As he swings his 11-month-old son Sid effortlessly around his garden, Gregg Wallace couldn’t look happier – or leaner.
There’s a real energy about the MasterChef presenter – a true joie de vivre – and he puts that down to shedding four stone.
Gone are the big, baggy clothes the former greengrocer used to hide away in. Now Gregg hurries to bed at 8pm so he can be up at 6am for his daily workout.
And as many of us struggle to stay fit while we’re stuck in lockdown, he’s keen to share the exercises he’s mastered with Sunday Mirror readers.
“I know what an enormous difference exercise can make to your life,” says Gregg, 55.
“That’s why I want to share my passion for fitness with others now, during such a tough time.
“There’s a picture I had taken when I was skiing in Italy in 2008.
Interview continues below
1. CatCow
On your hands and knees arch your back as if an invisible string is pulling your tail into the air, then reverse it, rounding your back.
2. High Knee March
March on your spot as if you were a child pretending to be a soldier. Bring your knees up as far as feels comfortable and swing your arms.
3. Wide Stance Toe Touch
Plant your feet shoulder width apart. Keeping your arms straight bring your right arm to your left shin or ankle – as far as you can comfortably reach, now back up again and left hand to right leg.
4. Chair Squat
Stand with your back to the chair and slowly squat down until your bottom touches the seat. Do not fully put your weight on the seat and sit down, then lift back up again.
5. Tricep Dip
Facing away from the chair, hold on to the seat of the chair with both hands, keeping your bottom as close to the chair as you can. Put your feet out in front of you. The further away your feet are from the chair, the tougher the exercise will be. Now with your arms, dip up and down. You will instantly feel it on your triceps.
6. The Plank
Rest your knees and forearms on the floor. Gently lift your knees from the floor and keep your back straight – as straight as a plank – your whole body supported by your toes and your forearms.
7. Hamstring Stretch
Get on to your hands and knees. Place your right foot outside of your right hand. Now as best as you can try to straighten your leg and point your toes towards the ceiling. Hold this for 30 seconds and do the same with the left leg.
8. Lying Knee Rolls
Lay on your back and spread your arms out either side of you to support yourself. Bring your knees as high to your chest as you can. Then roll from the waist roll your knees to the left and to the right as much as feels comfortable for you.
“I’m mocked up like I’m on the front cover of a magazine and I look so different, people think it’s fake. I was over 16 stone then.
“I wonder what it would be like to be in my old body for a day. I imagine I would feel really ill.”
Gregg admits that at the time that picture was taken, he was plagued by anxiety, despite his successful TV career.
But things changed seven years ago when a pretty Italian caterer called Anne-Marie Sterpini tweeted him out of the blue.
A relationship soon blossomed and, after three failed marriages, Gregg found happiness with Anna, who is 21 years his junior.
(Image: Adam Gerrard/Sunday Mirror)
Exercise bolstered him up even more and helped Gregg cope with his anxiety and low self-esteem.
For the past four years, he has enjoyed personal training sessions with fitness instructor Danny Rai, who has put together the workout plan Gregg is sharing today.
“It’s been carefully designed by Danny for you to hit this at your own level of fitness,” he says.
“I’ll show you how to do one circuit with the exercises, and then you do as many circuits after that as you feel you can.
“Being in decent shape is almost like a calling card to the rest of the world. It says, ‘Look, I care about myself’ – and the best thing about this plan is, it’s for everyone.”
(Image: Adam Gerrard/Sunday Mirror)
Gregg admits he used to hate the summer months because it meant revealing more of his body.
But now he has slimmed down to 12st, he’s happy to whip off his top and post pictures of his muscular physique on Instagram.
“As I started to get leaner, fitter and stronger, I wanted it more,” Gregg says.
“Apart from work and family, exercise became the centre of my daily routine. It’s the first thing scheduled into my diary every day.” The TV presenter says he feels proud as punch when he looks in the mirror too.
“‘Anna!’ I say most mornings, ‘Look at my arms, look at my legs, I can see them changing!’
“But she always says, ‘Yes, darling, I’ve seen them every day for the last seven years. It’s not like you’ve been away for a year!’ For 55 years old, I am happy with how I look – and I can’t wait to get even fitter going into my sixties.
“I’m at my goal weight and I’m down to 15 per cent body fat.
(Image: Adam Gerrard/Sunday Mirror)
“My one worry was that Sid would have an old dad and I didn’t want that. Even though I’m old in age, I’m not in health.”
Despite the rich pickings on MasterChef, Gregg’s daily meals are high in protein and low in fat – but cutting out carbs is out of the question. “I won’t go hungry,” he says. “I’m cooking four mackerel fillets with spinach and a salsa verde for lunch.
“We’re tucking into a big bowl of pesto pasta tonight. But I watch my fat intake and I’ll only drink two nights a week now.”
On Friday, millions tuned in to watch the final of MasterChef, which Gregg co-presents with long-term pal John Torode.
But he’s not just famed for the foodie series. As one of the BBC’s most recognisable faces, Gregg has appeared in dozens of shows, most recently fronting Eat Well For Less? and Inside The Factory.
(Image: Adam Gerrard/Sunday Mirror)
But since the lockdown, Gregg has been spending more time at home with Anna, Sid, daughter Libby, 24, and Anna’s parents Rina and Massimo. He says their new “simple life” has made him re-evaluate things.
“It’s dawned on me that I don’t have to be a workaholic all the time. That I can still have a great career and enjoy my family and time at home more,” he says.
“I’ve always strived for financial security and thought I couldn’t have this time until I was retired. But for the past five years, Anna has been saying to me, ‘It’s okay. You don’t have to keep pushing’, and she’s really right. Despite all the terrible losses and challenges our country is facing right now, this has been a happy time.
“I’ve just got to be brave enough to make these changes in life – but I couldn’t be in a better place.”
- Visit www.mirror.co.uk/getfitathomewithgreggwallace
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