The Netmums Podcast - S17 Ep1: Mind & Body: How Exercise Can Transform Your Parenting Journey with Joe Wicks

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

This week on The Netmums Podcast, Alison & Wendy are joined by the ever-inspiring Joe Wicks, back for a third time on the NM pod, to discuss the importance of physical exercise for mental well-being. Joe, known for his energetic PE sessions during lockdown, shares insights from his new government backed animated youtube series, Activate, aimed at getting kids moving and healthy. He opens up about the chaos of parenting four children and the lessons he’s learned about patience, empathy, and the importance of being present. From managing the daily challenges of homeschooling to finding time for personal fitness, Joe offers practical tips for parents to maintain their mental health while juggling family life. In this episode: The mental health benefits of physical exercise for both parents and children How to create family routines that encourage movement and healthy habits Strategies for managing parenting chaos and maintaining patience The importance of being present and setting boundaries with technology Joe’s insights on engaging teenagers in physical activity The impact of Jo’s new animated series, Activate, on encouraging kids to move. Get Joe’s youtube series, Activate HERE or search ‘Activate with Joe’. Stay connected with Netmums for more parenting tips, community support, engaging content: Website: netmums.com / Instagram: @netmums  Proudly produced by Decibelle Creative / @decibelle_creative

You're listening to the NetMum's podcast with me, Wendy Gullich, and me, Alison Perry. Coming up on this week's show, nothing shifts your mind and your mental state more than physical exercise. So you've just got to find time, you know, really, really prioritise it. And know that you're not being selfish. Actually, you're being really kind to yourself and your kids, because it has a massive, it's a waterfall effect, doesn't it? It trickles down to the people around you when you are healthy in your mind and body. Welcome back, everybody, to a brand new series of the Net, mom's podcast. Wendy, how are you doing? How's your summer been? It's been good. I've got all the

back to school vibes today. I've sent one back. I don't know about you. I feel like September's a bit like a January. It feels a bit like a kickstart and a reset and everyone's like, okay, I'm going to do this. I'm going to achieve my goals. In my case, I'm going to clear my inbox after six weeks being interrupted. Oh my goodness. That's a dream. My top tip for you though, and I saw this on an Instagram post the other day is if it has been able, if it's waited six weeks, it can wait a little bit longer. Like, don't be too much pressure on yourself to do it all now because that can just send you a little bit to you, Lally, can't it? Well, our guest today has been on the podcast a couple of times and I suspect he might have a little bit of advice for us on the back to school

new year, not new year vibe. So let's have, yes. Let's do it. So our guest today is back for a third time, which basically means that he's part of the NetMum's family now. Five years ago, Joe Wicks united the nation with his P.E. with Joe, which received over 100 million views online. Now, he's on a renewed mission to get children moving. His new animated series, Activate, is backed by the government as part of a new partnership to reach schools and families across the country. Joe, welcome back to the NetMum's podcast. Hello, thanks for having me back. I can't believe this is the Hattrick out.

How crazy is that? I know. Bedtime lucky. Thanks for having me back on. It's lovely to chat to you again. Well, speaking of Hattricks, last time I spoke to you, you have three kids. Now you've got four. So has that up to the chaos level in the Wicks household?

Or are you and Mosey just taking that in your stride? It is absolute carnage, you know, and it's... I always thought, oh, does it make a difference having one more? but it does, you know, because I've got a three-year-old and a one-year-old, so, like, they're obviously, like, still quite dependent on us and stuff. So, yeah, it's the toughest job in the world, isn't it? I always say this, like, I love being a parent, and I signed up for it, and we really are hands on with it, but it's very difficult.

It's very stressful, and it comes of ups and downs, but I just love kids. I love babies, I love teaching them and being a part of their lives and being present, you know, and it's something that I feel like I kind of, I really want to achieve in life, beyond business success and whatever, you know, I want to be a good dad. It's one of my, like, North Stars, and it's the, it's the hardest job on earth, to be honest. It really is. And I always think that each child is so different. You learn more about parenting or even yourself as you parent them. What do you think you've learned in the last year since Dusty came along? Yeah, they are. You're right. They can be, you know, raised in exactly the same household,

the same environment, but yeah, they can be so different in their, they're kind of, you know, their traits and mannerisms and how they react. I think the hardest thing for me is learning patients. I think they talked about this last time, you know, I did grow up in a household that was very confrontational and very um you know chaotic and kind of like it was a lot of shouting so for me you know i when i do and i try my hardest to spend the day you know being patient and calm and tolerant and they're kicking off and fighting and screaming it's really it drains me so much you know because i'm not used to sort of like having to because nothing else stresses me out more than my kids fighting and stuff you know when they're at each other and arguing and i i keep saying to him like

