celebrity series #6: David Beckham

David Beckham’s workout from his footy-playing days really impressed me. Obviously this guy was going to have an intense workout — but holy shit.

Nowadays, Beckham practices something called “Fitness Snacking” (short periods of exercise done throughout your day as opposed to one longer workout), but back in his footy playing days, it was definitely more about duration.

He would do a series of exercises for a certain number of repetitions and time himself, sometimes doing five rounds of each exercise.

We’re going to combine his old workout with his new method by doing a series of his preferred exercises for time, but the number of rounds is as low as one or as high as five.. To make it accessible for home-use, there are some v creative options. If they don’t work for you, skip them or pick a different move!

The playlist — the playlist was a funny thing. I found three sources:

• a playlist that Spotify made for Beckham on his birthday, which he then shared on Facebook
• a news article where he listed a few of his faves
• an interview with some of Beckham’s teammates where they revealed they’d been snooping through his playlists, expecting to find some indie English rock bands, and instead found a whole lot of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

Find that eclectic compilation here.

Equipment needed: bath towel

Total time: 10 minutes for one round, 50 minutes if you’re going for five.
*Just do whatever you’re feeling — if you only have the time or energy for one round, that’s one more round than you would do otherwise. If you get going and want to do more, that’s fab too!

The workout
– 45 seconds on, 15 seconds off (this is a timer you can set up from your laptop — if you want to use a timer on your phone, head to the App Store. There are plenty of simple, free timers)
– take a minute or two between rounds if you are doing more than one

1. “sled push” — a few options:
   • isometric wall pushes — wearing socks, stand in a doorway or next to a wall. Hold arms out and drive with legs while keeping tension in your upper body and core
   • mountain climbers
   • this instagram phenomenon
2. push ups (knees or toes)
3. “battle ropes” — a few options:
   • I used a bath towel and held each end. It looks and feels a bit silly, but I promise the arm-burn payoff is worth it
   • a bed sheet if you’ve got loads of space like in this video
   • use a garden hose (scroll down in the link)
   • body-weight replacements: tuck jumps, burpees, mountain climbers
4. kettlebell swings — a few options:
   • mime the move with a light object (I used my towel) — you just want to be explosive in your movement and keep your glutei and abs activated to catch you at each edge of the movement
   • use a sandbag or flour bag or dumbbell or something else heavy
   • body-weight replacements: high knees, squat jumps, fast push ups
5. squats
6. jump squats (or a second round of squats if jumping is not for you)
7. leg raises
8. forearm plank to pushup (knees or toes)
9. jumping jacks