A MOTHER-of-three has reached the national finals of a bodybuilding contest – just six months after taking up the sport.

Isla Surtees, a physiotherapist at St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham City, suffers from a genetic tissue condition that left her in pain and feeling fatigued.

Struggling to cope, she was also putting on weight.

But she took up Sport England’s Workplace Challenge, aimed at tackling sedentary office culture.

Now she is bodybuilding at a national level.

“Two years ago if anyone had told me I would be bodybuilding I would have said not on your nelly. But I have so much more energy and I feel 21 again,” she said.

“I was really struggling with the demands of work and family life.

“I now powerwalk with my dog for an hour every day and also train in the gym. I also eat a much healthier diet, with lots of home-cooked fresh food.”

For more information on the Workplace Challenge, visit workplacechallenge.org.uk/countydurhamsport