Do you have a spare 16 minutes this week? Would you like to lose some weight, tone-up, and get fitter? No, I am not going to suggest attaching your muscles to a machine that looks like something out of Star Trek, nor am I going to suggest you join a gym – instead I am going to ask that you join me in a free, healthy and quick workout programme. You just need three things: a stretchy resistance band, a chair, and a lot of energy.

Greg Whyte (pictured) has created this programme with glaceau Vitamin Water, especially for ELLE: it’s a circuit session focusing on the development of anaerobic capacity and strength endurance. This kind of session is an important part of training for sports like rowing and middle distance running but will also effectively burn fat, and increase strength. Which, frankly, is what interests me.

Greg tells me I need to do a light warm-up (I do a jog around the block which seems to get my heart rate up) and then work very hard, right from the start. This means, excuse the cliché, you ‘feel the burn’ right from the word go. I try not to alter my effort, and because I know it’s a short burst, it’s feasible, though hard work.

Next week, I’ll be sharing the programme with you. Resistance bands at the ready!