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Canberra Today 27°/30° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Rianna builds a new body

A CANBERRA mum of two has transformed her lifestyle to get the body of her dreams and become a competitive bodybuilder.

Rianna Macdougall, the owner and head coach of Sirens Cheerleaders in Mitchell, made the change when she realised she was focusing more on the fitness of her 200 athletes than her own.

“When I was pregnant with my second child in 2012 I was 82kg and a lot more heavier than I needed to be,” she says.

“I was letting my fitness slip, I was sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating food I shouldn’t have been eating. It was then that I thought I had to stop complaining and wishing and get help to get the body I wanted.”

After completing an online 12-week fitness challenge last year with her husband, who signed her up, the 30-year-old mum from Amaroo, began weight training with her coach Alicia Gowans, who is one of Australia’s first WBFF (World Beauty Fitness and Fashion) Fitness Diva Pros and helped Rianna reach her goal to weigh less than 60kg.

“I weigh 59.8kg now and I am so happy with what I have achieved. I have learned so much about nutrition, protein, supplements and how to train properly,” Rianna says.

“I have always been pretty fit, I represented Australia in the cheerleading world championships, I am a black belt in tae kwon do and I was an army reserves officer, but this is the hardest thing I’ve done. It is on your mind 24/7, you have to make sure you eat, sleep, drink and train right, and meal prep for the week takes hours.

“I started looking at Instagram and was inspired by a photo of two beautiful women who had the body that I wanted. I realised that they were fitness competitors, bikini models and entry level bodybuilders. I thought this would be a good goal, I started to think more about shape and balance rather than weight.”

Rianna trained for the 20 weeks to compete for the first time in the “Bikini Momma”, “Bikini 30plus” and “Bikini First Timer” divisions in the INBA (International Natural BodyBuilding Association) Canberra Classics at the Hellenic Club on Sunday, April 19.

“With the first competition it is about mental strength as well as physical, you cannot doubt yourself. I am doing the competitions for me, what you’re going to get out is what you put in,” she says.

“Whatever happens, I am happy to be there and I feel so much happier that I have achieved my goal. I have a lot of things left to improve but I have got the tools now to continue”.

Rianna will compete in two more bodybuilding competitions in May and will also model the designs of fitness model, Bronwen Stead, at this year’s Fashfest.

She says: “I never thought anyone would want me to represent their ideas and designs, it is exciting.

“I am so thankful for my husband Christian and my daughters Penelope and Heidi who have been so supportive throughout everything.”

Photos from the Canberra Classics at the Hellenic Club on Sunday, April 19 by ANDREW FINCH

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Lorna Morris

Lorna Morris

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