listen my job is to be a good dad and i just need your job is just to help me stay calm and i think When you know, when kids are calm and when you're all chilled out, it's much easy for me as a parent. So, yeah, it's different situations, right? It depends if, you know, if you've had a broken sleep, if one of them's sick and you've been up through the night. You know, there's different factors that really play into that patience and empathy when they're kicking off. But, yeah, I'm learning every day, you know, and some days I get it right. And when I shout, you know, I feel terrible and it sits in me for a while. But I go for a walk, I come back and I always apologize.

I acknowledge, like, and I said to them the other day, I said, sometimes I react like a child. I'm a toddler, you know, and I'm mirroring what you're doing. and I'm really sorry I do that sometimes. But yeah, I think it's good to have that conversation and understand that you're not always going to react really well to certain situations you're in with them. How do you and Rosie keep yourself aligned when you're in the thick of it because it really is sometimes feels impossible to reset, doesn't it?

You mentioned going for walk, but what's your like, okay, I need a minute. Yeah, I think, you know, I think exercise is the thing that runs through our family in terms of doing things together. I think, you know, when you're out the house as a family, isn't it just so much easier, right? when you're out and being active, and obviously the weather has a big impact on that. But just fine in that time in the morning.

I'll do my workout in the morning, sometimes on my own before the kids are up. Then, you know, I might do breakfast and rows you'll pop up and do a workout. Or sometimes we do it together, and then the kids are just sort of running around, you know, or sometimes, you know, they're in another room watching TV and stuff. But there's always, there's always just that time

just because we know how important it's for the stress release, I suppose, you know, from parenting. The exercise really is an amazing thing to do for yourself, but also for the kids. It helps you, it helps you parent, you know. And so, yeah, I think that's the core thing that runs through our kind of life. Also, trying our best to get to bed earlier, we're not, we're not, we, we, we love watching TV. But I'd rather get to bed and have an extra hour of sleep than wake up until midnight watching sand on TV because I know.

Sometimes that's so hard though, because you just want that hour where there's no one demanding anything for me. Yeah. Well, look, I don't forget, I, I have a situation where like every day it's like a summer holiday because we don't have our kids in school. We homeschool. So there's no, there's literally no break. And it really is like, it's, but again, we want the freedom. We want to be homeschooling, we want to be home educating. But when you want to just get them to bed and you start the bedtime routine at six,

and you're going to be asleep by seven, and then nine o'clock rolls around, and you're like, how are these kids not asleep? We've done everything right. We've done bath time. We've done dinner. We've had a healthy meal. I've read you all stories. Why are you all still running around on the landing?

And then you just think, oh, I'll give up. Do I mean? Like, we don't get that sort of two-hour window, which I would love. I wish my kids were asleep, but some reason, They're just really fired up. You know, sometimes the two little ones will go down. And then, you know, Indian Marley will be up running around. And I don't know, every day is different.

It's never the same, is it? It's just constantly like a different challenge every day, really. On the thing about getting kids outside and, you know, exercising and using exercising your parenting, I can see the benefits of, you know, when tensions are rising and kids are squabbling, just getting them outdoors. But quite often they don't want to go outdoors. They're just like, no, we want to stay at home. home, do you have any tips for moments like that where you know it's the best thing to do, but you're just getting that resistance?

Listen, I know you might think that like, because I'm the body coach and I love exercise, that my kids are like these little energised a bunnies that jump up and go, oh, let's run around the block, let's go out on our bikes and let's go scootering in the rain. It's not true. Like, they would much rather sit indoors, you know, watch Disney and Netflix and they, because they love, like, my kids love watching TV, right? And it's the first thing they ask in the morning, it's the last thing they ask for bed. And some days they get it, other days they don't.

