Meet Nataliya Kuznetsova: Russia’s Biggest Female Bodybuilder

Authentic Muscle

Professional Russian bodybuilder and European arm lift champion Nataliya Kuznetsova is more than just a popular athlete. The 29-year-old weighs more than 220 pounds, making her the world’s heaviest female bodybuilder. But this isn’t the only reason why she’s famous in the fitness game.

A woman of pure muscle, Nataliya makes even the beefiest gym-goers look like misfits. It would hard to feel buff standing beside her and her bulging, vein-popping muscles! We are sure no-one would even attempt to mess with her as she can clearly protect herself.

An Athletic Child

Some people are born to be stars, and Nataliya is certainly one of them. She loved sports, particularly those involving combat, from a young age. All this exercise made her a skinny kid. When she was fourteen, Nataliya weighed only 88 lbs and she was bullied for her small size.

Young Nataliya got fed up with the nastiness of her peers and decided to grow more muscles by going to the gym. It took the talented teen just two years to win the title of Zabaikalye Region Champion and become a professional powerlifter. This triumphant moment revealed Nataliya’s true calling to her.

Huge Arms and Legs

Nowadays, the famous bodybuilder can be called anything but scrawny. She is 5 feet 5 inches tall. Believe it or not, her weight (aside from her organs and skeletal weight) consists of almost pure muscle. She can also bench press 374 lbs and deadlift 529 lbs! Can you guess how big Nataliya’s arms and legs are?

Her biceps measure about 18.5 inches, while her legs have a circumference of 28.3 inches each. That’s so impressive! Any guy would be put to shame when standing next to her. It’s obvious that she can protect herself at all times, even without a bodyguard.

Loaded with Steroids

Nataliya Kuznetsova Trukhina isn’t shy about admitting to steroid use. This photo shows the drastic results of combining steroids with heavy exercise. She is now also considering trying growth hormones, insulin, and peptides.

If you’re wondering how she’s able to compete when she’s so open about being jacked up, the competitions she regularly takes part in do not have mandatory steroid testing. If the industry changes, Nataliya might be in trouble.

Cyberbullies

Despite her achievements, Nataliya became the subject of a lot of hate talk on the internet. She is proud of what she has done with her life and likes the way she looks, but cyberbullies castigated her for her body and lifestyle. Of course, she’s not backing away from the negative comments and she has something to say about her bashers.

In an interview, Nataliya said that while on the streets no-one would ever dare to insult her or make fun of her, but on the internet, it’s an entirely different story. People are “brave” on social media when they’re not face-to-face with the powerful woman.

Plenty of Haters

Recently, Nataliya’s followers were collectively wondering why she’d stopped posting on social media. Eventually, the bodybuilder spoke out about the real reason for her hiatus from the internet. She claims that every time she posts a picture, she gets a stream of nasty comments designed to offend her.

Despite the pleasant and encouraging messages from people that call her their idol and inspiration, she struggles to handle the negativity that arises in her comment sections. While it’s true that you cannot please everyone, respect should be maintained for all living beings. Regardless of what you think of her lifestyle, Nataliya deserves respect for staying positive amid the harsh comments she receives from people who judged her.

A Natural

Nataliya was definitely born for weight lifting. Her grit and determination have earned her plenty of achievements and when asked about her success Nataliya said, “just a few months after I started exercising, I performed at regional competitions and I liked it very much. I became an Absolute Champion of [the] Zabaikalye Region when I was sixteen.”

She also shared that she did army dogfighting and that the results “became visible pretty fast.” This superwoman was clearly talented from the start and there’s no stopping her from reaching more of her dreams.

Learn more about her amazing journey and the challenges she has survived.

A Young Champion

At a very young age, Nataliya was already breaking records. At 16 years old, she became her region’s champion, but this recognition didn’t seem to satisfy the young lady. So, she committed her life to powerlifting and set her sights on bettering her best every day.

Eventually, Nataliya’s hard work paid off – two years ago, she was hailed as the world arm lifting champion and world bench press champion. But, wait, there’s more! As if this wasn’t enough, Nataliya is also the European bench press and deadlift champion. Powerlifting is indeed her thing!

A Huge Passion

Thanks to her rare physique, Nataliya has managed to go viral and became an online celebrity. Still, she aimed to do better. That’s why hitting the gym has always been a huge passion and heavy hobby for this young powerlifter.

In an interview, she described her time in the gym by saying, “hobbies should be fun, if not, what good is a pastime.” Nataliya may be enjoying herself, but she also proves that self-discipline is crucial in achieving your goals. Working on your passion creates endless possibilities in terms of who or what you might become.

