It is the culmination of years of hard work, training, dedication and perseverance. Nicki Chartrand, a former Altona resident who now lives in Alberta, has finally won her pro card in female bodybuilding. Nicki received her professional card after number one overall in the female division at the 2016 Canadian Body Building Federation (CBBF) Nationals.

"This is a dream realized," said Chartrand. "Eleven years ago when I started working out I realized very quickly that building muscle and the whole body building lifestyle was something I really enjoyed, and so I set my sights high at winning a pro card so this is a really huge deal for me."

Chartrand says she started to feel good about her chances during warm ups backstage.

The pro card allows Chartrand to compete in any International Federation of Body Building sanctioned event, with her sights set on a show in Toronto in June of next year.

And with that first pro event now on the calendar, she describes what her training regimen will look like.

Chartrand says she'll start off-season training next month.

"Which will mean lifting really heavy in the gym again, eating a bit more food than I was leading into competition and then early spring we'll start tightening things up - a few less pizza cheat nights and a few more cardio sessions - and we'll really dial it in for June."