As the drummer in one of the country’s biggest bands and then gone on to become one of the nation’s favourite Strictly Come Dancing Champions in 2011, Harry Judd has decided to change his lifestyle and focus on his physical and mental health.
The Sybarite spoke to Harry about his new book Get Fit, Get Happy which was released on 19th October. Part memoir, and part highly researched fitness plan; this book is a guide to exercise that is fun and makes you feel good.
One of the reasons people avoid doing exercise is the lack of motivation and fatigue that comes hand in hand with having an intense day at work followed by a long commute home. Harry suggested that one way to counteract this is to switch workouts to the morning, as the workouts don’t have to be particularly long and intensive. Just by setting an alarm for 15 minutes early and doing a small workout will help motivate you for the day ahead. Harry claims that when he works out before starting work, he almost always enjoys it and doesn’t regret it. There are lots of little workouts in his book that can easily be done before you leave the house for work (or in lunch breaks) that take less than 15 minutes, some less than 5!
Despite it being his favourite way to work out, Harry understands that you don’t just have to go to a gym to exercise, as they can be very intimidating and can result in acting in a demotivating way. The book emphasises that there are other ways to work out which can includes friends to make the situation more fun. For example, creating a 5-a-side team with colleagues for after work, going power walking with friends or playing golf where you can walk on average 5 miles per round.
Social media hasn’t helped with the way young people feel about their bodies as they only see the edited image. But it’s all about focussing on yourself and making sure that you are happy and healthy in the way that you exercise, says Harry.
He is keen to stress that this book isn’t about how much protein you should be having and ‘if you do this you will get bigger biceps and a six-pack’ – it’s about exercising in a way that suits you, with smaller exercises you can do as well as bigger workouts, meaning that there is something for everyone.
One of the biggest lessons Harry wants people to take away is that exercise is not all about looking the best. He initially started for this reason but found himself changing his lifestyle completely, and eventually stopped smoking and drinking and started eating better. He thinks it is crucial to keep in mind that exercise is all about how you feel both physically and mentally.
In order to help promote a healthier lifestyle in children and young adults, in Harry’s view, schools should be doing a better job at teaching them how to live such lifestyles. While eating 5 a day is important and it’s good that they’re teaching that, it appears that that is as far as educating children on how to be healthy both physically and mentally go. However, to improve upon this, exercise needs to be taught properly. A lot of the time it’s playing a sport and there’s not enough theory behind it.
