Former Strictly stars James and Ola Jordan stunned fans at the start of 2023 when they debuted their impressive body transformations. They lost a whopping 6.5 stone in weight between them, with Ola dropping four dress sizes and James losing six inches off his waist.
The secret to their weight loss? A complete lifestyle overhaul encompassing a healthy eating plan and the creation of a brand-new fitness programme: Dance Shred. After the initial success of their weight loss plan, the dancing duo have been working hard behind the scenes to create a fresh follow-up regime called Salsa Shred.
"The original one was 12 weeks. This is a four-week shred which is basically targeted towards people that have maybe booked a last-minute holiday… and they’ve got maybe our weeks. So it’s a four-week salsa shred," James tells HELLO!.
"The reason we picked salsa is because it’s one of the most popular dances within the Dance Shred community."
Salsa Shred promises to be a gruelling pre-holiday workout. James, 45, explains: "We’ve done a very similar thing where we are doing a salsa lower body targeting your legs and bum. Then we’ve got a salsa upper body, targeting chest, back, shoulders. And then we’ve got a salsa core. And you mix that… This is designed for people that want a quick smash."
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"One day you’ll do legs, one day you’ll do core, one day you’ll do upper body, and you’ll rotate that for the two weeks including live workouts with us as well… And then the second two weeks, it’s the same thing, but just much more difficult to the point when we were filming it, it was a proper full-on workout."
Unsurprisingly, Salsa Shred has been a massive confidence booster, as well as benefitting their family life with daughter Ella, three.
"It’s generally made us happier… I can see Ola is happier." James explained.
"She’s back in clothes that she hasn’t worn for years. She dresses differently. You walk around differently, you hold yourself [differently]. You, you feel [healthier], you feel more agile running around after our daughter… We definitely feel better within ourselves."
Ola chimes in agreement, adding: "I’m just as confident, if not more now than I was ten years ago. I mean, I think when you’re younger you look at your body differently. I’m 40 now and I’m happy where I am."
For James, ageing is just an unfortunate part of life. He tells us: "As you get older… You stop producing testosterone. It’s harder to have muscle definition. It’s just a fact of life, you generally get slower. It’s [something] that you just have to accept… It’s going happen to every single person on this planet. And, 'Will I ever look like I did when I was on Strictly?' No."
After their initial weight loss, James and Ola are in what they call “maintenance mode”.
Ola explains: "I feel like we’ve found a balance now. So there’s not really a goal now apart from maybe the odd holiday here and there. We’ve found a balance in how we do Dance Shred workouts and a diet… We haven’t put any weight back on."
James and Polish-born Ola said I do in October 2003. Their love story began in Blackpool in 1999 when they first laid eyes on each other at a dance competition. Ola was later invited to a trial to become James’s new partner - and the rest is history. Two years later, their professional relationship turned romantic and two years after that, James popped the all-important question.
Nearly 20 years of marriage later, the lovebirds appear to be stronger than ever. Despite both appearing on the hit BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, Ola and James adore working with one another.
"You know, we’ve been together for such a long time. We almost [like we become one person]… Automatically, we spur each other on," Ola reveals.
"We love working together and going back to doing Dance Shred, you know, I think we enjoyed working together again… I think it’s hard for other people to maybe understand, but we like spending time together, so [when it comes to working together], it actually works for us… I wouldn’t want to work without him."
Ola and James’s jaw-dropping weight loss has also had a positive impact on their sex life. When it comes to feeling more confident in the bedroom, the loved-up couple are brimming with self-assurance.
Quizzed about whether things are a bit spicier in the bedroom now, Ola tells us: "Definitely. When you dress better, you feel more confident your husband goes, 'Ooh, that’s a nice dress.'
So automatically… It’s starting to be a bit more exciting again… It’s much more fun nowadays. Because when you wear that dress that you had in the cupboard and you couldn’t fit in, it feels really good and definitely gives you more confidence in the bedroom."
After reaping the benefits of their weight loss in all areas of their life, the pair would encourage anyone plagued with low energy and low confidence to try and make a change.
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"I would say, try to do something about it and change a few things. Maybe you just need to find something that will work for you. It’s all about small steps," Ola advises.
The Salsa 4-week Summer Dance Shred is now available exclusively to buy at danceshred.co.uk.