In October fitness fanatic Gemma Atkinson revealed she was back in the gym three and half months after giving birth to her baby daughter Mia - and the man who helped to get her back in stunning shape has lifted the lid on how she achieved her post-baby body.
Personal trainer Steve Chambers previously worked with Gemma on a 12 week body transformation at Ultimate Performance Manchester before the soap star strutted her stuff with professional dancer Aljaz Skorjanec as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.
Last February the Hits Radio presenter from Bury revealed that she was expecting her first child with her dancer boyfriend Gorka Marquez who she met on the BBC show.
"I trained her a little bit while she was pregnant," said the PT, who was nicknamed 'Evil Steve' by another one of his clients, former Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley.
"It was very scaled down.
"Then she came back to us after having Mia, four months post pregnancy."
Gemma, 35, who loves weight training as part of her routine, took it slow when she was reunited in the gym with Steve after going through a traumatic birth by emergency caesarean section.
The former Emmerdale actress did fewer reps (the number of times you perform an exercise) with lighter weights and her favourite toning and conditioning exercise The Prowler - a sled pushed and pulled along a track while loaded with weights - was a no go.
"A C section is a BIG operation and although as a guideline people say you’re clear for exercise after six weeks (obviously very light stuff like walking) for me personally, I needed longer," Gemma explained to her Instagram followers in October.
"I’m almost 14 weeks PP and still not 100 per cent ready."
Steve said: "There were certain movements where we said 'let's not do that.'
"Every client has different goals and everyone's body responds differently."
Ahead of Strictly, Gemma's aim was to 'make sure she put on good lean body muscle with regular good quality training and regular good eating habits,' explained Steve, the manager of Ultimate Performance Manchester.
Her plan included total body workouts three or four days a week, juggled with the gruelling 4am starts she had, when she presented the Hits Radio breakfast show in Manchester before switching to drive-time.
The PT has also trained Gemma and Gorka together, which he says was great fun, bringing out the competitive streak in each other.
Steve has some advice and tips for others wanting to get in shape and improve their fitness.
"Establish a date in mind and a goal and make sure it's a realistic goal. Write down the date you want to achieve it by," he said.
"Females generally want to work on their legs and achieving a trimmer mid-section and it's abs for men.
"Guys also want bigger arms."
Steve says moving more and keeping an eye on calorie intake is also key.
"You can eat healthy foods and gain weight," he said.
"If you're having too much a day it can push people over their daily calorie intake (the NHS recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men)."
Johannesburg-born Steve, 29, pursued a career in fitness from the age of 17.
"I feel privileged to have worked with these people and to see the transformations," he said.
Gemma’s Diet and Training Plan
Gemma began her body transformation at U.P in 2017 with the goal to get in the best shape of her life in the quickest time possible and build an impressive figure that would have her feeling confident on the beach and throughout summer.
It was this 12 week diet and the training programme that helped Gemma get in amazing shape for the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing.
Her meals were built around quality sources of lean protein and lots of green vegetables, alongside moderate amounts of healthy fats or carbohydrates.
Gemma ate between five and six small meals during an average day during her transformation, built around Gemma’s lifestyle and busy daily schedule and enabling her to keep her hunger at bay and easily sticking to her nutrition plan.
Breakfast
Gemma ensured she ate a breakfast high in protein with healthy fats and fibre – often eggs, smoked salmon and spinach.
A breakfast rich in fats and protein rather than carbs helped stabilise her blood sugar, control her appetite and gave her slow-releasing energy to get through the morning.
Lunch
Gemma would eat chicken breast, avocado and green vegetables for lunch to keep her body full, fuelled and satisfied for the whole afternoon.
Dinner
Carbohydrates were mainly kept until the last meal of the day, or until after she had trained in the gym.
Gemma would enjoy red meat or fish, green vegetables and sweet potato for dinner.
Contrary to the popular myth that you ‘shouldn’t eat carbs after 3pm’, Gemma reserved her carb intake until the evening.
Training
The training programme that helped Gemma sculpt her new body and get ready for Strictly prioritised weight training to give her the toned, defined and athletic look she wanted.
Gemma’s workouts comprised of ‘supersets’ that target opposing muscle groups consecutively to get maximum results in minimum time.
This meant Gemma would perform a lower body lift, like a squat, immediately followed by an upper body lift, like a pull-down, with only short rest periods in between each ‘superset’.
This split between ‘push’ and ‘pull’ exercises created a balanced physique and meant Gemma could do more work in less time in the gym, with each session lasting just 45 minutes to an hour.
Gemma’s workouts used exercises that targeted her lower body to start accentuating her feminine curves.
Gemma and Gorka's sample workout
Front elevated split squat - three sets, 10 reps and rest for 60 to 90 seconds
Lying leg curls - three sets, 10 reps and rest for 30 to 60 seconds
Wide neutral grip pulldowns - three sets, 10 reps and rest for 30 to 60 seconds
Heel elevated kettlebell goblet squat - three sets, 12 to 15 reps and rest for 30 to 60 seconds
Fifteen degree machine chest press - three sets, 12 to 15 reps and rest for 30 to 60 seconds
Prowler push - three sets, 30 metres no rest
