to myself.

I will be blogging about it and probably posting more videos in the New Year.

How about you?

What was your proudest fitness moment in 2025? What is your fitness goal for 2026? Leave them in the comments below. Let’s cheer each other on.

Stay healthy,

Lisa 😉

P.S. – If you’re looking for a fun and funny read, check out my memoir, “She’s Losing It!” about how I lost 50 pounds training for my first bodybuilding competition and fixed my messy life in the process. It’s like a Rocky for moms.