Adam Prudhomme
Editor
After nearly a decade away from competitive bodybuilding, Napanee’s Ashley Lough made a triumphant return at Toronto’s King Kong Natural Classic.
The 35-year-old took home first place in the Figure Open Class A (for ages 18-35), first in the Masters Figure (35 and up) and went on to be named Overall Figure Champion.
Though she had placed in previous competitions, the first place finishes were a career best for Lough.
“My last show was about eight years ago now,” said Lough. “I just decided my goal, I turned 35 this year, I decided it was my goal to compete again.”
Once she set her goal she wasn’t about to let anything, not even a global pandemic, slow her down.
“I started back in February of this year with my competition prep,” she said, training at Napanee’s Planet Fitness. “With COVID lockdowns and gyms closing, that was a bit of a learning curve. We had to build a gym in our house to accommodate that. When I was able to get back to the gym it’s about two and a half hours to three hours a day of cardio. I do two separate cardios and then I also do a workout. It’s pretty rigorous training for nine months.”
On top of the workout schedule she is a fulltime correctional officer at Quinte Detention Centre as well as raising three children with her husband. She is also a co-founder of Autism Resources Lennox and Addington (ARLA) while also owning and operating an online home décor and lifestyle shop known as Black Barn Co.
Through it all, she found time to get back into bodybuilding.
“It was such a positive experience,” Lough said of competing. “I’ve been training in the gym for 20 years and it was definitely a passion of mine. With these wins, this has qualified me to be a national competitor so I can travel anyway in Canada and compete now. Going forward I’ll continue to train hard, I don’t have another show scheduled as of right now, but never say never kind of thing in 2022.”
“There’s no way I could have done it without the support of my family,” she added. “My husband is phenomenal, with me every step of the way and the kids were so supportive as well. It definitely helps having them pushing me as well.”