Helen Mirren Swaps Military Workout for Yoga
The 81-year-old actress says she has dropped the Royal Canadian Air Force 12-minute routine in favor of daily yoga.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Fitness
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Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren, 81, has stopped doing the Royal Canadian Air Force 12-minute workout and now practices about 10 to 15 minutes of yoga a day. The military-style routine, originally developed for women in the 1950s, was too exhausting for her, she said.
Why it matters
Mirren's switch highlights how a widely shared fitness program can prove hard to sustain even for committed exercisers. Her candid account of yo-yo dieting and occasional lapses in motivation offers a relatable perspective for readers balancing workouts with busy lives.
The figures come from Mirren's own description of her routine rather than a clinical study, and the source does not say how long she has followed the yoga practice. The original military program's effectiveness for the general population has not been independently measured in this report.
The players
Helen Mirren
An Oscar-winning British actress known for a long film and stage career, who has openly discussed her fitness habits and dieting struggles.
Royal Canadian Air Force
The national air force of Canada, whose 12-minute fitness program was developed in the 1950s and later promoted to the public as a home workout.
The details
Mirren, who has described herself as a classic yo-yo dieter, said the Royal Canadian Air Force routine was too much for her and that she sometimes has to pull herself back into exercising because she is incredibly lazy. The workout involves push-ups, sit-ups, running on the spot and arm circling, with harder levels unlocked as strength improves.
Timeline
1950s: The XBX program is developed for women.
2008: A red bikini beach photograph is taken in Italy.
2014: Mirren first promotes military fitness.
October 2021: She discusses the Canadian Air Force regime in a British Vogue interview.
September 2026: A photograph of Mirren accompanies this article.
Roadmap
The XBX program dates to the 1950s and was designed for women, and Mirren's decision to drop it for yoga reflects a broader pattern of older, structured military-style routines giving way to gentler, flexible practices. Her account shows how a program that gained wide popularity decades ago can still be adopted or abandoned by modern audiences.
Short daily routines such as 10 to 15 minutes of yoga can be easier to maintain than longer or more intense programs. Readers who find structured workouts hard to keep up with may consider lower-intensity options that they are more likely to repeat.
The takeaway
Choosing a routine you can sustain matters more than choosing the most demanding one. Mirren's experience suggests that short, manageable sessions can fit into a daily schedule where longer military-style workouts did not.
Further reading
Explore more on Fitness for other routines people use to stay active.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Mail Online.
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