Who Is Joe Wicks?
Talk about a commitment to exercise! One British fitness coach has just made a world record in his pursuit of getting others fit.
London-citizen Joe Wicks is known as “the Body Coach” for a reason. He’s created a public persona as a man all about fitness and well-being. He has a stable following on Instagram and YouTube, has a bestselling cookbook called Lean In 15: 15-Minute Meals, has worked as a Channel 4 television presenter, has kept kids moving through online workout sessions catered to kids who are in lockdown without a P.E. class, and has won an award or two for his achievements. One such aware was a Guinness World Record for “most viewers for a fitness workout live stream on YouTube.”
Largest Workout Live-Stream
Earlier, we mentioned Joe Wicks’ online P.E. classes. Well, it was through these classes that Joe Wicks was able to achieve his new world record. At 9 a.m. (U.K. time), Joe streams live on YouTube to teach kids how to stay fit while social distancing. On March 24, “P.E. With Joe” amassed 955,185 views. This then became a new official world record for the “most viewers of a fitness workout live stream on YouTube.
“I had no idea that when I went live on my YouTube workout on the 24th March, that we were actually setting a world record!” Said Wicks of the achievement. “So thank you to everyone that tuned in — I'm so proud that this is our record, and we can remember that day as the moment we got the most viewers for a live workout.”
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time that Joe Wicks has made it into the book of Guinness World Records. His first time was in 2017 after he led 3,804 people in the world’s largest HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class.
Staying Fit Indoors
We’re happy to know Joe Wicks is out there encouraging people to keep exercising. But Wicks reminded us, through an interview with NPR, that he's not the only option out there. We should still find an exercise routine that caters to us and our needs.
“Don't feel like you have to have the gym to stay fit during this time,” he explained. “You can come out of this feeling healthier and fitter. Just find it. Tap into it. Utilize the Internet and social media to find someone that can get you doing something because it could be 20 minutes of yoga or meditation or a HIIT session with me. Either way, you're going to feel better for it.”
He then added that it’s been difficult to stay positive while self-isolating but noted that the effort is still important.
“Yeah. It's – mentally it's difficult because I like going out to the park,” he confessed. “I like getting fresh air. And I like going for coffee with my wife and kids. But ultimately, I understand how important this is. And we need to get through this together. So I'm staying positive. I think exercise – I'm doing this, you know, every day, Monday to Friday. That's definitely helping me stay a bit more positive and focused. I think that's why I'm trying to share, really, that you don't have to be super fit to get up and get moving. And you don't need dumbbells and kettlebells. You can do it at home with just your body.”
