How Barnaby’s ex-wife Natalie Joyce got her bodybuilder body

Barnaby’s ex has stunned Australia with her transformation into a bodybuilder. Now footage of her gruelling training has emerged.

Natalie Joyce looked incredible during the iComplete Natural bodybuilding competition held in Newcastle on Sunday. Picture: Ignacio Tse

After Natalie Joyce’s marriage to Barnaby Joyce broke down, she joined her local gym and never looked back.

The mother of four has transformed herself into one fit and strong woman through sheer grit and determination.

Videos on her personal trainer, Kylie Steel’s Instagram account, show the gruelling lengths Natalie went to before competing in her first bodybuilding competition in Newcastle on the weekend.

Natalie Joyce weighed 70kg before her bodybuilding transformation. Now she’s shy of 55kg. Here’s she’s pictured in a green bikini in her first bodybuilding competition. Picture: Ignacio Tse

In one video she’s seen pulling down on a piece of heavy equipment as she works her shoulder muscles and tones her arms.

The movement is clearly really tough, with Natalie’s face showing she’s concentrating hard.

Proud Kylie, who is a personal trainer at 360 Fitness Club in Tamworth, tells Natalie she is “smashing it” in the clip.

“There is no better reward for a PT than a client achieving outstanding results through the knowledge you have provided! I couldn’t be more proud @nat.joyce keep smashing it my girl! Love your work!” she wrote alongside the video.

In a separate clip, Natalie is stood in the gym using a piece of equipment where she pulls down on some heavy weights.

It seems her dedication was so strong that she even spent her 49th birthday in December at the gym, refusing to not let anything sway her from her competition goal.

On the day, she was filmed doing an intense hamstring and glutes workout.

“Hammy and glutes birthday session!!! I’m counting on DOMS tomorrow @nat.joyce!!#hamstrings #glutes #doms #legday #birthdaytraining,” Kylie captioned her Instagram post of Natalie training.

Thanks to these intense workouts, she’s shed 15kg, placed fourth in a bodybuilding competition and proudly flaunted her impressive results in The Daily Telegraph.

Back in March she told Woman’s Day she had an epiphany after her estranged husband left her for his staffer Vikki Campion — with the pair now expecting their second child together.

“I decided this was not going to break me but be the making of me,” she said of their affair. “At the time, as the collapse of our marriage played out so publicly, I won’t lie — I was not in a good place.”

But Natalie has come out the other end, not only transforming her physical state but her mental strength too.

She wasn’t going to let Barnaby’s affair with his staffer Vikki Campion affect her. So instead of unravelling, she aimed to get the best out of herself. Picture Ray Strange

NATALIE’S BODYBUILDING TRANSFORMATION — DIET AND TRAINING

Before she started on her body building journey, Natalie, who is 160cm, weighed 70kg. Today she tips the scale just shy of 55kg.

She’s previously said she cut out sugar, bad fats and unfriendly carbs and replaced them with healthy choices.

She was quick to emphasise it was not some crazy crash diet but rather a well-planned program to boost her fitness and strength.

And if the diet of her trainer Kylie, a former body builder, is anything to go by, some of Natalie’s post-training meals would have involved an omelette made with egg white, tomato, spinach and mushroom.

Some of Kylie’s other favourite meals include salmon with asparagus, broccoli with minted salad and watermelon.

Judging by her Instagram videos, Natalie was put through intense weight workouts. Kylie is a big fan of just “taking your time and focusing on muscle engagement and form”.

She won two medals in the First Timers and Miss Fitness Model Momma categories at the iCompete Natural North Coast Classic body building competition. Picture: Ignacio Tse

WHY BODY BUILDING?

Natalie said she had always wanted to be a body builder, and after her marriage breakdown, she had two choices — “either unravel or shake myself off”.

She said she wouldn’t have made it through the darkness if it wasn’t for her daughters — Bridgette, 22, Julia, 20, Caroline, 19, and Odette, 16 — that she shares with Barnaby.

Natalie told The Daily Telegraph her daughters “thought I had gone mad when I told them I would be strutting my stuff wearing nothing more than a skimpy bikini, flexing my muscles for all to see”.

Odette, Bridgette, Natalie, Barnaby, Caroline and Julia.

But they’re incredibly proud of their mother who has turned a difficult situation into one that empowers her and other women who share similar experiences.

“Well done @nat.joyce What an inspiration you are to all women,” one woman commented on a photo of Natalie with her trainer after reaping two medals at the competition.

“I am so proud of you! Your courage is inspiring. It’s great to see you living your best life!! Men may come and go, but we will always have ourselves,” added another.

“This is awesome! Go @nat.joyce talk about finding strength and a better life in hardship! You are an inspiration! It’s what everyone should do, what an amazing woman! Totally love this!”