Will Helen Mirren's workout get me fit?

As the 79-year-old Oscar-winning actress extols the virtues of exercise for older people, Sophie Morris puts her military routine, which is loved by King Charles, to the test

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Dame Helen Mirren has been urging older adults not to fear ageing and to make "little changes now to help them in later life". And if anyone can inspire people of all ages to get moving, it's the UK's favourite actress, who turns 80 in July.

Dame Helen, who was famously snapped looked incredible in a red bikini aged 63, is a "big believer" in the Royal Canadian Air Force's XBX plan, which she's followed "off and on" for most of her life.

What's great news is that it takes just 12 minutes a day to do.

The actress told Vogue magazine: "It is an exercise regime that starts from very low and easy, then if you follow it through, it can become quite difficult. I've never gotten past the second level, but it's a nice little exercise programme. Nothing extreme, but you need to do it every day."

She's in good company as the King has confessed to following a similar workout, though he favours the 5BX version for men, also from the Royal Canadian Air Force, which consists of five basic exercises "to develop and hold a high level of physical fitness". They were both developed in the 1950s and published in 1961.

Even though I am only 45, I am at the age when exercise, in particular strength training, becomes essential to build and maintain muscle tone. I avoid anything too energetic, preferring yoga, dog walks and the odd swim and game of tennis.

By comparison, XBX looks easy, but if Dame Helen is anything to go by, it gets results. And while the pamphlet is old fashioned to say the least, it is also reassuring and unthreatening. I've had enough of online fitness gurus who want me to design my whole life around their approach to exercise.

If this is good enough for an ageless beauty like Dame Helen and a famously hard-working monarch, then it's good enough for me.

HOW TO DO IT