AN EAST Yorkshire mum is taking the bodybuilding world by storm after earning a podium place finish at a major fitness competition.
Emily McHugh, of Burstwick, flexed her muscles to earn second place in the Body Power exhibition at The NEC Birmingham.
Emily, who describes herself as a former "party girl", has now swapped her weekend wine for the gym as she plans to take the fitness world by storm.
Emily, 27, said: "I never thought I would do something like this.
"I used to be a right party girl and used to enjoy a couple of bottles of wine on a weekend, but now I don't drink at all."
Emily first joined a gym a year ago and then found a job as a receptionist at The Village gym in Ryehill.
She said: "I thought it would be great to get more involved in the gym and once I got the job, I decided to take my training further.
"I changed how I trained and split it up into different muscle groups.
"I started to focus on bodybuilding instead of doing a bit of everything."
After getting the exercise bug, Emily was on the lookout for a competition and came across the FitFactor competition at the BodyPower Expo at the NEC.
"I chose this competition because it was about your overall fitness," Emily said.
"It wasn't just based on looks, it was about your presence and how you presented yourself on stage.
"Judges were looking for everything."
Emily attended the first stage of the auditions at the prestigious Pineapple Dance Studios in London, where she had to model in her bikini in front of the judges.
She was successful and got through to the next round of the competition at the NEC.
It was there she took the competition by storm, finishing in second place.
It was the first foray into the world of competition for Emily, mum to five-year-old Harvey.
"To get a top 20 place was not what I was expecting at all, so I was really pleased," Emily said
"I was looking at everyone, thinking how much better they were than me.
"This has really inspired me to go on and do well in the future."
Emily's next competition will be at the United Kingdom Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation in Leeds in September.
Emily said: "I don't want to look too built. What I'm working for is low body fat, tone and muscle definition, which you can get through training hard and a good diet.
"I want to prove that if you work hard you can succeed."
