No matter where he is in the world or what he has planned, Bear Grylls leaves no room for excuses when it comes to his morning routine.
The 51-year-old kicks off every day completing a 250-rep workout consisting of 25 pull-ups, 50 push-ups, 75 squats and 100 sit-ups – working through each exercise as quickly as he possibly can. For Grylls, who has built up to using a weighted vest for each of the movements, the session takes him just 10 minutes. It never used to be that way, though.
'When I started doing it I couldn't do 3 pull-ups,' he said on the High Performance podcast. 'I was like, "Wow, this is hard". And now I actually use a weighted vest, and I'm banging out the 25 pull-ups. I figure I'll just keep doing it, and if I keep going I'll be 95, God willing, still able to do it.'
Bear Grylls' Morning Workout
A. Pull-Up x 25 reps
B. Push-Up x 50 reps
C. Squat x 75 reps
D. Sit-Up x 100 reps
Cold-Water Immersion and Grounding
Grylls' routine doesn't stop there. No matter the time of year he practices grounding – walking barefoot to electrically reconnect with the earth – and likes exposing his body to cold water at any opportunity he can.
'I try and get cold. There's the sea and river near where we live in North Wales, so I can jump in. The only thing that puts me off keep doing it is that everyone is now doing it. But I've done this stuff for years, long before it was fashionable. What I like about cold water is it never gets easier,' Grylls added.
'I take the dogs out first thing, doing it barefoot any time of year, even in London. I get strange looks in the park but I'll go barefoot, find some green and walk around. So being outside, being barefoot – I like that connection with solid ground and the earth. It sounds weird but I think everything in modern life is trying to disconnect us from nature.'
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It's not about copying Grylls' exact routine, but he does advocate for people finding something that helps get them out of bed and active first thing in the morning. Over the years he has learned what works best for him to consistently get things rolling.
'Everyone will have their little things but picking the difficult things is so key. The lazy, easy one is to get on your phone in bed and scroll when that alarm goes off, but it's a lazy option and the one that kicks the day off badly.'
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_
