Female bodybuilder from Dedworth to compete in national final

A female bodybuilder from Dedworth could be crowned the best in Britain after winning a regional competition.

Yoanna Zervides, of Bridgeman Drive, triumphed at the UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (UKBFF) London South East British Qualifier in the body fitness category, putting her through to the British final.

The 34-year-old took up bodybuilding a year-and-a-half ago to set herself a personal challenge, and has been working tirelessly at Maximums Muscle Gym and Fitness Centre in Farnham Road, Slough, to achieve her goals.

"Bodybuilding was something I had wanted to do for ages but there were never the right circumstances," she said.

"When I finally took it up, it was a lot of hard work and I spent the first year building my body mass up as I was quite skinny."

With a vigorous routine of heavy weight training and regular meals consisting of protein, carbohydrates and fat, Yoanna, who formerly lived in Bingham Road, Burnham, managed to raise her weight from eight stone to 10 stone.

The personal trainer of 15 years, who runs her own business YoFitness, has a personal best in squat lifting of 90-100Kg, while her deadlifting personal best is 120kg.

The UKBFF event, held at the Beck Theatre in Hayes on Sunday, May 11, judged competitors on leanness, muscle definition, posture, symmetry and balance.

Yoanna, who went to school in High Wycombe, will now go through to the UKBFF British Championships in October in Nottingham.

She said: "Lots more women are taking part in bodybuilding now and I am now prepping other girls to get involved in the sport.

"It has definitely become more popular for women to have slightly more muscular figures than it is to be a size zero, thank God."

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