After a phase that saw women’s bodybuilding go through challenging times, there has been a recent boom in the division. The Ms. Olympia returned, and athletes from around the world are making names for themselves. One shining example of this is Irene Anderson, who is considered the most successful women’s bodybuilder from that nation. She even placed as high as fifth at the 2019 Rising Phoenix World Championships. As she told Isabelle Turell on this week’s episode of the Fit Rockstar Podcast, the first callout was the goal for her that year.
“You always hope to be in the top five and to be called out in the first callout. So when it happened, I was like ‘yes, yes!’”
Most athletes would be satisfied with that feat alone, but Anderson repeated that performance at the 2020 contest. Then came the return of the Ms. Olympia in December of 2020, where she placed fifth as well. When Irene Anderson competed alongside the likes of Andrea Shaw, Margie Martin, and Helle Trevino, it was the culmination of a dream that dated back to her years as a teenager.
“It was like a dream to compete on the Ms. Olympia stage, but then I got my kids. I had three kids, and I was still training at that time,” she told Turrell. After training for mixed martial arts, she eventually refocused her efforts back into bodybuilding.
“I was thinking about it, and after two or three weeks, I decided that I would do just one show. So I did one amateur show that year, and I won that show. Then I won the next show as well.”
She would go on to win more shows and earn pro status. Despite starting her career at the age of 37, Anderson credits a passion for what she does to her success.
“I have always been training and kept a healthy lifestyle,” she stated. “And I love what I do. Maybe that’s a good point too, to be happy with what you do.”
Another venture that Anderson had been involved with was the filming of the documentary “Too Big for the World.” The goal of Anderson and the production company is for the film to be featured on Netflix. Anderson feels that it could be a huge step forward for the sport if that was to happen.
“There are a lot of sport documentaries on Netflix. So we think something about our sport would be nice to have too and for women,” she said. “I really think they would take it in.”
Anderson’s far from done and her story has inspired many people in Sweden as well as internationally. Hear the full version for yourself by watching this week’s episode of Fit Rockstar over at the wingsofstrength.net. Episodes drop every Saturday at 12 noon Eastern time.
