Lifestyle
I went from gym avoider to body building competitor in my 50s
QLD-based Lauren Clemett, 56, found unexpected meaning in life when skydiving on her birthday led to bodybuilding competitions.
By Elli Jacobs
I’d always been the adventurous type. Growing up in Hunua, New Zealand with my siblings, we had an active, outdoor, independent childhood where we would enjoy bushwalking, swimming in the river, even pig catching.
Beginning in my 20s, I tried hang gliding and hot-air ballooning – and skydiving was on my bucket list. For my 50th birthday in 2019, I became the ringleader rallying all my equally adventurous friends to join me for the jump.
It was an awesome day, a moment I’ll never forget. But it wasn’t the thrill of the freefall that left the biggest impact – it was the photos of myself.
I saw a version of myself that I didn’t recognise. A woman in blue overalls who looked unfit, unhealthy and not like the adventurous spirit I believed myself to be. That was my wake-up call, and I knew I had to do something about it.
An 8-week kickstart
Determined to make a change I immediately joined a gym with my husband, Graeme. We had already noticed we weren’t as fit and healthy as we used to be, so this was the push we needed.
We signed up for an eight-week F45 challenge – team training, high intensity workouts within our local community to keep us motivated. Those 45-minute sessions became more than just about burning calories, they changed the way I thought about fitness and nutrition.
Slowly, I started to include more protein in my food, I began to fit my clothes better as I shed some weight, I even surprised myself by mastering burpees and box jumping.
What started as an eight-week challenge turned into a daily commitment. I became a full-blown gym junkie. But I had no idea my journey was only just beginning.
From gym enthusiast to bodybuilder
In 2021, my daughter Kerenza, then 20, had begun training to participate in bodybuilding competitions. She convinced me to join the I Compete Natural (ICN) event – the longest established natural bodybuilding and fitness federation in Australia.
In reality, she just wanted a buddy to suffer through the restrictive diet – chicken, fish, rice, sweet potato and green beans, every single day. No preservatives, no sugar, just whole food.
I decided to challenge myself and we shared the same coach. I had only eight weeks to prepare, so I quit cardio and switched to daily weight training, tracked 10,000 daily steps and meticulously weighed my food.
I entered the Transformation category, which didn’t require spray tans or any complicated posing, just before-and-after photos to show progress.
By competition day in May 2022 on the Sunshine Coast, I had dropped from 65kg to 55kg. Standing on stage in a swimsuit, I was surrounded by incredible women – one who had lost 30kg, another who had survived breast cancer. It was inspiring to see what we can do when we take control of our health.
New bodybuilding challenges
By this time, my daughter, who had won first place in bikini and swimsuit divisions, had become a personal trainer for bodybuilders. I decided to keep going, this time with her as my coach for the May 2024 competition in the Sports category. This was at a more professional level, but as I’ve always been athletic, this category suited me well.
Sports have always been a way for my daughter and me to connect, but training together, having her as my coach and mentor while working toward a shared goal, brought us even closer. At a time when she had moved out of the house, our daily conversations around nutrition and training became a special bond that kept us connected.
For the next two years, my days were planned around workouts, meal prep, drinking enough water, getting the right amount of sleep, whilst running my business helping people win and leverage business awards.
My social life? Let’s just say it dwindled – a lot. But, when I did go out, it was always alcohol-free. Friends would ask why I wasn’t drinking, but I was lucky that they were supportive, so my friendships weren’t affected.
Bodybuilding is not a sociable sport at all. Yet I’m a relatively confident person, so for me it’s not about whether people like me or not, it’s about spending quality time with people who get me.
A bodybuilding life
To fit it all in I’d wake up at 5 am, and hit the gym beginning with a 45-minute weight training session four times a week, alternating between arms and legs session; followed by the stair climber for 20 minutes to get my metabolism going; do up to 30 minutes of posing practice to master stage presence; plus, walk 10,000 steps or more daily after work. If it was raining outside, I would complete them on the treadmill.
My training routine was intense, but even more intense was sticking to the competition diet. I had to adhere to my meal plan to the tee, weighing every portion carefully. You can’t just swap a steak dinner when your plan calls for chicken.
Because of my job I would attend awards gala dinners and red-carpet events carrying a little packet of food with me – a boiled egg and turkey, and while others clinked champagne glasses I drank water. Similarly, when I travelled for keynote speeches, I packed all my weighed meals and asked hotels to heat them up. Most people were incredibly accommodating when I explained my goals.
Mentally, it was tough. Eating only 1,200 calories a day while burning even more? It’s a battle. Brain fog was real, making it hard to concentrate at work. But the payoff was worth it: I competed and won third place in the over-50s category and fifth place in the over-40s.
It showed me that nothing is impossible, if I put my mind to it. Our limitations are self-imposed, and it’s not until I tried that I realised that I could actually become a bodybuilder in my 50s wearing a skimpy bikini and a spray tan, posing confidently on stage.
Finding balance after the competition
I understand how body dysmorphia can become an issue in bodybuilding. It’s easy to scrutinise tiny “flaws” as it’s such a controlled environment and you’re working on “perfecting” small muscle groups during training.
Even now, I catch myself thinking my arms could be more toned or my body looks “puffier” than I’d like. But with my daughter as my coach, I remain grounded.
We talked a lot about body image during training, and she’s made sure I focus on the bigger picture while still sculpting and caring for my body as required. I remind myself that I’m strong and healthy, and that’s more important than being a certain size. I’m now a size eight to ten and at 65kg I’m up 10kg from my competition days, but I’m happy with that.
Luckily, I love food too much to ever develop an eating disorder. However, it’s not sustainable to be on a bodybuilding diet forever. I continue to eat wholefoods in healthy balanced proportions and enjoy treats without guilt, such as a slice of kiwi pie when I visit New Zealand, or eat pizza, a burger or fish and chips once a week without any guilt. Prior to embarking on this journey my diet was cereal or toast for breakfast, sometimes both, a toasted sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner – lots of carbs.
Another major change is that I completely gave up alcohol two years ago. I don’t miss it, and I can’t even stand the smell anymore. My sugar consumption is down, too. I feel healthier, my sleep has improved and my migraines have nearly disappeared.
Setting goals for the future
My next competition will be in 2026. Right now, I’m focusing on muscle growth and maintaining a sustainable routine. My goal is longevity, I want to stay strong, independent, and mobile well into my 80s.
More on this: A CITRO GUIDE: 10 lifestyle swaps for longevity
Bodybuilding is not just about lifting weights; it’s about being strong, not skinny. For me, it was about standing on stage in a bikini in my 50s, flexing under stage lights and being judged by strangers. I wanted to look great and do my best. That was my passion and purpose for wanting to feel better and be healthier. Now, it’s more about being able to travel, pick up my future grandchildren and live life to the fullest.
For anyone looking to improve their health, my advice is simple: set goals that truly matter to you; make small consistent changes everyday – like take the stairs instead of the lift; remove processed and packaged foods from your diet; lift some weights daily; and find a reason beyond just “losing weight” to achieve your goal. Think, “I want to fit better into my clothes,” or “I want to have more energy” as motivation. Set long-term goals that come from your heart and work towards them.
This journey has transformed my approach to health, ageing and self-discipline. It has even helped me manage menopause, I’ve had no hot flushes since changing my diet, and I feel stronger, both physically and mentally. I also feel it guarding me against osteoporosis and bone damage, making my muscle and bone support stronger.
Ageing is inevitable, but how we age is a choice. I choose strength, vitality and a future where I can live life on my terms – one rep, one meal and one goal at a time.
Feature image: ICN photographer: Durran Olsen Photography
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