Lincoln bodybuilder powers to victory in British finals

Lincoln bodybuilder Craig Barton is breaking new frontiers in the world of fitness after taking the leap from personal trainer to ambitious competitor.

Craig this weekend took on 21 contestants in the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation British Finals in the under 90kg Intermediates category at the Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The 29-year-old bowled over judges at the East Midlands round of competitions in September, coming away from his first attempt with first place under his belt.

After eight weeks of solid training to get to the finals on Sunday, October 4 he walked away with a fifth place medal.

Craig has been into training since the age of 16.

Craig has lived in Lincoln all his life and is known by many for his work as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner. He has been practising for eight years.

Through expert advice and training, Craig has years of experience helping people with their health and wellbeing goals and represents Frontier Physical Conditioning gym.

Craig is a qualified personal trainer in Lincoln and has been practising for eight years.

Craig said: “My decision to compete in the East of England UKBFF Competition was driven by friends and family who knew I had a passion for this since I started training at the age of 16.

“A strong support network is key to success in competitions of this nature and I felt like my body was in the right place to start prepping.

Craig came fifth in his first ever finals.

“Prep revolved around two distinct phases, muscle gain followed by cutting. As each week passed training increased and nutrition became increasingly more restrictive and this is where the power of knowledge is superseded by mindset. Towards the end of the prep I was training eight or nine times a week whilst my calorie intake was decreasing.

“I enlisted the help of two professionals. Firstly James Sutton MP Pro to assist me with my nutrition and secondly Sean O’Reilly for posing practice.

“I educate people on nutrition everyday but I knew that when things became tough I would second guess my own advice and hence brought James on board to keep me on track at all times.

“At this level there is no room for error or slacking. Posing practise was essential but for a different reason, prior to this competition I had no experience of posing and Sean’s expertise is the best bar none.

“It was a tough class and I am delighted with the result. Massive thanks go to all my friends, family and clients who have supported me from day one.”