Mum turned bodybuilder at 40 and is now winning big

A mother of two who took up bodybuilding when she turned 40 has won multiple competitions and two British titles.

Danielle Cooper, 44, first started competing in 2024, and has juggled the sport with family life and running her own online coaching business.

She told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It all started when I turned 40. My focus was my kids, my family, the family business, and I just wanted something for me that I could pour my energy into."

"For my first ever show, I did the prep in secret, because I was so scared of failing or just not completing it," she said.

Now, four years into the sport, she said it was "not for the faint-hearted, there is a lot of delayed gratification".

Preparation for a competition can take two years, with phases such as building muscle, then transitioning into a caloric deficit, increasing gradually the closer bodybuilders get to a competition.

"Anyone can do it, but you have to have the right mindset. I tried in my twenties and failed miserably," she said.

"I have always been into fitness. I worked at a gym early in my career, but I have not always been fit.

"There were times when I was younger when I liked to go out for a drink. And when you have children you put yourself last, I think, as a woman."

She said when she turned 40 she decided to get back to doing something she loved.

"I felt quite lost after my first competition, because I had been focused for so long.

"It was so surreal. I had to take my time getting back into normality."

Her message to women who wanted to get into fitness but did not know where to start was that they needed to make nutrition the foundation of everything.

"And walking - steps are king," she added.

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