Dame Helen Mirren, 79, reveals the 12-minute military workout that’s kept her in shape for decades

Dame Helen Mirren has revealed the 12-minute military workout that helped her maintain her incredible figure for 60 years.

The Oscar-winning British actress, 79, is known for her age-defying looks and glamorous red carpet ensembles.

And now she has lifted the lid on the fitness routine, originally developed by the military, that she has done every day for the past six decades.

She told me Women’s Weekly that she is “a strong supporter of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) women’s exercise regimen, which lasts 12 minutes.”

Helen explained: ‘[Exercise] doesn’t mean you have to join expensive gyms. It is an exercise regimen that starts out very low and easy, but if you stick with it, it can become quite difficult.

She admitted, “I never got past the second level, but it’s a fun exercise program.”

The Oscar-winning British actress, 79, is known for her age-defying looks and glamorous red carpet ensembles (Helen photo 1974)

The program is called the XBX routine, which means ten basic exercises, and was created by Dr. Bill Orban in the 1950s for the new female recruits of the Canadian Air Force to improve their fitness.

It is a physical fitness program consisting of four schedules of ten exercises, arranged in increasing difficulty.

The ten exercises on each card are always performed in the same order and within the same maximum time limits. The graphs are divided into levels and there are 48 levels in total, 12 in each graph.

It involves 30 seconds of simple exercises such as touching the toes, raising the knees, bending laterally and circling the arms.

The program’s official booklet explains: ‘The exercise plan in the XBX booklet offers women the opportunity to achieve physical fitness in an enjoyable, interesting way for a total investment of 12 minutes per day.’

It comes after Helen looked nothing short of sensational as she graced 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 lavender sequined dress with an understated neckline and a sheer mesh skirt.

Helen kept her silver locks out of her face with a thin headband, while she added extra shine to the ensemble with a pair of purple diamond earrings.

She packed her evening essentials into a perfectly matching clutch and slipped her feet into a pair of silver heels.

And now she has lifted the lid on the fitness routine, originally developed by the military, that she has done every day for the past six decades.

She told Woman’s Weekly that she is ‘a strong supporter of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) women’s exercise regimen, which lasts twelve minutes’ (Helen pictured in 1967).

Helen explained: ‘[Exercise] doesn’t mean you have to join expensive gyms. It is an exercise regimen that starts out very low and easy, but if you stick with it, it can become quite difficult.

In October, Helen said age discrimination ‘must change’ after new research found a third of over-65s experience age discrimination.

The actress said discrimination is both ‘disturbing and unfair’ after Age UK published its report indicating millions of people have had negative experiences because of their age, ranging from being treated with less respect to being threatened.

The charity, for which Dame Helen is an ambassador, said its analysis showed that a third of people aged 65 and over and almost a quarter of people aged 50 to 64 in England said they had been discriminated against because of their age.

Based on population statistics and analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, the charity suggested that around 6.1 million people aged 50 and over in England have experienced age discrimination.

This may come on top of other forms of discrimination for some, the charity said, finding that around one in six women aged 50 or over said they had experienced sexism, and more than half of people with ethnic minority background had experienced sexism in this age category. racial or religious discrimination.

Age UK said that while the ‘population is aging rapidly, ageism remains widespread’ and has called for attitudes to be changed, poverty and inequality to be tackled and the health and social care needs of older people to be ‘recognised and fully met’ .

Dame Helen said: ‘Aging happens to us all, but as we get older life can become more difficult. Many will be treated differently, which could be not only deeply disturbing but also unfair.”

‘Everyone, no matter their age, should feel included and valued and that is what Age UK is trying to achieve.’

She concluded: “This is an ambitious but truly important challenge because things need to change and it is in all our interests to ensure that older people are respected and treated as the individuals they are.”