IF THERE’S ONE move Idris Elba swears by in his varied training routine, it’s the squat. Now 53, the actor admits he’s dealing with more physical niggles than he used to, but instead of turning to stretching or mobility drills, he relies on this simple movement to ease his ‘tight hip flexors’.
‘The squat – just squatting, like before we were homo sapiens – is my go-to exercise,’ he said on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast. ‘Getting down is easy, but once you’re down, you get stuck. My pride’s still too strong for that – there’s no guy helping me up in that situation.’
Idris Elba's varied training approach
Despite his reliance on squatting, the exercise is still just a small component of Elba’s overall fitness approach. He’s previously stated how staying ‘fight-ready’ is his key focus, with kickboxing an important factor in helping him achieve that. ‘Some guys want to be toned or want to jog for miles, but my ultimate fitness goal is to be fight-ready,’ he told Men’s Health.
‘If I step into the ring, could I go toe-to-toe for five rounds? That’s what I strive for. That’s what I consider fit. I want to know that if I’m being wrestled to the ground, I’ve got the strength to fight a man off.’
That desire to stay fighting fit originated nine years ago. As part of a documentary titled, Idris Elba: Fighter, he spent 12 months learning kickboxing ahead of facing Dutchman Lionel Graves in a professional fight at York Hall. Elba won by TKO, but has continued training in the sport despite having not fought professionally since. ‘Kickboxing is rugged – it’s all core strength – but when you’re fight-ready, you feel like you can last forever,’ Elba said.
Skipping and shadowboxing are also preferred options when it’s not possible to find a gym. ‘Shadowboxing is one of the best workouts you can do. You don’t need any equipment, and it works every muscle,’ he said, while adding in an interview with People, ‘My favourite way to break a sweat is skipping. Ten minutes of skipping is a lot of work, believe it or not. Your whole body’s going and you break a sweat very quickly.’