sometimes let's just do some reading or let's go on the garden, you know, let's go for a bike ride or any other activities we can think of, because I don't want them to be so dependent on that as their entertainment and for them to sort of calm themselves down. But yeah, I do think exercise, whether it's, you know, going to soft play or going to the park, doing something that's completely free, you know, we have a little estate where we sort of cycle around on our bikes or on the scooters. And the truth is, they don't really want to do it that often, but they always love it at the end. And they always say, oh, can we go around one more time? And this is the same principle with um the activate series like if you stick it on for your kid they're going to do it

and go oh that was amazing can i do another round or do another episode so sometimes you just got to get them moving and then they trigger it triggers the sort of endorphins in their mind and it and it helps them obviously calm down um and then suddenly they they will after a while start to ask you for these things they'll say oh can we go for a bike ride can we get outside so it is a family effort right it's a team effort but i always say this and it's a hard message to hear but as parents you know it's our responsibility to keep our kids active. It's not their responsibility. And so we have to be the ones that say,

come on, we're going out. Even if I'm in a bad mood or I'd have really stressful down, I'm not in the mood for it. I know even 10 minutes just going around the block once, really helps settle the house a little bit, and everyone sleeps a little bit better. And it just changes the environment. It changes the energy of the house, I think.

Yeah. So take that advice and add a teenage filter to it. Alice and I have both got kind of 14-year-old girls and I know lots of our listeners have got older kids as well and the days of being able to say, come on, let's get on our bikes, it'll be really fun, are gone. How do I get the teenage dirtbag out of her bedroom

and outside when she doesn't go to do it? Do you know what? I'm going to have to come to you for that question when I've got teenage. Because I definitely fear and have a sort of anxiety around the teenage period because I know it's going to be much harder to help them eat well to keep them active.

I know this and I remember having a really difficult period of my mum where we, just did not get on and we really we really clashed we really banged ed for for a long time and now you know she's my best friend and i love her and we just went to denmark for the weekend like we spend time together now so you you kind of come full circle your parents i think but you know i don't know the answer until i'm in that moment and i can experience that that age group with devices and with social um networking and obviously with their friendship groups i don't quite know i just think the important thing is is to get it in their DNA from the youngest possible age and that's why i do

spend a lot of time and effort working with primary schools and, you know, younger kids because I think if you can get a child to fall in love with sport or movement or exercise, you've got a much better chance of keeping them active. But the truth is, I go to secondary schools, I walk in, and the jump between year six and year seven is unbelievable. They are so disengaged, so, I don't know, self-conscious and just so unimpressed by the fact that I'm there, whereas you catch them at year six and they're so excited, they're so buzzing to be involved. And the worrying thing is, especially with young girls, there's a real, you know, what's the word, they disengage from fitness around that teenage years when they need it

the most, right, when they're, you know, hormonally, emotionally, socially, they need to be looking after their mental health. But unfortunately, they get sucked into social media and being sedentary, and that has an impact on their physical and mental health. So I think you just have to constantly be willing to encourage them from a young age and do fun things. They might not even realize you're doing it. It could be going rock climbing, it could be going to like, you know, a roller disco one night, you know, and bringing some friends, like, it's just any kind of movement and engaging them in that, I think it's going to have an impact. But how do you do it?

How do you get your teenage girls on a Saturday morning out of bed and doing something? I mean, you don't. I make it walk the dog. You have to us. It's the dog. We've got a dog. And if she wants her allowance for the month, she has to walk the dog. So I basically pay her.

See, that's good. Tying it into money, I like it. But I have to say, Joe, it's not always the case. I think that teenagers do disengage with. with, you know, sport and movement and health. Because my 14-year-old, she, when she was, you know, younger, she had a diet of beige. I couldn't get her to eat anything that was remotely green or, you know, healthy.

And she was, you know, on her screens, loads and through lockdown on her screens. And now she's the one saying, can we go for a walk in the woods? And she's up making, like, chia seed water in the morning and omelets and all sorts, like, healthy. And I'm just so impressed. And a lot of that has come from social media. so looking at TikTok videos, getting recipe, inspiration, the kind of content that you're putting out there, Joe. So I think that, you know, it's not kind of black and white. It is, you know, it is possible to have teenagers who are engaged with this stuff. Yeah, that's a really positive

case, you know, someone that's using, you know, social media being influence in a positive way. And I hope that my content, when a teenager comes across my page or a parent, you know, they are inspired by the message I share. I try to be inspiring and positive. And I think that's a good example. But obviously, yeah, like you said, every, and you'll have one teenager, love sport and other ones into gaming and playing chess you can't control what they're into but it's just constantly reminding yourself that as a family you've got to try and engage and it's not just about the exercise it's just the it's the it's the bonding isn't it like when you remember like sitting reading books with the kids that it's not just the reading it's the bonding it's the it's the

