Between parenting, work, home renovations, and summer retreats, Ferne McCann always makes time for fitness.
The 36-year-old TV personality and former The Only Way is Essex star regularly shares the various ways she stays active, including group exercise sessions, sets of pull-ups and solo sequences at home.
‘Pilates. Gym. Strength. Tennis. Padel. School run (that’s a workout in itself)’, she wrote about the variety of workouts she does in the caption of a post showcasing her favourite activewear.
Opting for a variety of workouts is an approach supported by science. A 30-year study published earlier this year in BMJ Medicine found that, out of 110,000 people – of whom 70,000 were women – those who engaged in the greatest variety of exercise had a 19% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who did the smallest range.
Group sessions for full-body fitness
One class saw her tackle reverse lunges, SkiErg intervals and dumbbell deadlifts during a workout with WBA world champion Shannon Courtenay. The session combined strength and cardio, taking her through exercises that worked her whole body.
‘I’ve always fancied myself as an athlete; let’s see if I can keep up with one!’ she said wryly before the warm-up, which involved world’s greatest stretches, push-ups and bodyweight squats.
The main body of the workout featured energetic treadmill and rowing intervals, along with renegade rows, sled pushes and wall balls.
Pull-ups for upper-body strength
Ferne has also been challenging herself to build upper-body strength.
In June, she shared a clip of herself progressing from band-assisted pull-up reps – where even getting her face to bar level was a challenge – to six unassisted pull-ups a mere four months later, with her chin clearing the bar with ease.
‘Four months ago I couldn’t do a single pull-up. I’d always just assumed that I had poor upper-body strength and that I simply wasn’t built that way,’ she reflected on Instagram.
‘I genuinely believed that narrative for years. But I kept showing up! [I] kept going even when it looked like that… Not to boast but six pull-ups. No bands, no assist, nothing. Ahhh so buzzing,’ she said proudly.
Home workouts for core strength
Finding time for a quick 10-minute home workout has become part of Ferne’s routine, and the she recently revealed the ab exercises she’s been doing every evening.
‘Been doing this ab blitz every single night after the girls have gone to bed and I am obsessed. If you’re trying to squeeze in something for yourself without the chaos then this is it!’ she said on Instagram. ‘No equipment. No gym. Just you, the floor, and ten minutes you didn’t think you had. Mums, this one’s for us.’
She moved through dead bugs, penguin taps, bicycle crunches, leg raises, flutter kicks and hip-dip planks.
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