Five years ago, Ed Sheeran made a decisive lifestyle shift. ‘He wanted to come off booze and focus on his fitness, wellness and overall health,’ says his trainer, Matt Kendrick, who has since helped the singer-songwriter build an impressively athletic physique. Kendrick adopted a German Body Composition approach, pairing upper- and lower-body exercises with minimal rest to drive a strong metabolic response.
Compound lifts, supersets and high-intensity conditioning have all played a role in Sheeran’s 14kg weight loss, while also helping him add lean muscle. But aesthetics were never the main goal. ‘It was never about hitting a certain body-fat percentage,’ Kendrick explains. ‘It was about health. He wanted to feel good, stay energised and cope with a gruelling schedule while looking after himself.’
Below is one of the exact full-body, push-focused workouts Sheeran uses to stay in shape. Keep rest between supersets to an absolute minimum, then take 90-120 seconds between rounds. And when you hit the bike sprints, commit fully. Max effort means exactly that.
The Workout
A1. Back Squat x 4 sets of 6-10 reps
D. Air Bike x 4 minutes of 20 secs max effort sprint and 10 secs rest
How to Do the Movements
Back Squat
- Begin by grabbing the barbell a little wider than shoulder-width apart and un-rack the barbell with it on the meaty part of your shoulders, below your neck.
- Breathe deep, creating tension in your core, then step back into a position with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, keeping your chest open with your elbows pinned down and back.
- Maintain an upright torso and push your hips back, lowering into a squat, bending your knees until your thighs pass parallel to the floor, aiming for the crease of your hips to drop below your knee.
- Explosively drive the floor away to push yourself back to standing.
Dumbbell Bench Press
- Lie flat on a bench, your knees bent, pushing your feet into the floor.
- Press a pair of dumbbells into the air, locking out your elbows.
- Lower the bells slowly until they touch the outside of your chest.
- Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle.
- Pause here before explosively pressing back up. Repeat.
Bulgarian Split Squat
- Stand 2-4 feet in front of a bench (depending on your height), facing away.
- Have one leg resting on the bench behind you, laces down, with your feet in line with your hips.
- Sink your body down until the knee of your back leg almost touches the floor. The front knee should be at a right angle.
- Push up through your front foot to return to the start position.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Clean a pair of dumbbells onto your shoulders.
- Take a breath, squeeze your glutes and create tension throughout your entire body.
- With no assistance from your legs, press both dumbbells up overhead.
- Lower them under slow control to your shoulders and repeat.
- Keep your ribcage locked down and avoid over arching at the lower back.
Incline Dumbbell Fly
- Lie flat on a bench set at a 30-45-degree angle, holding a pair of dumbbells, locked out above your chest.
- Keep your arms at a fixed angle as you slowly your dumbbells outwards and down towards the ground in a smooth arc.
- Stop when you feel a deep stretch across your chest before powering back up explosively.
Cable Triceps Pushdown
- Attach a rope handle to the high pulley of a cable station.
- Keeping your elbows tucked in at your sides grab the handle, tense your core, and bring your hands down until your arms are fully extended, then return to the starting position.
- Only your forearms should move.
Air Bike
- Set up on the bike: your back should be straight and the saddle adjusted so you have a slight bend in the knee at the bottom of your cycle, but your arms can almost fully straighten out at the end of each revolution of the handles.
- Lock your eyes onto the ‘wattage’ portion of the display and smash the bike hard until you see your target wattage. Try not to flail around, keep your head up and breathing in check, but whatever else you do hold that wattage.
- At the 20-second mark, stop sharply. You have 10 seconds to mount somewhat of a recovery, so focus on your breathing and make every second count, attempting to bring yourself into a state of calm.
- Once the clock hits 30 seconds, hit that wattage again. And again. And again. If you manage to hit (and hold) your target watts for all 8 rounds, congratulations.
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_