it's the cuddling it's the connection and so when you go out and you maybe have a picnic or you play a bit around us i mean we did that for my brother's um my brother's wife's um birthday we just went to the park in richmond we you know we played a few games at a bit around us and and and that it's like a nice for kids and adults and it wasn't like an activity or like a fitness class but everyone had a bit of movement we got some fresh air and so it's just little things like that i think it's just going back to like old school sort of pee and games mentality of like throwing a ball kicking a ball getting a frisbee um going for a walk along the river like these are all it's all movement isn't it hasn't got to be organized sport in a gym and a fitness setting that's so true speaking of richmond

did i see on your instagram yesterday that you saw ted lasso in richmond oh yeah that well that was my um my brother actually posted that he was in rich i was on the phone to me goes oh i'm walking past richmond green and they're they're filming and i can see ted lass so he took a photo and um and shared it but yeah they're always filming around there aren't they haven't you know i've not ever watched ted i've never even watched a single episode you need to watch it it is so good it's the most best feel-good tv ever but also i don't think that they've confirmed that they're even filming new episodes yet so that's quite exciting you have you know i've not heard anyone say a bad thing about it everyone seems to really love that show so

I will give it a go, but I don't get much time to watch TV. I wish I had that sort of 8 till 10pm window where I said, right, this is my time to watch a show. But I just feel like the bedtime is getting later and later. And I'm just like, oh, I just want to go to bed now. You're quite busy, to be fair. Yeah, fall asleep. I want to take you back to the homeschooling, actually, because you said, like, every day is like

the summer holidays for you because you've got kids at home all the time. What was the thinking behind that and how is it going? Yeah, so what I mean about that is, you know, every day's alone. day, you know, we don't try and recreate school in a sense. And you've got to be quite flexible. When you've got four kids, you know, some days you feel like you do loads of learning, you feel really great. And other days you think, ah, I haven't done as much. But, you know, it's basically a choice really around freedom, obviously, to travel, which we love. It's one of the things I love. It's just something integral to our life and having that freedom to sort of take opportunities

where it might be work or business or something. But really just, I just know, and you might agree with this, that that time, you know, just goes in the blink of an eye, right? and so I just want to be with them I just want to spend time and I want to be around them I want to play with them and I want to teach them and be an educator

and be a big inspiration to them and you know I'm not saying they'll never go to school but at the moment you know Lenny Indy's only 7 and Marley's 5 we've just decided to give it a go and it's like I said

it's really challenging because some days you sit and you have really great great day you really get some productive work and other days the babies are kicking off they're not in the mood for it but I suppose because we because every day is a learning day

we don't have weekends and summer holidays we're constantly learning and constantly trying different things and yeah you know the difficult is like they don't respect us as teachers you know what I mean we're not like a teacher and that sort of figure so it is a push and pull and it's like you bang heads a little bit but I also think um when you have like a really focus amount of time of one child you can get so much done in a really short amount of time um so yeah we're doing it we're plugged in a little bit to the social sort of um the um the home education sort of community so there's a couple of groups that meet up around here we've got um forest school nearby they go to

So socially they've got loads of groups. They do all like the stage coach and football and that sort of stuff. So, yeah, I think it's just a different way of doing things, isn't it? And we really love it, but I will never pretend it's easy because it's really not. It's really not easy. Now you mentioned banging heads there. And you've spoken before about how important apologies are when it comes to parenting. I think we spoke about it last time you were on.

When you do lose your cool, which all parents do, what's your repair ritual with the kids afterwards? So it's really funny because this actually happened last night. I came in the house. and I'd been out or dad, I'd been recording voiceovers for the next series of Activate. And I came in the house, I turned my phone off and I was like, I'm going to be a present dad because I have this sort of rule that between 6 and 8 p.m., I turn my phone off. And I have a reminder that sets an alarm that says, I am a phone-free dad. Yeah, so at 6pm, it reminds me, and sometimes I ignore it, and I just can't, I have to push through and work.

Other times, I turn it off, and I walked in and I was like, I'm going to be a good dad, I'm going to be present, I want to be calm. And I took Lenny out, and I took her in the front garden to learn how to ride. and she was already pissed off because she wanted a slice of peanut butter and toast and I was like, look, you just had dinner, can we just go outside for a bit? So she wasn't in the right mood.

And then basically got outside and she just, yeah, she was kicking off and I was just really, really trying to be patient. And in the end, I just, you know, I shouted and I stormed off and I went for a walk. And I came back and I was thinking, you know, why did I react that way? And it was because, you know, I'm trying to get her to do so I want her to do. But in that moment, she just didn't want to be learning to ride a bike.

