According to Public Health England, Britons are the western world’s most inactive people. We log, on average, less time exercising than we do waiting for pizza to arrive.

Two-thirds of Brits miss the government’s two-and-a-half-hour weekly activity target. Which is why, by 2050, it’s projected that more than half the population will be clinically obese. Healthy people will be in the minority, with their free-flowing blood and lack of diabetes-induced blindness.

But exercise can be intimidating. Often, those #fitspo posts are anything but – they just reiterate how far away you are from your beach body. Which makes it even harder to start. Like anything, the first step is the hardest. Especially if it’s a dumbbell lunge.

Which is why the best approach is to start slow and build up. If you’re carrying some extra timber, don’t fork out for a gym membership you’ll use once then be never want to revisit. Instead, tackle this at-home circuit, which will build the basic fitness you need to move on to tougher moves.

The Beginner’s Home Workout

Start with one set of each exercise, performing the prescribed reps. Take 60 seconds rest after all your reps, then move onto the next exercise.

If you can, perform a second set of each, returning to the press-ups once you’ve finished the plank. If not, build up to more as you get stronger.

Press-Up x 10 Reps

You might not have the core strength to knock out military press-ups right out the blocks. Not a problem. The move’s mechanics mean the further you are from horizontal, the easier they become. So just change the plane.

Start by performing them with your hands on a table or chair back (or even a wall, if you’re really struggling) and focus on pace: three seconds to go down, one second to push back up. As you get stronger, get nearer the ground.