Shelly Arora, a senior marketing professional, hit another milestone in her fitness journey and has become the first Indian female athelete to represent India at the INBA-Natural Olympia and secured a bronze medal in the sports model category and made it to the top 10 in the ‘Pro Bikini Diva’ category.
“It was an overwhelming experience for me to participate in the most prestigious platform for natural bodybuilding; The Olympia. INBA is an extremely professional federation and a great global platform for natural bodybuilders. It was an honour for me to compete with such accomplished athletes from all across the world,” said Arora.
The 22’nd edition of Natural Olympia was organized by INBA (International natural bodybuilding association) at Las Vegas, US, from November 14 to 17, this year. Known as the pinnacle for natural sports, INBA-Natural Olympia 2019 hosted hundreds of athletes from 20+ nations across the world. However, the journey to win the bronze was not a cakewalk for her as the preparation demanded intensive workouts and proper nutrition, which she had to manage along with her full-time profession.
“It was a proud moment to be the first female athlete to represent India at this prestigious global platform, that too in bodybuilding, which is not pursued by many women in India. However, it was not free from struggles as after travelling for 36 hours, your body is tired and requires time to acclimatize, but I hit the gym the very next day. Notwithstanding in such a situation, I managed to sustain and the credit goes to the guidance of my coach, who gave me a specific meal plan for the flight, which I had to freeze and take along,” mentioned Shelly.
In just four months, Shelly Arora has come a long way from Asia-Pacific Championship to Natural Olympia – an International platform organized by INBA. She attributes her success to her mantra of practising natural bodybuilding. She said, “Participating back to back in two championship became possible because of the intense training and discipline I followed and notable credit goes to the natural body-building technique. While it takes time to build muscles the natural way, but it’s the right way, as steroids only are a short term solution and do more harm than good to one’s body”.
Shelly, a marketing professional who has been part of the corporate world for the past 17 years, urged the working professional to concentrate on their fitness and make it too their priority. She said, “The work-life in the corporate world is extremely stressful and amidst the mundane activities, we frequently ignore our health and fitness. The professional needs to focus on their fitness to stay productive and be happy.”
After winning accolades, a motivated Shelly is hoping to compete at various competitions in 2020. She also plans to start her online fitness training classes where she can train more people to stay fit, strong and happy.
To follow her fitness journey and get tips for those six pack abs, follow her on Instagram at @shellyarorafitness and on Facebook at @shellyarora111.
—
Photo Credit: restyle / Shutterstock.com