This 25-YO Techie Gave Up Six-Figure Salary To Follow Her Dreams Of Six-Pack Abs!

There are stories of techies taking up a new career. And then there¡¯s Priyanka Vaishya, who took a tectonic shift ¡ª swapping her laptop for dumbbells and her workstation for pull-up bars.

The Bhopal woman has just been crowned ¡®Strongman of India¡¯ for the second time in a row. Bewildered by the title? The contest, which was opened to women last year, clings to the gender-loaded one although the glass ceiling is cracked. Priyanka, 25, has an engineering degree and worked with a software firm in Mumbai. But while her colleagues moved up the ladder and off to Bengaluru, she moved back to Bhopal to work on her biceps and abs.

Her colleagues may have six-figure salaries but she is the only one with six-pack abs, she jokes.

¡°I always wanted to do something different. And while trying my hand at 'different things', I got in touch with coach Pramod Bhati, who has won several bodybuilding titles,¡± said Priyanka, adding that this meeting was ¡°the turning point¡±. ¡°He encouraged me to start working for physique modelling,¡± said Priyanka. Now a trainer at Bhojpur Club in Bhopal, she is grateful to her family for standing by her with this ¡°crazy idea¡±. When she got into bodybuilding ¡ª an out-and-out male-dominated sport ¡ª Priyanka was stocky. But iron-willed. Today, she thinks nothing of doing bicep curls with 35kg dumbbells.

After three years of sweat and muscle burn, she leapt at the opportunity when the 'Strongman of India¡¯ contest was opened to women at the Kolkata edition in 2017. She was crowned numero uno. And she retained the title this year at Delhi on March 20.

Her way to the top was a grueling one: lifting 120kg dead weight, racing with a 40kg stone in her arms, lifting a 30kg log and an agonizing test of patience and strength holding 5kg weights steady.

Currently ranked 44 in the world, she expects to be in the top 30 bodybuilders with her second title. ¡°Fresh rankings are declared almost every fortnight. I hope to see myself up the ladder,¡± she said. ¡°I am lucky that my parents supported me in realising my dream, which is still a taboo in our society. Their support has been invaluable.¡±

She has set her sights on the world championship to be held in November. Her day starts at 4.30am, and she spends 10 of her waking hours in the gym.

Diet and determination is crucial, she says. ¡°I did not eat roti for almost 7-8 months while preparing for the strongman championship,¡± she said, adding: ¡°I never eat outside and always carry home-cooked food. If I can¡¯t carry food, I only have boiled vegetables.¡±

Bhojpur Club society president Aruneshwar Singhdeo said, ¡°Priyanka is an example for girls who think that unconventional sports, like bodybuilding, is not for them. Several girls have joined the club after being inspired by Priyanka.¡±