Female bodybuilding: Can women have it all?

Muscle and Motherhood – the ultimate test

The LOUISE PLUMB Column

PEOPLE often ask me how I manage to juggle motherhood and bodybuilding, as if I’ve discovered some magical secret. The truth is, I haven’t. There’s no secret, no superpower, no hidden manual. I just get on with it, sometimes gracefully, sometimes like a zombie on caffeine and willpower.

When I first started competing, my kids were still young. I’d drop them at school, hit the gym, prep meals and somehow keep the house standing. There were days when I felt like I was living on autopilot, bouncing between being “mum” and “athlete”, with little room for “Louise” in between. Some people assume that female bodybuilding is all glamour – stage lights, tans, sparkly bikinis. They don’t see the exhaustion, the sacrifices and the mountain of Tupperware that comes with it.

But being a mum has never made me weaker in this sport. If anything, it’s made me tougher. My children have seen me chase goals that required everything I had physically, mentally and emotionally. And along the way, they’ve become part of the journey in ways I’ll never forget.

At home, my son Ben and I have this long-running joke; he keeps count of how many times a day I say, “I’m tired”. My current record, apparently, is 375. Prep fatigue is no joke. When your body fat is scraping the floor and even standing up feels like effort, “tired” becomes your default setting. There have been nights when Ben has actually prepped my evening meal for me because he could see how completely done I was. He’s been incredible, quiet, observant and far more understanding than most adults I know. Watching him grow up around that level of discipline has been amazing.

She starts waving a chocolate-chip muffin under my nose...

Then there’s Charlotte, my constant source of chaos and entertainment. She’s hilarious, full of energy and absolutely destined for the stage. The problem is, she’s a feeder. Any time she’s eating something delicious, she’ll offer me some, completely forgetting that I’m on prep. “Mum, want some?” she says, waving a bit of chocolate-chip muffin under my nose. I can only laugh. She means well, it just doesn’t help when you’re carb-deprived and trying to hold it together.

My kids have been the backbone of my journey. They’ve seen me at my best and my worst, tanned, shredded, emotional and occasionally hangry. They’ve heard every “just one more cardio session” speech and seen me pack meals for family days out like we’re undertaking a military operation. But they’ve also seen what commitment looks like. And that’s something I’ll never apologise for.

One of my 'prep file' memories is from a few years ago, when Charlotte landed one of the lead roles in her school play. I was two weeks out from a show, deep in prep, beyond exhausted and shredded to the bone. The school hall was packed, the plastic chairs were rock hard and I had zero glute fat left to cushion me. I sat there both nights with my meal in a Tupperware box and a two-litre bottle of water, trying to look like a normal parent. I got plenty of stares, I must have looked like something out of a superhero movie, veins and all. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Moments like that remind me why I do it. Yes, female bodybuilding is selfish at times. It has to be. But it’s also taught my kids about discipline, resilience and chasing goals no matter how hard it gets. They’ve seen me push through when it would’ve been easier to quit and I hope they carry that lesson into their own lives.

I'm often reminded of how I really do have it all

There’s a misconception that women have to choose to be a mother or to chase their ambitions. But I don’t buy that. Being a mum doesn’t make you less capable; it makes you resourceful. You learn to plan, to adapt, to keep moving no matter what’s thrown your way. I may be tired (a record-breaking 375 times a day, apparently), but I’m also fulfilled.

Because when my son hands me a meal I was too exhausted to make, or my daughter cracks a joke that makes me forget how hungry I am, I’m reminded that I really do have it all, just not in the traditional sense. I have love, laughter, purpose and a pair of kids who’ve grown up seeing what strength truly looks like.

So, can women have it all in female bodybuilding? Maybe not all at once. But we can have the things that matter most, a passion that fuels us, a family that supports us and a strength that never fades...

Even when we’re tired for the 375th time.

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