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0 7 P U T Y O U R H A N D S I N T H E A I R

The spirit of the boogieIf you were to put music, dance and fi tness in a Venn diagram, you’d obviously have too much time on your hands. But if you did, you’d fi nd an awful lot of stu� happening in the middle. Clubbercise (clubbercise.co.uk) started this year in only 30 venues. Now it has 2,000 weekly classes and 70,000 Lycra-clad participants up and down the country. There’s also Reggae Aerobics (Twitter @

reggaerobics), Rave Fitness (exercisemovedance.org ), At Your Beat (atyourbeat.com ) and a very cool new class involving bluetooth headphones (wireless-fi tness.com ).

Jessica Ennis-Hill is trying very hard to convince me that she’s a hopeless runner.

“I’m not particularly built for it,” she says as we jog around Hyde Park on a chilly Thursday lunchtime, her strong, sculpted legs skipping across the grass with balletic ease. “I went on a run with my friend Hannah a couple of weeks ago and we did 6km. It was so far! I was so tired. I kept saying, ‘Let’s not go too fast.’”

Hang on a minute, Jess, I say. You’re one of the all-time great British athletes. At London 2012 you won an Olympic gold medal for heptathlon — one of the most physically demanding disciplines around. Three years later you became the fi rst female athlete ever to bounce back from childbirth to win a multi-event world title . When it comes to physical feats of heroic proportions, you’re unstoppable.

Jess isn’t having any of it. “I couldn’t compete over really long distances,” she insists. “The heptathlon events are very explosive and I only have to run 800m, so to line up for a 5km or a 10km run would be quite a challenge for me.”

Shying away from challenges doesn’t come naturally to former Olympians, though. Which is why, only a matter of weeks after announcing her retirement from athletics following her silver medal

in Rio, Jess took up distance running. As she built up her confi dence, running through the woods near her house in She� eld a couple of times a week, Jess decided to harness her mixed feelings about running to encourage others to lace up their trainers. Next summer, she will host two events in London that combine running with live music to get people of all ages and athletic ability moving.

It seems a strange choice of retirement project, given that Jess doesn’t exactly harbour fond

memories of her time on the running track. “When I did heptathlon I hated the 800m. It was just really nerve- racking running for that amount of time, but I think I can grow to love running now that I’m doing it for fun. I also think it’s the best way to keep fi t. You can go straight out from your house, so

it’s quick and you can make it as hard or as easy as you want by incorporating intervals or just jogging.”

Jess passionately believes that getting fi t doesn’t have

to entail extortionate gym memberships or gruelling

workouts you spend the whole week dreading. Has our weight-obsessed society lost sight of the fact that exercise is something to enjoy in its own right rather than the punishing route to an Instagram-worthy body?

“You defi nitely get the feeling that people

go out there to train, but they don’t particularly enjoy it. They just want to make their body look better than it is. Keeping fi t should be fun. I’ve always loved competing, and having toned legs and muscle is a bonus, but it isn’t why I do sport in the fi rst place.”

Has she called on her former Team GB colleagues the long-distance champions Mo Farah and Paula Radcli� e for advice? “I haven’t, but my coach [Toni Minichiello , with whom she worked from her teens to her retirement] keeps trying to give me pointers and I feel like saying, ‘ Those days are over!’”

For the time being, Jess is focusing on the 5km distance — but I can’t help feeling her competitive spirit will kick back in and she’ll be training for triathlons or entering the London Marathon.

“No way,” she retorts. “I can never see myself running for that amount of time. As an athlete, I’ve pushed my body through so many horrible breaking points that it’s such a nice feeling not to worry about injuries any more. I’m exercising in a way that I enjoy and my mind feels clear.” ■Jessica Ennis-Hill is presenting VitalityMove, a new running and music event series ; vitalitymove.co.uk

0 8 T H E S E A R C H F O R I M M O R TA L I T Y

Avocado oil — a miracle in a bottle?Is this just the latest attempt to fl og us expensive elixirs? Has the avocado marketing board been given extra budget? Well, no. Extra-virgin avocado oil has a monounsaturated fat level of 72%, about fi ve percentage points higher than olive oil. Which is a good thing. It has about 13% saturated fat, compared with olive oil’s 17%. Which is also a good thing. And it has high levels of vitamin E. An egg fried in avocado oil tastes delicious.

JESS’S RUNNING

RULES

Set a goal Whether it be a 1km

run in your local park or a marathon, sign up to an event

to spur you on when your motivation

starts to fl ag

Find a buddy It’s much harder

to stop when your friend is striding out

alongside you

Make a killer playlist

You need music that fi res you up. I listen to Kanye West, Beyoncé,

Arctic Monkeys and lots of Jay Z

across the grass with balletic ease. “I went on a run with my friend Hannah a couple of weeks ago and we did 6km. It was so far! I was so tired. I kept saying, ‘Let’s not go too fast.’”

Hang on a minute, Jess, I say. You’re one of the all-time great British athletes. At London 2012 you won an Olympic gold medal for heptathlon — one of the most physically demanding disciplines around. Three years later you became the fi rst female athlete ever to bounce back from childbirth to win a multi-event world title . When it comes to physical feats of heroic proportions, you’re unstoppable.

Jess isn’t having any of it. “I couldn’t compete over really long distances,” she insists. “The heptathlon events are very explosive and I only have to run 800m, so to line up for a 5km or a 10km run would be quite a challenge for me.”

Shying away from challenges doesn’t come naturally to former Olympians, though. Which is why, only a matter of weeks after announcing her retirement from athletics following her silver medal

their trainers. Next summer, she will host two events in London that combine running with live music to get people of all ages and athletic ability moving.

It seems a strange choice of retirement project, given that Jess doesn’t exactly harbour fond

memories of her time on the running track. “When I did heptathlon I hated the 800m. It was just really nerve- racking running for that amount of time, but I think I can grow to love running now that I’m doing it for fun. I also think it’s the best way to keep fi t. You can go straight out from your house, so

it’s quick and you can make it as hard or as easy as you want by incorporating intervals or just jogging.”

Jess passionately believes that getting fi t doesn’t have

to entail extortionate gym memberships or gruelling

workouts you spend the whole week dreading. Has our weight-obsessed society lost sight of the fact that exercise is something to enjoy in its own right rather than the punishing route to an Instagram-worthy body?

“You defi nitely get the feeling that people

RULES

Set a goal 0 5 M U S C L E U P

TRX trainingIn a TRX class, you use straps, straddles, your own bodyweight and a manageable amount of gymnastics to “sculpt”

your muscles. If you don’t have any muscles, this is a quick and physiologically

gentle way to get some. TRX is now available at

fi tnessfi rst.co.uk, virginactive.co.uk, ten.

co.uk and heartcore.co.uk

The Sunday Times Magazine • 98 • The Sunday Times Magazine

Fitn

ess 3

0Go jogging with an Olympic legend

Jessica Ennis-Hill sets the pace for Ellie Austin and tells her why she’s swapped the heptathlon for distance running

“I’ve pushed my body through so many breaking points, it’s nice not to worry about injuries any more”

PARK LIFE Ellie and Jess in Hyde Park. Since she has retired, Jess has been doing 5km runs “for fun”

06