Bodybuilder’s confidence given boost by British Championships experience
A FINE performance in the NPA (Natural Physique Association) British Championships last weekend proved to be a huge confidence booster for Hebden Bridge bodybuilder Trina Skjoldan Nielsen.
Trina travelled to the Middleton Arena with little more than two years’ experience as a bodybuilder but in that short time, she has been crowned the NPA Ladies Physique Yorkshire champion and last June, finished second in the Ladies Physique category at the NPA European Championships.
Despite having a
successful career behind her and an MA in Film Production, Trina struggled to find work when she found herself on the job market three years ago, shortly after her 51st birthday.
That struggle inspired her to prove that women over the age of 50 are employable and capable of taking on new challenges and in order to demonstrate her discipline and commitment, Trina started bodybuilding.
She said: “Having a long history in sport, mainly as a hobby, I set out to compete in bodybuilding, a completely new field to me.
“I feel that I have proven that women over 50 are very capable of setting goals and achieving them.
She added: “I hope that my venture can be an inspiration to other women.”
And competing at last weekend’s British Championships proved to be another step forward in that venture.
Trina worked on achieving a broader upper body and improving her posing skills, and drawing on her experience with former coaches Alex Larkin and Jeannie Ellam, she practised hard.
Trina said: “Competing last Sunday at the British Championships, I felt I brought a more proportionate Ladies Physique build to stage, albeit with a slightly softer look.
“But there is no doubt that my posing skills had improved massively, and for the first time I felt confident being on that stage.”
“It is a fantastic feeling walking onto a stage and feel that you own it. After all the hours and hours of work I have put into bodybuilding over the last two years, it was well worth the buzz of feeling the confidence of owning a stage.”