TV fitness coach Joe Wicks has called on parents to be positive role models by working out with their children during the summer holidays, using his free five-minute animated fitness series Activate. Speaking from Colindale Primary School in North London, Wicks emphasised the importance of short bursts of exercise, stating that even five minutes can significantly impact children's energy levels, physical health, and mental health.
Poll Reveals Parental Concerns
A new poll of 2,000 parents of four to 11-year-olds in England, conducted by Censuswide in the first week of July, found that 88% worry their children will have too much sustained sedentary time over the summer holidays. Only 18% believe their children will achieve 60 minutes of daily physical activity every day of the week during the break.
Wicks, known for his Body Coach brand, said: "What I'm trying to do is create resources to get kids active. We know that many parents struggle to get their children active during the summer holidays. I really do want to get more families exercising." He added that the biggest barrier for people is time, but his workouts require only body weight and can be done in a five-minute window.
Government-Backed Programme
The Activate series, created by Wicks with Government funding, is available on YouTube and CBeebies. Health Secretary James Murray joined Wicks at the school to promote the programme. Murray said: "We know that even little bits of exercise are really important for people's health, and we want to make sure the kids get into good habits. All those little bits of exercise really add up and make a real difference to people's health."
Murray highlighted that while children have structured activity at school, parents may struggle during the summer. The videos provide an easy way for kids to incorporate activity into their daily lives, offering parents reassurance that their children are staying active and healthy.
Music and Fun
The Activate series features five-minute workouts set to popular songs from artists such as Gala, Olly Alexander, Bastille, the Spice Girls, and Rizzle Kicks. Wicks hopes that parents will see how much their children enjoy the workouts and join in, creating positive role modelling. "And what I'm really hoping is that parents see how much their children enjoy this and actually want to take part together, because then the children see this positive role modelling happening, and that would be a great way to start the day during the summer holiday," he said.
