Cover star Gemma Atkinson on muscle-shaming + training motivation

So it follows that this enviable immunity to dancing around the thing that needs to be done feeds into her look-it-dead-in-the-eyes-and-put-on-a-killer-outfit approach to the marching of time. ‘The alternative to ageing is being dead,’ she deadpans. ‘So, I’m all about embracing ageing as best as I can. There’s no point fighting it. No one’s getting out
of here alive. You may as well make the most of it.’

So how is our cover star feeling in her body as she strides into her fifth decade? ‘Fitter and stronger than I have [been]. That’s always my aim with training. It’s never, “I need to fit into a certain size,” it’s “How can I remain strong?” Especially going into your forties; perimenopause will kick in…I want my body to be functional. I want to play with my kids and carry all the shopping bags of food out of the car.’

Show and tell

Gemma’s approach to health is practical. Grounded. Unfussy. The sort of attitude you wish could be spread far and wide. So I wonder how she feels about being, per Google’s summary anyway, an ‘influencer’. This came up recently when Gemma – who sees herself
as a radio presenter (she co-hosts the drive-time show on Hits Radio) and podcaster (The Overshare blends real-life stories and advice) who does extra jobs, from modelling to social media – was asked to define her work.

‘Someone said “Oh, yeah, but you’re an influencer; I follow you on Instagram,” and I thought, an influencer of what?!’ she says – doing a half smile, half frown. ‘I like the fact that you can influence someone in a positive way… I’ll take that. But, I mean, I don’t feel like an influencer. I just do my own thing. If people like it, great.’

No ifs about it. Sleuthing through her Instagram ahead of our interview, it’s striking the number of comments from those at the start of a major lifestyle overhaul in their middle
or later decades; people training to reverse obesity; people sweating it out on step machines in leisure centres and budget gyms. Gemma clearly has cut through among people for whom fitness holds much promise, but who can be cut out of the conversation.

We’ve got the exclusive training plan that helped Gemma get into the best shape of his life. Created by trainer Elliot Upton, click the cover below to access a sample of her four-week training plan.

This stuff matters to her. ‘People have said to me they’re nervous about going into a gym, and I’m like, why?’ she says. ‘If you go into a gym, everyone’s there to better themselves – whether you’re starting at a size 24 or a size eight… the fact that you’re in there is showing people you want to try to improve yourself.’

When I ask what she thinks it is about her message that lands, she says it’s her showing up as she is: hair pineapple-style on top of her head, sweaty, no make-up. ‘I like it when I follow someone and I think, “Oh, they’ve got a spot today,” or they’re on their period, so they look like crap as well. [You] kind of relate to it more.’

Her own expectation versus reality of motherhood feeds her belief that there’s value in showing up online as she is IRL. ‘When I was first pregnant, I thought, “Oh, I might be one
of those mums who’s in a floral dress with a baking tray and a Victoria sponge – homemade and everything.”’

So, Gemma Atkinson the trad wife? ‘Yeah, exactly! I had an image in my heart, in my head, that I’d be like a little Stepford wife. Then when it actually happened, and I was thrust into motherhood, I looked the complete opposite. And I was like, “You know what, I’m cool with it. I’m fine.” And I think maybe that’s why people are like, “Alright, she’s one of us.”’

Talking about ‘authenticity’ is clichéd. But the totally-at-ease sense of self- assuredness Gemma emanates – impossible to fake – no doubt feeds people buying into her message. ‘Well, I’ve had good role models in terms of my family members growing up. My grandad used to say we’re from good stock,’ she smiles. ‘There’s never been any insecurities in my family. We all look different. We’re all different shapes and sizes, but it’s never, ever been discussed.’

The ethos wasn’t just about body image. ‘There was never any pressure on any of us about who we had to be, what we had to do. My mum used to say, “As long as you’re healthy and you’re happy, I’m not going to ask for anything else,”’ she recalls. ‘There’s [been] times in my life I’ve thought, “Oh my gosh, I probably shouldn’t have said that,” or “Maybe I should have done that job,” but [then] I think: I’m healthy and happy. It’s fine, you know?’

Gemma’s pleased that female health topics – periods, menopause – that long went unspoken are typical fodder in her comments and DMs (as is the case when people reach out to her for any fitness advice, she points them towards a qualified expert). ‘I’m either going to sail through it,’ she says, referencing her mum’s breezy experience of menopause, compared with her older sister’s, ‘or I’ll be stood in the garden fanning myself in the middle of November.’

She continues, ‘It’s a shitty thing, but it’s your body’s way of doing its job. That’s how I look at periods, as well. You know when your period starts? You think, “Oh god.” But then I think… do you know what, it’s on time, it’s where it’s supposed to be, my body’s working… [And] I know, as and when the time comes, it’s like, “Right, my body’s going through this space now…” That’s [how] I’m going to try to look at it.’

Trusting the process. Easy to offer as well-meant advice to a loved one during a rough patch. Harder to apply to your own body. But it’s something Gemma learned during pregnancy – especially this second postpartum C-section recovery. ‘It was a lot more swollen the second time around,’ she says of her scar. ‘I kept telling myself, “You’ve been sliced open – through, like, seven layers [of tissue], yeah? Let that heal before you do anything.” So I focused a lot on nutrition.’