And I'm like, but I'm being a good dad. I'm trying to help you. I'm going to help you break through and you're going to be riding a bike. This is amazing. I'm being a good dad right now. You know, it wasn't like an instant thing.

It took a few minutes, but I really find I go from super calm to super stress. There's no curve for me, do you know what I mean? And I'm trying to work on that because I don't want to be a shouty dad and I felt so bad.

I walked for like 20 minutes. I came back and I walked in and I said to India, Mali and Rosie and all of I said, I'm really sorry, I reacted that way. It was really silly. I was just trying to,

you know, when something's not going your way, you revert back to that toddler. It's like I had a tantrum, basically. And that's the behavior I'm trying to, you know, not encourage and promote. But sometimes you, this is what I learned, you know, you mirror them.

You mirror them and you throw back what they're doing to you. And anyway, I acknowledge it and I apologize. And they're like, oh, don't worry, Dad, it's okay. And I just hope that next time I don't do that. And I just say, okay, darling, we'll do it later. We'll do it tomorrow. But in that moment, I just really, really wanted to teach us to ride a bike. And that's an error on my part, really.

And I should have been more, you know, sympathetic but yeah that's an example so i said sorry and i went to bed and i was okay but if i hadn't come back in and said sorry i probably would have thought about and laid up for a few hours you said earlier that it's a very different way of bringing up kids to how you were brought up and you wrote recently in on instagram about what it was like to go up with your dad who was in the nat of rehab and your mum suffering from ocd so if you could go back and tell that toddler joe or that young lad joe something what would you tell him Yeah, I just think, you know, it's so weird looking back now because I have conversation

in my mum I was talking to her about the weekend and she still has a lot of like, I suppose, guilt and shame around the way she raised me. But I said to her, look at the boys we've become, look at the men, me, Nikki and Georgia have become like, whatever you did right or wrong, we've turned out well, we're good husbands, we're good parents, like, and so it's that thing of responsibility. I said, the person you were, man, when you gave birth to my brother at 17 and my brother at night and me at 19, like, that person is not you anymore. You've evolved, you know, And it's the same with me. Like, I'm always evolving.

Like, I'm going to get better as a parent. I'm going to learn to adapt and change, especially as the teenage years come. Like, you have to constantly challenge your reaction to things. But, you know, I'd say that, you know, it felt normal at the time, but it wasn't. You know, I was living in a really stressful environment. And so it was. It was just shouting was the standard. Shouting and screaming and doors getting slammed and me punching the wall.

And I remember Nikki, my brother, he punched a wall, broke his knuckles. I used to throw a, that. That's just how we engage and interact with each other, you know. So I have to really, I have to really work hard to not be reactive like that and to really be calm. And when I do that, it's really, really challenging, but it does get easier with time. You know, I mean, when you realize I can react differently, I don't always have to do this. And, you know, I don't, I don't want to, I don't want to be shouting my kids. But yeah, I would say, you know, you're going to go on to have lots of kids and they're going to challenge you, but you can parent differently and you can have more empathy and you can be, you know, you can break the cycle, I suppose, of, of that parenting.

but you know gentle parenting didn't exist this is like in the 80s like all these books we read all these podcasts or these instagramers like these conversations were never had were they because back in the day it's like shout at your kids smack them on a bum that's how you do things like but actually we know now from psychology and from speaking to professionals that's not the way to get you know to help children regulate their emotions and so I just think there's a real shift in that and how we interact with kids and you know I think we're always learning but as long as you're listening and you're having these conversations you know you're on the right path you know I mean. Definitely. And you've said that finding exercise really saved you at that time when

you were a kid and that now, of course, you want to give that opportunity to as many children as you can. Is that what made you develop activate the new kids animation that you've got on your YouTube channel? I've always said this in interviews, you know, that the exercise and the sport and the PE was like my, my saviour because I, whereas, you know, my mum and dad had drugs and, you know, OCD and anxiety and all these other kind of mental health issues. I didn't have that. I had exercise. And so I just knew it soothed me, it calm me down.

I felt so much happier. I felt more positive and I could deal with all that stress that was happening. So this is why, you know, I do think when you get a child, you know, really young children, feeling that and feeling the benefits of movement, then you're onto a really positive thing because if you don't have them connecting the dots at a young age and you wait to their teenager to try and get them active, it's really, really difficult. or even in adulthood, it's like virtually impossible. So, yeah, the Activate series is a way of, like, extension of P.E. with Joe.

