Megan Roup Shares Her Tips for Building a Lasting (and Effective) Workout Routine

7 min readWorking out is something you’ll ideally do for the rest of your life, which makes finding a routine you genuinely enjoy pretty important. I was reminded of that after taking class with Megan Roup, the founder of The Sculpt Society (TSS). I’ve now taken her class twice, and each time, I’ve had a smile on my face from ear to ear. The classes are dance cardio meets pilates—in other words, really not my forte. But, when it comes to TSS, that doesn’t matter. The movements are fun and the classes breeze by. In Roup’s words, they’re feminine and joyful, and athletic and empowering—a perfect combo for anyone looking to start creating their own routine.At 40, Roup considers TSS a major switch-up from how she spent her time exercising in her 20s. “In my early 20s, I would be on a treadmill for hours just thinking about the calories I was burning,” she tells Women’s Health. The mindset was “more is more,” she remembers, but now, she’s all about doing less. And, we’re talking just 20 minutes of working out a day. Roup, who also just released her own edit with Lululemon, estimates that she works out for just 20 minutes, three days a week, plus the roughly 30-minute live class she teaches and one private client session per week.Roup does those privates with celeb clients like Kate Hudson, Dakota Johnson, and Victoria’s Secret models like Karlie Kloss, Miranda Kerr, and Jasmine Tookes. But, she notes, the TSS approach is still the same whether you’re a celeb or a subscriber.Here’s how Roup built a workout routine that lasts, and how you can do the same.Tune out the fitness noise.There are so many opinions out there about the best way to get active, so Roup wants to set the record straight: “The best workout is the one you’re going to show up to,” she says. “You have to drown out the noise because every year there's going to be a new cycle of fad workouts and opinions on what we should and shouldn't be doing.” Instead, go for what you think is the most fun, whether it’s running or lifting heavy or taking a sculpt class or doing something even more out of the box.“We want to move our bodies for the rest of our lives, so your workout needs to be something you enjoy,” Roup says. “It needs to be a place where you feel seen, where you can come at different stages of your life, and also, most importantly, it needs to fit into your routine.”It may take some trial and error, but look for a workout that checks all those boxes, and then start small and build up how much you do it over time. Movement is movement, period.Allow your workouts to be imperfect.It’s really hard to enjoy a workout if you put pressure on yourself the whole time to do it a certain way. As I mentioned, dance cardio is not my strong suit. But, as Roup assured the class multiple times, all that matters during those moments is that we’re moving. You don’t need to nail every single move in order to get benefits. “I really hated how other classes felt like you had to be a professional dancer,” Roup remembers, so she was very careful when creating TSS that she kept things approachable and reminded people that they didn’t need to have a dance background to see success.It’s a lesson that can be applied to plenty of other workouts. You don’t need to be the speediest runner for it to be worthwhile; and you don’t need to be lifting the heaviest weight in the room to see progress. Taking away the pressure to be perfect can make a workout so much more fun, and therefore a whole lot more sustainable for the long term.Shop Roup’s Lululemon EditDo shorter workouts more often.If you struggle to get yourself to the gym consistently, try doing less when you’re there. Roup’s TSS platform has so many videos where you can get an effective workout done in 20 minutes or less—and she’s a big believer of that in her own life, too. It’s all about “committing to less, so I can show up more,” she says. (Two rest days per week are part of that equation, she adds.)With the right programming, you can get an effective workout done pretty fast, and those smaller, shorter workouts can be critical to building a habit. “It builds that muscle of showing up for yourself every day,” Roup says.Try our Muscle in Minutes Plan NowWhat about those gains, though? Consistently showing up and working out, even in shorter bursts, will still lead to progress—just as long as you’re following intentional programming. What matters most is making sure your muscles get the right stimulus and that you’re getting in moderate- to vigorous-intensity cardio bursts, research has found.Try Roup’s 6-Move Routine for When You’re Short on TimeWhat Roup most enjoys in a workout: “I like to hit multiple body parts, whether I have 10 minutes or whether I have 30-plus,” she says. It’s all about blending elements of cardio and muscular strength and endurance and core work. A rough outline of what she likes to follow is: getting her heart rate up, doing some functional exercises like lunges and squats, and then hitting some mobility