Lockdown has triggered a “massive shift” in the way in which people think about exercise, and has encouraged parents to work out in front of their children, Joe Wicks has said.

The 34-year-old, who shot to fame with his 15-minute recipe books, hosted daily PE lessons on his YouTube channel during the first lockdown, and said that the public have realised that they can work out at home without expensive equipment.

Wicks, known as The Body Coach, raised £58,000 for the NHS through his PE lessons, and was later made an MBE for his efforts.

Speaking at Wired Live 2020, an annual event organised by Wired magazine, Wicks said: “I really think there’s been a massive shift in people’s attitudes and habits towards exercise.

“I think there was always that tradition that mum or dad will go to the gym, on your lunch break, or before or after work and it wasn’t really done in front of the kids, or they did PE in school and I think lockdown and PE With Joe definitely brought families together for the first time and it removed that resistance of the commute – getting to the gym – the hour there, the hour back.

“People now realise they can have a great workout in their living room, or their bedroom or their garden with no equipment, and that’s really what I’ve been trying to achieve, to make fitness accessible and sustainable for everybody and I really hope that people realise that you don’t need an expensive gym membership and loads of equipment to stay fit and healthy – that’s really my goal.”

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Speaking to the magazine’s editor-in-chief Greg Williams, Wicks explained that his lockdown broadcasts had influenced how he built his new fitness app.

“I’ve always been promoting home workouts, so it’s not like I’ve just come out of it with this idea of home fitness, I believe that home workouts are the future for many people,” he said.

“Obviously there will always be gyms and boutique platforms, but I think for the general population, training at home is so much easier and so much more sustainable.”

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