When Paddy McGuinness set out to rebuild his fitness, the workouts were only part of the equation. Just as important were the small habits that made training consistent.
While preparing for his Men’s Health cover shoot after completing the viral 75 Hard challenge, the comedian and presenter adopted a simple trick designed to make early mornings easier: he laid his training kit out beside the bed the night before.
The idea came from Atomic Habits, the bestselling book by behaviour expert James Clear, which McGuinness read during the challenge. The principle is simple: make good habits easier to start by removing friction from the moment you wake up. With his gym kit already waiting beside the bed, there’s less thinking involved and fewer excuses to skip the session.
That setup helped lock in a consistent start to the day. Every morning at 6am, McGuinness would wake up, drink around 500ml of water mixed with electrolytes and head straight to his home gym, where he’d step onto his curved treadmill for a 40-minute walk.
The session itself was deliberately stripped back. ‘I fucking like the misery of the silence,’ he says.
Want to know how Paddy McGuinness got into the best shape of his life at 52? We break down the 75 Hard challenge he followed – plus the exact workouts he used to build lean muscle for his Men’s Health cover shoot.Sign up for 14 days free access to the MH app and read our guide to how best to do 75 Hard now.
The habit came out of the discipline required by 75 Hard, which includes two daily workouts alongside strict lifestyle rules. But even after completing the challenge, some of the systems McGuinness built – like laying out his kit in advance – proved useful enough to keep.
It’s a classic example of what Atomic Habits calls designing your environment for success. When the barriers to starting a workout are removed, consistency becomes much easier to maintain. And sometimes the difference between skipping a session and getting it done can be as small as a pair of trainers waiting beside the bed.
Isaac Williams is Site Editor for both Women’s Health UK and Men’s Health UK, guiding and supporting the content teams to create content across all platforms. Isaac’s love of health and fitness began at Loughborough University, where he graduated with a History and English degree in 2014. His first job was at Men’s Running magazine, where he progressed from Staff Writer to Editor. Among his highlights of those four years include completing a 24-hour track race (never again), just about finishing a multi-day ultramarathon in the Azores, and chugging his way around a ‘beer mile’. Isaac ventured into the world of freelance journalism in 2018, interviewing some of the biggest names in sport – like Anthony Joshua and Ben Stokes – and writing features for the likes of The Guardian, Red Bull, ShortList and BBC Countryfile. He was also a regular contributor to an adventure series called ‘The Man Who’: speaking to some of the world’s most extreme explorers from the wilds of Caffè Nero. In late-2019, Isaac became Editor of Men’s Fitness UK. In his five years there, Isaac was responsible for editing the monthly magazine and managing website content, ultimately helping the brand transition to a ‘digital-first’ approach. He joined Hearst UK as Multiplatform Editor in December 2024, where he manages day-to-day digital output, edits content and writes articles on all things health and fitness. When he’s not hammering at his keyboard, Isaac enjoys exercise and trying – unsuccessfully, so far – to teach his baby son to kick a football. You can follow Isaac on Instagram @isaacw1993.
