Louis Theroux has witnessed the extremes of fitness culture firsthand from the world of bodybuilding. strange weekend On his latest gym crushes Inside the manosphere documentary.
But the 55-year-old’s own routine is much simpler.
Rather than lift heavy weights, Theroux now prioritizes consistency over strength and relies on short bodyweight workouts to stay in shape.
weight basics
It’s an approach he first adopted during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown. Knee problems prevented him from running many laps around his local park by his early 40s, but Theroux still needed a way to stay active. His innate curiosity led to the Joe Wicks YouTube series. Joe and PEit quickly became a staple of his daily routine.
“I came by faith,” Theroux said in 2020. “It’s almost a security blanket, when there’s so much weirdness going on in lockdown and everything going on, just writing down the non-negotiables in my diary every morning. [really helped]. I became a bit of a missionary convert to Joe Wicks’ exercise program. ”
Theroux completed every day of the series except for one, and the pair then appeared in a BBC workout video in 2022. 10- to 30-minute bodyweight sessions with a body coach helped Theroux get into the best shape of her life, but beauty wasn’t her main goal. “It’s not a muscle issue, it’s a mental health issue, but muscle is a byproduct,” he told Lorraine Kelly.
Example of “Ambient Exercise”
Despite his dedication to bodyweight training, Theroux has been candid about not having any interest in traditional gym training.
“I think all the gyms where people work out should be closed. I think it’s completely pointless for people to spend their energy doing nothing,” he told the TikTok account Subway Takes.
Instead, he advocates what he calls “ambient exercise,” or movement that blends naturally into daily life.
“In the past, people actually had useful jobs. Now you can carry groceries from the supermarket, which is a symbol of this culture where you can exercise around you,” he said. “I lived in Los Angeles, and people would always say, ‘I’m thinking about going biking.’ It’s like, “Well, why don’t you just bike to work and then bike home?”
15 minute workout to stay in shape
EMOM, 15 minutes (40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest)
- sprint
- burpees
- bicycle crunch
- push ups and twists
- squat jump
- climber
- floor touch squat jump
- sprint and boxing punch
- up down plank
- push-ups and shoulder taps
- lunge jump
- reverse crunch
- tuck jump
- In-out plank jump
- Burpees and 6 step sprints
Ryan is our next senior writer. men’s health England I have a passion for storytelling, health, and fitness. Ryan, who graduated from Cardiff University in 2020 and subsequently qualified as an NCTJ, began his career as a news writer apprentice for sports titles. golf monthly, weekly cycling and rugby world Staff Writer at Football Magazine before moving on to become Senior Writer 442.
During his two-and-a-half years there, he wrote news articles for websites and feature articles for magazines, while also interviewing many celebrities including Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger. But his standout memory was when he had the chance to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Stephen Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Growing up a keen footballer, playing for his boyhood team until the age of 16, Ryan earned eight appearances for the Northern Ireland Futsal team, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now that he’s past his peak, Ryan likes to combine weightlifting with running. He achieved a marathon PR of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but blamed the heat for his failure to break the coveted 3:30 mark…
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