Story Highlights \u2022 McBain resident Kayla Shaarda earlier this month took home first place honors in a bodybuilding competition in Dayton, Ohio. \u2022 It was only her second time competing and one of the categories she placed in earned her a pro card. \u2022 Now classified as a professional athlete, Shaarda can no longer enter amateur contests. She\u2019d like to compete again after giving her body some time to recover.<\/p>\n
CADILLAC \u2014 Kayla Shaarda set out to prove to her children that it\u2019s possible to set a goal and follow through with it, no matter how difficult it might seem at first.<\/p>\n
In the process of teaching her kids a valuable life lesson, Shaarda achieved more than she ever thought possible.<\/p>\n
About five years ago, Shaarda began strength training in her spare time.<\/p>\n
With all the kids\u2019 activities and co-running a business in Cadillac \u2014 Navari Hair Studio and Spa \u2014 Shaarda\u2019s schedule already was jam-packed but she figured out a routine that worked for her.<\/p>\n
On gym days, she wakes up around 4 a.m. when the kids are still asleep, works out, then has the rest of the day to take care of everything else she needs to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to prove to myself and my kids that mom can do hard things, too,\u201d Shaarda said.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Shaarda decided that she wanted to enter a bodybuilding competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018OK, I\u2019m going to do one,\u2019\u201d said Shaarda, who competed in her first event in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I wasn\u2019t ready for it,\u201d said Shaarda, who didn\u2019t place in her first event but wasn\u2019t discouraged by the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t lean enough but I wanted to give it one more shot,\u201d Shaarda said.<\/p>\n
About six weeks later, Shaarda entered the natural bodybuilding competition hosted by the Organization of Competition Bodies in Dayton, Ohio.<\/p>\n
According to the organization\u2019s website, OCB is the world\u2019s largest all-natural bodybuilding federation, sanctioning more than 130 drug-tested natural bodybuilding events annually.<\/p>\n
All competitors are screened before competing and all amateur and pro winners are drug tested.<\/p>\n
\u201cCombined with year-round drug testing, OCB ensures a level playing field and has earned its place as the leading all natural bodybuilding organization,\u201d the website states.<\/p>\n
Prepping for the event is a grueling experience involving intense training several days a week, alongside a very strict diet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the hard work is done prepping for the show,\u201d said Shaarda, who meticulously counted each calorie and always carried around a food scale to weigh the items she ate.<\/p>\n
Staff at Navari sometimes would tease Shaarda at lunchtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re measuring an apple right now?\u201d Shaarda recalls one co-worker poking fun at her. \u201cYes, I am,\u201d Shaarda replied with a laugh. \u201cNow leave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a mindset thing,\u201d Shaarda added. \u201cYou have to buy into yourself and be locked into it … It takes a lot, mentally and physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 38-39 weeks leading up to the competition, Shaarda said her routine involved working out an average of five days a week. In the month before the competition, Shaarda upped the routine to six days a week.<\/p>\n
The workouts generally last an hour and a half and involve deadlifts, squats, bench press, leg extensions and cardio, among other exercises.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a routine that can be kept up for long, as it takes a toll on the body, Shaarda said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not healthy to be that lean all the time,\u201d Shaarda said.<\/p>\n
Shaarda also had broken her foot prior to the start of training and for a time, had to exercise with a boot on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured out how to adjust,\u201d Shaarda said.<\/p>\n
While Shaarda wanted to compete at least one more time, she wasn\u2019t expecting to place among the top athletes in her second try.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Shaarda took home top honors in both the open and novice categories \u2014 a shocking result that she\u2019s still trying to process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought to myself, \u2018what is happening?\u2019 I don\u2019t have the right words for it, I guess,\u201d said Shaarda, who earned her pro card by winning first place in the open category.<\/p>\n
When she earned her pro card, Shaarda said her 9-year-old son asked her a question that still makes her laugh: \u201cSo, you\u2019re like Tom Brady?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Shaarda\u2019s co-workers at Navari also were inspired by her determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer hard work and dedication is impeccable,\u201d said Nickol Krawciw, who works for Shaarda and reached out to the Cadillac News to share her story.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is a mom of three and she is just my hero and I think her story needs to be told,\u201d Krawciw added.<\/p>\n
As a pro card-carrying bodybuilder, Shaarda is now considered a professional athlete and can no longer enter amateur events.<\/p>\n
In future events, she\u2019ll be up against elite athletes, including some who compete for a living.<\/p>\n
Shaarda said she\u2019d like to compete again but for now, she needs to give her body a break.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s targeting 2028 as the year of her next competition.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n