British TV presenter and fitness queen Davina McCall, 56, tells us why exercise is crucial for her mental health and muscle tone
There’s no doubt about it: Davina McCall is officially one of the UK’s most beloved national treasures. When she’s not entertaining the nation with hit TV shows including My Mum, Your Dad, Long Lost Family and The Masked Singer, she’s educating us with critically acclaimed documentaries such as Sex, Mind and the Menopause and Davina McCall’s Pill Revolution, along with her latest book, Menopausing, which scooped the top prize at the British Book Awards last year.
Then, of course, there’s her successful fitness empire, which has seen the exercise guru, presenter and mum of three release no less than 15 workout DVDs, with sales of more than 1.4 million, as well as the popular online fitness platform, Own Your Goals (ownyourgoalsdavina.com).
In fact, Davina has been extolling the benefits of exercise for so long, it’s hard to remember how her foray into fitness first began. With that in mind, we took Davina on a trip down memory lane before asking about her preferred methods of exercise today, and finding out about her exciting collaboration with nutrition brand Foodspring on a range of protein powders aimed at supporting women. Get ready to feel inspired!
I didn’t really do any exercise apart from clubbing until I was 25. In fact, up until I was 25, going out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to dance non-stop for six or seven hours was enough. But then I gave up smoking and I immediately put on a stone almost overnight. I thought, “I’ve got to do something about this!”, so I decided I’d better start going to the gym.
I joined a local gym where the Wasps rugby team used to train. I would do absolutely nothing except talk to absolutely everybody until the team came in, and then I’d suddenly work out like a maniac to the point where I couldn’t walk for five days afterwards. I was very sporadic [with my training], trying to do it but not really understanding the physical or mental benefits. I just really didn’t get it.
I kind of bounced back after having my first child. But after having my second child, Tilly, I thought, “I’m in big trouble here”. You know how there are some women who look like somebody’s just put a football up their T-shirt when they’re pregnant and they don’t gain weight anywhere else? I definitely wasn’t that person. I put on weight everywhere, and my body was suffering. My feet were so swollen, I had to wear Crocs all the time and buy flat shoes in a bigger size to wear on TV, I was that heavy.
I knew I needed to build a bit of muscle to support the weight. What I didn’t know was whether I could start my workout journey while pregnant. I looked up personal trainers in m
