The natural Olympia Bodybuilding titles
Just two years after taking up bodybuilding, Flaherty beat the world’s best - many of them half her age - at the Natural Olympia Bodybuilding titles in…
Karen Flaherty is officially the buffest woman in the universe. The 43-year-old single mum even has a gold medal to prove it.
Just two years after taking up bodybuilding, Flaherty beat the world’s best - many of them half her age - at the Natural Olympia Bodybuilding titles in Greece last month. For those not au fait with the muscle game, the Olympia is the Olympics of bodybuilding.
“I walked out there as if I owned it, I thought ‘I’m going to do this today’,” the new Miss Olympia says of her winning posing routine. “Once I have something on my mind, I have to do it. I’m 43. I think I look pretty amazing for my age.”
The achievement is almost as amazing as the journey. A couple of Christmases ago, a friend suggested she give bodybuilding a go. Her friend soon realised Flaherty doesn’t do things by halves. From that moment, Flaherty became a mean, lean bodybuilding machine, carrying 47.5 kilograms on her 154cm frame. Up to four hours of gym work every day. Ninety kilometres of walking per week to ensure there isn’t a skerrick of fat on her body. Pre-preparing every meal the day before.
If that wasn’t enough, she got a second job. Needing to supplement her income to make the mortgage repayments, she wanted to do something physical to bloat her wallet while trimming her tummy. So the former amateur jockey returned to the track, to work for trainer Michael Kent.
A typical day starts at 4.30am, when she rides up to nine horses during trackwork. Then it’s time to get her two daughters to school, head to the gym for a couple of hours, squeeze in some clients from her beauty therapy business, pick up the kids, more gym/walking, more clients, then dinner, chores and bed.
“The training is the easy part,” Flaherty says. “It’s the other 20 hours a day and what you don’t put in your mouth - you have to be extremely strict with your diet.
“You don’t lose all contact with your friends but they stop asking you out and you feel a bit isolated. You can’t go out to dinner, you stop drinking alcohol, you stop partying - your life is about stops.”
Her trainer, Mick Thornton, knows a bit about the pain game. Having competed at the highest level for 17 years, he pushes Flaherty to the limit to get her into shape. Even lets her train with him and his mates.
“I have been in the car park literally throwing up - and she’s been fine,” he says of their joint workouts. “Her ability to push is amazing. If you ask her to walk for three hours, she’ll do four. If you ask her to train seven days a week, she’ll try to do eight.”
Tags: Bodybuilding, fitness, Muscle, Olympia Bodybuilding, sport