That looked like bulk deliveries of Jason Vale juices – with avocado, broccoli, pineapple and orange, on top of her regular, hearty veggie fare. ‘And then after about 13 or 14 weeks, I started doing light exercise again. I gradually built myself back up to where I am now… I feel the best I’ve felt. So, it’s taken more than a year, but I just did it in my own time, at my own pace – and now I feel great.’

Find your formula

Right now, Gemma follows a programme designed by PT Elliott Upton (‘He’s no BS, which is what I need – I’m not very good if people are pandering to me’). A typical workout week includes a heavy strength-based day (‘It’s like, literally, six to eight reps but really heavy’); a ‘complexes day’ – ‘a workout with a kettlebell, 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off for, like,
30 minutes’ – a hypertrophy day; two cardio days; then two days’ rest.

And for all the no-nonsense vibes, Gemma’s got something of a biohacker’s bent. There’s the 4.30am alarm; the MCT oil in her coffee, enjoyed first thing before her morning workout, which commences no later than 5.20am. Ice baths feature and she’s currently trying an ‘earthing mat’, said to reduce inflammation. ‘I felt like I’d had a massage and cold-water therapy in one,’ she shares – caveating, ‘it could be one of those things whereby in 10 years, people are like, “No, it’s rubbish.” But I do like the whole grounding thing, and I always let Mia and Thiago play out with nothing on their feet – I’m not fussed about dirty feet.’

Nutrition wise? ‘I’m big on fats in my food, which a lot of people still fear. This morning, I’ve had a full avocado with two organic eggs and a load of spinach and asparagus,’ she shares – adding that she’ll snack on avos and nuts, too. As for protein, while Gemma cut out red meat in her early twenties (she saw a cute cow and couldn’t face beef mince in lasagne), it’s issues with food quality and industrial processes that saw her remove chicken and fish to go largely plant-based, around the pandemic.

‘I remember buying a packet of chicken and turning it over and it was like 60% water and there was dextrose and all these [additives]. And I said, “This isn’t even food. It’s not real food.” So, I just kind of stripped everything back,’ she recalls. ‘I’m always each to their own and the kids aren’t vegetarian… it’s, for me, a case of I’ve lost all trust in where my food’s coming from… [if] it’s something that’s been factory farmed in a tank, I’m not going to eat it.’

Pay no mind

Gemma tells me that 98% of her interactions online are ‘really nice’. But they’re peppered with negative comments from men regarding her musculature (‘it’s when people see me out of my baggy clothes and they see my actual physique [and think] “she’s actually got muscles; let’s say she looks like a man”’) to comments about postpartum recovery timelines. ‘A few people messaged and said, “I thought you’d be in shape quicker; you’re so into your training; I’m surprised it’s taken you 10 months.”’ Sigh.

‘My mum used to say – well, she still says to me – if someone doesn’t know you personally, why would you take what they say personally?’ It works the other way, too. ‘Even if someone says something lovely, it’s so nice, but you can’t take it on board because you walk around with a swollen head,’ she says, flatly.

Brushing off body shaming is one thing. But is it harder to stay true to her mother’s words when people are criticising stuff that matters more, like her parenting style? I mention the pushback she got after telling her followers she gently pinched her son after he’d done the same to his older sister; a story picked up in the tabloids, with a quoted expert warning her actions could teach children that violence is a healthy form of conflict resolution. Gemma confirmed in a follow-up video that, of course, she didn’t do so with any force so as to hurt her own child – ‘as if I would’ – and tells me she was able to respond to the story and resulting social media conversation far more calmly than she would have managed in previous eras.

Her own mum’s reaction added levity, too. ‘When that whole thing came up, my mum said, “Christ, Gemma, I used to chase you around the house with a bloody slipper.”’ Her mum has also been a consistent source of parenting advice. ‘Mia, bless her, went through a biting phase,’ she tells me. ‘At the time, I was saying to my mum, “Why is she biting everything? Like, everyone who comes round, she’s trying to bite them!” She said, “They
do, she’s finding her teeth. It’s frustration – it’s what they do.”’

Whether you’re a parent or not, Gemma believes tapping into the language of childhood – or nurturing a growing thing – is one of the most powerful ways to think about health
as we bed into the new year. She references a clip of the author and relationship coach Matthew Hussey she happened across. ‘He said, “If you were born and you were handed a little person – so if I was born and I was handed a little person called Gemma [and] my role in life was to take care of Gemma, like you would a baby – you’d think: what would I do?”’ she recalls. ‘I wouldn’t tell her she’s fat. I wouldn’t feed her loads of crap food. And I wouldn’t tell her she couldn’t play out. I’d say, “Go and get in the fresh air!”’

As we finish chatting, I ask myself the same question. Now, I’d recommend that you do the same – and then, like Gemma, don’t delay on actually doing the thing.

This profile originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Women’s Health. Out now. Subscribe to Women’s Health clicking here.