Sheridan Smith has been putting in the work to prep for her role in ITV mystery thriller, Two Birds. The 45-year-old actor has been regularly strength training with coach Tom Brown, while combat training with fight director Maisie Carter has been crucial to pull off the stunts required. And there’s one small, simple move everyone can do that has been helping Smith build up to those bigger physical challenges: standing on one foot.
‘Do it while you’re brushing your teeth in the morning, or you’re waiting for the kettle to boil,’ Carter told Good Housekeeping. ‘Standing on one foot, just raise up on your toes and come back down again. Or stand on one leg the entire time you’re brushing your teeth.’ To progress, try lifting one leg up and down while balancing on the other.
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Sheridan Smith and combat coach Maisie Carter
It’s all about boosting balance – the foundation for flexibility and power, Carter says. It’s also the perfect adjunct to the unilateral – or single-sided – exercises Smith does with coach Brown in their strength sessions. These types of moves, like Bulgarian split squats and single-leg dumbbell step-ups which Brown told us he and Smith do every Monday, require strong balance as well as strength. Standing on one foot takes the strength component away and places the emphasis on balance and stability, so the next time Smith comes to do those unilateral strength moves, she’s more supported and in control.
Sheridan Smith has been strength training with coach Tom Brown
Carter says it helps Smith improve her combat kicks, too. ‘For kicks, you start with balance, then you need flexibility, then you need power,’ she says. There are three types of kicks Smith practices: the front kick, the turning kick and the side kick. Each requires rotating your hips in a different direction, so ‘you have to learn how to balance your body slightly differently each way,’ Carter adds.
The goal? Stand on each leg for as long as you can. Set those timers.
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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.