Gemma Atkinson: 'Going into your 40s; perimenopause will kick in…I want my body to be functional'
Much like your approach to the alcohol aisle, the way that you train evolves as you age – and for Women’s Health cover star Gemma Atkinson, the reason that she trains has also changed.
As she goes into her fifth decade, 40-year-old Gemma told Women's Health Features Director Roisin Dervish-O’Kane: ‘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.’
Now, she follows a training programme designed by PT Elliott Upton, with a typical workout week including a heavy strength-based day; a ‘complexes’ day; a hypertrophy day; two cardio days; then two rest days.
We’ve got the exclusive training plan that helped Gemma get into the best shape of his life. Created by strength and conditioning trainer Elliot Upton, click the cover below to access a sample of her four-week training plan.
That has helped her become ‘fitter and stronger than I have [been]’, she tells us, but it took patience to get to where she is now, following two C-section births with her daughter Mia, five, and son Thiago, one.
Speaking of her second postpartum C-section recovery, she said: ‘[The scar] was a lot more swollen the second time around. 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.
‘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.’
She adds that she wants people to recognise their motive for training, as that’s what will help you achieve your goals. ‘People have said to me they’re nervous about going into a gym, and I’m like, why? 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.’
Read the full cover interview with Gemma Atkinson in the January issue, out now.
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