British actor Anna Maxwell Martin has built a fitness routine that doesn’t revolve around gym memberships or structured workout classes.
At 49, the Until I Kill You star stays active by weaving movement into her everyday life—cycling to appointments, taking stairs instead of lifts, and walking her dog between school runs.
Her approach taps into what exercise scientists call NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, the energy you burn through daily activities that aren’t formal exercise.
Here’s how she does it—and how you can apply the same principles to move more without adding hours to your schedule.
Jump to:
Why NEAT Matters More Than You Think
NEAT includes everything from household chores and gardening to fidgeting, carrying shopping bags, and yes, cycling to work.
Unlike planned workouts, NEAT happens throughout the day and can add up to significant calorie expenditure—sometimes hundreds of calories daily—depending on your lifestyle.
No products found.
For Anna, staying active isn’t about carving out dedicated gym time. It’s about making movement second nature.
Interviews with me always start, ‘Anna walks in the room looking sweaty and haggard’, because I’m literally always rushing around on a bike looking sweaty and haggard.
She told The Times in 2024 that she often arrives at interviews with a backpack and cycling helmet in hand—proof that her fitness habits are woven into her daily routine, not tacked on as an afterthought.
Cycling: Her Go-To Mode of Transport
Anna has been cycling around London for over a decade. Back in 2015, she spoke to The Telegraph with a helmet at her feet, mentioning she’d just been knocked off her bike by a lorry.
I was knocked off my bike by a lorry the other day and today I only made it a mile or so, then had to abandon it and take the Tube.
Despite the hazards of city cycling, she’s stuck with it—and the health benefits back up her choice.
What the Research Shows
A major study from the University of Glasgow, published in the BMJ, followed more than 260,000 people and found that regular cycling commuters had a 45% lower risk of developing cancer and a 46% lower risk of heart disease.
They were also 41% less likely to die from any cause during the study period.
No products found.
Another long-term study tracking over 82,000 participants aged 16 to 74 for 18 years found that bike commuters had a 47% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 24% lower risk of hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease compared to sedentary commuters.
The takeaway? Cycling isn’t just convenient—it’s one of the most powerful forms of active transport for long-term health.
Always Take the Stairs
Anna is vocal about another simple habit: never taking the lift.
Something like 80 per cent of Brits have lazy glutes. What I say to them is, ‘Look, I also have lazy glutes, but I am trying. I never take the lift, I always take the stairs.’
Her concern about “lazy glutes” isn’t unfounded. Research from AXA Health Insurance found that prolonged sitting can lead to gluteal amnesia—a condition where glute muscles essentially switch off due to inactivity.
More than one in four UK adults spend five or more hours sitting at a desk each day, which compounds the problem.
Stair Climbing Activates Your Glutes
A systematic review examining gluteus maximus activation across different exercises found that step-ups—including lateral, diagonal, and crossover variations—produced some of the highest activation levels among the movements assessed.
No products found.
Other top performers included hex bar deadlifts and barbell hip thrusts, but those require equipment and planning.
Stairs? They’re everywhere. And they work.
Stay Busy—Even Off Screen
When Anna isn’t filming, she leans into the rhythms of family life.
Being a mum is my priority and so a lot of choosing parts comes down to how it balances with that side of my life. I’ve just had four months off with my teenage children, shopping, cooking, walking the dog.
These daily tasks might not feel like exercise, but they contribute meaningfully to energy expenditure.
The Hidden Calorie Burn in Household Tasks
A study measuring the metabolic cost of household activities found that cooking, meal prep, laundry, light cleaning, and watering plants ranged from 1.8 to 2.3 METs (metabolic equivalents).
Meanwhile, sweeping, walking, and carrying groceries or boxes—especially up stairs—ranged from 3.0 to 5.5 METs.
No products found.
To put that in perspective, 1 MET is resting. Anything above 3 METs is considered moderate-intensity activity.
So while Anna’s daily life might not include formal cardio sessions, it’s far from sedentary.
Adding Structure: Dynamic Pilates
Recently, Anna has layered in more intentional exercise—specifically, dynamic Pilates.
Any other exercise is too slow for me.
Her visible results haven’t gone unnoticed. At Cannes, her abs became a talking point.
There was some talk about my abs in Cannes—I was over the moon.
Dynamic Pilates blends traditional Pilates principles with faster-paced, strength-focused movements. It’s a smart complement to NEAT, adding muscle engagement and core stability without requiring long gym sessions.
3 Ways to Move More Like Anna
You don’t need to overhaul your life to increase NEAT. Small, consistent changes add up.
No products found.
1. Swap Driving for Cycling (When Safe and Practical)
If you live within a few miles of work, school, or regular errands, consider cycling instead of driving or using public transport.
Start small: one or two trips per week. Invest in a good helmet, lights, and a secure lock.
The cardiovascular and metabolic benefits are well-documented, and it saves time stuck in traffic or waiting for buses.
2. Make Stairs Your Default
Commit to always taking the stairs unless you’re carrying something heavy or injured.
- At work: skip the lift, even if it’s several floors
- At the Tube or train station: walk the escalators or take stairs
- At home: use stairs as an excuse to move throughout the day
Over weeks and months, this habit strengthens your glutes, quads, and cardiovascular system—without a gym in sight.
3. Build Activity Into Family and Home Life
Walking the dog, carrying shopping bags, gardening, and even vigorous cleaning all count.
No products found.
Instead of outsourcing or minimising these tasks, embrace them as part of your movement routine.
- Walk your kids to school instead of driving
- Hand-wash your car
- Carry shopping bags in from the car in fewer trips (safely)
- Stand while folding laundry or prepping meals
These micro-moments of activity may not feel intense, but cumulatively, they keep your metabolism active and your muscles engaged throughout the day.
The Bottom Line
Anna Maxwell Martin’s approach to fitness is refreshingly realistic. She doesn’t rely on early-morning spin classes or personal training sessions five days a week.
Instead, she moves constantly—through transport choices, daily habits, and an active home life—and complements that foundation with dynamic Pilates when time allows.
The lesson? You don’t need to “find time” for fitness if you build movement into the time you already have.
Cycle when you can. Take the stairs every time. Stay busy at home. And if you want to add structure, choose something you actually enjoy.
No products found.
Fitness doesn’t have to be formal to be effective.
Sources
- University of Glasgow, BMJ – https://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1456
- BMJ Public Health – https://bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/bmjph/2/1/e001295.full.pdf
- AXA Health Insurance – https://www.axahealth.co.uk/news/2026/physiotherapist-reveals-the-real-impact-of-sedentary-work-habits/
- PubMed systematic review on gluteus maximus activation – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32132843/
- PubMed study on household activity METs – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35537710/
- The Times interviews with Anna Maxwell Martin – https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/celebrity/article/anna-maxwell-martin-i-have-very-high-self-esteem-w5bmrczjr
- The Telegraph interview with Anna Maxwell Martin – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/actors/anna-maxwell-martin-interview-macbeth-young-vic/
