Suranne Jones does this simple 5-step workout every week to build lower-body and core strength at 48 - here's how to do it
The star's personal trainer has revealed the exact workout she follows to build muscle in just over half an hour
Suranne Jones doesn't take it easy when it comes to staying fit. Strength training is the clear priority for the 48-year-old star, even with seemingly back-to-back filming schedules this year.
Murder-mystery drama Vigil is rounding up its third season tonight, where Suranne plays detective DCI Amy Silva hunting for a killer in the Arctic. The star has also been spotted filming for Doctor Foster, after a third and final season was announced earlier this year.
Limited on time, it makes sense that Suranne sticks to full-body workouts and movements that target multiple muscles at once (known as compound exercises). She also utilises the knowledge and know-how of personal trainer Louise Yerby, according to Women's Health.
Together, they use dumbbells, barbells, and bodyweight movements to achieve progressive overload. This involves increasing your weight, repetitions, or time under tension to challenge your muscles once an exercise is gets too easy. It's the only way to get stronger.
Suranne's favourite lower-body and core workout is the one below, according to the personal trainer. She does it at least once per week, prioritising "consistency over intensity".
It takes at least 35 minutes to do the workout for three rounds of eight to 10 repetitions. The weights should be heavy enough that your final two repetitions feel challenging, but you can still do them.
1. Romanian deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is a leg and glute exercise that you can do with a barbell or with dumbbells.
Many people feel this exercise in their lower back. To prevent that, make sure you keep the weights close to your body and push your bottom to the back of the room as you hinge, as if you're trying to press a button.
Here's how to do it:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding your weight on the front of your thighs.
- Engage your core and pull your shoulder blades back and down. Create a soft bend in your knees.
- Slowly, push your bottom back towards the wall behind you while making sure your spine stays straight.
- As you do so, your weights will lower. Avoid lowering them past your knees - or stop once you feel a deep stretch through the back of your legs.
- Push up through your feet to return to standing.
Hexagonal dumbbells are a favourite of mine. They don't roll away when you set them down on the floor, store easily in a rack, and this set from HOMCOM comes in various sizes as a pair, making them more affordable than many.
2. Dumbbell reverse lunge
This is another lower-body exercise that helps build strength in the muscles at the back of the body, known as the posterior chain. It focuses on the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, but you'll need core strength to stabilise yourself.
Here's how to do it:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand. Brace your core and keep your chest lifted.
- Take a big step back, landing on the ball of your foot.
- Bend both your knees, bringing your body towards the floor. Lower down until your back knee is a couple of inches from the floor, and make sure to keep your shin vertical.
- Push up through your front foot to return to standing.
- Switch sides and repeat the movement on both legs.
3. Hip thrust
You can do a hip thrust with a dumbbell or with a barbell. All you need is a bench behind you to rest your upper back on.
Here's how to do it:
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench then place your weight across your hips.
- Place your feet on the floor in front of you, about shoulder-width apart. Lift up to test position - your shins should be vertical and your knees should be parallel to the ground.
- Make sure to tuck your chin to your chest and to engage your core.
- To complete the movement, come down to the starting position. Drive up through your heels until your are parallel with the bench, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Slowly lower your hips back down.
4. Pallof press
As a personal trainer for women in their 40s and 50s, Louise recommends the Pallof press out of all the core exercises. This is the "midlife hormone support" exercise, as it doesn't trigger cortisol (the stress hormone) like a full core workout might.
Here's how to do it:
- Stand side-on to a cable machine, with a single handle at chest height. Hold the handle with both hands at your chest.
- Engage your core and press the handle straight out.
- Make sure you don't twist your torso as you push out.
- Return to the starting position by bringing the handle back in.
If you're doing this exercise at home, you might not have a cable machine. A set of resistance bands is a good alternative. This set comes with a door anchor you can slip between the hinges at the right height for you.
5. Farmer's Carry
The farmer's carry exercise is one of the more underrated full-body exercises around. Not only does it boost core strength and stability, but it also improves upper-body and grip strength when you do it with a set of kettlebells.
Here's how to do it:
- Place a set of heavy kettlebells on the floor beside you, about hip-width apart.
- Bend your knees and hinge at the hips to pick the weights from the floor. Bring your shoulder blades back and down, and engage your core to stop the weights swinging.
- Looking forward and keeping your arms straight, take short steps in one direction.
- Once you've completed your walk, put the weights down by hinging at the hips again and bending your knees.
A heavy kettlebell can cost a lot. While a cast iron kettlebell is more durable, this plastic one does the job just as well. For the farmer's carry, you'll need two of the same weight.
Speaking of full-body exercises, Suranne Jones has shared that she got into the habit of doing regular planks while filming the original seasons of Doctor Foster. After discovering the exercise while raising money for breast cancer charities, she did it regularly to improve her fitness after having a baby.
“Spoiler alert. Gemma takes her clothes off at some point and I’d just had a baby. So the planking helped," Suranne told The Independent.
It's a habit she picked up again when filming the Netflix drama Hostage. To prepare for her scenes, she told the paper: "I want music on, I want Celine Dion pumping out, proper dance vibes. And then me and my make-up designer, she's [into] fitness - we started planking in the morning."
The pair would reportedly hold the plank for up to five minutes a go, but "towards the end of the job...that turned into a lot of cheese, meat and wine".
