Fitness | Bodybuilding
My Bodybuilding Journey
My passion for bodybuilding began actually back as something else, which was gymnastics as a kid. I was truly inspired by Nadia Comaneci as I watched her compete in the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal.
I was a few months shy of my 13th birthday. My enthusiasm carried over to my younger brother Owen, and our good friend Caprice. We began training as often as we could down in the basement (later known as the Dungeon) at the house. We were self-trained and created a nightly routines which we followed pretty carefully for a long while. We literally tumbled and stretched and even weightlifted to best of our ability and would show off a bit in the living room by walking on our hands and doing flips and head springs when guests (usually wrestlers) would come by the house and wait to meet with our dad. We got to be daring, doing cartwheels and hand stands on planks of wood propped up a few feet high in between work benches. I was 14 by now and was already 5’8” and a bit gangly but determined to fight for the cause, (of one day being a gymnast). Owen sort of found his place with all of that later on, as a highflyer, as well as a techni-cat (a technical wrestler with cat-like abilities) wrestler. He impressed the world with his abilities!
I continued training in high school gymnastics and upped my weight training by going to BJ’s Gym. BJ, my sister Georgia’s husband, owned a famous powerlifting gym in downtown Calgary. My good friend Alison and I used to make our way there after school to train on the weights. This routine became quite useful later when I began training with Davey, especially after he and I got married.
It was after we married and Harry and Georgia were born that my passion for bodybuilding was sparked by physical challenges that happened to Davey. In 1989, my training became much more of a hobby for me after Davey was seriously injured in a van accident during a wrestling tour in Northern Alberta. Davey’s recover took several months, including taking us both to England for rehabilitating of his severely damaged neck and back muscles at O’Malley’s Gym in Warrington England for that summer, and then back at BJ’s Gym in Calgary leading into 1990. I was happy to be included in Davey’s dedicated road to recovery; I think we both found inspiration from each other, especially for me being mentored by Davey on a regular basis. Within a year, Davey was wrestling again, and he encouraged me to consider competing in the upcoming bodybuilding meet at a provincial level in Alberta, for I had made terrific improvements in my training. I recall that I usually looked forward the almost daily training, as well as working on posing, which was as hard as the training; but I did not look forward to the strict dieting, especially in the weeks leading up to competitions. I became an avid Jazzerciser and which ignited a love in me for dancing and exercise combined.
I competed twice in 1990 in the heavyweight division at the Southern Alberta Body Building Association and the Provincials, finishing in the top three both times. For me, the experience was intense, surrounded by talented athletes, and it tested my dedication and discipline. I was proud of my achievements and the growth I experienced. My dad and Davey were my biggest fans!
A couple of my favourite female bodybuilders were Tonya Knight
and Anja Langer:
In 1997, Davey and I produced and starred in our own workout video, called The British Bulldog’s Basic Bodybuilder. It was a production we spent a lot of time preparing for and something we were very proud of. It still is relevant today as far as the information goes, although it never received much distribution as Davey left WWE and it was our hope that prior to his departure, that the WWE was going to release it with us. It was upgraded from VHS to DVD format; hopefully for those who do own copies of it, you will still find it useful in training tips and nostalgic to watch us back in our glory days.
In the later 1990s and early 2000s, the deaths of my brother Owen, Davey, his sister, his mom, my mom, and my dad, as well as the sale of the Hart Family mansion devastated us. These events truly depressed me and I dropped out of training for a few years, but getting back into the gym is what brought me out of my depression. and returning to Jazzercise that began to. In 2005, I once again competed, this time in the Masters (Over 40) Women’s Heavyweight Division at the Alberta Body Building Association in Red Deer.
Fitness has always been a passion for me, extending beyond competition.in 2008, I relocated with my children Harry and Georgia to Florida and it was there I became certified with NASM (National Association of Sports Medicine). I would like to give powerlifting a try and still keep up with my Jazzercise. Keeping some kind of fitness routine is really important for me in order to not get depressed and not feel so lonely. I feel like my dad and Davey are with me when I get into the gym.
My dad once in a while would suggest I had some natural amateur wrestling ability, but that sport wasn’t widely offered for girls in school in the 1970s and 80s when I was growing up. I never pursued it, but picked up a little here and there from my brothers, which wasn’t much, but enough to make me quite a fan of it.
I quite enjoy viewing freestyle-ish wrestling combined with professional wrestling. Some matches I like to watch when I need a good breath of fresh air, as far as pro wrestling goes, include Hiroshi Hase vs Mitsuharu Misawa,
Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid in AJPW, vs the Malenko Brothers
and my son Harry Smith vs Vordell Walker.
I find inspiration in the artistry and athleticism of those days from gymnastics of the 1970s to women’s body building of the 1980s to pro wrestling throughout my whole life. With the wrestling, I have had the opportunity to gain insight into the challenges faced by the wrestlers and the circumstances that led them to participate in specific bouts; every detail reflects a unique narrative. I remain deeply appreciative of my inspirations and their contributions, as they have significantly influenced my enduring interest in this field of athletics.