Supermum Laura is a Ninja Warrior hopeful
Ex-cop shed 6 stones in 6 months after birth of son
Superfit East Kilbride mum Laura Reid could be hitting our screens after shedding the baby weight t o become a successful bodybuilder.
Within j ust s i x months t he former cop, from The Murray, lost a whopping six stones following the birth of her second son Marcus, now two, and is now a size 10.
And now Laura, who turns 40 this year, could be taking on the toughest obstacle course on TV after landing an audition for the hit IT V show Ninja Warrior UK.
The producers of t he s how were impressed by the ambitious s i n g l e m u m’s r e m a r k a b l e t r a n s f o r mat i o n , b a t t l i n g t h e bulge to take gold in the United Ki n g d o m B o d y b u i l d i n g a n d Fi t n e s s Fe d e r a t i o n ( UKBFF ) S c ot t i s h Championships l ast mont h – c o mpet i n g a g a i n s t experienced bodybuilders half her age.
Laura told the News she was determined not to become “one of those mums” who piled on the pounds because they couldn’t find the time to work out and revealed her incredible results are down to home workouts and social media.
“When I was pregnant with Marcus I gained t hree st ones taking me up to 14 stones at my heaviest”, said Laura.
“I worried if I would be able to bounce back after he was born and decided to work hard to lose the weight.
“But, having no childcare with no family in EK, I had to do it all from home.”
Through the power of social media, Laura f ol l owed ot her exercising mums on Instagram and started her own online fitness blog, charting her progress.
She al s o made t he dif f i cult decision to end her 11 year career in the police force to follow her fitness ambitions.
Laura added: “I was walking 10 miles a day with Marcus in the buggy and every time he slept I was on a mission – doing press ups on the stairs, skipping, doing pad work with friends and getting out the yoga mat.
“I then got a personal trainer at the gym who helped me with my nutrition and training regimes, as well as building my confidence, and I was encouraged to start competing as a bodybuilder.
“I c a me t h i r d i n my f i r s t S c o t t i s h c o mp e t i t i o n – t h e athletic category of the Physical Culture Association ( PCA) i n Lanarkshire in April – and first in the UKBFF for masters body fitness.
“It was an amazing achievement consider i ng my age and the fact that I was selftaught and did all this in such a short space of time.
“Some of these girls are in their 20s and have trained for years so I was the underdog against well known faces.”
Laura is aiming to bulk up over the next few months to have a c ha n c e a t wi n n i n g a B r i t i s h bodybuilding title.
But, although she has received overwhelming support from her family and friends, Laura admits, at first, her mum wasn’t so keen on her new body.
She said: “I’ve had amazing feedback from people but my mum wasn’t too impressed at first.
“She thought I was addicted to the gym and getting too muscly and said I would end up looking like a man!
“Whe n y o u a r e p o s i n g i n competitions you do look bigger – and all the tan and oil makes a massive difference – but people say when they see me in person I’m not as big as in the pictures.
“But my mum soon realised just how hard I’ve worked and is very proud of me.”
Laura, who takes metafit and spin classs at Xercise4Less East Ki l br i de, audi t i ons f or Ninja Warrior on July 5.
A fan of the show, she hopes telling her inspirational story on TV will boost her fitness career even further.
She added: “This is a major Before coup for me. I love a challenge so I would love to be on it – I would jump about like a mad woman!
“It will be tough going at the audition but hopefully my story will grab their attention.
“This time last year I didn’t think I would be where I am today so to anyone who thinks they can’t get their body back after having children – you really can.
“If you look good, you feel good so don’t give up, just make the time and don’t let your age stop you.”
Follow Laura’s fitness success at ELLE-R-FIT on Facebook.