Swimsuit

Melissa Wood-Tepperberg’s Favorite 3 Exercises to Improve Any Workout Routine

The 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie is a fitness leader and certified health and wellness coach.

Ananya Panchal

Melissa Wood-Tepperberg’s 2023 SI Swimsuit Rookie Shoot in Dominica

When fitness influencer Melissa Wood-Tepperberg began filming exercise videos in her living room in 2019, she never expected major success. She now has a million Instagram followers and runs Melissa Wood Health, a digital platform that aims to make mindful health and wellness accessible to all.

The 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie knows that everyone’s fitness journey looks a little different. Whether you are just starting out or are a fitness pro, the MWH app offers an unlimited library of more than 500 workouts at a range of skill levels and activities.

“My advice to anyone who is intimidated or reluctant to start a workout routine is to first really see what you connect to,” she says. “Get really clear with how you feel when you do those things.”

If Wood-Tepperberg could do only three exercises for the rest of her life, she says she would choose one of her arm moves, her power abs with “leg scissors and modified hundreds” and her favorite booty lifter.

She adds that those three exercises make for a great full-body workout, and they just so happen to make up the set of moves she used to prepare for her recent SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Dominica.

Wood-Tepperberg admits that at some points in her life, she has indulged in workouts that just weren’t serving her.

“The old Melissa tortured herself during workouts—I would go into a class feeling anxious and I would leave feeling more anxious,” the mom of two explains. “It was really just an awakening experience where I was like, ‘I’m doing these things to feel good and I leave feeling worse. What am I doing?’”

Wood-Tepperberg got herself out of that mindset by “slowing things down” and showing self-compassion. “It’s all about releasing that self-judgment we put on ourselves,” she says.

Meet Melissa Wood-Tepperberg—read the 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie’s full feature profile here.

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.