HEALTH Notes
Fitness guru Joe Wicks talks to YOLANTHE FAWEHINMI about the benefits of the whole family building healthy daily habits – even if it’s just 10 minutes
■ In the UK, 270 people are admitted to hospital every day with a heart attack. That’s a large number but the good news is there are things you can do to lower your risk.
■ Eat a healthy, balanced diet: Foods that are high in saturated fat and sugar will clog your arteries by building up fatty plaques. So
Eat more fruit and veg
JOE WICKS is obviously a big fan of exercise. But if he doesn’t get it done first thing in the morning, even he’ll start making up excuses.
“What I found about myself is that if I don’t do it straight away when I wake up, excuses come in. I’ll have dinner or a bit of chocolate, and I can’t be bothered,” says Joe, aka ‘The Body Coach’ – who gained a whole new audience when he started streaming free ‘PE with Joe’ workouts for kids and families during lockdown.
“So I’ve got to do it in the morning, and that really sets me up for a much more positive day.”
When his children – Indie, five, Marley, four, and Leni, 18 months (Joe and his wife Rosie are also expecting their fourth child this summer) – allow him to get a good night’s sleep, the 38-year-old tries to be up at 6am to complete a 30-minute workout before making breakfast for the family.
He’s a big fan of high-intensity and bodyweight workouts, like pull-ups, press-ups and squats, but also loves to go cycling and on long walks around Richmond Park, near his south-west London home.
“I also love going in ice baths or having a cold shower, even if it’s reduce ultra processed foods and eat more fruit and vegetables.
■ Healthy weight: Carrying extra weight makes your heart work harder. It can increase your blood for 30 seconds, it releases a bit of dopamine in my mind, it’s great for the skin and also energises me,” says the fitness guru and author, whose books include Lean In 15 and Feel Good Food.
Joe has now teamed up with Aviva health insurance and fitness tracking app Strava on their #MoveWithAviva campaign – encouraging the nation to partake in at least 10 minutes of activity a day throughout April to support their health and wellbeing. This could be going for a run, doing a quick workout, or even doing some gardening or a gentle mindfulness exercise.
Embracing short bursts of activity is right up Joe’s street, because as a parent he says he doesn’t really want to be training for hours.
“My three kids have just absorbed everything,” says Joe, adding that he wants to be around for things like story time and bath time. Being active is part of their family life, too.
“We do fun stuff in the garden, play ‘stuck in the mud’, hide and seek, go for bike rides, and I’ve even got some boxing pads and gloves we can use,” Joe says.
“It’s important to teach our children
■ Exercise: Going for a 30-minute walk every day is a good start.
■ Quit smoking: The amazing thing is if you stop smoking you immediately reduce your heart attack risk, and within a year this goes down by as much as 50%.
Fitness guru that exercise can be a wonderful and fun thing. I can physically see how it calms them down. I even get them involved in the kitchen when I’m cooking different recipes. What’s more important as a life skill than teaching your children how to cook? You are setting them up for a healthy future.”
He says being active doesn’t have to be complicated.
“The campaign is really about self-belief and doing the small things that will have a big impact,” says Joe. “Fitness should be accessible and doesn’t need to be intense or feel like a punishment. Doing exercise for 10 minutes a day can be fun. It’s a tool that can help you release stress and pressures on your body, and boost your mood and energy, it’s so powerful.
“Your fitness goals shouldn’t be so focused on body image, losing inches and the scales – that doesn’t motivate you enough. Focus on trying to get fitter and building strength, especially now that it is warmer and getting lighter in the evenings.”
■ For details about Joe’s campaign, visit aviva.co.uk/movewithaviva