The last two months have been a strange time for everyone, and celebrities haven’t had it any different.
Joe Wicks sprung into action in late March offering live PE lessons on his YouTube channel – to help keep children fit while being off school – and he’s been spending time at home, like the rest of us, with his wife Rosie Jones and two children Indie, 22 months, and Marley, five months.
As he releases his latest book, Wean In 15, the 33-year-old reveals what life in lockdown has been like.
How have you been starting the days?
“The best way to start the day is a workout – 20 or 25 minutes. I’ve started meditating too. I went on Russell Brand’s podcast and he said, ‘Look, I think it would be really good for you’. I’ve always had people recommend it but I thought I’d give it a go [in lockdown].
“I do 20 minutes of guided meditation a day and it really has made a massive impact. It’s made me feel a lot more positive, it’s helped me to feel calm, and let go of a bit of negativity that’s around me.”
Have you taken up any new hobbies?
“I’ve been playing my guitar a little bit more, I love that. Until I broke my hand!” [He’s had to undergo surgery twice on it since late March and has been sporting a cast in his YouTube PE lessons].
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in lockdown?
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is probably that we’re all in it together, and we should all be more caring and passionate, and we should look after each other. It’s made me think more about other people and be more kind, and not be so ambitious on my own, but more, ‘how can I help other people?’
“I now feel like helping other people is really what makes you happy inside. And I think that’s what we should all try and do a bit more of.”
What have you been listening to?
“I’m listening to Table Manners by Jessie Ware and Russell Brand’s Under The Skin.”
What are you watching?
“I’m watching Ozark, it’s really good.”
How do you keep your spirits up on low days?
“Always exercise,” he says, adding that working out in front of the kids is the most important thing you can do.
“It’s part of showing them that you get fit and you enjoy it, and you smile and feel good, and they’ll learn from that and think, ‘I want to take part’,” he says. “I think Indie will become active because she’s seen me and her mum do it, she’s seen us all hot and sweaty and seen that we actually enjoy it, we have a laugh. It’s essential.”
What are you looking forward to most when life is back to normal?
“Going to have a nice meal with my friends – an Italian pasta or a steak and a nice gin and tonic, garlic bread and burrata, something like that.”
Wean In 15 by Joe Wicks is published by Bluebird, priced £16.99. Available now.