At 93, Dame Joan Collins still works out ‘a couple of times a week’. Speaking to the Telegraph this year, she shared that after struggling with ongoing back pain which went on to render her immobile with a trapped nerve in 2022, she returned to a type of movement she’s practiced on and off for over 20 years: Pilates.
‘I work out with my trainer a couple of times a week – just basic Pilates-type exercise, rather than using one of those [reformer] Pilates machines, though,’ she explained. ‘I just believe in healthy living. I don’t eat junk, I get eight hours of sleep, I exercise. It’s very simple.’
Pilates keeps her flexible and strong, but it also keeps her brain engaged – something walking doesn’t. ‘I hate walking – it bores me,’ she added. ‘I’ll walk around my apartment tweaking the flowers, but that’s about it.’
Keeping her muscles just as activated as her brain is another big reason Joan relies on Pilates. According to a separate interview in the Telegraph, she previously said: ‘What do I like most about Pilates? The fact that I can really feel my body working. I might do 250 crunches but my body is so used to them that I don’t really feel them. With Pilates, I can really feel my abdominals even if I only do six or 12 repetitions.’
The ‘basic’ style she describes refers to classical Pilates. It’s particularly beneficial for older women as it targets the physical qualities that can decline with age, like strength, balance, mobility, posture and coordination. The practice involves following Joseph Pilates’ original sequence of 34 exercises, with a strong emphasis on precision and control (so, moving as slowly as possible), core strength, spinal mobility, breath and alignment. Below, try the first four exercises from the sequence.
4 classical Pilates exercisesThe hundredLie on your back with your legs in tabletop or extended. Lift your head, neck and shoulders, reach your arms long by your sides, and pulse them up and down. Aim for 100 pumps. The roll upLie flat with your arms overhead. Reach your arms up and forward and slowly roll your spine up one vertebra at a time to sit tall and round forwards, imagining your stomach is reaching over a beach ball and someone is pulling your hands forwards, but keeping your shoulder blades plugged into your back, then reverse the movement to return to the floor with control.Single leg circlesLie on your back with one leg extended on the floor and the other raised towards the ceiling, leg as straight as possible. Keeping your triceps plugged into the mat and hips square to the ceiling, circle the lifted leg slowly while avoiding rocking the opposite hip, then repeat in the opposite direction before switching sides.Rolling like a ballSit balancing on your sit bones with your knees hugged towards your chest, your spine rounded, elbows wide and chest open. Roll back onto your shoulders, then use your core to stabilise you and return to the starting position without letting your feet touch the floor.
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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.