A Costly Hobby

Though this young female bodybuilder is certainly among the greatest in the field, if not the best, Nataliya admitted that she has been experiencing financial issues because of her heavy hobby. She revealed that her daily training and frequent travel for competitions has consumed most of her earnings.

And the fact that she spends most of her time in the gym means she doesn’t have the luxury of getting a side hustle either. For this reason, the 29-year-old tries to depend on her sponsors to provide a stable income. Despite the high costs involved in her lifestyle, Nataliya refuses to give up.

In Debt

Relying on sponsors to help her cope with her financial distress is not an easy thing to do. Nataliya says the first step in achieving this was the most difficult – finding sponsors in Russia is almost impossible. Female bodybuilding and powerlifting are not popular in Russia, making it very tough for anyone in the field to find solid sponsorships.

As a consequence, Nataliya was compelled to support most of her expenses and travel costs on her own. As you can imagine, this left her in quite a bit of debt. She was charged a large amount of interest on top of all this due to excessive spending on her credit cards.

Finding Sponsors

Nataliya has said several times that she’s not a huge fan of social media, but she did utilize Facebook in the hope of getting herself a dependable sponsor. To help with support and donations, she also shared her personal email address with fans.

Nataliya ranted about how her greatest passion is not even supported in her country and revealed there’s no financial assistance for bodybuilders and powerlifters. Moreover, she said that she had to shoulder all the trips to the championships and other expenses, leaving her with an empty bank account. See, even celebrities experience hard times in their bid to follow their dreams.

Desperate For Money

Due to the difficulty she had in getting sponsors, Nataliya became so desperate to raise money that she went as far as selling Skype sessions to her followers for $7 per minute. She also tried selling videos of her training and posing, claiming that the video has a price tag of $5 per minute.

Apparently, these tactics didn’t help much as Nataliya was left in desperate need of money. Other measures she took to earn some cash included offering personal advice on training through Skype for $100 per session. She also used Facebook as a platform for creating a closed group where she advertised all of her “products and services.”

Nataliya The Teacher

In Russia, powerlifting is not a famous sport for girls. But, Nataliya made it popular thanks to her rare physique and all the awards and titles she took home from various competitions. Nataliya’s reputation earned her the opportunity to teach another notable powerlifter and be her coach.

The remarkable Julia Vins became an internet darling after images of her muscular body and Barbie-like face started trending. Nataliya serves as Julia’s trainer, teaching her secret exercises and techniques. She trains her with the outlook of making her an equal in the field. In this photo, it looks like Julia has a lot of intensive training to do before she will become as muscular and imposing as her coach.

Not Photoshopped

When you’re as brawny as Nataliya Kuznetsova Trukhina, you don’t have a hope of making everyone believe that your hard-earned muscles and strength are for real. As a matter of fact, a lot of people on the internet doubt her unique physique, insisting that her photos must be “fake” or “photoshopped.”

However, the videos Nataliya posts on Youtube prove everyone wrong. We cannot deny that the internet is filled with plenty of fake news and photoshopped women, but don’t let this deceive you when it comes to Nataliya. She uses steroids, not Photoshop, so she genuinely is that toned and that big!

A Fresh New Instagram Account

Like all online celebrities, Nataliya has an Instagram account, and with a total of 659 posts as of this writing, she has already gained 381k followers. Last year she had 184k followers, which means the number has doubled in just one year.

Scrolling through her Instagram feed gives you a glimpse into her life and her daily routine, including snaps of her at the beach, on vacation, and of course at the gym. If you wish to follow her on Instagram, add nataliya.amazonka and you’ll know she isn’t “photoshopped” or “fake.”

Angelina Jolie’s Biggest Fan

What this incredible powerlifter clearly showcases on her Instagram profile is her passion for traveling. If you’re one of her many avid followers, you’ll know she recently visited the Platinum Casino in Bulgaria and the Belgrade Fortress in Serbia. Another interesting thing is her admiration for Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie.

Nataliya even posted a picture of the popular actress next to her, while she was imitating Angelina’s pose. A lot of her followers went crazy and commented that they look alike, apart from the obvious muscular differences! What do you think – can she pass as Angelina Jolie’s supersized doppelganger? Hmmm.

“Carb-loading” Meals

Though it seems Nataliya doesn’t have a trace of fat in her body, believe it or not, she has a huge passion for food. As a matter of fact, she often posts pictures of her cheat days aka “carb-loading” meals. To everyone’s shock, the influential bodybuilder shared an image of a waffle smothered in vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce!

Next to the delectable dessert was a huge Pina Colada. We’re sure Nataliya didn’t feel guilty at all as she can easily burn a lot of calories when working out. How many calories do you think she needs to eat in a day to maintain her massive physique?

