Althea Bailey, 50, from Camberley, is possibly one of the busiest and most dedicated people I’ve had the privilege of interviewing.
From bodybuilding to personal training to motivational speaking, Althea Bailey does it all whilst being a full-time mum to eight children; three of whom live at home.
CommunityAd caught up with the fitness-fanatic to find out how she finds the hours in the day to not only get back to competing form, but also juggling the responsibilities that come with everyday family life.
Althea has been involved in bodybuilding from a young age after coming across a bodybuilding magazine and being athletic, however she got back to competing in 2013 after returning to the gym originally just to work on her fitness.
The question of can she return to the stage remained, and there was only one way to answer this; by competing. Althea got back in shape and took to the stage in October 2013 and put all of her previous worries to rest.
Fast forward to 2021, COVID had us locked down for two years and the question arises again for Althea, can I compete, am I too old? Am I too big? The answers were categorically no. Not only did Althea work her socks off to prepare for a competition in November 2021, she came home victorious in both of her categories; Transformation and Figure.
Talking about how it felt returning to the stage after such a hiatus, Althea tells us: “Stepping back on that stage, I just felt so thankful for the effort I put in, I did what I set out to do.
“The key thing is consistency, and competing also clears my mind. It’s a pleasure for me to see that I can transform my body. I feel like I give people hope that you can transform not just your body, but your mind as well. You have to dedicate something to yourself, it’s made me physically and mentally stronger, it’s also made me positive and confident in my everyday life.
“There were definitely challenges with being a mum and being involved in the competition – sometimes I had a phone call from school and I had to go in, I have to go to work, so I’m always juggling, however, one thing I try to do is stay on my path because it can be a slippery road. If I know my day is going to be tough, I try and get up at 5am to make sure my training is done.”