[Clare Barks]

Thanks Sam. I don’t think you can ever have ‘Balance’ if you follow this lifestyle seriously, but having people around you that ‘Get you’ and let you get on with it helps!

I don’t think my legs will ever be in Corinne’s league, but it won’t be for the lack of trying. I’m excited to get stuck into this off season now and yeah a training session down at Primitive would be cool.

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Hey IFBB Pro Corrine.. Thanks for stopping by 😉

Love ya,
Claire X

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Hey Sam, Good to see you too! I love training at Primitive Gym when I get the chance and yeah, my legs are beginning to hate me right now, haha!

Good questions! … Ok here we go!

1. When you first began training, did you always have aspirations to earn your pro card or simply just enjoy the process of competing? On the back of that, how early did you realise your potential and legitimately going for the card?

Not at all. I had been weight training for many years and was something I’ve loved ever since I first walked into my first gym. Like I’ve said previously I’ve always been a very competitive person and challenged myself in sports and running events, but didn’t really know of anything I could do with the weight training. I knew a little but about competitive bodybuilding through magazines, but only thought that was for the likes of Ronnie Coleman etc. and didn’t think it was something I could do as a female at my level. It was only really when social media came about and I started to see that women were competing in these kinds of shows that I thought ‘Hey this looks like something I could try’.. Anyway the next step was to google bodybuilding gyms in my local area, which is when I came across Primitive gym, plucked up the courage to walk in, asked for some advice ..next I knew I was picking a federation, show and prepping myself to compete! I trained with Gary Hill at Primitive in the lead up, did my own diet by complete guess work and bits of knowledge I had picked up, You tubed a few poses and went for it! I somehow placed 3rd at the UKBFF Southcoast Championships in April 2013 with an invite to the British Finals and went on to place 5th there. At that point a Pro Card was never on the agenda or a goal at all. I just knew I wanted to carry on doing this. The further I’ve got and the better I did, my first goal was to win the UKBFF British Championships, which I did in 2015, but even then I never dreamt that a Pro Card could be achievable. I guess it was only really after the UKBFF split from the IFBB Pro league recently and seeing others finally getting the recognition they deserved did I start to think.. maybe I could actually do this! Also having Jordan tell me personally that he believes I can do it and with my recent near misses, it’s given me a bit more confidence and belief in myself.

2. Being in a relationship is difficult enough with competing, but children brings about a different dynamic, namely dependency. Are your girls of an age where they understand the process and why mum can’t eat this or is feeling drained leading up a comp?

Yeah they are a little older now. I don’t think it would have been fair to do this whilst they were younger, particularly having a partner in the military away all the time. They’re at an age now where It’s not the done thing to hang around with Mum, so are happy doing their own thing (As long as Taxi Mum is available!) They let me get on with my stuff to be honest and all their mates think what I do is cool. Ha! I still cook meals for the family and do everything I need to do as a Mum. They don’t care what I eat. Obviously there are days deep in prep where I’m tired etc, but I do my best not to let what I do affect them.

3. Women competing can garner a mixed response. People appear to respect the work ethic however there can be negative comments, both online and in real life. How do you deal with negative comments whether they are intentional or not? A classic one is ‘good for you, but I wouldn’t want to look like that’. Almost a back handed compliment and starting with a positive opener is almost trying to detract from the negative. Obviously there can be spiteful comments too.

I honestly don’t care what anyone else thinks. I haven’t actually ever had any negative comments at all.. not sure how I’ve managed to escape that! I just get on with my own thing and if people are interested to follow, get inspiration from or if I’m able to help or advise anyone along the way, then great, but ultimately this is something I love doing, do for myself and would still do without any social media being available or any praise. The training and lifestyle I lead is something I fell in love with well before I contemplated competing and will continue to do once I stop I’m sure.

4. What are your off season goals this time round?
Thanks Clare. P.S. Get ready for being called ‘Claire’. Corinne can attest to that!

