AN ACCOUNTANT from Stratford is proving there is strength in numbers as she sets her sights on becoming a professional bodybuilder.
Amy Mather is a personal tax assistant manager at accountancy firm Burgis and Bullock and is based in its Stratford office.
But after spending her day supporting businesses from across the region with specialist tax advice, the 31-year-old from Evesham heads straight to the gym to continue preparing for her first ever regional bodybuilding competition.
The regional qualifier will take place in June and, if successful, Amy will head to the regional championship, where she can earn a chance to compete on the national stage.
She will be competing in the Trained Figure category and is in the middle of a 20-week diet and embarking on a six-week training programme.
The programme sees Amy weight lifting five days a week, coupled with seven days a week of cardio in a 10-kilogram weighted vest.
Amy said that her passions of accounting and bodybuilding both complement each other, enabling her to excel in both fields.
She continued: “Bodybuilding gives you a lot of discipline and drive, and that certainly feeds into my work.
“There are undoubtably lessons I have learned from both sides which aide the other, for example, hitting targets is a big thing for me and targets drive me to improve both in the gym and in the office.
“I have been lifting for five years now but this June will be my competition debut and I’m really excited to see what I can achieve. I have worked really hard to get to this point, but I know there is still some distance to go before I can become professional.
“Going to the gym is a great stress reliever after the day at work and allows you to exert energy you have built up over the course of the day.
“My colleagues are all very intrigued by the weightlifting and regularly ask questions about my training plan. I hope that it will be some form of inspiration to them to start their own health and fitness journeys.”
Trevor Day, Partner at Burgis and Bullock, added: “We encourage all of our staff to look after their health and wellbeing, but it is certainly unusual for someone in our profession to be targeting becoming a competition-winning bodybuilder.
“Amy’s determination and drive in her bodybuilding is something that is mirrored in her day-to-day work and she is a key leader in the team at our Stratford office.
“We look forward to following her progress closely and will have our fingers crossed for the competition in June.”
