PIC: Instagram / @craigdavid
It’s important to have people to look to for health and fitness advice . Olympians and elite athletes are obvious choices, but may not actually be your best option.
Why? Well, their whole lives are based around training, whereas the rest of us can’t exactly hit the gym four times a day, and we’ll get funny looks if we start ploughing into three steamed chicken-breasts at our desks at 10am.
The celebs below might not be the first names you think of when you look for health and fitness advice, but they’ve all achieved amazing results alongside busy schedules. Some, erm, busier than others, admittedly…
Basically, they’re a lot more like the rest of us, which means we can learn a lot more from them than someone who’s packing more gold than B.A. Baracus.
You won’t necessarily want their exact body – Craig David definitely isn’t messing around – but we can certainly appreciate what they’ve achieved and take onboard some tips to put into practice with our own training.
Craig David
By the looks of him, Craig David probably doesn’t “chill” on Sundays any more. The R’n’B artist lives by the motto “eat clean, train dirty” and has used it to drop his body fat percentage to a super-lean 7% while boasting 18.5-inch biceps.
His always-positive attitude and impressive workouts make him worth following on social media, but be warned: he is prone to tweeting bizarre things like “I’m in the building and I’m feeling myself” or “Fuck analysis, just be” alongside a sepia-filtered picture of some limited edition Air Max.
The Stats
Instagram: 155k followers
Twitter: 266k followers
Facebook: 580k likes
PIC: Instagram / @craigdavid
Craig’s Advice? Motivate Yourself
“I was forever looking for a shortcut to get the ‘ideal’ body shape, with fad diets or unorthodox training.
“One of the best ways to stay focused throughout those days when you feel a little weak or lost is to put little reminders around you to bring you back to the present moment and make you focus, before you do something you’ll look back on and regret.
“I know there’ll be moments where I’ll want to eat every chocolate bar in my cupboard, so I just go back to this certain photo on my phone and it reminds me to get back on track. It reminds me how good it feels when I achieve my goal and I don’t listen to my old ‘inner weakness’ voice. Trust me, it works!”
Jodie Marsh
It’s easy to dismiss Jodie Marsh as the lairy Essex girl who used to wear belts for bras and got married on MTV2, but these days she’s a force to be reckoned with in the fitness world.
After discovering a surprising passion for bodybuilding, it took Jodie just 50 days to go from 25% body fat to an athletic 10%, gaining 8 lbs of pure muscle in the process.
She won gold at the INBF Bodybuilding Championships in Los Angeles and has since launched her own range of protein shakes and fat-burning supplements, called JST Jodie, to fuel the men and women she’s inspired to undertake body transformations of their own.
She even has a tattoo of a piece of broccoli, for Christ’s sake. If the girl who used to think more about Sugar Hut than sugar intake can undergo such a huge transformation, what’s stopping you? Getting your fave veg inked upon your person is entirely optional, though.
The Stats
Instagram: 268k followers
Twitter: 602k followers
Facebook: 725k likes
PIC: Instagram / @jodiemarshtv
Jodie’s Advice? Have Role Models
“The bodybuilding community is amazing. All of the women I’ve met along the way, I think they all look amazing. I think you can do it and still be feminine, still be sexy and still look like a woman.
“I’m in awe of lots of them. I met Miss Universe, Helen Stack, and I think she looks incredible.
“I’ve always been someone who’ll only do something if I enjoy it. I love every minute of the training I do and I love competing. It’s changed my whole life. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve never felt better. I’ve never felt fitter, healthier or stronger.”
Millie Mackintosh
Having a family that’s worth millions thanks to biscuits and being paid to drink cocktails on TV isn’t the ideal setup for a healthy life, but Millie Mackintosh has thrown herself headfirst into a lifestyle of super-fitness.
She now trains four-to-six times a week, is the face of Xbox Fitness, and recently appeared on the cover of Women’s Health. She’s even convinced husband Professor Green to get in shape, and regularly makes protein-packed packed lunches for the pair of them when their busy schedules make clean eating tricky.
The Stats
Instagram: 853k followers
Twitter: 813k followers
PIC: Instagram / @camillamackinstosh
Millie’s Advice? Count Sheep, Not Calories
“I don’t weigh myself or look at calories – I’m not really fussed about it. I just love the feeling of getting stronger, being able to do something at the gym I couldn’t do before. I’m addicted to the buzz you get afterwards.
“I know it’s really boring but getting enough sleep is really important. When I don’t sleep enough and get tired I get more cravings to eat really sugary foods, so on nights that I’m not out I try to be in bed and ready to sleep at 10pm. You burn more fat as well when you’ve had a good night’s sleep and your body can recover better from exercise.
“I find that if you wear your gym kit on days when you’re not 100% set on going to the gym, you’re more motivated to exercise and eat healthily. There’s just something about it that makes you think, ‘I should be more active today, rather than just having a slobby day in boyfriend jeans and a holey jumper’.”
Kenzie From Out Of Blazin’ Squad
“See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads/ See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads /See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads/See you at the crossroads, crossroads, crossroads.”
You just don’t get lyrical genius like some of the classic wordplay that came out of Chingford in the early 2000s any more. That’s because Blazin’ Squad, the 428-strong hoodie-wearing ladband, disbanded in 2006, leaving its most famous member, James Victor Mackenzie (or “Kenzie from Blazin’ Squad” to everyone other than his mum) with a lot of time on his hands.
He put it to good use, and nowadays you’re more likely to find Kenzie at the squat-rack than the crossroads, as he’s a fully-qualified personal trainer and fitness model.
The Stats
Instagram: 7.5k followers
Twitter: 84k followers
PIC: Instagram / @kenzieofficial_
Kenzie’s Advice? Get The Shakes
“I’ve learned a lot along the way, including the crucial fact that your post-workout recovery is as vital to your muscle development as the exercise itself.
“Fuelling your muscles isn’t simply about what you eat before you exercise; it’s also essential that you take on post-workout shakes as part of the recovery process. The delivery of protein to your muscles encourages growth beyond your time in the gym and helps you push on when you’re stuck in a training rut.
“I use protein shakes and supplements throughout the day, both pre- and post-training to keep control of my fat levels and boost muscle growth. When I started out I was a skinny, eight-stone kid; now I’m toned, I’m 13 stone, and I’m really happy with how I look and feel.”