Joe Wicks and wife Rosie under fire for new workout videos
Joe Wicks, 38, and his wife Rosie, 33, have experienced backlash from Joe’s followers after he took to Instagram with a video mash-up of Rosie – who gave birth to their fourth child in June – working out.
Joe – a.k.a. The Body Coach – and Rosie welcomed their eldest daughter Indigo in 2018, son Marley in 2019, daughter Leni in 2022, and son Dusty this year.
Upon sharing footage of Rosie training with Joe recently, many of Joe’s followers expressed that they felt it depicted unrealistic goals for other postpartum women, since Rosie has a ‘home gym’ and a ‘PT for a husband’.
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One wrote: ‘I mean this is great for you but other women who have had a baby don’t have the privilege of an at home top of the range gym you guys are smashing it too!! Not everyone who has had a new baby has a supportive husband or personal pt, home gym some women are just making it through the day so if you can’t do this – walking with the pram with your baby is just as good. I’m sure Rosie knows she looks amazing and other mums you do too regardless of size or shape.’
Another commented: ‘This is amazing, but I hope a lot of new mums realise that Rosie was incredibly strong pre her pregnancy and was doing this kind of training in her pregnancy. She is a seasoned pro at these exercises so will be able to feel if her body is coping with them. It’s good to see but I also think @thebodycoach you both have a responsibility to set the picture as a lots of new mums are incredibly vulnerable at this point post pregnancy.’
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Another simply said: ‘This is as dangerous as a teenager seeing a skinny model on a Paris catwalk ,’ while a fourth added: ‘Not everyone is blessed with a full state of the art gym at home and a husband who is a personal trainer. Very unrealistic ambition for 10 weeks postpartum.’
Some, however, shared how encouraged they felt to see Rosie training, and it wasn’t long before Joe posted more inspirational content.
Just over a week later, he took to IG with a second reel, captioned: ‘Today we trained legs together. Here is the full workout ️️ We did 10 reps on each exercise and completed 3 sets on each one before moving on. We kept the rest periods short and completed it in 35 minutes Would you like to see more of our strength workouts in real time on the app or YouTube?’
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One follower addressed the comments on Joe’s former video, writing: ‘Nice to see the ‘it’s not fair’ brigade are having a day off. Go Rosie! ,’ while another said: ‘Yes to more strength on the app please as my goal is to try and get as ripped as possible at home the little ones are too young for me to get to a proper gym, but I’m desperate to gain more muscle! Rosie is showing us mumma’s what we can achieve as always ️.’
It’s only natural to feel vulnerable after giving birth, but every woman’s journey is different – Rosie, for example, trained consistently throughout her pregnancy, and as Joe’s followers highlighted, she has access to a home gym and the guidance of her husband. Likewise, another woman might train throughout pregnancy but experience a different type of birth, meaning she requires a different approach to postpartum training than Rosie. The message: comparison is the thief of joy.
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Bridie is Fitness Director at Women’s Health UK. She spends her days sweating over new workouts, fitness launches and the best home gym kit so you have all that you need to get fit done. Her work has been published in Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and more. She’s also a part-time yoga teacher with a habit of nodding off mid savasana (not when she’s teaching, promise).
