A 50-year-old nurse who stole the show at a coveted fitness contest says she just wants to inspire other women her age.
Michelle McKinley strutted off with four titles last Sunday at the Northern Ireland Fitness Modelling Association (NIFMA) championships held at the Ivanhoe Hotel, Carryduff.
She walked off with Miss Fashion, Miss Beach Body, Miss Bikini Over 50s and, finally, she won the top prize of Miss Overall – seeing off the challenge of women half her age.
Incredibly, it was only Michelle’s second event and she only stumbled on the sport by accident when she got injured training for a half marathon.
“I couldn’t believe I won all four competitions I went in for,” says Michelle. “It’s just my second event and I only got into doing more fitness and weights training because I hurt my calf and ankle training for a half marathon.
“I have always kept fit from when I was young but it was all running and cycling – I had never done weights but when I got injured about three years ago, I had to stop running for four months and started doing exercises the physio gave me in the gym.
Michelle McKinley
“I enjoyed the strength exercises and realised if I was going to keep running, I’d have to do more of that kind of thing to make my muscles stronger and I knew, as a nurse, the importance for older people to do weight training.
“I got a PT [Personal Trainer] to show me how to use the weights and the machines properly because it can be very daunting at the start.
“I started really seeing the benefits of doing weights and started seeing muscles popping out so I kept going. I lost quite a few pounds and someone said I should go for a photoshoot.
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“I didn’t think people my age did that kind of thing but I thought it would be good for my confidence, so I trained really hard for it and I couldn’t believe how good the pictures were.”
Fitness modelling is a sport where healthy bodies rather than bulging muscles are rewarded and was invented by Ballygowan personal trainer and bodybuilder Martin Spence.
Michelle took part in her first NIFMA show earlier this year and won the Miss Bikini Over 50s title.
“It was really empowering to see myself like that [in the photoshoot] and then someone said I should do a fitness modelling show,” she says.
“I didn’t think I could because I didn’t think I was muscly enough but everyone was so encouraging. I had to go to posing classes and the girls I met were so supportive and they inspired me to do it.
“When I took to the stage for the first time it was really scary but it was brilliant fun and my husband was so proud.”
Michelle McKinley
Last week Michelle surpassed her wildest expectations winning all four titles she entered.
“For this show I got trained by Emma Quinn and she taught me to do legs one day, back another, upper arms another day where as before I used to just jump from machine to machine,” she says.
“It really worked for me and I saw a big difference. My job as a nurse can be very stressful and as soon as I finish work I love going straight to the gym to de-stress. It’s so good for my own mental health.”
The Co Antrim fitness fanatic is already setting an example for others at work and helps them get fit.
“I’m a health and wellbeing champion at work so I love to encourage others to get healthy,” she explains.
“I don’t just talk about how to stay fit and healthy – I go out and do it. I walk every lunchtime and then I walk my dog every night.
“I’m still a member of a running club and I love doing Park Run every week and I love to cycle too.
“I love setting myself goals because it helps to keep you going when you achieve something.”