You know, it's a five-minute animated series on YouTube, and it's going to be on BBC as well. So it's just like a little resource for parents and teachers to use with their children. And you'd be surprised the impacts it has on them, because they watch it and they wake up, they jump up, they start moving, they feel great, and at the end of it, they always want to do another episode, which is really lovely, because five minutes can become 10 or 15, and they've had a really, you know, active start to their day. So I hope you get to check them out. Even if you haven't got the kids that are young, you're still enjoying, I think it's their fun doing it with them. I mean, I've got six-year-old twins. Oh, wow. And so we had an episode on yesterday, and they were

loving it. Did they just start following along and doing the exercises? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They were totally engaged and doing it and competing with each other as who could do them better. And, yeah, it was brilliant. Oh, I love that. Yeah, I'm so glad they found it. It's really, it's really been so well received. I mean, it's had like two million views in the past five weeks. So So I think this will have more impact over time than P.E. with Joe. You know, P.E. with Joe is in that lockdown moment, and it was amazing. But I think for longevity and evergreen content that can be reached, you know, can be used and multiple times through school, through the school day, like all over the world with YouTube

and that, I just think, I really think it's going to be a huge, huge part of, like, my legacy that I've got this content that got millions and millions of children exercising. It's, for me, it's a trip down memory lane because you created it with Studio, AKA, and they're the people behind Hey Duggy. And Hey Duggy was a very firm fixture in our household. And so it's got like shades of Hey Duggy about it for me. So why was that kind of animation side of things so important to you? Because it is very different to P with Joe, which is what we all know from lockdown. Yeah, I'm so glad you like the animation. It's hilarious. I mean, I can't believe I'm an animation and I've got this bouncy hair and it looks so good. It's so well done. And yes, the studio A.K.

behind hey dug in we approached him so that we've got an idea i'd love to sort of um i suppose animate myself to create content for kids to get them moving and no one's really doing it like to that level so the the key is you know technology is there right kids are on screen time kids are on youtube how can you go to them where they are where the attention is and disrupt them and a lot of people said oh you're trying to get kids moving but then you're creating cartoon on youtube but they don't understand you have to go where they are you know this is where they are this is where they're going to be so you know it is it's not passive screen time like watching an episode of a cartoon it's actually it's physically getting them up off their

chair off the sofa moving their bodies and you know you can do it with your kids you can do it your parents it's really really it really it really is it does what it says it activates you you know and when you do that the narrative throughout is talking about oh we feel i feel really i feel really really great you know how you're feeling how's your energy like how's your mood it it's that it's that kind of just affirmation and that constant reminder that this isn't about our body it's about our mind and it's a really beautiful way of delivering that message to young kids. And I've seen two-year-olds doing it. I've seen parents and grandparents doing their kids. And everyone's saying the same thing. Like, they just love it. It's fun. The music's great. It's really visually engaging.

It's stimulating as well. So, yeah, I think it's been really well done. Yeah, it's brilliant. And you've said that you'd love to see every school using it, even making it compulsory. For teachers or head teachers listening, especially those who might be worried about classroom space or send inclusion, what would you say to them? Well, we've really tried to make so it's five minutes long from start to finish and you know these are exercise you can do on the spot you don't need a lot of space they can stay in their school uniforms and you know we know from some schools that do like the daily mile you know schools that are more active that are finding time to be physically active and do exercise and fit sport into their day and prioritize it they have better you know markers of

academic learning behavioral issues like just energy like just general mood and you know less anxiety and stress in the classroom so there's so many benefits to it and you know just give it a go it could be in morning, I mean, I'd love it. If every single day, they started the school day, they said, right, register, boom, you're all here. Quick, quick five minute activate. And to see the energy that that will push through to the next lesson on learning will be phenomenal. And I'd love to see it compulsory, because why not? It's there. It's cheap. Well, it's free. It's completely free. It'll always be free. And there's no equipment. It's just body weight, and it's really, it's really a great tool for parents and kids that want to get moving and

struggle, especially like, you know, if you've got children, like you said, with special needs or learning difficulties that struggle to sit still and they maybe have ADHD or autism. These are really wonderful feedback I'm getting from people that are saying it's really helping their kids in those ways as well, you know? Is there an ideal time for parents at home to use it? Kind of after dinner, after school,

