Russian Bodybuilder with Most Powerful Glutes Aims for Olympia

Yekaterinburg native Olga Perepletchikova is the owner of the most powerful glutes in Russia and a bodybuilder competing in a category that especially values a strong lower body. Last season, she won a professional athlete card and now plans to enter the «Olympia» — a major international competition that Arnold Schwarzenegger has won multiple times.

E1.RU correspondent Polina Krasnopevtseva visited the athlete«s training session to learn what to eat and how to train to achieve such a physique. And also — how much money is needed to take the stage (spoiler: a lot) and why she does it all.

«The Worse You Feel, the Better Your Form»

We met the athlete at her workplace, in the fitness club of the «Verkh-Isetsky» sports center. Here, Olga helps other people achieve a healthy and beautiful body, although she trains in a different gym — for variety.

Olya arrived in athletic leggings and a short, loose T-shirt. It became obvious: the lower body of the Yekaterinburg native is truly outstanding. To achieve such a physique, Olya needed eight years — she first went to the gym when she was 19. At that time, she was studying in college to become a bank employee and didn«t even dream of competing on stage.

«Initially, I came to the gym for myself, as usual, to lose weight. But then I watched bodybuilding competitions, and I got hooked. I became interested in testing myself, the capabilities of my body. Just then, a coach noticed me and suggested I compete. Gradually, I got bigger, moving from one category to another. That»s how I ended up in the one I compete in now,« recalls the beauty.

On the competition stage, Olya appears with bright makeup, hair extensions, and an open swimsuit embroidered with Swarovski crystals. In everyday life, she looks completely different — you would never recognize the famed bodybuilder in her.

Now, Olya competes in the Wellness category. It is designed for athletes with an athletic build who have well-developed lower body parts, particularly the glutes and thighs. The upper body is also developed, but not to the same extent.

Athletes in Wellness are judged by the following criteria: the volume of the pelvis and hips must be significantly larger than the upper shoulder girdle, the physique should have reduced body fat, and excessive dryness and vascularity are not allowed. The category was officially recognized as a new sports discipline on 4 November 2016.

To reach a professional level, you need to prove you«re the best among amateurs. Olya»s accolades include titles as absolute champion of the Urals Federal District, Russia, and the NPC Regional Cup. And it«s commonly believed that such heights can only be achieved through suffering: hunger, exhausting training, and health problems. But the Ural native doesn»t share this approach. She says she achieved everything with ease.

«Usually, girls have a tougher preparation: too strict a diet, lots of cardio, two-hour strength sessions. Some have a no-carb diet. For me, on the contrary, there are no restrictions, my food basket is free — I can eat everything and still win competitions. Of course, the closer to the stage, the harder it gets due to calorie deficit. But I don»t have the feeling that after training I just want to come home and lie down and do nothing,« explains the athlete.

Now that Olya has a professional athlete card in hand, she is aiming to get to the «Olympia,» but before that, she needs to win a couple more tournaments. Moreover, preparation in bodybuilding is not a quick process. Athletes go through months of muscle-building and cutting phases to achieve an extremely low body fat percentage.

«I»m in the off-season now, so the regimen is lighter — just two leg workouts a week and two hours of cardio. Strength training averages two hours, and cardio — three times for 40 minutes: either stair climbing, elliptical, or stepper. I train my upper body very rarely, about once every three weeks, and that«s actually little compared to my competitors,» says Olya.

«Ms. Olympia» is the most prestigious international competition among female bodybuilders. It has been held since 1980 in the United States. Russian women have never been among the winners at these competitions. In 2026, Ms. Olympia will take place from 24 to 27 September in Las Vegas.

The hardest part of preparation is not the health consequences and exhausting exercises, but mental well-being. No matter how correctly you eat and how often you train, you always feel it«s not enough, explains the champion.

«The Judges Thought My Glutes Were Not Natural»

It«s impossible not to notice Olya»s beautiful forms. Over years of training, the beauty has gotten used to people constantly turning to look at her on the street and approaching her to chat in the gym. A couple of times, she«s even been asked if she has glute implants.

«Such a case happened even at a competition in Kazakhstan. The judges said I had the best form on stage, but they thought my glutes were not natural. So they placed me below third place, although I should have been first. Then, by the rules, they should have checked it: take a female judge and feel them. But they didn»t, deciding there was no doubt about the unnaturalness. I wasn«t upset, it»s actually great — a kind of compliment,« admits the beauty.

As for male attention — there«s plenty of that, of course. Once, one of Olga»s followers specifically signed up for the gym where she works to see her in person. But he never dared to approach her — he admitted this himself on social media. By the way, the beauty«s heart has long been taken — she travels to all competitions with her fiancé Mikhail.

«Sometimes, Misha gets annoyed by something, but overall he reacts adequately, even when he sees someone come up to me and give a compliment. Only once was it strange, when a stranger, a fan of our sport, offered to sponsor a trip to a competition. In the end, we agreed, and indeed: the person helped with money and nothing more. Did a good deed and disappeared,» says the athlete.

On this (often) difficult path, the beauty has always been supported by her parents. They helped financially at first, understanding that sports is an expensive hobby. They came to competitions and cheered for her. She particularly touchingly describes the moment when she became the absolute champion of Russia, with her parents sitting in the hall: «It»s the best thing I«ve ever seen.»

«At first, they were happy because before that I was a difficult teenager. Even when I came to them with the news that a coach had noticed me and wanted to prepare me for competitions, they reacted adequately. Although I immediately said that all this is a very expensive hobby, like gymnastics, hockey, or figure skating. And they helped me. Even the news that I would be performing on stage in a swimsuit, they reacted normally. Dad later went with me to choose it,» smiles Olya.

«A Swimsuit Can Cost Up to 200,000 Rubles ($2,000 at current rates)»

Material assistance in bodybuilding is never superfluous. This sport is not cheap. Participation fees alone can exceed tens of thousands of rubles, and to take the stage, you also need a swimsuit, shoes, special tanning, makeup, and hairstyling.

«Such a swimsuit, for example, can cost 30,000 or even 200,000 rubles ($300 or $2,000 at current rates). This specific one I borrowed from a girl to wear because my previous one tore right before the competition. So it»s priceless. But I think it cost around 40,000 rubles ($400 at current rates),« estimates the athlete.

If you translate bodybuilding into numbers, it looks like this: swimsuit — from 30,000 to 200,000 rubles ($300-$2,000), entry fees — 15,000–20,000 rubles ($150-$200), tanning — 12,000 rubles ($120). Olya does her own makeup and hair, although many athletes spend tens of thousands of rubles on this. Also, sometimes you need to travel to the venue by plane, which adds costs for tickets and accommodation in another city. For example, for her last competition in Thailand, Olya spent 350,000 rubles ($3,500 at current rates).

Moreover, not all tournaments have cash prizes. More often than not, bodybuilding is a loss-making endeavor. Most competing athletes invest up to 80% of their income into it, and the main thing they can gain is champion status.

«You know the saying: »A samurai has no goal, only a path«? It»s the same for me. This is a path that gives me wild pleasure. I love the stage, I love the preparation. Plus, many people recognize me and come to me for coaching. This way, I promote my services, showing how to prepare without harming your health,« explains the athlete.

In the future, Olya dreams not only of conquering the «Olympia» but also of developing her own online coaching project: to create something more than just individual training sessions. She is sure that sport is a path, not a goal, and you need to walk it with wisdom, support from loved ones, and faith in yourself.

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