Louis Theroux has witnessed first-hand the extremes of fitness culture – from the world of bodybuilding in Weird Weekends to the gym-obsessed figures in his recent Inside the Manosphere documentary.
But at 55, his own routine is far simpler.
Rather than lifting heavy, Theroux now relies on short, bodyweight workouts to stay in shape – prioritising consistency over intensity
Bodyweight Basics
It’s an approach he first adopted during the 2020 Covid lockdown. Knee issues meant he could no longer run laps of his local park by his early 40s, but Theroux still needed a way to stay active. His natural curiosity led him to Joe Wicks’ YouTube series, PE With Joe, which quickly became a staple of his routine.
‘I’ve done it religiously,’ Theroux said in 2020. ‘It’s almost a safety blanket. When so much is weird in lockdown, and with everything going on, just having something in the diary that was non-negotiable every morning [really helped]. I became a slightly missionary convert to the Joe Wicks programme of exercise.’
Theroux completed every day bar one of the series, with the pair later appearing together in a BBC workout video in 2022. The Body Coach’s 10- to 30-minute bodyweight sessions helped Theroux get into what he described as the best shape of his life – though aesthetics weren’t the main goal. ‘It’s not about muscles, it’s about mental health, but muscles are a by-product,’ he told Lorraine Kelly.
The Case for ‘Ambient Exercise’
Despite his commitment to bodyweight training, Theroux has been outspoken about his lack of interest in traditional gym workouts.
‘I think they should close down all gyms where people work out – I find it utterly pointless that people spend energy doing nothing,’ he told TikTok account Subway Takes.
Instead, he advocates for what he calls ‘ambient exercise’ – movement that fits naturally into your daily life.
