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Joe Wicks' candid parenting admission as fitness guru confesses to struggles

The Body Coach Joe Wicks has revealed how important routine is for him as he juggles his fitness empire with being a hands-on dad of four children

[Joe Wicks taking part at a Parkrun event last month]

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Joe Wicks taking part at a Parkrun event last month(Image: Flickr/cloclosnaps)

Fitness guru Joe Wicks is sitting on the living room floor of his Surrey home, ready to chat to us over Zoom about his familys New Year plans. Rather fittingly, the dad-of-four is interrupted by an unexpected guest.

Pokmon? Pokmon? he asks his 18-month-old toddler Dusty, distracting him with toys as he balances the adorable tot on his knee. Ive got my little boy with me today. Sorry Im late, I was giving him breakfast.

Joe tells us hes been pretty busy, but is looking forward to the New Year. January is a big time for me, he says. We want to get everyone moving. The 40-year-old shot to fame in 2014 when his high-intensity workouts on YouTube were watched by millions, and his morning workouts during the pandemic saved the sanity of millions of parents.

[Joe wicks hosts a P.E. with Joe at Glastonbury Festival. Glastonbury, Somerset. June 26 2025]

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Joe Wicks revealed the importance of routine(Image: William Dax/SWNS)

He went on to release bestselling cookbooks, present his own nutrition documentaries and is now hosting a star-studded New Years Day special on ITV. But Joe, aka The Body Coach, says his day job is the easy bit its raising four kids that takes serious effort.

It takes so much patience. Raising kids is definitely harder, he grins. A day of work and filming workouts is easier in my head because Im just focused on that. We just had a little break away with the kids and I said to Rosie, This is like full-time work because you dont get a chance to speak. Theyre talking all day long.

Joe married his wife, former glamour model Rosie Jones, in 2019. The couple juggle career commitments with home-schooling Indie, seven, Marley, six, Leni, three, and little Dusty.

Its definitely tiring. Thats why I think exercise and a healthy routine with my food and sleep is so important. When Im well-rested, eating well and exercising, I find parenting so much easier, he says.

Im a lot calmer. Its definitely challenging, but today Rosie has gone to London with two of them. Shes taking them to the Titanic exhibition. Im taking Dusty swimming. We try to split them up where we can and tag-team. Its full-on but I chose this life and I want to be with them.

As The Body Coach, Joe is focused on healthy eating and nutrition. But he admits it can sometimes be a struggle for his children to practise what he preaches.

They eat really healthily at home but when you leave the house, its hard to eat healthily on the go, he says. The marketing around all these products is always aimed at kids, which makes it harder.

I did a documentary on ultra-processed foods and its only when youre looking to avoid or reduce them in your life that you see how hard it is. Your kids are given them at nursery, at school, on the way home from school, at the train station, at soft play its everywhere all the time.

Youre going to say yes a few times but if youre saying yes every time, youre going to be giving them sweets and sugar four or five times a day. Its the biggest challenge we face as parents.

Joe does try to educate his little ones about the effects of sugar. I say, Look, you can have a little. How are you going to feel after too much? Just think about how your tummy feels. Its trying to make them think about their body and letting them make a decision.

Im not militant. We went on holiday and had ice cream every day for three weeks, but you can see how much they crave it. My kids love sugar. The more you give it to them, the more they crave it.

In the New Year, Joe is determined to ditch one bad habit of his own. My resolution is to be more present and spend less time on my phone, he says. It becomes this thing thats irritating or stressing me out, so one of my goals is to make more time in my day when Im not on it. Otherwise its with you on the toilet, on the train, everywhere you go.

The fitness star will be hosting friends on New Years Eve for a big bash, he says but it wont be a late one.

I like little dinner parties. Ive got a new barbecue. I know its going to be freezing but its one of those big hot plates, so Im making double smash burgers with pickle and burger sauce, he says. Ill have karaoke in the living room. Im not someone whos raving until three in the morning. As soon as its midnight, I say, Out you go, Im off to bed.

Then hell be up bright and early for his first workout of 2026. He says, I eat all the food you can imagine over Christmas, so I do a live YouTube workout on New Years Day at eight or nine. Then Im going to be on TV twice on New Years Day in the morning for Joe Wicks New Years Day and then at lunchtime on the Gladiators: Celebrity Special . Youll be fed up of me by the end of the day!

In Joes hour-long special, hell chat about fitness, food and wellness with singer Olly Murs, Strictly s Tilly Ramsay and TV cook Nisha Katona.

I was very nervous, he admits. I said, I dont know if I can do autocue and Im not a scripted kind of guy. But you relax into it as time goes on. Im always insecure watching these things back, but I watched it and actually I did alright.

Its not my natural environment Im happier at home with my iPhone filming a recipe but youve got to do it. When I was doing live cooking demos on This Morning , Id be stressed out leading up to it. But I find it more enjoyable now though. You may burn something or look a bit silly but who cares?

At the end of the one-off show, Joe puts Olly through his paces with an eight-minute workout. They suggested three or four minutes but I said, No, I want to do a proper workout and really get people moving. Its where Im most natural and relaxed. Olly is there, Im doing my thing. It was a fun experience.

Would Joe be up for an even bigger TV challenge next year, like Strictly Come Dancing perhaps ?

Im quite self-conscious already. Put me in a little leotard and make me dance in front of millions? That would be my worst nightmare, he says. If Im going to do TV, I want to be doing what I love. Ill dance if Ive had a few drinks but I couldnt do that on live TV. Id melt!

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