{"id":21311,"date":"2026-05-31T13:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=21311"},"modified":"2026-05-31T13:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T13:11:00","slug":"nelson-councillor-competes-in-natural-bodybuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=21311","title":{"rendered":"Nelson councillor competes in natural bodybuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"prose prose-lg dark:prose-invert max-w-none \" style=\"color:#1f2937;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.75rem\">\n<p>Nelson City councillor and community advocate Sarah Kerby swapped council meetings for the competition stage over the weekend, competing in a natural bodybuilding event with ICN New Zealand, one of the country\u2019s leading drug-tested bodybuilding federations.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah says the experience reinforced her belief that sport should be accessible, visible and celebrated in all its forms, particularly for women and girls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a councillor, I\u2019m passionate about championing women\u2019s sport and the sports that often sit outside the mainstream spotlight,\u201d Kerby says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot everyone connects with traditional team sports, and that\u2019s OK. Strength sports like bodybuilding can build confidence, resilience and community, and I want everybody to see there\u2019s a place for them in sport too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prose prose-lg dark:prose-invert max-w-none \" style=\"color:#1f2937;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.75rem\">\n<p>She says bodybuilding has taught her resilience, discipline and confidence, adding the sport is about far more than appearance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just about how you look, it\u2019s about well-being, consistency and proving to yourself what you\u2019re capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kerby has been preparing for months alongside early-morning regulars at CityFitness on Quarantine Rd, training at 5am, which she describes as one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe support from the Stoke gym crew has honestly been incredible. There\u2019s something special about seeing the same people show up at 5am every day encouraging each other to keep going and checking in on each other\u2019s progress and wins.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prose prose-lg dark:prose-invert max-w-none \" style=\"color:#1f2937;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.75rem\">\n<p>She also acknowledged the guidance of her coach, Catalyst Strength founder Jeremy Fraser, who helped her prepare for the competition and stay focused throughout the process.<\/p>\n<p>Kerby hopes her decision to compete encourages more people, particularly women, to try something outside their comfort zone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to aim for a stage to benefit from this sport. Strength training can improve mental health, resilience, confidence and overall well-being at any age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event was part of the growing natural bodybuilding movement, which focuses on drug-tested competition and long-term health and fitness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"prose prose-lg dark:prose-invert max-w-none \" style=\"color:#1f2937;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.75rem\">\n<p>Kerby competed at the ICN natural bodybuilding competition in Taupo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI placed second in Figure 30+. I\u2019m absolutely stoked to have placed amongst such incredible women athletes, and I\u2019m intending to compete at Nationals in Auckland in September.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.topsouthnow.co.nz\/news\/6a1386372313dd451dc415b1\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nelson City councillor and community advocate Sarah Kerby swapped council meetings for the competition stage over the weekend, competing in a natural bodybuilding event with ICN New Zealand, one of the country\u2019s leading drug-tested bodybuilding federations. Sarah says the experience reinforced her belief that sport should be accessible, visible and celebrated in all its forms, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":870,"featured_media":21312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nelson councillor competes in natural bodybuilding - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=21311\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nelson councillor competes in natural bodybuilding - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nelson City councillor and community advocate Sarah Kerby swapped council meetings for the competition stage over the weekend, competing in a natural bodybuilding event with ICN New Zealand, one of the country\u2019s leading drug-tested bodybuilding federations. 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