Golden girl Jess is still berry fit!
AS athletes gear up for the Olympics in Japan, Dame Jessica Ennis-hill admits to a pang of nostalgia for the starting gun saying: “I miss the adrenalin.”
The retired sporting hero became the toast of the nation when she scooped a gold medal in the heptathlon at the London Games in 2012 – and wowed us with her killer abs!
She also won a silver gong at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and notched up three world titles. But the 35-year-old mum of two is now focused on a new mission to bring up her young family in a healthy way.
In fact, she and hubby Andy, along with son Reggie, six, and daughter Olivia, three, found an upside to the pandemic lockdowns for their wellbeing.
She says: “We got to spend a lot more time together as a family. I remember going on 5k runs with Reggie at the beginning of lockdown which we probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.
Fun
“I set up little obstacle courses for them in the garden. We’re really lucky that we have a gym set up in the garage and I’d get them in there and I’d do circuits and they’d join in.
“It’s about finding ways of exercising that’s fun for them and doesn’t feel like a chore.”
Jess’s fitness regime is very different these days. She says: “When I was training and competing it was very rigid and focused. I would train twice a day, but now I don’t have that pressure and expectation of trying to beat my personal best.
“I probably exercise three or four times a week, but I fit it into where it works best and how I feel.
“I do lots of HIIT circuits and I enjoy running a bit further than I ever needed to when I was an athlete.
“When I retired I didn’t want to have any exercise targets. But one thing I started to enjoy was going on longer runs. When I was a competing athlete everything I did was quite speedy and explosive.”
Jess advises the rest of us to try something new, but have realistic goals. She adds: “It’s the hardest thing to do to change your routine but once it becomes habit, it’s much easier to stick to it.
“People think just because I was an athlete I’m always motivated but that’s not the case. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you don’t feel up to that run do a gentle yoga or stretch session instead. The biggest thing that motivates me to exercise is that I feel so good after I’ve done a workout.”
And Jess, now the face of Berry Gardens, is using what she learned as an athlete to make sure her family eats well. She says: “It has become second nature to me. “I think everything that I as a parent and my husband eat, my kids see what we’re eating and that influences their relationship with food and nutrition. In the morning we have porridge with strawberries and blueberries on. I’ll have a coffee, granola and yogurt.
Treat
“Lunchtime it varies. I’ll make a soup to get lots of nutrition in there without them realising and I try and get them to eat different types of salad. It’s about trying to create colour on their plate. “In the evening I’ll make spaghetti bolognese or fish goujons. Sweet potato chips is a really simple one. I’ll try not to give them biscuits and sweets every day. They see strawberries as a treat!”
Jess says she’s very happily retired: “I can’t imagine competing now – the pressures and sacrifices it brings are huge.
“But I do sometimes miss that buzz when you are at the start line, because I know how great that feels when you’re at the peak of your career, injury-free and ready to go.
“It is a unique feeling. But to be honest I’m pretty happy. I feel like I’ve had my time of competing in the limelight.”
Dame Jessica Ennishill is the new face of Berry Gardens’ superhealthy range of Zara strawberries, Victoria blackberries and Maravilla raspberries.