Overweight mum now bodybuilding champ in making

‘I like the look, I don’t see it as masculine’

A mum-of-two who used to weigh more than 16 stone is making waves in global bodybuilding competitions.

After giving birth to her children, Frances Amies-Winter, from Barming, gained four stone and, in a bid to slim down, started running five years ago. This soon developed into a passion for female heavyweight bodybuilding.

To achieve her physique, the 37-year-old spends nearly 60 hours a week in Redemption Fitness in St Peter’s Street - a gym she owns with husband Steve. The 49-year-old, a former British power lifting champion who came second in Britain’s Strongest Man several times, has been coaching his wife.

Mrs Amies-Winter said: “When I was a child I remember seeing male bodybuilders and thinking they looked like superheroes. I always wanted to look like that but it wasn’t until I met my husband that I had the confidence to to go ahead and do it.”

In the run-up to competitions, which she started in 2018, Frances only eats fish and broccoli four times a day as well as three or four protein shakes. She said: “We basically breathe, eat, sleep bodybuilding.”

Earlier this month, Mrs Amies-Winter came second in the International Bodybuilding Fitness Association (IBFA) world championships in Rome,

Italy. On the day she weighed 13 stone of lean muscle and only had six per cent body fat.

It was only the fourth competition she had entered.

She said: “To be second in the world after four competitions is almost unheard of.”

The gym enthusiast said she has received positive and negative comments about her look. “People either love it or hate it, it seems to stir people’s emotions up.

“Women are accused of looking like men and looked down on but I like the look, I don’t see it as masculine.”

Mrs Amies-Winter, who has two children - Max, eight, and Grace, 11 - added: “My kids love it. They are still of the age where they believe in superheroes and like the fact their parents look like them.”

Mrs Amies-Winter has qualified to compete in the IBFA’s Universe and European championships and said she intends to enter the Romanian Muscle Fest next year to get a pro card so she can compete at a professional level.