Flexing, posing and plenty of muscles were on show from the 55 athletes who entered the Bendigo Country Classic at Ulumbarra Theatre on Saturday.
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Event promoter Tony Doherty said entrants had come from all over Australia as well as a number from the Bendigo region.
“That was one of the best things about the show. We had people from Wagga Wagga, Brisbane, Sydney, West Australia and Penrith as well as Bendigo,” he said.
“At the end of the night we had two people – Elise Fargie and Jaafar Roma – win trips to Las Vegas to compete at the Amateur Olympia.
“A highlight for me is seeing people get the opportunity to represent their country and the people that won those trips will do that.”
Mr Doherty was also excited to see Bendigo represented on stage.
Sarah Alexander – who took out the women’s physique category – was one of the local competitors.
“There was no one else in my category but I still put in the same amount of effort,” she said.
“I aim to improve each time, no matter where I place. I get the feedback and look at photos to see where I can improve.”
Ms Alexander has been competing in bodybuilding competitions since 2012 and has competed in the Arnold Classic in Asia where she placed second.
“When I started going to the gym, I could feel my body change. Seeing that change is motivation to keep going,” she said.
“In my first competition I placed first and that gave me motivation. Had (the result) been different I don’t know what would have happened.”
Ms Alexander said she trains for an hour almost every day. She said getting in a routine with training was the easy part to being fit – the challenge is sticking to healthy diets.
“Training is the easy part. The diet is where most people fall down. A lot of convenient foods are not as healthy as they make out,” she said.
“People starting out (at any level) should make a goal. If you’ve got a goal, you’re more likely to work to it. Make small changes. Aim for something sustainable and then gradually continue.”