{"id":241312,"date":"2026-05-20T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/elizabeth-smart-breaks-down-fitness-routine-diet-amid-transformation-bodybuilding-helped-free-me\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:00:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:00:47","slug":"elizabeth-smart-breaks-down-fitness-routine-diet-amid-transformation-bodybuilding-helped-free-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/elizabeth-smart-breaks-down-fitness-routine-diet-amid-transformation-bodybuilding-helped-free-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Smart Breaks Down Fitness Routine, Diet Amid Transformation: \u2018Bodybuilding Helped Free Me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Elizabeth Smart<\/strong> is in her bodybuilding era<\/a> and couldn\u2019t be more proud of of what she\u2019s achieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt like there was a way I needed to present myself,\u201d Smart, 38, exclusively reveals in her Us Weekly<\/em> cover story, on newsstands now. \u201cBodybuilding has helped free me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart has been in the public eye since she was kidnapped<\/a> from her Salt Lake City home at age 14 and held captive for nine months before being rescued in 2003. After overcoming the harrowing ordeal<\/a>, Smart has rebuilt her life as a wife, mother and advocate for sexual violence victims.<\/p>\n

In April, Smart stunned social media followers when she shared a photo of herself in a blue bikini and high heels, revealing her dramatic transformation as a competitive bodybuilder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Megan Turley<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While fans were shocked by Smart\u2019s new look and passion for fitness, she tells Us<\/em> she was drawn to the challenge. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked having a goal from when I studied music in school to then marathon running and wanting to improve my time,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving a very clear, defined goal with a due date, something to work towards really appealed to me that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart reveals she trains five to six days a week for 45 minutes, focusing on specific muscle groups and lifting as heavily as possible. \u201cIt\u2019s good to have a coach around [to] spot me or [say], \u2018No, you can do heavier,\u2019\u201d says Smart, who previously revealed she can deadlift holding a 65-pound dumbbell in each hand. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work,\u201d she adds, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t know just how much work it was gonna be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart, who shares children Chloe, 11, James, 9, and Olivia, 7, with husband Matthew Gilmour<\/strong>, notes that she also tries to get 10,000 steps a day. \u201cSo cleaning my house, walking my dog, stepping on the treadmill \u2026 however, I get 10,000 steps in a day, that\u2019s typically my goal,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

While bodybuilding requires plenty of focus, Smart tells Us<\/em> that it\u2019s also given her more time to spend with her kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning took up hours and hours and hours, and then I was exhausted the rest of the day,\u201d she recalls of her previous marathon training. \u201cMy long training runs<\/a> got to a point where they were just so long that once I finished them, I didn\u2019t want to do anything the rest of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Elizabeth Smart<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smart says the shorter exercise regimen affords her the ability to be \u201cmuch more involved, much more present\u201d with her kids. \u201cI get them up in the morning. I get them ready, send them to school and then go work out,\u201d she shares. \u201cI would say it affects them minimally, at least until the days leading up to the show. Show day, I am 100 percent present.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what\u2019s the most mentally and physically demanding about bodybuilding training, she doesn\u2019t hesitate \u2014 her eating habits. \u201cI really enjoy food. I like food,\u201d she admits. \u201cEating will always be, physically, mentally, the hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart \u2014 who says she\u2019s lost roughly 30 pounds since she started her bodybuilding journey in January 2025 \u2014 tells Us<\/em> that her diet is also something that has had to shift to better perform.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Where Is Elizabeth Smart 2 Decades After Her Abduction? Inside Her Life Now<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart has offered glimpses into her life more than two decades after her abduction and rescue. Smart was abducted from her bedroom in 2002 by Brian David Mitchell when she was only 14 years old. With help from Mitchell\u2019s wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart was held captive for nearly a year while experiencing physical, sexual [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe last two weeks, going into a competition is exactly what my coach says. Whatever she\u2019s told me to eat, there is no varying from that,\u201d Smart says. \u201cAt that point, I feel like I really am on the countdown. I\u2019m like, \u2018I can see it, it\u2019s right there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In the week leading up to her most recent competition in April, where she placed first in her division, Smart estimates she was eating around 2,500 calories a day. \u201cIt was so much rice,\u201d she notes, adding that she stuck to chicken, ground turkey, rice cakes, peanut butter and honey.<\/p>\n

Smart notes that apart from her strict, clean-eating plan, her prep involves a \u201cweekly check-in\u201d that includes taking photos in her bathing suit from the \u201cfront, side, back\u201d and taking measurements of her biceps, bust, waist, hips, thighs and calves. She also has to do a weigh-in prior to competing.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Elizabeth Smart’s Trainer Shares Her Routine for Bodybuilding Competitions<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tElizabeth Smart\u2019s fitness coach, Robyn Maher, is sharing the secrets behind her bodybuilding competition success. \u201cShe followed a plan, a healthy meal plan, all this time,\u201d Maher shared in an interview with Extra published on Wednesday, April 22. \u201cAnd then weight training most days of the week. So typically, five to six days a week [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Smart\u2019s trainer reviews all of her information and then sends her \u201ca meal plan for that week,\u201d which often includes protein, carbs and fats. \u201cShe will just adjust that as she feels my physique needs, and I can macro match,\u201d Smart tells Us<\/em>, explaining, \u201cIf I wanted ground turkey instead of chicken, I could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Macro matching is a strategy that \u201ctailors your daily intake of macronutrients,\u201d which are proteins, carbohydrates and fats, to \u201cmatch\u201d your daily activity level and fitness goals, according to Medium<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

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