Bodybuilder Kali Sln reveals why she keeps competing in bodybuilding competitions

Behind the poses, the bikinis and the lights bodybuilding is a world of discipline and hard work. Take a look into why these athletes keep stepping out on stage.

Kali Sln says she competes for the preparation, not the title. Picture: Supplied.

Kali Sln has been bodybuilding for 10 years but it’s not the glory or the title that keeps her coming back — it’s the process she can’t get enough of.

“I love the grind, I love the work,” she said.

“You can’t just be doing it for the plastic trophy.”

It takes an enormous amount of dedication and discipline over time to compete in a bodybuilding competition and Kali may have unlocked the key to success in this industry.

The last time Kali decided to compete, she set her eyes on the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion comp on the Gold Coast only 16 weeks before showtime.

Kali Sln says the key is to enjoy the process. Pictures: Supplied.

She got stuck into weight training six times a week and started tracking her food.

Eight weeks out she added cardio to her schedule — starting with 30 minutes a day and slowly increasing it to an hour each day — and cut her calorie intake.

The key to being able to maintain this, Kali said, is making it fit into your schedule and learning how to enjoy the process.

“I only spend about an hour in the gym — I like to get in, move the weights and get out,” she said.

“Cardio training isn’t a sprint, I sit on my bike at home and watch some TV, so it can be quite relaxing.”

By comp day Kali is eager to step out on stage.

A wave of pride washes through her, knowing all the prep she’s done lead her to this moment, and now is her time to shine.

“When I step out on stage I feel completely present, completely in myself,” she said.

Kali came first in the fitness over 35 class and fourth in the fitness short class at the Gold Coast last year, but told the Herald Sun it was the discipline and behaviours she mastered throughout that stuck with her.

Suffering from anxiety when she was younger, Kali developed an eating disorder by way of coping.

“It was less about the food and more about my anxiety and how I was living. I had huge bouts of anxiety and that was my coping mechanism,” she said.

She fell into bodybuilding as a way to manage her “disorder living patterns” and shifted her priorities to build a healthier life.

Kali Sln trains weights six times a week leading up to a competition. Pictures: Supplied.

“I sometimes ask myself why I do this, it’s a big financial commitment, a big time investment and I make a lot of sacrifices to do it,” she said.

“The truth is nothing to do with the plastic trophy. The sacrifices I make, the routines I create make my life easier and it ultimately makes my life easier and more successful.

“I’ve already won because I’ve done the training.”

An outsider looking into this world can be fooled into thinking it’s egotistical and self-serving, but behind the glitter and lights is a humble and supportive community.

Backstage a girl has brought treats to share after the show and another has a spare glue gun in case someone’s gems fall off their bikini.

“A girl I just met and had one conversation with goes on stage, and I genuinely want her to shine,” Kali said.

“It’s an internal state of competition to better ourselves and not to outdo each other.

“So much of it is subjective – it’s not that the others have outdone you, but because you haven’t done the work you needed to do.”