Hints and Solutions for Strands – January 1, 2025
Explore the clues and answers related to today’s Strands puzzle, themed: “What a workout.”
For easy access to daily hints for Strands, consider bookmarking this link. This page also features previous hints, perfect for catching up on any puzzles you might have missed.
Below are subtle hints regarding today’s Strands answers, with further details provided lower on the page including the spangram and complete answers. Take your time to read through the hints to find what you need!
Clue for the Spangram in Today’s Strands Puzzle
A term related to the activity of exercising, such as running or strength training.
Clue for Today’s Theme Words in Strands
Essential exercises—some requiring weights and others that do not—to enhance physical fitness and strength.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Strands Puzzle!
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle will be disclosed below.
What is the Spangram for Today?
The spangram for today is: EXERCISE.
What are the Theme Words in Today’s Strands?
Today’s theme words include: DEADLIFT, BURPEE, SQUAT, CRUNCH, LUNGE, PLANK, SITUP.
Here’s how the board appears when completely solved:
Approach to Solving Today’s Strands
Starting the new year with a fitting theme! It seems probable that the words related to exercises will feature heavily.
Indeed, the word SQUAT is located in the upper right section. 
To its immediate left is BURPEE.
I noticed an X mark on the board, suggesting it is part of “exercise”. And it is, confirming the spangram: EXERCISE. 
In the upper left, we find DEADLIFT.
CRUNCH appears in the lower left section.
Centered below the spangram is LUNGE.
The bottom right corner showcases SITUP.
Lastly, PLANK needs to be identified as well.
Strands #304 “What a workout”
Playing Strands
The Strands game can be found on the New York Times website and is also available in the NYT Games app.
Upon launching the game, you will be presented with a board filled with letters alongside a clue hinting at the theme, typically framed as a phrase like “Better with age.” Your mission is to uncover the hidden words within the board that align with the theme of the puzzle.
A Combination of Crossword and Word Search
The key word to identify is the “spangram,” which illustrates the theme of the puzzle more explicitly. (For instance, in the puzzle themed “Better with age”, the spangram is FERMENTED, indicating items that improve over time.) The spangram will stretch across the entire puzzle board, either horizontally or vertically (hence the term). Discovering the spangram simplifies the remaining puzzle greatly.
In Strands, words can traverse in any direction—up, down, left, right, and diagonally—and each letter is used only once. There exists a sole correct solution. Once you find a word such as KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI, it will highlight in blue.
If you encounter difficulties in solving the puzzle, you can submit any non-theme words that are four letters or longer for a hint. After inputting three non-theme words, the “Hint” button becomes active; clicking it reveals all letters belonging to one of the theme words. You must still connect these letters correctly to form a theme word. If there’s already a hint visible and you use another hint for that word, the letter arrangement will be disclosed.
Winning Strands
Unlike other word games such as Connections and Wordle, Strands does not have a losing condition. Submitting guesses will either validate a word, provide hint credits, or result in a shaking text indicating invalid terms. There is no limit to the number of guesses or a time constraint.
Victory is achieved when all letters on the board have been accurately utilized, indicating that you have identified both the spangram and all theme words. Similar to other NYT games, once you complete the puzzle, a shareable card depicting your performance for the day will appear: blue dots represent the theme words you found, a yellow dot indicates when you located the spangram, and a lightbulb 
illustrates words you used a hint for.
