Ben Lloyd, 38, won the title of European Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA) pro champion on October 29, by following a strict routine and diet to achieve the demanding criteria.
The personal trainer shared how he keeps himself motivated and ready to compete in the cut-throat sport.
He said: “It is very strict. For drug free bodybuilding, the diets tend to be a lot harder.
“I’ve been dieting for about 35 weeks and train about four times a week.
“It has been a tough time but doing PT sessions helps me stay on track and keeps me distracted.
“I’ve managed to juggle this with my family and work which is hard because you’ve got to commit a lot to it, but my partner has helped me a lot.
“Bodybuilding can be quite a selfish pursuit, but it’s also helped me become a better PT and helps my clients a lot more because I’m more knowledgeable.”
Ben has been a personal trainer for 10 years and during the first three he struggled to help people properly because he “didn’t have much knowledge about dieting and fitness.”
He said: “One of the reasons I started competing was to learn more about diets and how to do one and to better myself.
“My main incentive was to obviously help others, but I had to know how to improve myself first before supporting others.
“I really do value helping others who want to lose fat or start getting into fitness because when you help someone get a result, they’re happy and proud of it.
“It’s a really rewarding feeling, so doing this sport has helped me with that.”
In 2016, the-dad-of-two started competing in the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation and became a professional.
He then became British champion in the UK Drug Free Bodybuilding Association (UKDFBA) in 2019, before competing as a professional in this year’s PNBA European finals in Hungary.
Ben is heading to America next week to compete in two world finals – the Natural Olympia final in Las Vegas from November 10-13 and the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation’s final in Los Angeles from November 19-20.
Natural bodybuilding means that athletes do not use any performance enhancing drugs or steroids, which aid in the muscle building and fat loss process but also have a number of hazardous side effects.
