{"id":117179,"date":"2025-05-20T13:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/117179\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T13:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T13:40:15","slug":"how-ben-shephards-body-and-training-have-evolved-since-his-first-mh-cover-in-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/117179\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ben Shephard\u2019s Body and Training Have Evolved Since His First MH Cover in 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ben Shephard<\/a> first appeared on the cover of Men\u2019s Health \u2013 as a participant in what was then known as our Celebrity Muscle Challenge \u2013 his life looked very different. The then 37-year-old had two young sons at home, and a career in breakfast TV that demanded some punishingly early starts.<\/p>\n

Under the guidance of strength and conditioning coach Jamie Sawyer, Shephard \u2013 at the time, a committed cardiohead \u2013 was introduced to a regular routine of bench presses<\/a>, chin-ups<\/a>, rows<\/a> and bicep curls<\/a>, in an effort to add inches to his chest, arms and back. \u2018My body shape seemed to change overnight,\u2019 he marvelled back in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"ben<\/p>\n

A pre-production version of Ben Shephard\u2019s first MH cover, back in 2012<\/p>\n

\"cover<\/p>\n

13 years on, Shephard is fitter than ever<\/p>\n

Fast forward 13 years and he appears to be defying the ageing process on the cover of our June issue. Putting on muscle is undoubtedly more difficult with age. But, in some ways, says Shephard, those gains actually \u2018came a little easier this time\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u2018I have a deeper understanding of what I have to put myself through to build lean muscle and reduce body fat,\u2019 he explains to Men\u2019s Health, on the set of his most recent shoot. \u2018I think I value the condition I\u2019m in now more than in 2012,\u2019<\/p>\n

Aged 50, the presenter is arguably in better shape than he was a decade ago. \u2018I\u2019ve got more lean muscle, that\u2019s for sure,\u2019 he says. \u2018There are parts of my body that are bigger. I think my body fat is a little bit higher than it was then. Back then it was probably single figures, and I think I\u2019m about 10.5% to 10.8% now \u2013 which is extraordinary when you think I\u2019m 13 years older.\u2019<\/p>\n

Whatever your age, your best days in the gym can still be ahead of you \u2013 just ask Ben Shephard. At age 50, our cover star is fitter and stronger than he\u2019s ever been. But bodies like his don\u2019t happen by accident. Sign up<\/a> below to gain free access to our six-week Fit at 50 training plan, created by Shephard\u2019s long-time coach Steve Coleman.\"fitness<\/a><\/p>\n


<\/strong>
<\/strong>Of course, there are downsides to having a few more miles on the clock. \u2018Bits of me are falling off now,\u2019 he jokes. \u2018My back is in a state and my knees are in a state. I\u2019m a lot more conscious of my need to apply functional fitness in my training.\u2019 <\/p>\n

These days, his mornings begin with 10 minutes on the foam roller, working to decompress his lower spine. Then he\u2019ll do stretches. As he puts it, he\u2019s no longer on the attack, but the defensive: \u2018It\u2019s all about how I prolong things now \u2013 not going out and smashing it left, right and centre.\u2019<\/p>\n

His diet has evolved, too. While, for his first Men\u2019s Health cover shoot, he subsisted on a strict six-meal-a-day plan of lean proteins and green vegetables, today he\u2019s a little looser with his nutrition. <\/p>\n

\u2018My wife does most of the cooking, and I\u2019m turning around saying, \u201cI\u2019ve got to have enough protein,\u201d\u2019 Shephard jokes. \u2018We came up with an agreement that I would get what I needed in terms of protein during the day so I could enjoy our dinners. You can leave stuff out that you don\u2019t necessarily want, but we still want to share that moment in the evening.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"men's<\/a>\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

Our new Editor-at-Large, Gordon Smart, is an award-winning broadcaster and journalist. He hosts Weeknights and Sunday evenings on BBC Radio 5 Live and his podcast Restless Natives, with actor Martin Compston, has had 1.4 million listens.
\nGordon made his name in journalism as the youngest Showbiz Editor of The Sun and the youngest Editor of The Scottish Sun. On TV, he has anchored Good Morning Britain and is a regular presenter and host on BBC Morning Live.<\/p>\n

\"Lettermark\"<\/p>\n

Scarlett Wrench is the Senior Editor at Men\u2019s Health UK.<\/p>\n

With more than 12 years\u2019 experience as a health and lifestyle editor, Scarlett has a keen interest in new science, emerging trends, mental well-being, and food and nutrition. For Men\u2019s Health, she has carried out extensive research into areas such as wellness in the workplace, male body image, the paradoxes of modern masculinity, and mental health among school-age boys.<\/p>\n

Her words have also appeared in Women\u2019s Health, Runner\u2019s World and The Sunday Times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Ben Shephard first appeared on the cover of Men\u2019s Health \u2013 as a participant in what was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[2083,52590,1331,1630,105,1330,52589,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-117179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-default","9":"tag-contentid-67c948e5-dea6-4e7e-8f9e-7eda60b71839","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-locale-gb","14":"tag-shorttitle-how-ben-shephards-training-has-evolved","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114540447448383107","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}