ORLANDO, Fla. — Bodybuilding requires a lot of physical strength. Being a female bodybuilder also adds another level of mental strength. Sherry Priami, a Melbourne mom, is seen as one of the top bodybuilders in the world and she takes it all on with a bright smile. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sherry Priami of Melbourne is an IFBB Pro women's bodybuilder

  • The mother of three also works as a dental hygeinist

  • Won first two ever competitions she participatated in, earned Pro Card in her first year

  • Priami's goal is to make it to the Olympia, this year held in Orlando in November

Sherry began working as a dental hygienist in 2012, looking for a new career path with a good work life balance. The dentist's office has become the ideal setting for her.

“I just like working with people. I don’t want a job where I’m sitting at a desk all day,” said dental hygienist and IFBB Pro women’s bodybuilder Sherry Priami. “I don’t think I'd be happy sitting in a cubicle alone. I need to be doing something.”

As a people person, she spends most of her day getting to know her clients with a smile on her face. But after working a long shift, it’s time to unwind.

“By the time works done I’m ready to exert some energy and get my workout in, let some of my steam off for the day,” said Priami. “Typically for a dental hygienist it's four days a week, I happen to only do three at the moment because I do extended hours on those three days, which allows me to focus more on my body building career as well so it works out pretty nicely there.”

On her days out of the office and once her workday ends, Sherry heads to the gym and gets to work once again. 

“Overtime you adapt to what you look like and now it’s like I can’t get enough! I wanna be bigger and bigger!,” laughed Priami.

Working as a dental hygienist and prepping as a body builder require a lot of organization and passion for both avenues. This brings a balance to Sherry’s life. 

“I’m a pretty Type-A OCD type of person. I work really well with a schedule and a plan,” said Priami. “This is my sanctuary. This is where I come to decompress and, believe it or not, relax. This is my favorite time of the day. This is where I feel comfortable. This is where I feel at home. All my anxieties and everything are put aside.”

Body building wasn’t always in her plans. After giving birth to her third child, she said she was having trouble getting the weight off and getting back in shape. She and a friend decided a good way to motivate themselves to their fitness goals would be to sign up for a figure competition.

“We had this whole Fit by 40 motto. That led me to where I am today. The first compettition I won and so we did another one and I won and that qualified me for a national show,” said Priami. “It took on a life of its own after that. I wanted to see what it was like to compete with the pros and I have just been with it ever since.”

She got her Pro card in her first year and suddenly she was seeing herself as what she was: one of the top female bodybuilders in the world.

“It really took me back. I don’t think I realized how I looked or the changes that I made until I saw the stage shots from the competition,” said Priami. “Especially my back, I was like, 'Oh my gosh that’s me?' It's really kinda surreal.”

She says bodybuilding is a lifestyle, not a seasonal sport. Meals typically include chicken or fish, a vegetable and maybe a handful of almonds, viewing food as fuel rather than pleasure. It’s clear that competitive bodybuilding requires a lot of discipline. As her muscles grow, so do her habits, heart, and mental toughness. She is not alone: she has found community in the sport with other women from around the world, viewing others as support rather than competition. 

“I think we deal with a lot of society out lashing toward us for how we look,” said Priami.  “A lot of people don’t find us socially normal physically, which I understand. But because of that, it creates a unity for us and not really a competitiveness because we’re each individual. We all look different. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. But we have a passion for the sport, so that keeps us bonded.”

While she admits she has heard the comments from the internet trolls and people who don’t understand what it takes, she doesn’t let it get to her. That’s something the mother thinks is a benefit of her getting into the sport later than others: she is confident in herself and competes for herself and her happiness. In the meantime, she becomes an inspiration for others.

“I do have a lot of support and I focus on the positive. I have a lot of younger girls approach me and say that I inspire them, and to me that’s worth it all,” said Priami. “To be that kind of role model for someone is pretty cool.”

Priami is competing on Sunday at the Vancouver Island Pro Showdown. A win there will secure her spot in the Olympia: what Sherry describes as the Super Bowl of bodybuilding. This year’s Olympia will take place in Orlando in November. 

“I’ve learned that I’m a lot stronger mentally than I ever thought I was. As long as you have that drive and desire, you're pretty much able to do whatever you want in life," she said.

"The skills and the mindset that I’ve learned in this sport is gonna transfer to everything in my life. The confidence that comes with that, the ability to know that if you’re consistent and work the plan and you stay the corse, as cliche as it sounds, eventually you come out winning."