I’m a Celebrity Trainer — Here’s How Many Hours of Cardio You Should Be Doing a Week and Why You Should NEVER Listen to Influencers
Celebrity trainer Matt Roberts has helped the likes of Adele, Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding and even David Cameron.
The PT built his business before the rise of TikTok, which led to streams of fitness influencers sharing their at-home workouts.
It comes after a report last month found that just 50 online workout professionals collectively influence more than 700 million people around the world.
However, Roberts revealed that he thinks they “don’t know much.”
Celebrity trainer Matt Roberts has helped the likes of Adele, Naomi Campbell, Ellie Goulding and even David Cameron
He told The Telegraph: “There are a lot of people who are described as some form of fitness influencer, which is a ridiculous title, and most don’t really know much about it.
‘It’s more about them than the product. It’s image-heavy, not content-heavy.
“It’s not really designed to give you anything other than ‘they look great.’ The programs we see are so basic that they are laughable.’
One of the most successful personal trainers in the industry, Roberts has a career spanning 25 years, coaching thousands of clients.
He takes a holistic approach to training and explains on his website that he takes into account the interconnectedness of different aspects of a person’s life: ‘considering not only physical fitness, but also emotional, mental and social well-being’.
The fitness fanatic believes personal training can help you later in life: be able to play tennis at 80 and run up a hill at 90.
Impressively, he claims that now, at age 50, his body fat percentage and weight are the same as when he was just 20.
The only thing that has changed is his cholesterol, which is actually lower, but this ‘takes work’.
He knows from experience that it is important to ‘see the warning signs’ and ‘make positive changes’.
Robert’s father died of pancreatic cancer at age 69, his grandfather died of a heart attack at age 47, and his uncle died of heart disease at age 40.
He told The Telegraph : ‘There are a whole bunch of people who are described as some form of fitness influencer, which is a ridiculous title, and most don’t really know much about it’
He would encourage everyone to make healthy choices, regardless of age.
The PT told The Telegraph: ‘Whether you’re 50, 60 or 70, you can do something to make a positive change.’
His weekly lifestyle includes four hours of low-intensity cardio, two hours of high-intensity cardio, as well as lifting and tennis in between.
He emphasizes that it is important to enjoy what you eat and choose a 70% vegan diet, with lots of fish and a weekly portion of red meat. He advises: ‘There really isn’t one food that is bad’.
When it comes to exercise, for the average middle-aged person, he recommends between 200 and 250 minutes per week (just over 4 hours) of moderate activity and 60 minutes of more vigorous cardio exercise.
The advice comes just after Michelin star chef Sat Bains revealed he was forced to change his life after a heart attack, and shared the changes he made to his diet that ‘saved’ him.
He previously followed a low-carb, high-fat keto diet, which he swapped for more fruits and vegetables, lean protein and “good fats.”
Bains had to start all over again and ‘relearn’ what he ‘thought he knew’ – ranging from binging on chocolate and steaks, to limiting himself to just two Freddo bars a week.
Before his heart attack, Bains would have easily polished off at least two steaks a week, which, without the fat, is now limited to one every two or three weeks.
He told The times: ‘The whole point is moderation and balance. I will have lots of fish, venison and game birds, which have very low cholesterol.”