Hello everyone! In this episode, given the time of the year, I wanted to discuss approaching the festive period from a bodybuilding perspective.

To help give the best take-aways from this, I have mainly gone through my previous mistakes around this time of year & how I have been able to change this to where I am today.

I mainly speak though my own experience as an example because there is, of course, no specific right & wrong way of managing this. Only one that is relative to your circumstances and your goals.

I hope you find this episode helpful and that it allows you to have an amazing month ahead over Christmas & the New year, however you like to celebrate!

Instagram - @naturalfemalemuscle

Coaching - https://form.typeform.com/to/iZ9zMXjK

Episode 31: Claire Burton PNBA Pro

Claire is a professional Women’s Physique Athlete. Having attained professional status & won titles with PNBA, WNBF & DFAC along with also claiming titles within non-tested federations.

Claire began her competitive journey 10 years ago, at 42, where since then she has only gone from strength to strength.

It was amazing to have the opportunity to sit down with Claire for this episode to discuss more in depth about her bodybuilding journey & how she has got to where she is today! 

I hope you all enjoy this episode. If you do please share & tag us on instagram!

@ClaireBurton_FigurePro

@NaturalFemaleMuscle

Time Stamps:

00:00 - Introduction to Sport with Kickboxing & Transiting to training

06:32 -08:11 The First Introduction towards Competing

08:12 - 12:49 The First Season in 2014 as Figure Athlete & becoming DFAC Pro

12:50 - 17:00 The Difference in viewing the bodybuilding Process AFTER the first Prep & Success

17:01 - 22:19 Making the transition from Figure towards Physique

22:20 - 25:49 How to Manage Travelling for shows as an Athlete

25:50 - 28:09 Claire’s Peaking Protocol & The Benefits of working with Nathan as a Coach for an entire Decade

28:10 - 29:59 Experiencing a Lack of Confidence in Prep & Managing this

31:00 - 33:50 Finding a Community with the UKDFBA

33:51 -36:09 Being able to Enjoy the Time on Stage

36:10 - 39:59 Creating a Support Network as an Athlete

40:00 - 43:51 Starting Bodybuilding & Training Regardless of Age OR Point in Life

43:52 - 47:39 Goals for Claire Ahead & Outro

On this weeks Episode, I dive into the pros, cons & considerations for both training with a training partner or training on your own.

A lot of people often worry or try to consider which is 'better', but in all honesty there is a lot to be taken from both scenarios when you have the right awareness.

I hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, please follow & rate the podcast!

Thank you for listening!

Instagram: @NaturalFemaleMuscle / @Loz.v

Hey Guys, back with a solo episode this week to touch upon a topic that I see effects a lot of athletes, but especially females.

I talk through what it really means to be a bodybuilder, along with the barriers that get in the way of us feeling validated in being a bodybuilder also.

I hope that this episode helps you feel more confident and assured in yourself & your process. But, as always, if anyone has any other questions or concerns please always feel free to get in touch! 

Thank you for listening!

Instagram: @naturalfemalemsucle

Ally is a Women’s Physique Competitor, having won multiple titles in this division - including, the UKDFBA Heart of England title, 2nd at the UKDFBA British & BNBF British Champ in her last year of competing in 2022.

Although 2022 was not Ally’s first year of competing - she actually competed for the first time in 2021 as a Figure Competitor.

It’s been amazing to see the success Ally has come into as a physique athlete, after never expecting to really fall into a journey with competitive bodybuilding.

This episode Has just gone Live on Both YouTube & Spotify!

This episode really emphasises the importance of having a positive journey with bodybuilding & prioritising falling in love with training prior to considering competing.

00:00 - 07:59 Ally’s Background years of Training prior to Bodybuilding

08:00 - 13:31 The Differences in training at the Beginning vs Now. The benefits of being ‘trained’ in some way, for long periods of time.

13:32 - 15:59 Being introduced to Bodybuilding through Ally’s Husband & DSL

16:00 - 20:19 Trialling the first shorter Prep in 2021

20:20 - 25:08 How People can influence your perspective on Bodybuilding

25:09 - 30:39 Being able to develop on what you learn within your first prep

30:40 - 35:29 The transition into the second 2022 & setting up an effective prep

35:30 - 41:59 Managing Bodyweight to Avoid ‘Chasing’ after stage condition in Prep

42:00 - 45:59 Prioritising the Look across a Prep

46:00 - 50:59 Peak Week Protocols at different points in Prep

51:00 - 57:26 The Feeling coming away from the 2022 Season & Making the right decisions

57:28 - 01:06:29 Reality of coming away from true stage condition post show.

01:06:30 - 01:08:27 Outro

If you enjoyed the episode, please make sure to share & tag @NaturalFemaleMuscle!

Monique is an extremely successful competitive athlete. Winning multiple PCA titles, the 2022 BNBF British Figure Champ & runner up at DFAC Worlds.

She has truly come into some amazing results within her first few years of competing.