or can it kind of be slotted in anywhere? Because it's five minutes, you know, you can do it any time. I mean, it could be in the morning when they're in the pants, you know, waiting for their toast and cereal. Like it could be on lunch, you know, during the lunch break when you've got to take a call and you just whack it on and put it on the ipad or tv screen and they're going to i mean you really will

they will not just sit there and watch it they will sit there they'll stand up and it's like it's like having a little peteacher in the room and they'll do their workout and same with the evening if you know my kids are really always fired up in the evening so i sometimes put one on i say right come and do one before bed and there's no doubt about i do think the exercise helps them sleep you know when they get that little bit of energy at the system and run around and do a little bit of um hide-and-sie whatever like it helps so yeah any time of the day and if you did two a day great if you did three a day but even if you found five minutes a day I think you see a real shift in your in your child's energy and mood and their behaviour I think. Now obviously you're the body

coach online with over four million followers on Instagram but at home you're just dad's how do you protect not just that obviously it's a very important role but how do you protect your family energy from the big demands of work and social media well this is the challenge isn't it and we always talk about what is the right balance I think I'm really blessed that I get to be around because, you know, if I was someone who, unless I was a TV celebrity that had to be filming around the world and doing documentaries and all that sort of stuff, like, it'd be really hard because one of the things I really value is being present with my family. So because I have a digital business and I can do most of my stuff on an iPhone essentially from my house, I get to

spend time with them, but it doesn't mean I'm always present. And so for me, having those little boundaries with a phone, like, because I am fully 100% addicted to my phone, okay? I'm addicted to social media, I'm addicted to the reels, I dooms scroll, and I have to physically switch it off in order to be present, because the draw and the pull to it is so strong that when I'm on it, you know, and Rosie went away a few weeks ago for a couple of nights, and I had the kids, and I said to listen, I'm going to turn the phone off, because when I turn the phone off, I'm so much more present, I don't get as irritable, I don't get as stressed, I don't react, It's because I think most of the stress and that impatience and intolerance comes to my phone

when they're interrupting and stuff. So when I remove it from the situation, I find it just focused on being a parent, just be with them, immerse yourself, and I'm so tired at the end of the day, but it really does help. So I'm having those little moments where I leave the phone, I'll turn it off, and that's helped a lot. But, you know, it's never, every day's different. Some days I feel like I've been a great dad and I've been great, or like a great, I'm either a great dad or a really amazing body coach like doing DMs and replying to people

and the business is growing and people are signing up to the app and it's amazing or I'm being a not so great dad and the business is doing well or the other way around I'm being a great dad but the business suffers so it's this constant tightrope where you're walking like

I need to work hard to be successful you need to keep momentum to sustain you know the business and grow things and be and be successful but I also know that I don't want to be just working and being on my phone for 10 hours a day like and looking around and go oh my kids are 10 years old and i don't i don't even know like know me you know so it's a daily thing you have to just go with the flow and and don't beat yourself up you know

we have to provide and we have to work hard for our kids but we also can we can put the phone down and be with them and have a little moment with them every day i think that will really resonate with parents at the end of the school holidays because i certainly have felt like there have been days where the work juggle has won or and not so many days where the mum juggle is one and you do feel bad about it. You're kind of like, oh, okay, I think today I didn't do very well. It's really hard not to beat yourself up. Well, you know, we're bombarded with social media messages from doctors and psychologists. Like, you shouldn't say this. You shouldn't say that. Don't say your kids are too beautiful. Don't say they're really clever. Like, don't, it's like, but I want to tell my

kids that be you. I want to tell them they're smart. I want to encourage. I want them to feel amazing. Like, so it's like, am I really damaging them by saying these things or, you know, they shouldn't have screen time, but they need it for school. And it's like, there's all these messages just feel like constantly like what what does it take to be a good parent like nutrition they shouldn't be eating this kids should be in this like you really feel yeah it's overwhelming isn't it sometimes but i i just think you've got to just keep things simple and just strip it back and remember that you can't do everything perfectly they're going to make their own choices with some things but if you just as a family come together and try and eat a healthy meal

now and again or try and you know go for a walk and get outside or do some exercise or or celebrate an early night as a family you're up come on guys we're going to bed early tonight let's not start until midnight or 11 o'clock and you know these these things kind of bring you back to the basics that help you as a family i think you know and i don't know i'm like listen i'm not an expert i'm learning i've learned from my mom and dad and their mistakes and i'm learning from my own mistakes like i said like shouting yesterday like why i just wish i i really wish i was you know do you know some people you just think are so calm and patient they don't have that shoutiness in them they don't have that aggression and that and i don't know where that comes from but

I really wish I was that, you know. I think you're too hard on yourself, Joe. I think that, like, you know, like you've just said, you can't be a perfect parent and you shouldn't strive for perfection. And like you said earlier, you are doing so much to tackle your, you know, feelings of anger and frustration and being shoutsy. And you went out for a walk last night and you came back and apologized. And that's amazing.