Valuing Her Privacy

Nataliya has always been very open to the public about her professional life, but when it comes to her personal life, she keeps everything private as much as possible. Though this 29-year-old female bodybuilder avoids talking about her family life, she has posted various photos with her husband and their son on her social media accounts.

The couple met at the gym and they share the same passion for lifting. With so much in common, they decided to get married a couple of years ago. Needless to say, Nataliya’s husband and their child are her biggest support system. Hubby even serves as her personal trainer.

Daily Training

As a renowned bodybuilder, people expect Nataliya to closely watch her weight fluctuations every single day. Surprisingly, she isn’t obsessed with her weight or measurements. She’s even admitted that she doesn’t bother measuring or weighing herself on a daily basis. What does she do to maintain her fit figure? It all centers around a strict training routine.

Nataliya’s workout regimen includes plenty of powerlifting exercises, with minimal cardio. We presume all her fellow gym members feel intimidated when they see her busting out reps! Indeed, Nataliya’s training involves a lot of discipline and commitment.

The World of Female Bodybuilding

Despite the lack of popularity of female bodybuilding in her country, Nataliya Kuznetsova put in a lot of hard work and professionalism to work her way up to becoming a world champion. In Russia, female bodybuilding is relatively new and not so common. But in the United States, the situation couldn’t be more different.

This style of exercise became a competitive sport during the late 1970s and has been growing more famous by the year. Today, America has thousands of professional female bodybuilders. Just recently, ABC News featured a segment titled “The Secret World of Women’s Bodybuilding.” Keep reading to learn more about the secrets of the female bodybuilding subculture.

Obsession

The ABC News report discussed the journey of a bodybuilder, revealing that most of the female bodybuilders of the modern era never actually planned on becoming part of the extreme fitness scene. Former bodybuilder Katie Arnoldi confirmed this. She revealed that she began going to the gym only to get back in shape after giving birth to two children. However, she slowly became obsessed and “fell into the bodybuilding subculture.”

Arnoldi even described this obsession as the “opposite of anorexia”. We couldn’t think of another word to describe the level of obsession that Nataliya has with bodybuilding. She’s extremely engaged with the sport as evidenced by her big muscles.

Nataliya’s Destiny

While there are people who chose their professions, for Nataliya it was the other way around – destiny chose her to reign in the world of female bodybuilding. In an interview, the powerlifting champ shared that ever since she was young she was always interested in power and combat sports.

Her splendid muscles and strength earned her several nicknames such as Freak Mass Woman or The Russian Amazon and her followers and friends are thrilled to call her those and many more inventive names. So long as they’re positive, Nataliya is happy to have nicknames.

Ultimate Bodybuilding Dream

While Nataliya Kuznetsova Trukhina is a big name in female bodybuilding, the sport is not that common in her homeland. In the United States, by contrast, many female bodybuilders have become significant figures in popular culture and are recognized by the wider sporting community.

Some of the notable names include Jennifer Rish, Cory Everson, Jennifer Broomfield, and Gladys Portugues (who was married to the famous actor and martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme). With such heavy competition, Nataliya is proud that she pursued and reached her ultimate dream – becoming a world champion in bodybuilding. But what are the benefits of this sport, aside from developing extraordinary muscles?

Psychological Advantages to Bodybuilding

While female bodybuilding is not common, a lot of psychologists think that it would be healthy for more women to get involved. Weight and self-esteem issues are the factors that often attract female athletes to this lifestyle. Through bodybuilding, many women conquer these and other mental health issues.

Through bodybuilding, women feel more empowered and motivated to pursue their dreams and be more confident in themselves and their passions. Nataliya is living proof of this – she overcame her haters and doubts by focusing on what she wants to become and what she wants to achieve. As they say, it’s all in the mind.

Earning Funds

Despite her popularity, the renowned Russian female bodybuilder still struggled with finding financial stability. As we described earlier, Nataliya was covering all her competition expenses herself, and finding reliable sponsors was a challenge. As such, she decided to sign herself up to a website offering exclusive content to fans of female bodybuilding.

Her followers could pay her in exchange for performing her exercises on the camera. Through this, she was able to earn additional money to maintain her rigorous lifestyle. The way Nataliya sees it is that it’s a win-win situation for everyone. She gets to earn funds while providing an educational and entertaining workout for her supportive fans.

Disregarding the Haters

Though she only has the best of intentions, Nataliya continues to get a lot of negative remarks. She tries not to let them get her down but admits that sometimes mean comments still hurt. These rude and unnecessary messages were also a reason why she stopped contributing to forums. Despite the hate, there are still many people who believe in her abilities.

In fact, you can see them every day leaving kind messages of support and encouragement on her Instagram page. It’s good to know that there are kind-hearted people like these supportive fans.

