Try this workout at home, the gym, or even in your local park (Credits: Getty Images)
Steve Chaney, 37, from Frodsham, always struggled with his weight.
Growing up in the 90s and 00s, before Jamie Oliver changed school dinners forever, he says there ‘wasn’t as much awareness or education about healthy eating’, and that school PE didn’t help much, either.
‘Physical education at school was primarily centred around team-based sports; there was no education around the benefits of strength training and how to do it,’ he tells Metro.
‘With PE, I felt there was a culture of nurturing those who were naturally gifted at it, but there was little to no support for those who were mediocre or struggled.’
By 18, his self-esteem plummeted due to his weight, until he had an epiphany that something needed to change.
Steve Chaney aged 18 (Picture: Steve Chaney)
‘It was an accumulation of always being put down and therefore losing belief in myself – not just physically, but also professionally and that really held me back,’ he says. ‘I was fundamentally unhappy and hugely lacking confidence.’
Steve started exercising and ‘fell in love with fitness’. Fast forward to today, and he’s a personal trainer who owns Elysium Personal Fitness Studios, which has two venues in Cheshire. Rather than exercising to look a certain way, the mantra he uses with his clients is ‘movement is freedom’, enabling you to ‘take on new adventures’ in life by nurturing your body.
‘I compare it to financial freedom – something many strive to attain, yet many people don’t invest that same level of effort into their health,’ he says.
In the age of weight loss jabs, with black market versions leading to devastating consequences, it’s never been more important to push back on the pressure to be thin over strong and healthy. At the same time, it’s never been more vital to provide those looking with healthy, sustainable weight loss solutions.
So, we asked Steve for his go-to home workout for those at the very start of their fitness journey, or returning to exercise after a long break. You just need dumbbells and a kettlebell. As Steve says ‘it’s better to use lighter weights and pracblacktice getting the full range of movement correctly before increasing weights’.
Steve’s home workout for beginners
(25 mins including warmup and cooldown)
All you need is some light weights (Picture: Getty Images)
Warmup:
Raise the heart rate by either running on the spot, skipping or doing jumping jacks (or a mixture) for 2-3 mins.
Activate the right muscles, so for this workout do the following warm-up:
10-12 glute bridges by lying on the floor on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground. Push through your feet to raise your hips up as far as you can, squeezing your butt while engaging your core. Once you hold a few seconds at the top, lower your hips back to the floor and repeat 10-12 times.
30 seconds side planks each side. Lie on your side with your elbow propping you up under your shoulder and legs out long (or bent at the knee if this isn’t achievable). Raise your hips off the floor and hold for 30 seconds. Change sides.
8 shoulder taps each side. Get into the start of a push-up position (straight arm plank), with your feet wider than your hands, slowly tap your left shoulder with your left hand whilst maintaining stability and minimising any hip rotation. Lower your left hand and repeat with your right hand, continuing to switch.
8 body weight reverse lunges. Stand up tall and take one step back and plant the ball of your foot behind you with enough distance to get your knee as close to the ground as possible, with a 90-degree bend at both knees. Come back to the start position and repeat on the other side.
Mobilise by doing five of the world’s greatest stretches each side. Start in a straight arm plank and step your right foot as far forwards, just to the outside of your right hand. Raise your right arm straight into the air while rotating your torso towards the right leg. Hold for a few seconds, reset and repeat on the left.
Finally do six inchworms. Start in a straight arm plank, inch your feet towards your hands, raising the hips but keeping your legs straight, walking towards your hands as much as your flexibility allows. Then walk your hands out until you’re back in a straight arm plank. Repeat.
Workout:
Set a timer for 15 minutes, and at the start of every minute complete one of the below exercises (in order). You should be aiming to complete the exercise and still
Have 10-15 seconds rest before the next minute begins. If you’re completely new to exercise, select light weights or opt for body weight. If you’re feeling confident then select weights that feel challenging, but don’t compromise form.
You can always drop set weights – this means having a pair of lighter weights nearby to switch to if failing with the heavier ones.
6x Single dumbbell suitcase lunges each side.
Suitcase lunges (Picture: Steve Chaney)
Stand tall, holding a dumbbell in one hand, and take one step back and plant the ball of your foot behind you with enough distance to get your knee as close to the ground as possible, with a 90-degree bend at both knees. Come back to the start position and repeat on the other side. After six lunges on each side, switch the dumbbell to the other hand.
12x Bent over row with dumbbells.
Bent over row (Steve Chaney)
Holding a weight in each hand, soften the knees and hinge forward at the hips, maintaining a flat back. Pull the weights into your abs whilst pinching your shoulder blades together. Lower the weights until your arms are straight. Repeat.
15x Kettlebell swings (or body weight squats).
Kettlebell swings (Steve Chaney)
Hold the kettlebell with a double overhand grip, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and soften the knees. Hinge at the hips, keeping your back flat and chest up, swing it between your legs and drive your hips forcefully forward, squeezing your glutes until the kettlebell swings to chest height. Let the kettlebell fall naturally back between your legs and repeat, keeping momentum.
12x Press-ups (or scaled variation such as doing them on an elevated platform or with your hands against the wall).
Press-ups (Picture: Steve Chaney)
Start in a straight arm plank, with hands underneath shoulders. Keep your core braced and break at the elbows, keeping them 45 degrees to the armpits until your chest goes below the elbows, keeping the body straight throughout the movement. Push through the floor back to a fully extended position until your elbows lock out. If this can’t be done on the floor, regress to an elevated platform or do it against a wall.
10x Double dumbbell thrusters.
Dunbbell thrusters (Picture: Steve Chaney)
Hold the dumbbells at your shoulders, descend into a squat until the hip crease goes below the knee. Explosively stand up while driving the dumbbells into a shoulder press, fully locked out at the elbows. Bring the dumbbells back to the shoulders and descend into the next squat, repeat until 10 reps are completed.
Cooldown
Static stretches focusing on calves, hamstrings and quads. Some good ones include, kneeling hip flexor stretch, standing calf stretch and pigeon stretch.
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