And I think you should pat yourself on the back for that rather than beating yourself up over it that's my view that's not thank you that's not thank you it's just yeah you just do then you just think like i don't know i wish i was just naturally at my default setting was just calm and always patient and some parents probably will never shout at their kids but i don't know i just think it's hard and i've got four like i've got four kids it's not if i had one i think it'd be so much easy like i i chose to have loads of kids it's it's my own fault you know but um you know i love them i love but also there's something to be said for the fact that if they grew up in an environment where nobody ever shouted ever and everybody was really calm, then they wouldn't

know what to do as grown-ups in a situation where someone loses their temper, which someone will do. So you're teaching them how to cope with it. Yeah. Yeah, I suppose that's right. Who knows? But I would say to mum, like, I don't, my mum, you know, she kind of doesn't accept some of the things that happened in the past. And I say, Mama, I love you now, I love you then. It's like a sun conditioner in it. And she shouted me all the time. But it's not like, they're not the memories I hang on to. I remember I hang on to the love. and the holidays and the campsites and when she was there, she was always there.

Like, even though she was very chaotic and caught up in this sort of cycle, she's an amazing mum. You know, she was an amazing, and I hope she listened to this, because I always say to her, like, she'll be proud of yourself. And I think it's only when you're, maybe I'm older, I'll reflect on my parenting, but because I'm in the middle of it now, you don't often feel that you're always getting it right, do you? Yeah, that's so true.

No, people listening are probably feeling like they experience this every day and, you know, they get wound up by their kids, or they're feeling knackered, they're not getting enough sleep. Is there like a daily habit that you think parents could, you know, start doing every day that would lift their day, whether it's a morning thing that would help them set them up for the day or like you did, you went out for a 20-minute walk last night when things were getting on top of you. What's the top thing that you would recommend doing? Well, I know I'm a broken record and it's a predictable answer, but it has to be and it always will be.

because nothing shifts your mind and your mental state more than physical exercise so you know sleep's really important as well of course it's very important but just getting up and doing that little workout you know before they're awake or during your lunch break at work or in the evening that you've got to find time for yourself because it's about it's about self-care it's about seeing it as a you know a stress relief it's pressure it releases pressure from your mind and it does help you interrupt your kids differently like on days i don't exercise I've just got more like tension in me now and I just react differently

whereas if I've done my workout and really push myself physically I really do feel like my parenting's a bit smoother and I don't find things I don't irritate me as much so yeah you've just got to find time you know really really prioritise it

and know that you're not being selfish actually being really kind to yourself and your kids because it has a massive it's a waterfall effect doesn't it trickles down to the people around you when you are healthy in your mind and body and also just to add as well obviously you've got the activate series for kids

but you've also got hundreds of free workouts that parents can do on your YouTube channel, don't you? And they're completely free. I'm not very good at PR. I don't plug my own stuff. But yeah, look, I've obviously got my YouTube channel, which I'm so proud of, and I love it, and it's completely free.

And I've always said, I have the business, you know, but the free content's really important to me because I know so many people are struggling for financial, you know, finances and, you know, cost of living and stuff. So I have 100 and hundreds of amazing workouts that are completely free. I've also then got, you know, the Activate, which is for children. and then I've got my body coach app,

which is aimed at, you know, more people that are trying to sort of go on that fat loss and sort of physical transformation with the meals and stuff. But, you know, ultimately, it's just about giving as much content out to the world that you can find, whether it's an app, whether it's YouTube,

whether it's a child's animation or a cookbook, you know, it's all about, again, driving people to that movement and cooking and keeping themselves healthy because it's so, life can feel really, really stressful, but if you are focusing on those basic things

and you're putting good food on the table, you're doing a bit of movement, you know you can you can find it a bit easier even though it's hard it does feel a bit easier yeah absolutely well joe it has been wonderful to chat to you again thank you so much for coming back on to the netmom's podcast to chat to us all um thank you very much thanks guys to you and have a lovely day thanks joe