Fitness coach Joe Wicks, known to millions as “The Body Coach,” has revealed how exercise became his lifeline during a childhood marked by instability, addiction, and mental illness, and why he believes movement is the most accessible medicine for the mind.
Speaking as part of the BBC’s Mental Wellbeing Season (May 2024), Wicks opened up about growing up with a father who was a drug addict and a mother who struggled with eating disorders and OCD. He described a home life that was “quite confrontational” and filled with unspoken pain.
“As a kid, I do remember having a lot of anxiety in my body and a lot of fear and stress,” he said. “My mom and dad had their mental health issues going on, and it was like a secret that no one talked about—but it was affecting me so much.”
The only release, Wicks explained, was physical exercise. Running, playing sports, and any form of movement allowed him to “control my emotions and regulate how I felt.” That childhood discovery became the foundation of his entire philosophy: that mental and physical health are not separate but deeply intertwined.
“You can get through life on a really unhealthy diet with zero exercise, but you’re not thriving,” he said. “To take care of your mental health, you’ve got to be taking care of your physical health.”
Small Daily Wins
Wicks, who built an empire on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and nutritious cooking, was careful to note that intense workouts are not the only answer. He champions what he calls the “small daily wins mentality”: prioritizing sleep, movement, and good food in manageable doses.
“All movement is good for you—even the most gentle of walks, or doing a bit of stretching, even chair-based exercise,” he said. His simplest recommendation is walking more: getting off the bus, skipping the train, and stepping outside for fresh air and sunlight.
For those intimidated by gyms or expensive equipment, Wicks is a strong advocate for home workouts. “With your body and no equipment in a tiny little space, you can actually get yourself moving,” he said. “You can do 10 minutes or 20 minutes. You can do it in your underwear. It’s done.”
A Family Affair
One of Wicks’s most striking observations was about the ripple effect of mental health.
“When one person is struggling with their mental health, it affects the whole family,” he said. Conversely, he believes positive change is also contagious: “If one person starts exercising or one person falls in love with nutrition and cooking, it can really elevate the whole family.”
He urged anyone currently struggling to engage with the BBC’s Mental Wellbeing Season content, describing it as a potential “little light bulb moment” that could help someone on their journey. Wicks concluded with a simple message of hope and accessibility: movement is free, it is available to almost everyone, and it can begin today—in a living room, on a short walk, or even in a chair.