The 2021 IFBB Pro League season was an exciting one for the women’s bodybuilding division. Thanks to the number of shows being held, and the world-class athletes taking the stage, the division is not only as competitive as ever, it’s as popular as ever too.
However, one athlete was missing from the scene in 2021 – Aleesha Young. The 2019 Wings of Strength Chicago Pro champion hasn’t been onstage since she took fourth place at the 2020 Rising Phoenix World Championships. The native of Salt Lake City, Utah told Isabelle Turell on the Ft Rockstar Show that she was four weeks out from a contest, but she was starting to not feel like herself.
“I got about four weeks out, and just got extremely, extremely, sick. And for the first, you know, couple days, I’m like ‘oh, this will pass. It’s fine. Keep pushing. Keep pushing,” she said. She also shared that it took her family to convince her to not compete and address her health.
“And then, you know, the people that I love, that genuinely care, were like ‘no, this isn’t okay.’ So, at that point, bodybuilding definitely has to take a backseat.”
She opted to not only pull out of that show, but she skipped the entire 2021 season. Between her own health and family issues that came up, Young determined it was best to focus on herself and her loved ones. While her presence from competitions was missed, she would absolutely do the same thing if she had to make the decision again.
“Without your health, you truly have nothing,” said Young. “So, health is wealth. The stage will always be there.”
Now, she is looking to return to the stage as a competitor, and she already has ideas of what she needs to do in order to be in the final callouts for the win in whatever show she jumps in.
“I think for me, it’s always going to be about conditioning,” she shared. “So, just keeping as much muscle as possible, but getting that like, really, really lean conditioning.”
Turell and Young take deep dives into numerous topics, including her upcoming clothing line, exploring her new hobby of photography, tips to succeed on social media, and a lot more. Go to www.wingsofstrength.com to catch this as well as all episodes of the Fit Rockstar Show every Saturday at 12 noon Eastern time. Don’t forget to follow @fitrockstarshow on Instagram as well.
