At 55, Amanda Holden is still as busy as ever, from early morning radio shows to her annual Britain’s Got Talent judging gig. Somewhere in that busy schedule, though, she’s managed to find time for fitness – but she has had to be smart and time-efficient with her workouts. Amanda’s secret? The Viking Method, as she revealed to The Times a few years ago.
Here, we explore why it’s so effective for building real-life strength and how to add it to your routine.
What is the Viking Method?
Created by trainer Svava Sigbertsdottir, the Viking Method refers to a training approach that combines physical and mental principles from a range of sports: football, handball, ballet, contemporary dance, yoga and kickboxing – all of which Sigbertsdottir trained in growing up. It’s categorically not based on aesthetics.
‘I wanted to create a method that is not about that – that you don’t train because you lack a “look”, or because you are not good enough, you train because you are adding things,’ she explains. ‘Adding strength, health, stamina, flexibility, skills, power, capability, confidence and contentment.’
As for the specific Viking workouts – like those Amanda has praised – they work the whole body, but with a specific focus on core. A typical session, Sigbertsdottir tells WH, includes plyometric exercises (jumps), weighted upper- and lower-body exercises and core work, combining both compound and isolated movements. But much of the core work, she adds, ‘is not isolated – it’s worked as we use it in life, as the connector – the powerhouse that stays strong while the limbs are doing their work.’
Sigbertsdottir, who trained Amanda, says she ‘is Viking through and through – her attitude and her resilience, and her openness and joy of going for it. She would do all the exercises. Crawl in the mud? Easy. Run with me on her back? Easy. Kick me, punch me? Easy. Anything I threw at her she would do with pleasure.’
Essentially, the Viking Method takes functional training one step further. ‘Functional training is such a wide umbrella word of methods of training – you train for your body to be functional, to be able to do well what it is designed to do. My method is about just being a Viking Ninja,’ says Sigbertsdottir. ‘That whatever comes your way, your body is good to go. Carry those boxes? Easy. Jump over that wall? Easy. Crawl under that fence? Easy. Sprint to catch that bus? Easy. Kick someone when needed? Easy, but luckily not needed often.’
A 30-minute Viking workout
Here is Sigbertsdottir’s five-move Viking workout you can try.
Do three rounds of these five exercises, with a two-minute rest between each round (but take a breather where you need before going back into it). The heaviness of the weights should be that you are struggling in the final reps.
You do the five in a row, no set breaks in-between (take a breather where you need and then go back into it) and after each round have a two-minute break.
1. Curtsy squat to shoulder press
Have your weights by your shoulders. Wide squat, then do a curtsy where your knee goes all the way down to the floor, then go back to the wide squat. From there, come out of the squat and lift the weights up into a shoulder press. Repeat x8 on each leg.
2. Standard shoulder press
Do a standard shoulder press x8.
3. Single-leg squat into weighted circle
Hold one weight with both hands. Do a one-legged squat, and after your weight goes down, come out of the squat (the leg that is in the air never touches the ground) and do one circle with the weight where the bottom point is your navel and the top point of the circle is the top of your head. Repeat and alternate the way of the circle and x8 on each leg.
4. Squat jump into single-arm snatch
Hold one weight in one hand. Start in a squat with the weighted arm between your legs. Squat jump forwards (land in a deep squat) then squat jump backwards and into a one-arm snatch. Repeat x8 on each arm.
5. Squat into plank
Start in a squat, walk down to a high plank. Go down to one elbow, then the other, then back up into that high plank and walk back to the squat x8.
You can find Svava Sigbertsdottir’s online viking method programs on her website.
After years living with endometriosis and undergoing seven rounds of IVF, Radio 4 presenter Emma Barnett turned to training with PT Frankie Holah to rebuild strength and a more positive relationship with her body. Download the Women’s Health UK app to access Frankie’s full training plan.
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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.