Inside Gemma Atkinson’s impressive daily routine, which starts with a 5.20am workout

Posted by Admin December 20, 2024 Fitness

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When Women’s Health’s Features Director Roisin Dervish-O’Kane met with cover star Gemma Atkinson, a standout topic of conversation was Gemma’s daily routine.

While husband Gorka Marquez is away for work on Strictly Come Dancing, 40-year-old Gemma is responsible for parenting their two children alone: Mia, five, and Thiago, one. If you’re reading this as a mum to young children, you’ll know that fitting in a workout can feel impossible, and according to Gem, the only way she manages it is with a 4.30am alarm.

Gemma Atkinson’s daily routine

That’s the time she starts every day (even in the depths of winter, when it’s pitch black outside), with the help of a coffee amped up with MCT oil – a compound that has been proven to increase energy and endurance, stimulate metabolism and boost brain function, since it boosts the fat content in your coffee and leaves you feeling fuller. You might know it better as bulletproof coffee.

Gemma’s daily routine:
4.30am: Alarm
5.20am: Workout
Ice bath
Grounding mat

Then, she starts her workouts no later than 5.20am. She follows a programme designed by PT Elliott Upton –‘He’s no BS, which is what I need – I’m not very good at people pandering to me,’ she said – and a typical workout week includes 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.

Ice baths have also been a regular feature in her routine since 2023, 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 told us – 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.’

Of course, it ‘isn’t always easy’, Gem has said on Instagram. ‘But chipping away when you can with what you have all makes a difference. Mentally especially. So, find a routine and make it work for you.’

Read the full Gemma interview by clicking the cover below or hitting this link

gemma atkinson front cover women's health

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).