Dame Helen Mirren, the 79-year-old Oscar-winning actress, recently shared her 12-minute military workout, the XBX Routine, which she has followed daily for 60 years to maintain her impressive fitness. Originally designed for the Royal Canadian Air Force by Dr. Bill Orban, the program includes 10 basic exercises that vary in difficulty. Mirren emphasizes that the routine starts easily and can be adjusted in intensity. Additionally, she advocates for combatting age discrimination, highlighting that many people over 50 experience unfair treatment due to their age. Mirren stresses that everyone deserves respect and inclusion, regardless of age.
Dame Helen Mirren has revealed the 12-minute military workout that helped her stay in great shape for 60 years.
The 79-year-old Oscar-winning British actress is known for her ageless looks and glamorous red carpet ensembles.
And now she’s lifting the lid on the fitness routine originally devised by the military and that she’s followed every day for the past 60 years.
She told Women’s Weekly, “I strongly believe that women in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) should exercise for 12 minutes.”
Helen explained:[Exercise] It doesn’t mean joining an expensive gym. This starts with a very low and easy exercise, but can become quite difficult as you continue.
She admitted: “I’ve never gone beyond the second level, but it’s a nice little exercise program.”
Dame Helen Mirren reveals the 12-minute military workout that helped her stay in incredible shape for 60 years
The Oscar-winning British actress, 79, is known for her ageless looks and glamorous red carpet ensembles (Helen is pictured in 1974)
The program is called the XBX Routine, which stands for 10 basic exercises, and was created by Dr. Bill Orban in the 1950s to help female Royal Canadian Air Force recruits improve their fitness levels.
This is a physical fitness program that consists of 4 charts with 10 different exercises arranged in order of difficulty.
The 10 exercises for each chart are always performed in the same order and within the same maximum time limit. Charts are divided into levels, each chart has 12 levels for a total of 48 levels.
It includes simple exercises such as toe touches, knee raises, side bends, and arm rotations, each lasting 30 seconds.
The program’s official booklet explains, “The XBX booklet exercise plan offers women the opportunity to improve their physical fitness in a fun and interesting way, with a total investment of 12 minutes a day.”
This comes after Helen looked absolutely sensational on the red carpet at the star-studded L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Celebration in November.
The actress, who has been a brand ambassador for L’Oréal since 2014, dazzled in a sequined lavender dress with a modest neckline and sheer mesh skirt.
Helen added extra sparkle to her ensemble with purple diamond drop earrings, while a sheer headband kept her silver hair away from her face.
She carried her evening essentials in a perfectly coordinating clutch and accessorized with silver heels.
And now she’s lifting the lid on the fitness routine originally devised by the military and that she’s followed every day for the past 60 years.
She told Woman’s Weekly that she was a “big believer in the 12 minutes of exercise time for women in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)” (Photo of Helen, 1967)
Helen explained:[Exercise] It doesn’t mean joining an expensive gym. This is an exercise plan that starts off very low and easy and can become quite difficult as you work your way through. ”
In October, Herren said age discrimination “needs to change” after new research suggested that a third of over-65s were subject to age discrimination.
Discrimination comes after Age UK published a report that found millions of people have negative experiences of being treated with less respect or being threatened because of their age. “It’s upsetting and unfair,” she said.
The charity, of which Dame Helen is an ambassador, said its analysis found that a third of over-65s and almost a quarter of 50 to 64-year-olds in the UK have experienced discrimination because of their age. He said he had answered.
The charity used analysis of demographic statistics and the British Aging Longitudinal Study to suggest that around 6.1 million people aged 50 and over in the UK face age discrimination.
For some, this may be on top of other forms of discrimination, with around one in six women over 50 having faced sex discrimination, according to the charity. More than half of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in this age group said they had endured sex discrimination. racial or religious discrimination;
Age UK says: “The population is aging rapidly, but ageism remains prevalent” and says it needs to change attitudes, tackle poverty and inequality and address the health and social care needs of older people. It said it was calling for ensuring that it was “recognized and fully met.”
Dame Helen said: ‘Ageing happens to everyone, but as we get older life can become more difficult. Many people will be treated differently, which is just very upsetting. It could be unfair.”
“Everyone, no matter their age, should feel included and valued and that’s what Age UK aims to do.”
She concluded: “This is an ambitious but really important challenge because things need to change and it is in our interests to ensure that older people are respected and treated as individuals for who they are.”