Goals.. always to make sure I don’t stand on stage looking the same as I did at my last showing. So it’s just to progress, build more muscle, particularly delts and lat width.. and no one can ever have enough legs! Legs like Corinne’s would be a dream!! I’m not afraid to lose condition and push weight up, so whatever Jordan says goes and I’ll do all I can my end to ensure the judges don’t have a reason not to notice me the next time I’m on stage.

And yes.. I TOTALLY get Corinne’s frustration with the incorrect spelling of her name!! Claire drives me CRRAAZZYYYY!!!

Hope that answers everything!

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

First Leg Day in 2 weeks went down at Primitive Gym this morning.. Not as pathetic as anticipated! Strength seems to have held relatively well and the lower volume of this new plan helped me to keep intensity in the working sets and if nothing else, I have a bench mark now in the log book as where to go from here. I’m back on a Push, Pull, Legs plan with 3 rotations, which I get on well with.
I’ve outlined today’s session below:

LEGS 1
Lying hamstring curl – 2 sets of 8-10
Banded Hack squat – 2 sets of 8-10 
Leg press – 1 set of 8-10
Leg extension – 1 set of 8-10 reps
Single leg seated ham curl – 2 sets of 8-10 
Abductor machine – 1 quad drop, 15 on the first
Adductor –1 quad drop, 15 on the first
Seated calf raise – on the smith, toes on a plate to get the stretch – 3 sets of 10-12 reps, 1 min rest in between, last set into a stretch

I’m sure I’m going to be feeling this after 2 weeks off, so I’ll wait for the pain to kick in as the day goes on! Rice, Chicken, Cheerios, Rice Cakes and Jam now! YUM!

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

The answer lies in how seriously you want to take this. If you genuinely love training 6 days a week, crack on, but if you’re looking for optimal results, then this won’t be the best set up. If your training intensity is at a level it needs to be to get the most out of your workouts, I’d be unsure as to whether you’d be able to recover adequately before going again. Rest days are just as important as training days if you want to progress.

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

I was pretty excited to get back to the gym today. I always find having complete time away reignites the fire and passion to go again.. a week is usually my limit though! New plans will be in place soon, so I’ll be posting my workouts on here as and when.. Today I eased myself back in with a push session and was pleasantly surprised with my strength, which I thought would have taken a big knock, so all in all a good start.
I began my new off season diet today too. Safe to say I won’t be going hungry! ..and having things like bagels and bananas back in is getting me all excited!
Rest of my day is looking pretty dull.. housework, Mum’s taxi and general stuff to do. It’s my youngest daughter’s birthday soon, so I’ll be organising a few things for that too.
Please ask me any questions you have and I’ll be sure to answer the best I can. It would be cool to interact and get to know who’s on here and find out your plans and goals too.

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Unusual day shooting with a local photographer which basically consisted of me getting coated from head to toe in gold paint and put into various positions! As odd as it sounds the proofs actually look pretty cool, so I’m looking forward to seeing the final edits.

Today was my last day of rest before getting back to the gym and onto my off season diet as of tomorrow. My weight was 52.4kg this morning, so barely over stage weight, so it’s time to get some more food into me (Which Jordan is good at!)

Plans are in place and the diet will begin as below:

Training Day
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 7 egg whites
Pre gym Meal 60mins pre: 30g ISO whey, 70g ground rice, 10c fruit, 20g nut butter 
Intra shake start 20mins pre training: 1.5litre of water, 30g peptopro, 5g creatine, 40g cyclic dextrin
Pwo 45 mins after: – 200g chicken/turkey breast, 40g rice, 50g Cheerios, 3 rice cakes, 30g jam 
Meal: 200g chicken breast, 1 bagel, little bit of butter, 100g banana 
Meal: 200g 5% fat beef, 5g coconut oil 
Meal: 200g chicken breast, 100g avocado 
Meal: 25g ISO whey, 200g fat free Greek yoghurt, 30g nut butter 