The Side Effects of Steroid Use

Steroid usage has some troubling side effects, and Nataliya has manifested some of the downsides of taking the medicine, even though she now only takes maintenance doses. Many people are surprised when they hear her deep voice for the first time in one of her videos. While she claims the steroids give her an extraordinary edge during competitions, they still carry dangers for anyone who uses them.

One of the most noticeable side-effects is her deep, manly voice. Aside from developing a deeper tone of voice, female bodybuilders who regularly consume steroids can also experience changes similar to what males go through during puberty, such as increased facial and body hair as well as baldness.

Center Of Attention

When asked about how she feels being a celebrity, Nataliya said, “when I go out on the street, I will know for sure that everyone will pay attention to me. In my life, it’s sometimes easier for an alien to go unnoticed than me. I try to ignore all of these distractions.”

Needless to say, Nataliya remains a constant center of attention wherever she goes, thanks to her unique physique. Like many women, she loves going to the mall for shopping sprees or pampering sessions at beauty salons. These simple tasks are very hard for her to do without being gawked at by strangers.

A Stringent Workout Plan

Nataliya’s fit body and huge muscle-mass are not easily maintained. She follows a strict workout plan which doesn’t allow for any unplanned cheat days. The powerlifter revealed that the secret to her workout plan is all in the repetitions. She works on every muscle group at least once every week.

Nataliya does back workouts two times a week, one designed for “width,” and the other for “thickness.” The popular Russian bodybuilder works out six times a week if there are no big competitions ahead. However, when a major competition nears, she limits her training to three sessions a week.

A Protein-rich Diet

Bodybuilders tend to stick to high-protein diets as recommended by their dietitians and trainers. This is true for Nataliya who has had a special diet created just for her. Nataliya’s customized meal plan includes carbohydrates from rice and buckwheat. Her regular meals consist of six eggs with two yolks, fish, meat (mostly chicken), high-fat cheese, and plenty of vegetables and greens that are high in fiber.

Aside from her protein-rich diet, Nataliya makes sure she doesn’t miss her vitamin supplements to boost her immune system. After all, she needs strength to be able to showcase her powerlifting and bodybuilding talents. Did we mention she has scheduled cheat days on which to enjoy her favorite desserts?

An Idol

Having achieved success in the field of powerlifting and bodybuilding, it was inevitable that many young bodybuilders would come to admire Nataliya. Some of her greatest fans even call her their idol and inspiration.

When asked to give an inspiring message to young girls who want to start training but are worried about the reactions they’ll get, Nataliya said, “go and train yourselves, I know that many women are afraid of being perceived as ‘buffs’ but this will not happen. You should go and grant yourselves a beautiful, athletic figure.” Solid advice, so long as steroids are left out of the equation.

Gaining Recognition

Despite enduring debt and shouldering most of her competition expenses herself, Nataliya finally gained the recognition she was seeking. The stunning bodybuilder is now a sponsored athlete of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (a sports nutrition brand) and Do4a.com (a clothing brand).

These sponsors mean a lot to her and she couldn’t be more grateful for their support. The two companies have provided her with necessary funds to maintain her strict lifestyle so that she can focus on her workout routine. We’re happy to learn that she is slowly gaining recognition.

On the Verge of Addiction?

Nataliya’s obsession with bodybuilding has left many of her fans worried. Some have even gone so far as to pose this controversial question: “Did Nataliya get addicted to the sport?” While this is difficult to prove, there’s no denying that she has put her body through one massive transformation.

This rare photo of Nataliya before and after her bodybuilding obsession sparked even more confusion and concern among fans. In the before image, she was clearly in good shape, but she looks tiny compared to her after photo. In addition to the massive muscular changes, the breast augmentation surgery Nataliya had a couple of years ago is also apparent in this image.

Nataliya Before Bodybuilding

Do you recognize the young lady in the photo below? Meet Nataliya Kuznetsova Trukhina before extreme bodybuilding. At first glance, even her followers didn’t recognize her when she shared it! In this photo of a young Nataliya, we see a fit and healthy young woman.

It is incredible to imagine the path this young girl would forge for herself. Think what you will of her physique, Nataliya worked astonishingly hard to achieve it. Her commitment and self-discipline helped her become the strong woman she is today.

The Power of Being Yourself

Recently, The Daily Mail posted images of Nataliya on their official Twitter account. This inspired a flood of harsh comments about her body and rude remarks about her steroid use. Nataliya never kept her steroid usage as a secret. In fact, she’s been open about using them whenever asked.

Nataliya has admitted to consuming anywhere from 150 to 200 mg of Primobolan or Propionate prior to her competitions. She also said that she takes 20 mg of oxandrolone each training day. This is certainly a controversial choice, but her honest approach is far better than if she denied the obvious.