“At first it was agony, but after a couple of weeks you get into it and it becomes routine.”
A Bolton mum has revealed her routine that saw her go from a ‘couch potato’ to competitive body builder. Before her extraordinary transformation, Lyndsey Kelly would eat takeaways at least once a week, drink every weekend and rarely exercise.
But when the mum-of-one reached her mid 40s, she decided it was time to turn her life around. The 47-year-old hired a personal trainer and started waking up as early as 4am for workouts before heading off for 12-shifts as a machine operator.
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Now, Lyndsey has lost nearly five stone by doing 40 minutes of fasted cardio at 4am five times a week and eating the same meals every single day.
She has found a love for weightlifting and now at 8st 8lbs she competes in bodybuilding competition.
“I work 12 hour shifts so I get up at 4am and do 40 minutes of fasted cardio, then I walk to work and do a weights session in the gym after my shift finishes,” she said.
“At first it was agony, but after a couple of weeks you get into it and it becomes routine. I quite enjoy it now because I like the structure and the discipline but that only comes with time.
“I’m not killing myself with cardio, it’s just consistency.” Lyndsey says she was previously a “couch potato” who did no cardio and sat around drinking every weekend.
She said: “I was eating too much, drinking too much, having takeaways and doing no exercise. I’d just had enough.
“I changed for my son. I wanted to be a role model and show him what you can achieve.”
In January 2024, Lyndsey decided to make a change and entered an online competition to win three months of coaching with a personal trainer.
Although she didn’t win, the coach contacted her afterwards to ask if she still wanted to work together.
Lyndsey told Talk to the Press: “I thought the money I’d spend on coaching was the money I’d been spending on alcohol and takeaways anyway.
“I pay for three months coaching at a time which costs me £350, which is cheap compared to some coaches out there, but it’s a lifestyle choice.
“I yo-yo’d with my weight over the years, particularly when my son was young as he was my priority and I would put myself on the backburner.
“But he is 16 now so I’ve got so much more time. I signed up with Craig two and a half years ago and I still check in with him every Sunday. I know I can’t get away with anything.”
Lyndsey swapped chicken kebabs for five meals a day which are carefully weighed out.
Every single day, Lyndsey’s menu includes oats and yoghurt, chicken and rice, chicken wraps, mince meat with potatoes and vegetables, and sourdough bread with peanut butter.
Her coach was a bodybuilding specialist so got into bodybuilding straight away, eventually building up to enter the 2026 NABBA North West bodybuilding competition.
Now her cardio work typically involves time on a static bike or on the Stairmaster, and most of her weight work focuses on heavy dumbbells.
Lyndsey said: “Women always say that they don’t want to get too bulky and that they just want to tone up, but toning up comes from building muscle.
“You’re not going to turn into a man overnight by lifting weights. It’s actually very hard for women to build muscle because we don’t naturally have the same testosterone levels, so its all about what we eat.”
On June 13, the mum finished second in the NABBA North West bodybuilding finals. She initially entered in the toned category but judges moved her into the athletic class because of her muscle definition and conditioning.
She said: “I was really nervous, but what I’ve taken away is to just have fun, don’t take it too seriously.
“Everybody is so lovely and puts you at ease. You’ve worked hard so it’s time to show it off.”
Lyndsey now shares her fitness journey with her 11,000 followers on Instagram @lynds.lifts.
For anyone considering starting their own fitness journey later in life, she advises: “You’ve got to get used to it and give it time. It can be a bit boring at first, but once you start seeing results, you realise it works. Trust the process.”
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