Meet the female bodybuilder who eats a seven meals a day in preparation for her gruelling three hour training sessions.
Kelly Hooper, 35, is a mum-of-two , a hairdresser and a weight-lifting machine.
Two years ago she began using her toned body to enter bikini competitions – now the Welsh lass wows the judges in the body-building category.
She now holds the National Amateur Body Builders’ Association (NABBA) title of Miss Wales Toned Figure and has won a plethora of other awards, reports Wales Online .
She said: “My husband has been into his body building for years and it never really interested me before. One day he asked me if I wanted to come to the gym and it just went from there really.
“People who knew me before knew I never would have got up on a stage in my bikini. It just wasn’t me and I never thought I would have had the confidence to do something like that.
“The more I started training and going to the gym the more I thought ‘why shouldn’t I show off all of my hard work?’
“Now I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do, my confidence has grown and I can’t wait for the next competition and the next one.
“It becomes a part of your life and makes you feel 100 per cent better about yourself.
“If I get up in the morning and feel like I can’t be bothered I go to the gym and come out feeling so much better.”
How often does she train
Hairdresser Kelly trains every day of the week and usually spends around three hours in the gym a day.
She trains weights most of the time, but will spend one day a week only doing cardiovascular exercise.
“I wake up in the morning at around 6am and I do fasted cardio for around 20 minutes, usually on the bike,” she said.
“Then I take the kids to school and go straight to the gym and train weights with my trainer. After that I’ll do a little cardio depending on where I am in my competition prep.
“In the nights then when my kids go to whatever classes they want to I will go to a class like boxing or funky pump – because I enjoy them and it’s fun.”
What does she eat?
Kelly’s diet varies depending on the time of year, whether she is competing and what part of her body she plans on training that day.
She said: “If I am in competition season I have to stick to a very strict diet plan and can’t variate away from it.
“But usually I eat my food around my training. So If I trained my legs one day I’d have to eat more carbohydrates and things because it is a big part of my body.
Does she ever have ‘cheat’ days?
Once a week Kelly needs a re-feed (that’s a cheat day to you and I) where she treats herself to something that’s not on her diet plan.
“People don’t usually have a full cheat day but will have a cheat hour or a cheat evening where they have something that they fancy.
“Mine is usually on a Saturday and we’ll all go out as a family and treat ourselves to something that we want. My husband and kids will have a pizza but I won’t because I’m allergic to gluten.
“I’ll have something like cereal or chocolate or biscuits – anything I’ve been fancying throughout the week I’ll save them up for Saturday.
Does she drink alcohol?
Many people who compete in the body building world stay away from alcohol (maybe because it often leads to a large kebab and cheesy chips at the end of the night) and Kelly is no different, haven given up alcohol completely.
“I go from Christmas to Christmas without drinking any alcohol and to be honest i don’t miss it at all.
“I’ve never been a big drinker, even before I started training, so it makes no difference to me now.
“Alcohol is full of sugar and I see it as empty calories – I’d rather eat my calories than drink them.
“Some people still have a drink now and again and that’s fine. Everybody is different and live the lifestyle they want to live.”
An example of Kelly’s diet plan
This is what Kelly eats in a typical day. Amounts vary depending on what body part is being trained and what point in her competition preparation she is.
It is important to note that diet plans are usually tailored to individual people based on their height, weight, training plan and goals.
Meal 1 – 7am
Lean beef and vegetables
Meal 2 – 10:30am after training
Whey protein shake and one banana
Meal 3 – 12pm
Chicken, rice and vegetables
Meal 4 – 2pm
Chicken, rice and vegetables
Meal 5 – 4:30pm
Turkey, rice and vegetables
Meal 6 – 7pm
Turkey and vegetables
Meal 7 – 9pm
Casein protein shake.
She also drinks three litres of water every day.
What advice would she give other women wanting to compete?
“I think if you want to compete you have to really want to do it. It’s not for everyone, some people just enjoy going to the gym and exercising and some people like to compete.
“But one of the biggest pieces of advise I could give is that you’ve got to just find a gym that suits what you want to do.
“It helps that I go to a really good and family friendly gym. They do kids classes as well so the whole family can get involved.
“Training has become part of our daily lifestyle and I love the people in my gym. We’re like a community – we go go on gym nights out and have award ceremonies.”
Courtesy of: Mirror