Do what you have to do!



Effie Parnell-Hopkinson




After months of hard training and a precise nutrition plan, a burger and chips helped a bodybuilder win her first competition.
Former Cheltenham College student Effie Parnell-Hopkinson travelled to Dartford to take part in the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation Stars of Tomorrow contest.


It is designed for beginners to experience being on stage for the first time and 22-year-old Effie entered both the junior bikini (for Under-23s) and bikini tall (over 172cm) categories.

"The junior bikini was up first and it was so nerve-racking walking out on stage for the first time," she said.
"I didn't place and I was up against girls a lot shorter than I am, which I think worked against me.
"I came off stage and saw my coach, who told me to go and eat a burger and fries before I went back on stage for the bikini tall competition.


"My boyfriend and I went to Wimpy and loaded up with salt, which transports glucose to the muscles and helped me look fuller."
Far more relaxed having gone through the ordeal of posing in front of a crowd earlier in the day, Effie took first place, much to the delight of her parents and a group of fans who were cheering her on in Kent.
She came home with a trophy and a title and having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, she will now travel to Leeds next month to take part in a qualifier for the British Championships.
"I couldn't believe it when I won, it was insane and I was shaking so much I couldn't even hold my trophy," she said.
"Bikini bodybuilding is becoming the thing to do at the moment and it's not what many people may initially think of when they hear that's what I am doing.

"I had been doing general training with my PT Pete Nunn for three years and we decided it was time to give it a go and see how I got on in a show.
"I started a bulk in January with a lot of heavy lifting to add some lean muscle before starting to cut my body fat for 15 weeks from April."
Former rower and sprinter Effie has completed a sports and exercise science degree at the University of Gloucestershire.
She is about to start a masters in applied sports nutrition at Oxford Brookes and her knowledge of the subject helped fuel her workouts at the gym.
"It's such an extreme sport, but my preparation was done in a healthy way, slowly cutting down my weight so I didn't ever look drawn in the face," she said.
"I celebrated by eating a pizza after the show followed by some Krispy Kreme doughnuts.



"After a couple of days it was back on point ready for the next show and I am excited to see how I get on against more experienced competitors."