4 minute read
My Life
@MRTIMROBARDS Tim Robards’ approach to parenting his baby daughter is a lot like his daily exercise routine — it’s all about flexibility and balance.
Tim and wife Anna, who he met on The Bachelor set in its first season in 2013, had their first child, Elle, last November.
Even amid the sleepless nights and daily chaos newborns can bring, Tim has made time to look after his health and wellbeing.
He even took his fitness gear into the hospital so he could nip to a nearby park to do some training while Anna and the baby were sleeping.
After the couple brought Elle home, he continued to make sure he found time for daily exercise.
He may be extremely focused, but Tim remains flexible about how and what he does each day.
Some days he might just grab 20 minutes to work out in the backyard, another day he might do a longer and more intense training session. Then there are times he just enjoys the tranquillity of yoga and meditation.
Though his training schedule has changed with age and now incorporates more exercises promoting joint flexibility rather than building muscle bulk, Tim says he feels stronger and healthier at 38 than he did when he was younger.
“I know that I feel better in myself, have more energy and feel more balanced when I have that time out to exercise,” Tim explains.
“Having a child shouldn’t mean giving up all the things that you enjoy. It’s important to make time for yourself to do what makes you happy and healthy.
“Anna and I tag team so that we can both continue to have that time for ourselves every day.” Tim has been passionate about health and wellbeing since he was a child and saw his mother suffer from a debilitating form of chronic fatigue syndrome.
The condition, which baffled doctors, caused her to feel exhausted, suffer convulsions and endure crippling pain. Seeing his mother’s condition improve with diet and exercise made Tim passionate about his own fitness.
Alarmed by statistics that show 66 per cent of Australians are overweight or obese, Tim believes in using his profile to encourage others to form healthy habits.
It is for this reason he partnered with Medibank and its Live Better at Home program to help people exercise effectively at home and learn to cook healthy food.
He is also keen to practise what he preaches with his daughter by encouraging her to enjoy a mostly healthy diet of whole foods — without missing out on the occasional treat.
“I am really looking forward to being active together,” Tim says.
“I love getting out in nature or out on to the water to paddleboard. I like the idea of doing some gymnastics or some martial arts together. Or maybe we could just do some yoga. Kids spend so much time on iPads now being overly stimulated by technology.
“I really like the idea of teaching her the calming benefits and mental release of stretching and meditation.” But there’s one thing Tim isn’t so keen to show his little girl any time soon and that’s the show where he met and fell in love with her mother eight years ago.
“It will be interesting to show her that one day,” he says with a laugh.
“But maybe not until she’s a lot older. Or with some selective editing. It’s a lovely thing to have, but I don’t know how she will feel seeing me dating the other women on the show.”
Naturally shy, Tim had to push himself out of his comfort zone to audition for The Bachelor.
“I was so nervous and so uncomfortable every day on set,” he recalls.
“I had to really push myself. But I got so much out of the experience. I met a great girl and what it showed me is that you can’t listen to the naysayers. It gave me the courage to try new things and to follow my heart.”
For two years Tim had a starring role on Neighbours, commuting between the Melbourne set and the home he shared with Anna in Sydney. But when the pandemic hit while Anna was pregnant with Elle, Tim decided it was time to call an end to his time on Ramsay Street so he could be with his family.
That hasn’t seen an end to his acting ambitions. Nor has he given up on practising as a chiropractor. He continues to treat patients once a fortnight, and recently starred in the short film Sherbrooke Down: The Road to Cataract.
“I studied for nine years to get my qualifications as a chiropractor, so I am not going to give that up,” he says. “I still think of myself as a chiropractor. I am also an actor. And a father. And a husband. You can be more than one thing and be happy. It’s all about balance.”
WANT TO WORK OUT WITH TIM ROBARDS? TURN TO PAGE 88
