TV star says her daughter, one, loves being in gym My little girl has her own weights
Gemma Atkinson has hit back at criticism of her mini-me daughter crawling around the gym, saying her tot already has her own dumbbells, protein shaker and sweatband.
The actress was forced to defend herself last week after working out in her home gym while 14-month- old Mia watched. But Gemma says her little girl loves playing around with fitness equipment and using her own toy set.
The 35- year- old said: “She does love being in the gym. Many a time, Mia will sit in her pram playing while I’m training.
“She’s just started to walk so it’s a bit more difficult as she’s learned to pull herself up with the little dumbbells we’ve got and she loves playing with barbells.
“My stepbrother got her a kit with a tiny little protein shaker, a dumbbell, a sweatband, so she’s got her weights already lined up in the gym.” Gemma hopes Mia will grow up to be a Thai boxer but admits dancer boyfriend Gorka, 30, who is gearing up for the new series of Strictly, has other ideas.
“Me and Gorka joke because he says, ‘She’s going to be a dancer,’ and I say, ‘ No she’s going to be a Thai boxer.’
“She loves music, she loves dancing, but does love being in the gym as well.” Gemma faced criticism when she posted an Instagram video of herself doing a home workout while Mia gave her high fives in between exercises.
Some fans voiced concerns at her being so close to the heavy equipment but Gemma hit back, saying: “To those who messaged giving me grief because Mia’s stood near a fan-assisted bike in the gym while I’m supervising. Don’t worry.”
And she claimed Mia is just as likely to hurt herself in the garden.
Gemma, who reached the final of Strictly in 2017, has been a fitness fanatic since her early 20s when her ex, footballer Marcus Bent, got her into the gym. Before then, she said she loved slobbing under a duvet on the sofa.
And she has already banned biscuits and juice from Mia’s diet, saying: “If Mia’s being naughty, sometimes I think, ‘ If I give her a biscuit, she’ll shut up.’
“But then I go, ‘ No! I’m not dealing with her emotion via food because it’s going to get worse and worse.’
“She’s not had any juice yet, she loves water. I don’t want her addicted.”