JOEWICKS: MAKE MOVING YOUR BODY A NON-NEGOTIABLE

Fitness might be Joe Wicks’ job, but even he’s not always ready and raring to work out. “I have days where Ifeel flat and Ifeel stressed, or Ican’t be bothered,” admits the father-of-three. However,the difference for Wicks, 37, is that moving his body has become anon-negotiable.

“If Idon’t wake up and exercise, Ihold thattension and that stress in my body,” he explains. “So Ialways see exerciseasa stress relief valve, like apressure cooker.So when Imove my body,Iknow I’m going to feel so much better at the end of it. It’s habit and discipline, as opposed to being genuinely lit up with motivation every day.Iknow how much my life improves –myrelationships, my friendships, my kids and everyone around me benefitwhen I’m keeping active.

“It’s non-negotiable. It’s apriority for me.”

If you’re at the startofyour fitness journey or out of the swing of things, making exercise aprioritycan seem like an uphill battle. Here’s how Wicks suggests going about it…

Don’t do too much, too soon

If your aim is to adopt the training plan of aprofessional athlete, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

“The first and most important thing is you don’t do too much at once,” Wicks advises. “Don’t try and go to the gym five days aweek fromzero, or put pressure on yourself to build acertain diet, or a low-calorie restrictive diet.

“I know this is so cliché and it’s easier said than done –it’sjustdoing thingsyou can actually sustain,that isn’t overwhelming,that isn’t stressful, that is enjoyable.”

Remove the friction

Does life constantly seem to be getting in the way of your exercise goals? Youmight want to rethink how you’re doing things.

“I’m abig fan of home workouts,”says Wicks. “Remove the friction of getting childcare, or getting to the gym and finding that hour where you commute. Imagine if your living room was your gym, and you had apair of dumbbells and akettlebell –you can have agreat workout in 25 minutes, and actually get it done.

“You’ve got to make your life easy –set yourself up for success,” Wicks adds.

Focus on the mental benefits

Wicks knows exercise is agame-changer for hismentalhealth –and if you start experiencing the same benefits, you might find yourself even more committed to moving your body

“The Body Coach was originally about HIITtraining, about body image and losing weight. Over the years, I’vereally shifted my belief and narrative around it, because Irealised that people often start to lose weight –but what keeps them coming back is the mental health benefits of exercise and how their life improves, their relationships improve.”

And with the cost-of-living crisis making thingsseem pretty bleak, Wicks believes movement is more important than ever

“Last year,people were thinking about exercise abit –itwas optional. This year it’s essential, becauselife’soverwhelming, life feels really stressful,” he reflects.

“And if you don’t take care of yourself physically and you don’t lift your mood mentally,you’re going to be overwhelmed and things can reallyget on top of you. So see exercise as an essential part of your happiness and make it apriority.”

Prioritise sleep

Wicks is currently finding this one tricky –his youngest child, Leni, is six months old, and her tired dad says: “She’s doing this sleep regression thing, where she’s awake for like half an hour, every night, all throughthe night.

“Your eyes are stinging, you wake up really thirsty,you’ve got aheadache –itreally makes you realise how sleep is everything, it’s the foundation,” he adds. “I’m making not greatfood choices, I’m not really exercising –soitdefinitely affects me.”

When Leni isn’t waking him up throughout the night, Wicks calls sleep “the number one priorityfor me, over anything”. He continues: “Certain things knock you back, and Irealisedjust how important sleep is –ifthere’sone message I’d like to share with people it’s this year,really prioritise sleep.

“When you’re well slept, everything else can fall into place alot easier.Ireally think we’re under slept, we sleep-deprive ourselves. We sit up on our phones, we watch Netflix until 3am –we’re doing it to ourselves. So try to focusonsleep, and eating and exercise will come alot easier.”

Find your tribe

If you have the time and resources, training with agroup of likeminded people might be the extra boost of motivation you need.

“I started as apersonaltrainer and Iused to do boot camps, and Ialways got much more of abuzz from group fitness,” explains Wicks. “Training with people and as agroup, it’s more of an energy and you push abit harder.You feel like you’re not on your own when you’re struggling and people are cheering you on –itfeels nicetobepart of alittle community.”