{"id":424680,"date":"2026-05-12T23:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/424680\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T23:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T23:49:08","slug":"hannah-waddingham-on-the-3-simple-moves-that-shape-her-body-at-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/424680\/","title":{"rendered":"Hannah Waddingham on the 3 simple moves that shape her body at 51"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hannah Waddingham is one of our health and fitness heroes at Good Housekeeping, as she takes a realistic approach to nutrition and exercise that\u2019s both inspiring and achievable. <\/p>\n

And now the Ted Lasso star has given an insight into how she maintains her toned muscles… no gym required. \u2018I\u2019d be lying if I said I did a lot,\u2019 she says in Women\u2019s Health<\/a>. \u2018Just calisthenics [with] my own body weight and some light weights<\/a> for 20 minutes in the morning.\u2019<\/p>\n

Calisthenics is a wise choice for building muscle, and one of the simplest \u2013 and most effective \u2013 ways to stay strong and mobile at any age. There\u2019s no kit or gym machines required \u2013 instead, you use your own body weight to train.<\/p>\n

‘Hannah has said that she \u201cdoes not do a lot\u201d, but those incredibly toned, muscular arms have definitely not appeared by chance and honestly, I LOVE them,’ says GH fitness expert Kim Hawley<\/a>. ‘Calisthenics is a form of exercise that uses your own body weight as resistance, but don\u2019t be fooled into thinking that means it is easy. At more advanced levels, it can be seriously challenging. Alongside strength, you are also building mobility, balance and coordination.<\/p>\n

Common calisthenics exercises include:<\/p>\n

push-upspull-upsdipssquatslungesplanksleg raiseshandstands<\/p>\n

\u2026and a quick scroll through Instagram will show you these routines can get progressively more difficult very quickly. A huge part of calisthenics is learning to control your body through space, rather than simply lifting heavier and heavier weights.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest benefits is that beginners need little to no equipment to get started, and there are modified versions of almost every move, from wall push-ups to assisted dips. As you progress, though, you may want to invest in a few bits of kit such as a pull-up bar or resistance bands.’ <\/p>\n

The best part? You can do it almost anywhere, whether that\u2019s squeezing in calf raises while the kettle boils \u2013 or, as Hannah says, getting in a few squats as you brush your teeth. \u2018I\u2019ve always said to my friends: activate your muscles \u2013 every day,\u2019 she says. \u2018People are very lovely; they talk about my arms. I just keep activated. And never underestimate the value of doing squats the whole time you\u2019re brushing your teeth.\u2019<\/p>\n

Hannah doesn\u2019t just rely on callisthenics, though. She also shared that she loves an unexpected activity \u2013 boogie (or body) boarding. \u2018I\u2019m a demon at boogie boarding,\u2019 she said in a video interview with IMdB. She\u2019s definitely on to something \u2013 boogie boarding is a surprisingly effective workout for women, as it combines cardio, strength, balance and mobility without feeling like traditional exercise.<\/p>\n

Paddling through the water works the shoulders, arms and upper back, while constantly stabilising yourself on the board engages the core and improves balance. Even walking against the resistance of the sea and climbing back on to the board helps to build lower-body strength and endurance. Because it\u2019s low impact, it can also feel gentler on joints than running or high-intensity gym classes, which many women appreciate as recovery and injury prevention become more important with age.<\/p>\n

At 51, Hannah\u2019s no stranger to menopausal<\/a> symptoms \u2013 and she has this advice for anyone in the thick of it. \u2018I would say seize who you are and love every second of your changes,\u2019 she says. \u2018It\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do. Is it easy? No. Is it going to happen regardless? Yes. So take your own reins. Be the master of your own reins.\u2019<\/p>\n

Related StoryRelated Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hannah Waddingham is one of our health and fitness heroes at Good Housekeeping, as she takes a realistic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[2519,217792,2117,565,134,207184,2116,111,139,69,217791],"class_list":["post-424680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-4969059f-d3fd-4f20-a874-de33d7a05c1c","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-hannah-waddingham-on-the-3-moves-that-shape-her-body-at-51"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}