Joe Wicks reveals ‘friction’ trick to staying fit after January – and an iPhone app to make it even easier
BRITISH fitness superstar Joe Wicks has revealed his tricks to staying fit beyond the January gym rush – and says there's one iPhone app that makes it much easier.
The Sun sat down with the "P.E. teacher to the nation" to find out how tech can help you stay happy and healthy all year round.
Joe is about to release two ten-minute workouts on Apple Fitness+.
The HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and strength clips will go live on Monday, January 22.
And Joe is hailing the at-home training app (normally £9.99/$9.99 a month) as a simple way to squeeze fitness into your busy life.
“I think the key with anything – and with home fitness – it’s reducing the friction. I always say in life we have kids, we have jobs, we get stressed, we don’t find time for ourselves, we neglect that time," Joe told The Sun.
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FITTING IN FITNESS
Joe continued: "I do believe home fitness and home workouts is just growing and will continue to, because the way we live our lives.
"You can do a 10 minute workout in your underwear or your pyjamas and still have a great workout, versus we all love the idea of having a gym membership and doing that, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen."
Apple Fitness+ launched at the end of 2020, and allows , iPad, and Apple TV owners to beam personal trainers directly into their homes (or gyms).
It offers over 4,000 guided workouts of different lengths, intensities, and styles.
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And there are plenty of shorter workouts to help you get exercise done.
Jay Blahnik, Apple's VP of Fitness Technologies, told The Sun that the key is to "celebrate the small things that you can do consistently".
"January is the time when people maybe bite off a little bit more than they’re able to do," Jay said.
"But in a couple of weeks time in January, if they’re able to be like, nope I can still fit this in, I can do a five minute core workout, I can do a 10 minute HIIT workout, or I can go longer when I do, it just makes it easier for people to stick to it."
NEW YEAR, NEW MINDSET
Apple Fitness+ packs in a whole host of different activity themes.
You could try pilates, strength training, yoga, core workouts, or even dance.
Joe chose shorter – but very effective – workouts to help motivate people to actually get the exercise done.
He revealed how a big part of staying healthy beyond January is simply changing the mindset around fitness.
“The narrative changed a lot in my mind, especially around dealing with stress, and see exercise as a reward rather than a punishment," said Joe, who was awarded an MBE for his "P.E. with Joe" YouTube series during the pandemic.
"So when I’m talking about workouts now, I’m saying think about how you’re feeling now and let’s chat in 10 minutes time.
"Weight loss does not motivate you enough.
"Movement is medicine and it’s a gift. If you can move your body, it’s incredible what it can do for your relationships, the time with your kids and your family. It elevates the whole relationship around the household if you are active and moving your body."
Joe's workouts are designed for people of any fitness level, so you can join in even with no experience.
Starring alongside Joe in his new Apple Fitness+ videos is trainer and Londoner Kim Ngo, who said a key trick to staying fit is learning to see it as fun.
"People don’t really about when you think oh I need to get fit, I need to lose weight," said Kim, who now lives in California.
"It’s actually really fun when you get involved. Oh actually 10 minutes of my day to put a smile on my face, and have fun, I should actually incorporate this into my life.
"It’s like a magic moment when you’re in the workout, it’s just like ah OK, this is actually really fun, I’m gonna do this more often."
APP-SOLUTELY PERFECT?
Part of the appeal of Apple Fitness+ is that it's far cheaper than a personal trainer – but also the ease of access.
Jay, who is a world-renowned fitness instructor, said that the app makes it easy for anyone to try something new.
“Let’s say 10 years ago. If you would’ve wanted to try yoga 10 years ago, it was a 60 or 90 minute commitment at a studio that can have a lot of intimidation," Jay told The Sun.
“The fact that you can dip your toe in the water in a service like Apple Fitness+ means it’s possible for you to find the things that you may not have known can bring you joy.”
It's important to try new exercises, because it can make you feel better about yourself.
That's the advice from Apple Fitness+ trainer Jamie-Ray Hartshorne, who also appears alongside Joe in his new clips.
"I think it’s just creating short goals, and it might even be like, you know what I’m gonna try something different, and try a 10 minute yoga or a 10 minute meditation, and just trying something different," Jamie-Ray explained.
"I think when you go and try something different, it really just makes you feel more confident in yourself because you’re trying something, you’re trying something that’s out of your comfort zone."
The app is packed with features, and reveals how many calories you're burning on-screen.
If you've got an Apple Watch then you can even see your heart rate as you progress through the exercise.
And a "burn bar" feature lets you see how you're doing relative to other people who have done the same workout – giving you some instant motivation.
“When you see the burn bar and you see heart rate, it’s something that really can inspire people," Joe told us.
"It’s like a marker of fitness. Because sometimes, people are so obsessed with weight – and it’s not really a measure of their strength and their health and fitness.
"Whereas when you see those numbers and you see you’re improving, it’s very intrinsically motivating for people."
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Apple Fitness+ is a paid-for service, but millions of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV owners can unlock three-month free trials – just click to see if you're eligible.
Joe's new workouts are available from Monday, January 22 – but there are thousands of videos already live on the service for you to try out.