moves with glute and deep core work, she says. “That's something I just have gravitated towards,” she says. “It makes me look forward to a workout.” (Because remember: That’s critical too!)All that in mind, here’s a routine Roup would do right now—if she only had time for a few moves. Feel free to give it a try.Instructions: Do each exercise for the allotted number of reps, then move onto the next move. Repeat the entire circuit up to three times, resting as needed.Jumping JackHow to:Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides. Simultaneously raise your arms out to the sides and overhead and jump your feet out so they're slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Without pausing, quickly reverse the movement. That’s 1 rep. Do 16 reps.Why she picked it: Jacks are the perfect cardio burst to warm up your whole body before getting into the rest of the workout.Curtsy Squat with Slider How to:Start in a standing position with legs hip-width apart and a slider under your right foot. Keeping foot on slider, bring right leg behind you to get into a curtsy position, lowering as far as you can. Keeping foot on slider, reverse position to stand. That’s 1 rep. Do 8 to 16 reps.Complete all reps on right, then switch slider to the left foot.Why she picked it: “I really love blending in functional exercises like a squat or a lunge,” Roup says. “I think that mimics [how we move in] everyday life.”High Plank Crossbody Mountain Climber with SlidersStart in high plank position with shoulders over wrists, pelvis tucked, core engaged, and toes on sliders. Keeping both feet on the sliders, pull your right knee up toward your left shoulder. Drive right knee back down and repeat with the left leg, driving it toward your right shoulder. Drive left knee back to the starting position. That's 1 rep. Do 8 to 16 reps.Why she picked it: “I love a slider and how it mimics a reformer Pilates class,” Roup says. Sliders create some of that gliding movement you do on a reformer carriage, challenging you to stay controlled and stable as you move.Fire HydrantHow to:Start in tabletop position with wrists stacked directly under your shoulders and hips over your knees. Imagine drawing your belly button in toward your spine.Keeping your back flat and your right leg bent at 90 degrees, lift the right leg out to your right side, stopping at hip height (or as high as you can lift it without your back rounding).Reverse the motion to bring the right leg back down to starting position. That’s 1 rep. Do 16 to 24 reps.Do all reps on one side before switching to the other.Why she picked it: Fire hydrants work the range of motion of your hip, while requiring you to keep your pelvis and core stable, helping improve hip mobility and control. “Mobility is really important for longevity,” Roup says.Toe Tap with a Pilates Ball Under Hips and SacrumLie on your back and place a pilates ball under your pelvis, positioned beneath your hips and tailbone so your hips are slightly elevated. Extend your arms by your sides, palms pressing into the floor. Lift your legs to tabletop position, with your knees bent at 90 degrees and stacked over your hips.Engage your core and, keeping your left leg still, lower your right foot until your toes tap the floor. Keep the movement controlled and avoid arching your back.Lift your right leg back to tabletop, then repeat on the left side.Return your left leg to tabletop. That’s 1 rep. Do 16 reps.Why she picked it: “To me, everything stems from the deep core,” Roup says. The unstable surface of the ball forces your deep core muscles to work to stabilize your pelvis as your legs move.Triceps KickbackHow to:Stand with your knees slightly bent and a dumbbell in each hand. Hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back flat and core engaged.Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and draw your upper arms alongside your torso, keeping them close to your sides.Keeping your upper arms still, extend your elbows to press the dumbbells back until your arms are straight.Pause, then slowly bend your elbows to return the weights to the starting position. That’s 1 rep. Do 16 reps.Why she picked it: Roup likes to make sure there’s dedicated arm work in the mix, and triceps kickbacks are a simple way to target the backs of the upper arms while also requiring core to maintain that hinged position.Olivia Luppino is an associate editor at Women’s Health. She reports, writes, and edits content ranging from service stories to in-depth features and awards packages across all verticals, including health, fitness, sports, and beauty. While at WH, she’s traveled to Paris, France to watch Faith Kipyegon attempt a sub-4-minute mile and covered major races like Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix. Olivia is a RRCA-certified running coach who is especially passionate about helping people start their running journey and is training for her second marathon. Her works also appears in New York Magazine’s The Cut, PS (formerly Popsugar), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests.