Healthy living sensation The Body Coach has been brought in by Fitness First to help banish the January blues through the power of exercise.

Joe Wicks, known as The Body Coach, has been ubiquitous across all forms of media in the past year and boasts nearly 700,000 followers on Instagram thanks to his ‘Lean in 15’ recipes and workouts.

His new book Lean in 15 – featuring 15-minute workouts and recipes – is currently the top-selling book on Amazon UK and Wicks has said he’s on a mission to rescue people from what he describes as the "awful dieting industry".

The partnership with Fitness First starts with Wicks hosting a HIIT workout at the Strand on Monday 18 January – dubbed the most miserable day of the year – as part of the gym chain’s efforts to battle ‘Blue Monday’ with exercise. All 73 Fitness First clubs in the UK will offer free fitness classes to members of the public on the day, with competition winners getting the chance to workout with Wicks himself in London.

According to Fitness First, the Blue Monday tie-up with Wicks is the start of a wider brand partnership that marries Wicks’ “well-rounded approach to fitness” with the ethos of the gym chain.

“Too many people jump on crash diets and make themselves miserable by measuring success by jumping on the sad step (bathroom scales) but I want to help inspire people to think long term and to change their diet and fitness habits so that they feel fitter and happier,” said Wicks.

“That’s why I’m partnering with Fitness First, to get as many people active as possible and help transform attitudes to health and fitness.”