{"id":19183,"date":"2026-05-04T20:02:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=19183"},"modified":"2026-05-04T20:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:02:03","slug":"elizabeth-smart-says-bodybuilding-makes-her-feel-liberated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=19183","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Smart Says Bodybuilding Makes Her Feel ‘Liberated’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Elizabeth Smart<\/strong> is breaking down her \u201cterrifying\u201d journey to bodybuilding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been in marathon running for quite a long time, and my knee started hurting a little bit more,\u201d Smart, 38, said during an interview on CBS Mornings<\/em><\/a> on Monday, May 4. \u201cI\u2019d have to do a whole series of stretches every time before I\u2019d go for a run, and it was taking up so much of my day, and especially on the weekend, when my kids were home, by the time I\u2019d finished my long runs, I\u2019d be useless for the rest of the day. And so, I kind of was taking all these things into account.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart said she got in touch with her trainer and now-coach, Robyn Maher<\/strong><\/a>, about working out together, which led her to discover a passion for bodybuilding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be lying if I said there wasn\u2019t vanity involved,\u201d the child safety activist continued. \u201cBut I was like, \u2018Yeah, I want to look amazing, and I need a goal, and I need a deadline.\u2019 \u2026 I was like, \u2018I think I\u2019d like to try bodybuilding.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Where Is Elizabeth Smart 2 Decades After Her Abduction? Inside Her Life Now<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart has offered glimpses into her life more than two decades after her abduction and rescue. Smart was abducted from her bedroom in 2002 by Brian David Mitchell when she was only 14 years old. With help from Mitchell\u2019s wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart was held captive for nearly a year while experiencing physical, sexual [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Looking back on her first bodybuilding competition<\/a>, Smart said, \u201cIt was absolutely terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up always just being so modest. I don\u2019t think I wore a bikini until I was on my honeymoon,\u201d she admitted. \u201cSo, stepping up on stage in a bikini felt like the most vulnerable thing I could possibly do. I was shaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart, who has been advocating for child safety since she was abducted from her home at age 14 in 2002 and rescued nine months later, went public with her bodybuilding journey<\/a> on April 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I posted the pictures in my story of me standing on stage in a bikini it probably shocked many of you,\u201d Smart wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of herself on stage in a bikini. \u201cThis is actually the fourth competition I\u2019ve done, but I was too afraid to post it before. Worried that I would be judged, not taken seriously, somehow perceived as less than or now unworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Smart continued in her lengthy post, \u201cMy body has carried me through every worst day, every hellish grueling experience, it\u2019s created and nurtured three beautiful children, my body has risen to every single challenge life has presented it with, and carried me through so I refuse to be ashamed of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her interview on Monday, Smart reflected on her initial thoughts about entering the world of bodybuilding.<\/p>\n

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