For years, Rochelle Humes relied on cardio-based workouts and dancing on stage to stay active. More recently, she introduced reformer Pilates, but three months ago she made another big change: prioritising strength training with heavy weights and low reps. The shift marked the first time the presenter had seriously focused on building muscle – and it’s all thanks to the help of trainer Ciara Madden.
‘Rochelle had never really focused on resistance training before we started training together three months ago,’ Ciara tells Women’s Health UK. ‘We’re focusing on higher weights and lower reps as she already does lighter weights and higher reps in her Pilates workouts – and because doing heavier weights for fewer reps is a strategy designed to maximise muscle growth and overall strength.
‘As women hit their late 30s, weight training becomes compulsory to counteract the loss of muscle mass that comes with age, and to regulate hormones and stimulate collagen production. Rochelle wants to do exactly this – plus, to build her glutes.’
In just 12 weeks, Rochelle has noticed significant changes in her strength and body composition. ‘We’re doing 60kg+ squats and 80kg hip thrusts, and Rochelle has seen big improvements in her glute definition,’ Ciara says. And lifting heavy doesn’t have to mean spending hours in the gym. Rochelle and Ciara train together just once a week (she also does ‘reformer once or twice a week, and stays active every day by walking and chasing after the kids’). The key is following a structured programme and progressively increasing the load over time, meaning Rochelle lifts slightly heavier set after set, and even heavier week on week. Below, Ciara shares the 60-minute session they do weekly, along with how to increase the weights you lift.
Warm up
Weights: medicine ball: 10kg ball. Walking lunges: round 1: 2 x 8kg kettlebells, round 2: 2 x 8kg kettlebells, round 3: 2 x 12kg kettlebells
Main workout
Perform each exercise for prescribed number of reps and sets, and rest for 60-90 secs between sets. Move onto the next exercise once all reps and sets have been completed per exercise.
Weights: ‘I start with 2 x 12kg kettlebells on the sumo deadlifts, and 1 x 12kg kettlebells for the swings. But by the last round we are using 16kg kettlebells, sometimes even 20kg kettlebells.’
Weights: ‘I would start both of these exercises with a 15kg barbell, but by the final round we would be using a 25kg barbell.’
Weights: ‘On the deficit lunges, I would start by using 2 x 8kg kettlebells, and over time double that weight 2 x 16kg kettlebells (with the aim of the back knee touching the floor). With the snatches for upper body, I would start lighter, with 7.5kg dumbbells but moving up to as high as 12.5kg.’
3 x 10 kettlebell gorilla rows
Weights: ‘For gorilla rows, I would either start with 1 or 2 kettlebells at 12kg and finish with 2 x 16kg kettlebells.’
Weights: ‘The barbell squats are different as we would do about 6 sets, increasing the weights from 20kg to 70kg whilst dropping the reps. We would start on 10 reps and drop all the way down to 4 for the final set.’
Finisher: bodyweight glutes and abs
‘Typically, I would finish the session with hip thrusts, glute kickbacks and some abs and core work. I don’t like making clients get down on the floor until the end, as mentally it’s hard to restart. So, we finish with a real burnout including planks, sit ups and crunches.’
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.