Building up to world champs - naturally

Julie Baines

Hamilton body builder Julie Baines has her sights firmly set on a place in the team that will represent New Zealand at the International Natural Bodybuilding Association world champs in Hungary in June.

That's no mean feat for Julie - she turned 50 earlier this year. But age certainly isn't holding back the personal trainer.

Julie is in the midst of her preparation for the INBA Classic in Auckland on May 14, where she hopes to qualify for the Worlds in Hungary in the 50-plus 'figure' category.

Far from the stereotypical steroid-fuelled bodybuilder, Julie's physique is all down to plenty of hard work in the gym and natural nutrition - no hormones or drugs pass her lips.

The mum of three first had always gone to the gym and maintained her fitness, but it wasn't until she saw a photo of a female bodybuilder when she was living in New Plymouth that she thought she would like to give that a go.

Personal trainer Brent Taylor coached Julie to a win in just her second year of competition.

"That was unexpected - I was up against one of the best," said Julie.

Brent is still Julie's coach today and has helped her to win gold a number of times since in more than 13 competitions over the past eight years.

"He's been really supportive," says Julie. "He always brings me back ... grounds me when the self-doubt creeps in."

Julie describes the first time she took to the stage as "awful. It was totally outside of my comfort zone."

No longer is it the other bodybuilders in her category that Julie is lining herself up against.

"I am competing against myself - there's always room for improvement," she says.

While Julie isn't super strict about her nutrition 52 weeks a year, her diet does change 12 weeks out from a competition.

All the treats disappear and she makes sure she eats only clean, unprocessed foods and minimal carbohydrates.

"I'm eating more protein, veges, salad, nuts, avocado." There's a smattering of kumara and porridge oats, too.

She gets in a bit of cardio but it's the heavy weights workouts that she focuses on primarily in her well set-up gym at home where she and her clients train. Julie's petite 1.62m stature is no barrier to Julie loading up the leg press with 180-190kg and doing chest presses with a 20kg dumbbell in each hand.

With her body fat currently sitting at about 11.5 per cent, by the time Julie takes to the stage next month her body fat will be about 9 per cent. While a win isn't a given, Julie is "quietly confident" about her chances.

The journey to her stage appearance is a long and lonely one and it's not all plain sailing, but she says it's rewarding.

"There is a lot of preparation ahead of those two minutes you're standing onstage doing a set of poses for 6-8 judges. You can feel grumpy but the key is not to let that impact on your family. It's not just the diet, but also the pressure you put on yourself. But the reward is that you're doing something that not everyone wants to or can do. It keeps me super fit and healthy and it creates self-confidence, self-esteem and a 'can do' attitude."

While Julie gets a kick out of competing against herself, she also finds joy in helping other women find strength and confidence in the gym.

You can follow Julie's journey at https://www.facebook.com/ONE-on-ONE-Fitness-565280873499943/