Hayden Thomas Kelly On Bodybuilding Through Education

Hayden Thomas Kelly on bodybuilding through education

Empowering Fitness Journeys: how Hayden Thomas Kelly combines knowledge and strength

Hayden Thomas Kelly has always led a disciplined lifestyle. As a teenager, he and his father would get up at 4 a.m. to go kayak paddling and go to the gym together before and after school.

What Hayden was not aware of at the time was that this physical activity would help him with his studies in school, where he struggled with learning difficulties. It would also lay the foundation for future success in health and fitness.

Hayden’s professional experience

Hayden would eventually go on to become an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) and an Accredited Exercise Scientist (AES) after completing an undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) from 2015 to 2019.

In 2022, Hayden completed his master’s degree in high-performance sport (MHPS) at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). During this time, throughout his university years, he would venture into weightlifting, which would come after dislocating and breaking his finger while playing cricket.

“I knew I had the talent to do well in bodybuilding,” Hayden says. As a result, he never went back to playing cricket.

Contributions to research and education

Hayden’s university journey would eventually lead him to work toward his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Newcastle, where he is currently employed in a casual research assistant role. His research there focuses on scaling school-based resistance training interventions that promote physical activity and adolescents.

“My PhD research is conducted through the Center for Active Living and Learning at the University of Newcastle Callaghan. The center is responsible for conducting a lot of school-based physical activity research among children and adolescents,” Hayden says.

This research, which he is helping conduct, highlights the pathways that fitness helped guide him down while in secondary school. 

Natural bodybuilding achievements

The pandemic would challenge Hayden throughout a major part of his life, during which he was working on training his body through bodybuilding. While working from home, he had to adapt not only to working remotely but also to training.

Despite these challenges, Hayden would go on to win numerous awards for his bodybuilding prowess, including those in the ICN NSW State Championships in 2019, as well as competing in ANB 2017 and 2018. Recently, he won the ANB Overall Men’s Physique Title in 2024, the Over 25s and Opens, and for the Fitness Model category, he won Over 25s and second in the Opens. He aspires to help others maintain their physical capabilities and win natural competitions.

Advocacy for evidence-based fitness

Hayden’s advocacy for evidence-based fitness arises from the growth of social media, as well as the influencers who tout fitness advice without formal credentials. His practical educational knowledge, as well as his personal background in bodybuilding, allows him to help others utilize evidence-based information, and he often shares this through his podcasts.

Future goals

Hayden’s future goals involve merging his passion for exercise with his research in health promotion, as well as in diabetes management. He was previously employed at Diabetes Australia, where he trained physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, and personal trainers across Australia. By blending his expertise in exercise physiology with natural bodybuilding, he strives to open his own training facility. However, while his short-term goals are focused on completing his PhD, his long-term goals involve promoting his brands NORMLESS and Hayden Kelly Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition, as well as working on various books and publications while building his podcasts.

Hayden Kelly’s humble beginnings—from struggling with education in secondary school to becoming a PhD candidate studying practical health knowledge—have established him as a passionate advocate for the role of resistance training in cognitive health, muscular fitness, and overall physical well-being.

Switzer Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content

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