to ask if you think Joe Wicks is tone deaf of just supportive of his wife?

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Joe Wicks has caused a bit of a stir with a recent Instagram post - thoughts?

www.instagram.com/p/Cq8Q3XvrXqL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It'd have been leaked in the news surely

@wincarwoo it clearly shows they are in a public gym.

I lifted weights up until 7 months pregnant and had a very physical job where I was on my feet all day. Post partum once I'd recovered and healed I went back to the gym to continue weight lifting.

I completely get what he is trying to say but if he wasn't known for his fitness his post comes across a bit like a controlling partner keen for his partner to whip back into shape and that the priority is for her to be slim again.

It would have been nice if he’d led with her being the mentally & physically fittest she’s ever been thanks to her working out vs how good she looks maybe. I think it’s the focus on looks vs health that feels a bit off putting.

In efforts to always try and understands both perspectives I've re-read the post a few times.

I do think at the heart of it, he is proud of his wife, and is coming from a good place.

But I think it's parts of his post like this (pasted below) that (unintentionally?) come off as sounding like
a bit of a dig at those Mum's who havent had the 'commitment' at similar stages of motherhood? And that's what has rubbed people up the wrong way. Especially when they don't have the same resources/circumstances as Rosie does.

'What’s more impressive is Leni has never slept through the night and since 4 months old continues to wake multiple times through the night. She still makes the commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle and when she does train she really pushes herself and I admire her for that.'

The form on those walking lunges is awful

It's not a dig though. Its a bit like the BF and FF discussions, if someone dares to say I'm really proud I was able to breastfeed there'll be lots of how dare you, that's so insulting to those who couldn't, its not all its cracked up to be anyway, we shouldn't be encouraging women to BF. People need to realise the world doesn't revolve around them and their insecurities, he isn't saying everyone who doesn't is lesser, he isn't even mentioning anyone else in fact. People are usually proud of something not everyone can or does acheive, are we never allowed to mention these for risk of offense?

I got sick of the posts with before and after photos of someone's amazing weight loss journey where the before photo was often a healthy, slim body. After photo was then a zero fat, skinnier version of an already healthy physique.

I don't find in tone deaf. I was proud of myself getting back to the gym after giving birth. It was bloody hard work.

I think he's just very supportive of his wife. They seem a great couple; he appears to adore her and she is very supportive of him. Not sure why people have to find the bad in every bit of good.

Goodness there's some nasty, bitchy comments on here from a position of having heads firmly in the sand.

Of course being slim, healthy and strong is what we all should be.. all our lives, not just our childbearing years. But of course it's hard to do.. so bitching that she's 'too skinny', 'privileged' etc makes those that aren't feel better. Like they've justified their weight and lack of fitness.

I'd much rather be like her, with a proud husband than the lardy arse sloth I am.

It's open to you, and anyone, to click 'unfollow' if you don't like the content of someone's instagram profile. I do it every day.

I think his intention is good as he is proud of her but I get that it could come across as a bit smug for some people esp if they are feeling sensitive.

All the people having digs at her are mostly jealous . We would all love to look that toned and slim but in reality many don't have time or money to invest in ourselves so intensively. However this is not an excuse to be bitchy.

She looks fab. They seem happy. Good luck to them. If you don't like you can unfollow rather than doing a character assassination.

I discovered weight training on maternity leave with my first. I went to buggy fit, which was a brilliant place for mums wanting to improve their fitness.

With my second I carried on throughout pregnancy, the only thing I wasn't allowed to do was kettlebell swings. Funnily enough Joe's first lockdown video was the day before my c section which I did with an 8kg kettlebell.

Took the prescribed 8 weeks off and then jumped into 30 day shred. I work out pretty much every day. Never go to the gym. Joe is absolutely right that all you need is YouTube (barring disabilities etc.). Both my children are used to me working out and they're really good at entertaining themselves - both have laid out my mat on occasion and they're familiar with the blonde Irish lady on the TV! 30 mins a day - that's all you need.

I can't believe some of the comments on this thread. Someone said that working out is narcissistic!! WTAF? Narcissistic to want to be strong and healthy? To want to keep up with two small children? To be able to climb the walls at clip n climb with DS rather than nursing a cake in the cafe? To not want problems later in life? Amazing.

It's fine honestly. He's a fitness celebrity, isn't he? So obviously fitness is important to him and likely to be important to his wife. And anyone with two brain cells reading will recognise that they have the wealth for childcare help and the knowledge and resources and time to be able to work on their fitness.

I don't especially think 'aww, wow! He's so supportive!' because I'm not arsed either way, but he's proud of her achievements and supporting her publicly which is fine. He doesn't say anywhere that everyone should be able to do the same, that I can see.

