Elizabeth Smart Reclaims Her Body Through Bodybuilding

At 38, Smart has entered four contests. During a competition she performed in heels, and a ring snagged a hair extension, causing her to rip out a chunk of hair before resuming her pose. She says the event celebrates her body rather than evokes shame.

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In 2002, at age 14, Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City bedroom by a prophet and held for nine months, enduring sexual assault and manipulation. Rescued in 2003, she entered spotlight while growing up in a Mormon household emphasizing modesty and purity.

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Smart says reconnecting with her body required therapy; she now feels able to advocate for women and children and appear onstage in a bikini, which she views as acceptable. Therapist Robyn Brickel notes that sexual trauma forces survivors to disconnect from their bodies because it feels unsafe, and cautions that training does not always intersect with recovery.

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Smart began strength training a year ago, now exercising five days a week for 45 minutes, tracking macros, and walking 10,000 steps daily. A 2022 Frontiers in Psychology study linked resistance training to reduced PTSD symptoms and improved well-being; a 2023 follow-up found trauma survivors described weight lifting as empowering, helping rebuild confidence, regain control, and feel safer in their bodies.

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Brickel warns that for some survivors exercise can become an avoidance strategy, comparable to substance use, self-harm, or overworking. She stresses that training therapeutic value depends on intention and awareness, asking whether a survivor is “thinking and feeling at the same time” or merely “running from something.”

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Studies suggest benefits, but long-term data on resistance training for trauma recovery remain limited. The field lacks consensus on guidelines for integrating exercise into therapy, and research is needed to identify survivors who may experience adverse effects.

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Smart is weighing participation in a bodybuilding competition in Nashville, an event that highlights women who have survived trauma. She says she hopes to keep progressing without a finish line and now allows herself pleasures, such as watching *The Great British Bake Off* while training.

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• "My body carried me." — Elizabeth Smart, survivor and bodybuilder

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• "I can be an advocate for women and children, but I also can step on stage in a bikini and strut around and strike a pose. And that's OK." — Elizabeth Smart

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• "When early childhood trauma happens, especially sexual trauma, people disconnect from their bodies because it's unsafe." — Robyn Brickel, licensed therapist

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• "Physical training and trauma recovery don't always intersect in healthy ways." — Robyn Brickel

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• "There's no finish line." — Elizabeth Smart

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