{"id":605820,"date":"2026-05-27T02:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/605820\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T02:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:01:13","slug":"51-year-old-bear-grylls-rapid-full-body-workout-builds-strength-and-muscles-with-just-six-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/605820\/","title":{"rendered":"51-year-old Bear Grylls\u2019 rapid full-body workout builds strength and muscles with just six moves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bear Grylls has shared the details of his go-to strength routine on social media, and, just like his morning routine<\/a>, it’s simple, effective, and can be done with minimal home gym equipment.<\/p>\n

The “William Charters Workout” is named after Grylls’ friend and former Royal Marine William Charters, and it involves six classic compound exercises<\/a> performed three times a week with 48 hours of recovery between workouts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As Grylls explains in the video: “Start off with five sets of squats, five sets of chest press<\/a>, three sets of pull-ups<\/a>, three sets of behind-the-neck shoulders, three sets of Pendlay rows, and then three sets of sit-ups<\/a>, always aiming for six reps, pretty heavy weight.”<\/p>\n

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The workout follows a tried-and-tested strength-building formula. Squats, chest presses, pull-ups and Pendlay rows target most of the major muscle groups, while the low-rep, heavy-weight approach focuses on building strength rather than muscular endurance.<\/p>\n

The exercise breakdown is as follows:<\/p>\n

5 sets of squats5 sets of chest press (a.k.a. bench press)3 sets of pull-ups3 sets of behind-the-neck shoulder press3 sets of Pendlay rows3 sets of sit-ups<\/p>\n

One exercise worth approaching with caution is the behind-the-neck shoulder press. While it can help develop shoulder strength and mobility, it also places the shoulders in a demanding position that may not suit everyone, particularly those with existing shoulder issues or limited mobility.<\/p>\n

If that sounds like you, a standard overhead press or seated dumbbell shoulder press offers a more joint-friendly alternative while still training the same muscles.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts<\/p>\n

If you don’t have a weight bench<\/a> at home, try dumbbell<\/a> floor presses or push-ups<\/a>. For pull-ups, especially if you’re a beginner, I would recommend a strong resistance band to help you progress more easily.<\/p>\n

Pendlay rows are best performed with heavy barbells, but if you’re not 100% sure about your lower back, try standard dumbbell or kettlebell bent-over rows and dumbbells good mornings to build strength in that area before progressing to Pendlay rows.<\/p>\n

Please bear in mind that you’re working with heavy weights, so allow plenty of time to rest between sets; the heavier the lifts, the longer you need.<\/p>\n

For anyone looking to get stronger without spending hours in the gym, this Royal Marine-inspired routine could be worth a closer look.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Today’s best Dumbbells deals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bear Grylls has shared the details of his go-to strength routine on social media, and, just like his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-605820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}