I think people who take issue with this might be a little envious/bitter that they aren't in the same shape after three kids, and I say that as someone who did zero fitness related activities during pregnancy and have barely started to work on my fitness again several years later! Doesn't mean we can't celebrate or share people's achievements.

It's a bit daft of him though, he will know a large part of his target audience are mums and that it won't land well to brag about his thin fit wife's health after pregnancy lol. But whatever.

I always think it’s interesting when people say they don’t have time to work out. Check your phone time - 20 mins on mn could easily be spent working out. I do 45 mins 4-5 times a week and have a toddler and baby, it’s definitely doable

It’s fine if people don’t WANT to workout or prioritise other things but everyone really does have time to exercise

What feels a bit off for me is that although he acknowledges that genetics play a role, he fails to mention how finances, environment, and support networks play a bigger role. He's making it sound as though Rosie achieved her fantastic figure purely on hard work at the gym, and I suspect if he had mentioned how lucky they are to also have XYZ privileges, that help massively, it would've been better received.

Also, what's with the videos of her crotch and arse!? It's like he filmed it for his personal wank bank 😳

I dont follow him, never have. Just came across the article via a friend reposting.

And just found it an interesting debate.
It's a great example of the debate
that we are all too sensitive these days and expect everyone to never say anything positive incase it offends or hurts someone, yet at the same time, being aware of what you say if you if you have a huge audience etc.

I'm not outraged.. just interested!

Your post is utter rubbish. I used a 7 minute app that was free and all I needed was a floor and a wall. 7 minutes each day and I got my fitness back relatively quickly. It's absolutely possible and doesn't require going to the gym for hours on end.

I dint see anything wrong with his comments.

Does she work though? I would have loved to spend a lot of time on my fitness post partum, but had little sleep, was breastfeeding and a full time job to do as well after nine months. My body clung to fat due to breastfeeding. So in a way, it would be good to understand what work she did and what hired help they had, otherwise it is a bit meaningless to me. I want to know how people with lives like mine did it.

Personally, during the first trimester there isn't a chance I could have gone to the gym much. Awful sickness, fatigue, random muscle aches and pains, etc. Managed to wall and cycle but hats off to anyone who was not feeling like a sack of shit in the first three months.

agreed

Same here, terrible morning sickness for first five months. My body just decided to hoard fat despite this (and through breastfeeding) as I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for 7 years. Now I've stopped I already seem to be losing a bit of weight. I have always exercised too.

I think some people are just lucky with their hormones and find it easier to maintain after kids. I was a size 6 before getting pregnant. Now a size 12, so not big, but age, childbirth and breastfeeding for far too long haven't helped.

I still don't see a problem with his comments though. Nobody applauds mothers for being the one who entirely deals with the night wakings and hormonal fluctuations because they are exclusively breastfeeding though do they? Only if they can rock a little black dress....

Honestly he's plugging himself and his brand as much as her. There's nothing wrong with being proud of his wife but I dislike his oh the baby doesn't sleep much but hey she still managed to do 45 minutes a day exercise. Who takes care of the kids whilst both of them are at the gym? Lots of people do not have any support, do their own cooking, cleaning, laundry, working and everything else. He makes it out that it's a level playing field and that's not true.

I think because not everyone can carry on through pregnancy and can be made to feel bad about it. I remember being on a tube and some girls (uni age) discussing how pregnancy isn’t a disability and pregnant women shouldn’t need seats. I had serious spd at the time and have always had hypermobile joint syndrome, but equally some women are sick throughout pregnancy or have other issues. Fortunately I didn’t have to ask them for a seat as one was available, but it’s that pervasive myth that everyone should be able to carry on in exactly the same way and it’s lazy to stop exercising because your pregnant or not snap back into shape straight after. It’s unrealistic for many and not particularly helpful. Great for Joe Wicks wife that she could, but I could not. I couldn’t achieve her tone being hypermobile either as my tone remains low despite me being generally an active person when not pregnant. (I still walk etc when pregnant but it’s hard and painful.) We know that narrative and, for many, it’s not that helpful to compare to.

Saying that, I do think he’s proud of her and that’s fine too. I’m just pointing out why some may see it as an issue. Obviously their access to childcare, personal trainers etc also makes a difference.

That’s unfortunate and I know personally it would effect my mental health massively not to be able to do many of those things especially walking since it is something I do daily and enjoy but he is not talking about you or any other pregnant woman, he is talking specifically about his wife.

You may not think it’s fair due to your own personal experience, but that doesn’t negate the fact that for the majority of pregnant women it is something that they should be doing (if they can) and years of health and medical studies back that up.