How these ordinary women became bikini-wearing bodybuilders

STARVING, thirsty and exhausted, these woman might look incredible in bikinis on stage, but they’re putting themselves through hell.

Carla Gee

3 min read

March 12, 2017 - 5:54PM

A mother of two, Clio Austin went from looking like an ordinary mum to being a bodybuilding bikini model. It wasn’t easy.

STARVING, thirsty and exhausted, Clio Austin had become “obsessed” with achieving one thing: Her dream body, for a bodybuilding competition.

In September last year, Austin, 35, stood on stage in a bikini and heels, and competed as a muscled bikini model at an International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA) Queensland competition.

She’s part of an emerging trend, in which ordinary women sacrifice their health and personal lives, all in the name of extreme fitness.

Austin had felt that her body — and life — were “stuck in a rut”. A mother of two young children and new to the city of Brisbane, Austin felt depressed, and missed working as a personal trainer — a career she’d left behind eight years ago.

Clio Austin before her transformation.

Clio Austin competing on stage.

To radically improve her life, Austin chose to train towards becoming a Bikini Model bodybuilder.

This involved gruelling, 90 minute training sessions at the gym, five days a week. In the evenings, she practised her bodybuilding poses at a specialised bodybuilding gym.

Any spare time was spent in her kitchen, weighing ingredients for meals that she would cook and freeze, as part of her 1500-calories-per-day diet.

“I was so obsessed with the whole process,” she recalls.

This is all Clio would eat for lunch, as part of her 1500 calorie a day diet.

The final days before the competition made Austin want to give up. She may have looked strong, but in reality, Austin felt extremely weak and fatigued.

“Mentally and physically, not having any energy and still having to look after the kids, do the housework — that’s the hardest part,” Austin explains.

Competitors like Austin — motivated first-timers who will do anything to get “comp ready” — are becoming more common on the bodybuilding scene.

“It’s kind of a fad at the moment,” says Jacqui Warnock, 29, an experienced bodybuilder. “Competing, especially in Bikini [division], is very popular.”

“You see all these photos on social media of girls on stage, in their bikinis, looking absolutely amazing. Who doesn’t want to look like that? Who doesn’t want to achieve that body?” says Warnock.

Fellow bikini bodybuilder Jacqui Warnock.

Warnock is a six-time competitor in the Figure and Bodybuilding divisions of INBA and ANB (Australasian Natural Bodybuilding), and winner of several medals.

A Sydney-based personal trainer at Fitspire and Fitness First, Warnock has also trained four of her clients for bodybuilding competitions.

Warnock’s first competition, at age 24, was to be the first memorable achievement of her adult life.

“I hadn’t studied, and I didn’t have a degree. I don’t have my school certificate. It was one of the first things that I wanted to do and talked about that I actually ended up achieving.”

After she had put her body “through hell”, Warnock achieved second place in the INBA NSW Figure division, a category focused on muscularity and posing, all while maintaining a fulltime job as a childcare worker. She was hooked.

Jacqui Warnock before and after becoming a bodybuilder.

Since reinventing herself as a bodybuilder and personal trainer, Warnock has transformed her lifestyle.

“If I go out with friends, I’m eating out of a Tupperware container with them. It’s just a lot easier to bring food, so that you know what you’re eating, and you’re not going over your calories.”

Warnock credits her bodybuilding training with changing her life “completely”, and giving her happiness and confidence. She thrives on the discipline and challenge, and loves “the look of strength physically”.

One competition day last September, when she and her two bodybuilding clients placed first in their divisions, was what Jacqui describes as “the best day of my life”.

Jacqui Warnock competing.

While many of her friends and family are also “very proud” of her achievements, there are those who express concern for her health.

“When I’m getting really lean, my face gets quite gaunt and I get really fatigued and tired. And I still keep going. I’m pushing myself way too hard, and they just don’t like that.”

Like Austin, Warnock finds the last few days before the competition to be the toughest.

“You’re working really hard to push your body beyond its limits, and not eating as much as your body needs,” Warnock explains. “Competing isn’t that healthy at the end.”

“You can’t stay comp lean for the whole year. It’s just not possible,” she adds.

Austin agrees that “it’s not realistic to keep that body”. But for her, it was all worth it.

When she finally walked out on stage, she recalls feeling “like a machine”.

“I felt pretty awesome. I was so lean, and I had an 8-pack, I had guns, I had definition everywhere. I could look down at my belly, and it wasn’t popping out like a mum belly.

“I had no actual family or friends there to support or watch me, but I didn’t care.

“I did it for me. I did it so that I could get the body I wanted.”