‘Tumble’ star Louis Smith: ‘Getting back in shape was hard’
By Nick Levine
Speaking to Attitude recently, Louis Smith admitted that getting back in shape was “hard” after he took some time out from gymnastics last year.
Smith, who appears as a judge on BBC One’s new celebrity gymnastics competition Tumble, which begins tonight (August 9), temporarily retired from competing in 2013 before launching a sporting comeback earlier this year.
“It has been hard, I’m not gonna lie!” he said of regaining his fitness during his recent Attitude cover interview. “Before I started training I wasn’t in the best shape – I put on quite a lot of weight and I hadn’t really been on the pommel horse in a couple of years, so it was hard getting back to where I needed to be to be able to challenge people around the world.”
Later in the interview, Smith revealed that, having put in the hours at the gym, he was very nearly in peak physical condition again.
“I’d say in terms of fitness I’ve still got a couple of kilos to lose, I’ve still got more things I can put into my gymnastics routine, but I’m happy with my progress at the minute,” he said at the time. “I’ve managed to get back and prove that this isn’t just a publicity stunt, I’m doing it because my heart’s in the right place and I still feel like I’ve got more to offer.”
Louis Smith went on to win two medals, a gold and a bronze, at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Tumble, in which celebrities including John Partridge, H from Steps, Sarah Harding and Amelle Berrabah will compete in a series of gymnastic events, begins tonight (August 9) at 6.30pm on BBC One. Check out a picture of the full cast of celebrities in their gymnastics kit here.