Louis Theroux has witnessed first-hand the extremes of fitness culture – from the world of bodybuilding in Weird Weekends to the gym-obsessed figures in his recent Inside the Manosphere documentary.
But at 55, his own routine is far simpler.
Rather than lifting heavy, Theroux now relies on short, bodyweight workouts to stay in shape – prioritising consistency over intensity
Bodyweight Basics
It’s an approach he first adopted during the 2020 Covid lockdown. Knee issues meant he could no longer run laps of his local park by his early 40s, but Theroux still needed a way to stay active. His natural curiosity led him to Joe Wicks’ YouTube series, PE With Joe, which quickly became a staple of his routine.
‘I’ve done it religiously,’ Theroux said in 2020. ‘It’s almost a safety blanket. When so much is weird in lockdown, and with everything going on, just having something in the diary that was non-negotiable every morning [really helped]. I became a slightly missionary convert to the Joe Wicks programme of exercise.’
Theroux completed every day bar one of the series, with the pair later appearing together in a BBC workout video in 2022. The Body Coach’s 10- to 30-minute bodyweight sessions helped Theroux get into what he described as the best shape of his life – though aesthetics weren’t the main goal. ‘It’s not about muscles, it’s about mental health, but muscles are a by-product,’ he told Lorraine Kelly.
The Case for ‘Ambient Exercise’
Despite his commitment to bodyweight training, Theroux has been outspoken about his lack of interest in traditional gym workouts.
‘I think they should close down all gyms where people work out – I find it utterly pointless that people spend energy doing nothing,’ he told TikTok account Subway Takes.
Instead, he advocates for what he calls ‘ambient exercise’ – movement that fits naturally into your daily life.
‘In old times, people would actually do useful work. Nowadays you could be carrying your groceries from the supermarket – and it’s symptomatic of this culture where you can get exercise ambiently,’ he said. ‘I lived in LA, and people would say, “I’m thinking of going biking.” I’m like, “Well, why don’t you just cycle to work and then cycle home again?”‘
The 15-Minute Workout That Keeps Him in Shape
EMOM, 15 minutes (40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest)
SprintBurpeeBicycle crunchPush-up and twistSquat jumpMountain climberFloor touch squat jumpSprint and boxing punchUp-down plankPush-up and shoulder tapLunge jumpReverse crunchTuck jumpIn-out plank jumpBurpee and 6-step sprintRelated Stories
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_