However, the journey to this stage as an athlete for Monique is one that has forced her to really appreciate the sport & develop herself as a bodybuilder in order to enjoy competing for all of the right reasons. Whilst ultimately, enabling her to pursue her potential.

Aside from being athlete, Monique is also an incredible Mum of 4 alongside working as a full time management consultant - something that has played a huge role in her journey.

00:00 - 06:59 Monique’s Journey into Bodybuilding after having Children

07:00 - 12:45 The first prep experience in 2021 & appreciating what it takes to be a bodybuilder

12:46 - 15:59 The Differences with a successful, but long, 2022 Competitive Season

16:00 - 19:44 The Challenge of not being able to appreciate your achievements

19:45 - 25:04 Lessons Learned from the PCA Universe

24:05 - 27:12 Acknowledging Genetic Potential

27:13 - 33:44 Managing Bodybuilding alongside Family Life & Being a Mum

33:45 - 37:59 Changes Being Coached by Dan Wellburn into this Off-Season

38:00 - 45:17 The Next Competing Goals ahead for 2025 & Remaining a Natural Athlete

Collette is a Natural Female Bodybuilder, having competed in her first season as a figure athlete in 2015.

In that time she has actually transitioned up from the figure category all the way towards Womens Bodybuilding with her return back to the stage in 2021. She has won multiple titles in this category where in her last season in 2021, she took home the Heart of England Women's BB title, a top 3 at the British with UKDFBA & the British at the NPA.

Colette has also been professional photographer for 21 years, now also running her own photography business where she now directs her attention with this to her passions within the fitness industry.

In this episode we were able to discuss a wide range of topics relating to the experience of bodybuilding & competing as a female. It was particularly interesting to explore how this has changed for Collette over the years & how this has reflected in her prep this year.

I hope you enjoy listening!

Collette’s Instagram: @collette_evans_photo

Podcast Instagram : @naturalfemalemuscle

Time Stamps

00:00 - 03:59 Introduction & Collette’s background into Bodybuilding

04:00 - 08:59 Not actually enjoying the first competing experience

09:00 - 17:30 Taking the Positives from Bodybuilding

17:31 - 20:04 The Perspective of Bodybuilding to people outside the Industry

20:05 - 26:55 Time away from Bodybuilding & then finding Natural Federations

26:56 -36:14 Finding the Right Coach & Learning more about YOUR bodybuilding process

36:15 - 45:15 Nutrition Protocols over a Prep & Response Differences

45:16 - 58:25 Positive Body Image & The Influence of Photoshoots in Off-Season

58:26 - 01:07:00 Collette’s Plans for this years Prep & Overall Goals as an Athlete

This week we are joined again by Dr Zena, following on from her return to stage this year. 


We catch up on the results and experiences of the most recent shows, but most importantly we really dive into managing expectation as a returning competitive athlete.

Whilst expectation management is often discussed in the context of first timers, it can actually be far more difficult as a returning competitor when more pressure or ‘noise’ can really affect your process.

Zena gives a fantastic insight on how she has been able to view this going into the prep & how she now is able to manage this heading into the British Finals.

I hope that any returning competitors, whether you are in off-season or prep right now, are able to take some positive perspective away from this episode!

Thank you in advance, for listening!

You can find Zena on Instagram @_Dr.Zena

The Podcast Instagram: @NaturalFemaleMuscle

If you did enjoy the episode please make sure to rate & follow the podcast.

And please share/tag the podcast on Instagram!

Time Stamps:

00:00 - 03:50 Introduction & the Wrap up of Recent Shows

03:51 - 07:41 How did Zena Manage her Headspace around these first outings

07:42 -12:40 Enjoying Competing in a Different Category/Federation

12:41 -16:54 Potential Long Term Goals in other Categories

16:55 - 20:59 Managing having more External “Noise” & Expectation

21:00 - 30:39 Balancing how much you share on Social Media

30:40 - 38:49 Managing your own Internal Noise as an Athlete across different phases

38:40 - 40:223 The Main Take-Away Points & Outro

Really enjoyed discussing this topic for you guys this week. One that I can most definitely relate to a lot from my own experience & also guiding a lot of clients through this specific process.

University can be quite a difficult and challenging time in general, never-mind with bodybuilding thrown into the mix.

However, I do absolutely promise you that it is not only something that you can manage, but also something that you can really succeed at simultaneously with your efforts at your university.

I hope this episode helps to provide you with some further insight & awareness! If you do have any specific questions or would like any further support please just let me know!

You can DM me at: @loz.v or @NaturalFemaleMuscle

Longer off-seasons, are not only something that are often quite misunderstood but also feared by a lot of competitors too.


I think it’s important we really dig into the TRUTH of what comes with these time periods & what that means for us as athletes.

Hopefully this episode allows you to take away some great understanding so that you can shift your perspective on what these longer off-seasons really mean.

If you enjoy this episode please make sure to like share, rate , follow & let me know your thoughts in the Q&A!