'I think it'll be one of the most inspirational episodes' – Leo Varadkar will undergo another fitness test this week

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will undergo a fitness test this week under the watch of personal trainer Karl Henry.

Earlier this year, Varadkar (40) said he was “surprised” to learn on RTE’s Operation Transformation that he has the metabolic age of a 53-year-old.

Varadkar will now undergo a different fitness test – which includes a sit-up test, press-up test, plank test, and a one-kilometre run test – under Henry’s watch for the Real Health podcast which airs this Thursday.

Then, for the next six weeks Varadkar will be set a challenge to train to improve on his results.

Henry told Independent.ie: “Every now and again we bring on a really high profile guest on the Real Health podcast, we’ve had Adam Clayton, Simon Harris, and Claire Byrne.”

“In terms of An Taoiseach I’m intrigued by how does he de-stress at night, what does he eat, and how does he fit in exercise with all the travel that he does?”

“People who are successful are really highly motivated, and by measuring something [like in this fitness test] it can motivate you for six weeks’ time. It doesn’t matter if you’re able to do one sit-up or press-up at the start, the key thing is you can improve.”

“I think people will be impressed when they see An Taoiseach’s results.”

After his first fitness test, Varadkar will then do a sit-down interview with Henry and give an insight into how he approaches his own health and how often he works out to stay fit.

The Taoiseach, a former Minister of Health, is also challenging two of staff at his department to take on the six-week challenge as well.

“The key thing is to inspire people ,” says Henry, “and I think it’ll be one of the most inspirational episodes – someone is willing to come on and get measured, it’s a very brave move to do it live on air. Here’s someone who is saying ‘I want to get a little bit fitter – measure me and give me the challenge’.”

“It’s a fitness test that anyone can do, and the beauty of it is that six weeks later we check in on how well did he do.”

For more episodes and information from the Real Health podcast you can also go to: https://www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-real-health-podcast/

The Real Health podcast with Karl Henry in association with Laya Healthcare.

Listen to the show on the SoundCloud player or subscribe and rate via the following links:

iPhone users can subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts.

Android users can subscribe and listen on Google Podcasts.

Or listen on SoundCloud

And we’re on Spotify

Source: Read Full Article