9 Ways to Supercharge Your Workouts in 2026, According to Experts
In the hyper-quantified theater we call modern fitness, we’ve become so obsessed with execution and documenting our progress that sometimes we forget that moving around can be fun. As we enter another new year governed by Strava tallies and Apple rings, it’s best to remember that enjoying a work out is the best way to stay consistent in your exercise goals. With that in mind, we’ve gathered some expert-vetted tips on how to make fitness more fulfilling in 2026.
1. Embrace your recovery
Your body is a temple and deserves some R&R. If you have access to a sauna, use it liberally. Start allocating time into your schedule for mindfulness, yoga, deep stretching and of course, prioritize the hell out of your sleep. “Recovery protects the emotional side of fitness. A well-rested mind is more positive, more resilient, and more connected to the pleasure of moving,” says personal trainer Federica Gianni. “Taking breaks reduces the sense of pressure or burnout, which means people can maintain enthusiasm over the long term. “This approach dramatically changes the way the body feels. When muscles are replenished rather than depleted, workouts feel energizing. The body responds with more power, better coordination, and a clearer sense of progress. Movement then becomes something people look forward to, not something they have to push through.”
2. Upgrade your workout space
Luxury gyms are popping up everywhere, but you don’t have to pay a lot of money to enjoy working out. According to celebrity personal trainer Michael Baah, kitting your workout space with sensory appeal changes the game and it’s something you can easily achieve at home. He champions a ‘one touch’ approach, which means building a space in which you can begin working out at the drop of a hat. Surround yourself with “natural light, clean layouts, warm lighting, a dedicated playlist or scent triggers,” he says. “Your environment is a legitimate performance tool, optimizing it is about reducing friction and settling up your surroundings so that starting a workout becomes the easiest part of the process. It removes decision fatigue and creates clear cues for action.”
3. Fill your home with exercise stations
Laying down little cues to move where you’d least expect to find them is a cunning way to make working out more fun. “Every time you go to the bathroom, leave a resistance band and do 15 band pull-aparts,” says personal trainer Kim Perry. “If you are waiting for your coffee to heat up, do 10-15 lunges.” The idea is to trick yourself into bouts of movement and begin associating mundane tasks with short sets. Get creative! Do some calf raises whilst brushing your teeth or slide some dumbbells under your kitchen sink and do some curls after washing up. Stack enough of these into your day and those minutes will add up. “If you do this 5-10 times a day for 2 minutes, you can end up with 20 minutes of movement which equates to a whole workout,” says Perry.
4. Start with a dopamine rush
Rev your engine with a quick burst of movement. “Do 60 seconds of something fast or powerful like skipping, squat jumps or fast feet, kettlebell swings, 10-20 seconds on a ski erg or air bike,” says Gavin Eivers, performance specialist at Opus. The rush of intensity floods your brain with happy hormones from the off, which will carry you through the remainder of your workout. “Explosive movements trigger an immediate rise in dopamine and noradrenaline which elevate motivation and increase drive,” says Eivers. “It also increases blood flow to the prefrontal cortex and motor cortex, the parts of the brain that handle planning, coordination and decision-making. When these are activated, your brain interprets the workout as more enjoyable.”
5. Keep score of your micro wins (and celebrate them)
Start tracking the small stuff. “Micro progressions involve focusing on small and sustainable improvements,” says Baah. “These are the kind of changes that feel achievable but add up quickly. Gamification turns those improvements into simple challenges that keep people engaged and when progress is fast and visible, adherence goes up.”
Pick one weekly progression target which Baah suggests can be anything from “improving your split time on the rower to adding a rep to a strength movement or beating your 7-minute conditioning score.”
6. Turn your workouts into missions
“Your brain loves novelty,” says Deepak Shukla, Founder and CEO of Pearl Lemon Running. “Hijack your brain’s award system with missions that turn movement into novelty. This will kill the boredom barrier and secretly improve conditioning because you’re mixing intensities without overthinking.” Here are some ideas to try your hand at, curtesy of Skukla:
Run-the-red: sprint to the next red car, then walk until you see a blue one.
Song drop challenge: run easy until the beat drops, then explode for 20 seconds (I do this way too often…).
Landmark hops: pick three random objects on your route (a postbox, a lamppost, a weird tree) and change pace at each one.
