As much as Rosie Ramsey likes to make quips about her workout routine, she regularly trains.
In a recent episode of podcast Sh**gged, Married, Annoyed, which she co-hosts with husband Chris Ramsey, she shared that she has been following 20-minute arm workouts on YouTube. ‘I did some arm exercises, two days in a row, just a YouTube thing, this Irish lass,’ Rosie, who turns 40 on August 30th, explained. ‘But with them 5kg like weights, and it was just sort of like, arm raises, and all this kind of stuff.’ She went on to joke that the back-to-back workouts had caused such severe DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) that it ‘ruined her day’. ‘I swear to god, I can’t move. Like, it’s ruined my day yesterday,’ she laughed.
While Rosie didn’t share exactly which ‘Irish lass’ she’s referring to, it’s likely she uses Caroline Girvan’s classes. With 4.57 million YouTube subscribers, Caroline’s channel is considered one of the world’s best for free strength training sessions, with complete multi-week programmes and workouts targeting all body parts – all using dumbbells only, as Rosie mentions.
Example workout
One 20-minute ‘solid arms and shoulders workout with dumbbells’ has had 9.6 million views since posting. As Caroline advises in the video description, you perform each of the following exercises for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, then move onto the next:
Shoulder press Facing hold (x10 sec) to press Alt press 90° at elbow open to close Alt hammer frontal raises Bottom/top/full range raises Lateral raises Hammer hold to external rotate Palms up hold with alt curl External rotate curls Curl pulses Skull crushers Overhead extension Tate press Diamond press (slow eccentric) Faster tempo tricep press Cobra diamond push-up Uneven push-up Slow tricep push-up Hammer curl to palms-facing press Rosie Ramsey’s home gym
Rosie and Chris even have their own home gym, which Rosie featured in a separate video. As she mocked her social media algorithm and its endless fitness advice, she used their cable machine for overhead tricep extensions.
Instagram @rosemarinoramsey
The gym also features a Peloton bike, a bench, a weights rack and a mat area.
Rosie Ramsey’s nutrition
She’s conscious of her nutrition, too. In an earlier episode of Sh*gged, Married, Annoyed, husband Chris revealed she had been paying attention to her macro intake. Macros include protein, carbs and fats, but Chris shared that Rosie is particularly aware of her protein consumption, which is essential for building, repairing and maintaining muscle.
‘I go to the shops, and when I do, I’ll say to ya, “Do you need anything?”,’ Chris said. ‘And your new thing now to say to me is, you now look at me, and you go, “Can you get me some protein?” Like, and she doesn’t mean protein powder. Saying protein is one below saying, “Food, just get us some food”.’ Rosie replied: ‘You know what I mean though. Gun to your head, get me some protein. You have to answer or I’m going to shoot you, what are you going to buy us from the shop?’ She went on to give ‘chicken, eggs, spinach, and nuts’ as examples of the food she was expecting.
Rosie’s message? Whether it’s exercise or nutrition, you can laugh your way through wellness and still reap the rewards.
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.