Beckenham mum says she has no plans to stop competing

Anca Nicole Ward began her fitness venture 12 years ago at the age of 29 when she was lifting weights after giving birth to her beloved son Teddy.

Now, at 41-years-old, Anca is an eight times fitness world champion who works as a nutritionist, as well as a PT at Reshape Fitness in Beckenham.

After having an extremely successful career in fitness, including judging fitness shows, she plans to have a year off, and then will be returning to the stage in 2025, with hopes to perform abroad.

Anca told the News Shopper: “I actually retired in 2021 and wanted to focus on PT and nutrition.

“You have to know as an athlete when to take some time off and get extra rest, but still train.

“Working as an athlete is second nature, and as I work next to home, I can make plans around me.

“I never cancel but can always reschedule and it makes it easier with my sons.

“Prepping meals is the hardest part of it all – training is the easy part, it’s what you eat and when you eat, it’s like a game from the minute I wake up until the minute I go to bed.”

As well as training six days a week, studying for a sports science degree and raising her two sons, she takes pride in her relationships with her clients in Beckenham.

Anca explained: “I've built such a nice relationship with my new clients, because not everyone wants to be an athlete and not all the girls i'm training want a six pack.

“Some of them train to tone, improve their mental health, or to fit into a dress they haven’t worn in a long time.

“I mainly train women, but everyone is so different, and they all have different goals with different lifestyles.”

Anca is no stranger to the stage, as she has competed and won in several athlete shows, including at the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion event, and becoming the Pure Elite and Bikini Pro champion.

To prep for her competitions, Anca says she would train for six months, despite the guided amount of training being “12 to 15 weeks”.

“For me it’s just not enough”, Anca says, as she claims she would rather be ready early, than not ready on stage.

She added: “If you’re in front, you’re winning.

“I would train twice a day towards the last twelve weeks and would do cardio sessions.

“My calories would drop too, but I would never go below 1,500, which is the deficit for a normal person who works in the office.

“You have to rest, listen to your body, take all the vitamins and drink lots of water.”

On the day of the anticipated competitions, Anca wears a bikini usually between £200 to £800, would get her hair, lashes and makeup done, and would wear multiple layers of fake tan.

“You need a tan on stage because the light brings the muscle separation out”, Anca added.

“I would love to do something similar to the Three Peaks Challenge, I done this a couple of years ago and it was the hardest thing I have done.

“But I would love to do something as hard as that again, but in reality, I need to give my body a break."