buh bye 2025

I'm typing this on the last day of the year.

Friends, this has been a challenging year for every one of us. I think many of us are still living in p@ndemic trauma and it's really starting to seep through.

If you follow the Zodiac - 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. One of my clients mused how that sounds like a new Pokemon character, which feels spot on. Last year was the Snake. (Which, if you are a Tool fan like I am - with no hate to the TayTay lovers- can only bring up this favorite song of mine.)

My hope for us is that all of the shedding of the snake will reveal what truly matters to us. On a personal note, 2025 was exactly that for our family. Two of us uncovered new chronic diagnoses, we lost my father-in-law, and we spent a great deal of time juggling commitments with our personal values. 2026 will be a continued acceptance of these realizations.

With the deep grief and knowledge that 2025 has given us, many of the workouts that I created for my clients changed. In my virtual sessions, we chat weekly. This helps me design their custom workouts and keeps them accountable. We chat about what has worked, and where we need to make changes. The stress of 2025 was palpable. I started adding in more stretching, breath work, mantras, and stillness.

When we think of the science of exercise, we can't ignore that as we accelerate heart rates, contract muscles, and pump dopamine, we change not only on a cellular level, but mentally as well. High intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can give us a massive dopamine hit, and this triggers our stress response. If you are prone to anxiety, you will recognize this as a panicked feeling as we lose our breath to adapt to the demands of these workouts.

This can help us adapt to stressors outside of the gym. We recognize how to find the breathing and calm down easier as if you are training a muscle. However, as we trigger the stress response from the sympathetic nervous system, we have to engage the parasympathetic nervous system as well. We can't live going as hard as we do in a HIIT class all of the time. So I started adding in moments of pause, intentional rest intervals, breath work, and longer cool down and stretch periods into my training sessions and classes as well.

Trend wise- I loved the resurgence of Pilates this year. Most of my clients have at least one or more mat workouts each week. This is also to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system as well. Pilates might feel "easier" than a HIIT workout, but anyone who has trained with me can confirm it is not!

If you are 40 and on Instagram, you have also appreciated the massive amounts of information on hormones and resistance training this year. We have known for a long time that resistance training is one of the best ways to delay death and disease. Our bones are formed in the way they are used, and they are formed from the inside, not out. I have loved seeing more older women in the weight room with me this year. Going from 8-12 reps to a 4-8 rep workout will be a game changer for your bone density, muscle tone, and confidence.

As always, with trends and social media, please take what you enjoy and leave what you don't. I have been frustrated with the this vs that mentality I see getting pushed around. We need all of these things. If there's one place in your life you need balance the most, it is in your workouts. Your body will benefit from hard lifts, balance and barre pulses, recovery workouts, and endurance training.

Overall, 2025 was a really hard one. Like all hardships and failures, we learned a lot from it. What I ask of you for 2026 is to not forget these lessons, and to show up for them. The weight of the world will absolutely crush you, so be ready. Don't let the frustrations and emotions hold you back. Let them fuel you. Make space for growing your light, and protecting your peace.

As a parting gift - one of my clients has graciously offered to share one of our workouts with you. This is something that I created for her when she was feeling overwhelmed, stuck, and exhausted. We start with a somatic body scan, warm up with Pilates, push our cardio limits, and play with the heavy things.

You can try it yourself here:

I would not recommend this for pregnancy or if you are recovering from an injury or postpartum. Please check out my resources page to select options for workouts more appropriate during those phases of life. We will touch on baseline measurements, so please revisit it throughout the year as you track your progress.

Please reach out if there is anything I can help you with in 2026. I'm looking forward to jumping on the Fire Horse and seeing where it leads.

Here's to a happier and healthier year,

SA