If the idea of putting a workout together is enough to put you off strength training, Sally Gunnell has you covered. The former 400m hurdles champion has since turned to training other women in midlife – and proved that the workouts that deliver the best results aren’t necessarily the complicated ones.
Her sessions use minimal equipment and often take no longer than 30 minutes. The exercises she chooses are designed to deliver the biggest results in the shortest time, too – like the five moves below. She says they’re all you need to build a full-body workout, and they can be done anywhere.
‘This is a brilliant home workout that can be done with just dumbbells,’ she captioned her post on Instagram. ‘Repeat these five exercises for three-four rounds, rest as you need to between them.’ Here’s how to do each move, and how many reps Gunnell recommends.
Sally Gunnell’s full-body exercises
How many reps to do: Perform ten reps of each move before moving onto the next, rest for as long as you need and repeat the whole circuit three-four times.
Stand tall with one dumbbell at shoulder height. Press it overhead until your arm is straight, then lower with control. Complete all reps before switching sides.Single-arm row
Hinge forwards with a flat back, holding the dumbbell in one hand. Pull it towards your waist, keeping your elbow close to your body, then lower slowly. Switch sides. 
Stand with feet wider than hip-width, toes turned slightly out, holding a dumbbell in front of you. Bend your knees and lower your hips, keeping your chest lifted, then drive through your feet to stand.
Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench or sofa, dumbbell resting across your hips. Drive through your feet to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees, then lower with control.
Hold one dumbbell overhead at its head, using both hands. Bend your elbows to lower the weight behind your head, keeping your elbows pointing forwards, then extend your arms to return to the start.
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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.