Strength and Flex exercise plan: week by week

A week-by-week breakdown with links to video clips of the five-week Strength and Flex exercise plan for beginners.

Do each podcast at least three times within a week before moving on to the next podcast.

Once you've finished the programme, you can keep using podcast 5 to keep your activity levels up.

Podcast 1

A gentle workout with music, starting with a warm-up followed by a series of strength and flexibility exercises, finishing off with a cool-down.

Duration: 35:28

Warm up

• check your posture

• 5 shoulder rolls as you walk (both shoulders)

• 10 chest presses as you walk (pushing both hands away from you, then bringing them back in with your elbows pointing out)

• 10 arm rows as you walk (keeping your elbows tucked in while you pull imaginary oars back and forth)

• 10 knee bends as you walk

Watch a video clip of the warm-up routine.

Strength workout

• 10 standing press-ups

• 10 pull-ups

• 10 shallow squats

Flexibility workout

• thigh stretches

• calf stretches

• seated hamstring stretches

• chest stretches

• upper back stretches

Cool down

Podcast 2

We've made some of the podcast 1 exercises a bit more challenging and increased the length of your workout.

Duration: 36:31

Warm up

• check your posture

• 5 shoulder rolls as you walk

• 10 chest presses as you walk

• 10 arm rows as you walk

• 10 knee bends as you walk

Strength workout

• 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 deep squats

Flexibility workout

• thigh stretches

• calf stretches

• seated hamstring stretches

• chest stretches

• upper back stretches

• tricep stretches

Cool down

Podcast 3

We've added some new moves and increased the difficulty level of some of the podcast 2 exercises.

Duration: 35:32

Warm up

• check your posture

• 5 shoulder rolls as you walk

• 10 chest presses as you walk

• 10 arm rows as you walk

• 10 knee bends as you walk

Strength workout

• 10 sit-to-stands

• 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 wide squats

Flexibility workout

• thigh stretches

• calf stretches

• seated hamstring stretches

• chest stretches

• upper back stretches

• tricep stretches

Cool down

Podcast 4

We've introduced some new exercises and stepped up the intensity and length of your workout.

Duration: 45:12

Warm up

• check your posture

• 5 shoulder rolls as you walk

• 10 chest presses as you walk

• 10 arm rows as you walk

• 10 knee bends as you walk

Strength workout

• 10 sit-to-stands

• 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 wide squats

• 10 bench dips

• 10 wide pull-ups

Flexibility workout

• thigh stretches

• calf stretches

• seated hamstring stretches – deeper stretch

• chest stretches

• upper back stretches

• tricep stretches
  

Cool down

Podcast 5

For the last podcast in this series, we've made some of the podcast 4 exercises more challenging.

Duration: 43:32

Warm up

• check your posture

• 5 shoulder rolls as you walk

• 10 chest presses as you walk

• 10 arm rows as you walk

• 10 knee bends as you walk

Strength workout

• 10 sit-to-stands with calf raises

• 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty

• 10 wide squats

• 10 bench dips

• 10 wide pull-ups

Flexibility workout

• thigh stretches

• calf stretches – deeper stretch

• seated hamstring stretches – deeper stretch

• chest stretches

• upper back stretches

• tricep stretches

Cool down