Rest Day
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 7 egg whites
Meal 2: 25g ISO whey, 200g fat free Greek yoghurt, 30g nut butter 
Meal 3: 200g chicken/turkey, 30g cashews (15f from any nut)
Meal 4: 200g 5% fat beef, 35g avocado 
Meal 5: 200g chicken breast, 250g sweet potato
Meal 6: 30g ISO whey, 65g oats, 10c fruit, 20g nut butter

*Meats are uncooked weight, Carbs dry weight.
*Green veg added to some meals

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Thanks Jack 🙂

I’m starting to get the itch to go back to the gym now, so I’ve spoken to Jordan and we’re going to put plans in place to get this off season going and get some structure back to my diet. I’ve enjoyed eating some different foods, sampling the Costa Christmas menu! and being more relaxed with choices and macro counting, but my ocd brain needs some routine back now.. So I’ll be having one more day off today (Which will be spent doing an unusual photo shoot!) and back to it as of tomorrow. I’ll post more detail of my training and diet as we go.

I’ve been dieting since the end of March, so needless to say my body has needed this rest, but I have a new focus now, so it’s time to up the food and make some improvements..

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

So my last show was the Amateur Olympia in Padova Italy on 10th November where I placed Second. Since the Wednesday before then I’ve done no weight training, no cardio for several weeks now and I’m following a relaxed diet right now, with a view to start a more structured off season plan as of next week.

I don’t tend to get many cravings during a prep any more (Apart from chilli con carni and a costa granola bar!). I’m pretty good at mentally shutting off and seem to be able to control any post show binging. I’d be quite happy with the diet plan I follow, just a bit more of it. Obviously hunger is up, so I’ve been aware to eat more, but mindful of taking breaks between meals and to not over indulge. A few ice creams and traditional Italian delicacies may well have gone down though post show ;-/

My stage weight last year was around 50kg and this year, around 51kg/52kg for my 2 shows, with what I would consider better condition, so progress seems to have been made. I also came in fuller for my second showing. I pushed up a chunky 13kg during my last off season (Baggy Tees and Hoodies were a staple!) which is the highest I’ve pushed up before. I’m not afraid to lose condition and get a little podgy once the initial mind fuck of the first few weeks is out of the way, as I know I’m capable of doing the necessary when needed. I’m currently only up a few pounds.

Ok I’ll stop waffling now. Fire over any questions you have and I’ll do my best to answer. Can be anything to do with diet, training, mindset, life, kids…

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Thanks Girls 🙂

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.

[Clare Barks]

Hi guys. I’m extremely appreciative and honoured to have been asked to be part of the JP team. Jordan and Corinne have both been huge inspirations of mine for a while now and people I have a lot of time and respect for. When the opportunity initially came up for me to work with Jordan in 2017 as a coach it was a no brainer and I haven’t looked back since.

Little bit about me.. I have 2 daughters, work as a PT and have been competing since April 2013 as a Figure athlete. I’ve had a few regional wins, became British Champion during that time and had some top placings at International shows, narrowly missing out on a Win and Pro Card at my last 2 this year. I never imagined my goal to be getting a Pro card when I first began competing, but the further I’ve got, the more belief I have in myself and the higher I have set my sights. Having Jordan and Corinne both believe in me means a lot too.

So this blog will essentially be following my transition right now post show into an off season and then a lead into my next prep, where the aim is to come back and give the judges a reason to notice me.

I always consider my day to day life as being pretty regimented and ‘Samey’, so I’ll try not to bore you all to death!.. and it won’t be full of huge ‘JP stylee’ lifting or cycles, but I’ll do my best to keep you all entertained!

My Instagram page is @ClareBarksPT if you want to follow me on there. I’m not a motivational quote kinda person, but I post up physique updates pretty regularly and other relevant stuff.

Instagram @ClareBarksPT | tb-jp.com/collections/clothing - The most anabolic clothing ever! |
tb-jp.com/collections/nutrition - highest quality supplements on the market.