A female bodybuilder has been accused of spreading pornography online by Chinese web police after uploading a video of her showcasing her physique onto social media. China-born, Australia-based Lara Zhang said the short clip was part of her weekly training arrangement with her coach as a way to report her progress remotely. But the Chinese web police deemed the footage 'obscene' and 'erotic' before warning her of legal consequences of posting such content. Lara Zhang, a China-born, Australia-based bodybuilder, was accused by Chinese web police of spreading 'obscene' and 'erotic' content after posting a video of herself showcasing her body. The incident has caused a backlash and police had reportedly apologised to Ms Zhang. The video in question was shared by Lara Zhang last July on her account on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter. In the 23-second clip, a smiling Ms Zhang is seen displaying her ripped body while donning a green bikini. It shows her walking in a living room confidently as if she were competing on a stage. In a post to accompany the video, Ms Zhang, who lives in Queensland, said the footage had been taken in June, 2017. She said it was a way for her to 'check in' with her coach who lived in Sydney. Her coach would watch the footage and decide her training schedule and diet structure for the following week. Ms Zhang, who has a 10-year-old son, started bodybuilding after giving birth as a hobby. She has won the second place in two different national championships in Australia since 2016 Ms Zhang is a bikini competitor and has attended competitions organised by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB), the governing body of the sport of bodybuilding and fitness. She has a 10-year-old son and started bodybuilding as a hobby after giving birth to her child, according to information on her Weibo account which has nearly 600,000 followers. She began competing professionally in 2016 with the support of her family and friends. She won the second place in the IFBB Australian National Open in 2017 and the second place in the IFBB All Female Classic Open in 2017. She documents her training sessions and daily life on various social media platforms, including Instagram, Weibo and YouTube. Her supporters have come to her defence online, calling her 'beautiful', 'sexy' and 'inspiring' Controversy already arose when the footage first went up online last year. Traditionally, women are expected to be gentle, delicate and fragile in China. Therefore, some users called the footage 'vulgar', 'disgusting' and said Ms Zhang's poses were 'unattractive'. However, others commentators came to Ms Zhang defence, calling her 'beautiful', 'sexy' and 'inspiring'. In two follow-up posts last year, Ms Zhang wrote: 'Bikinis are meant to display the beauty of women, highlight the proportion of her body and display the outcome of training...' She encouraged fans of the sport not to be restricted by social stereotypes and to pursue personal growth. Seven months later, her footage suddenly became trending yesterday after the web police from the city of Maoming in China left a comment under Ms Zhang's video and called it 'illegal'. Police claimed Ms Zhang had broken the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in China and that she 'is using the internet to publish and spread obscene and erotic information'. The comment said Ms Zhang would be subject to legal punishment. Bodybuilding is a new form of sport in China and there is a social stigma attached to it Faced with the accusation, Ms Zhang responded to the police on Weibo, claiming she was only demonstrating the regular bodybuilding poses. She said she would protect her rights with a lawsuit. Many Chinese web users supported her as they said the police reaction was 'ridiculous' and 'unfair'. The Maoming web police have deleted their comment and apologised to Ms Zhang amid the uproar, according to a report from Chinese news outlet btime.com. Chinese authorities have been tightening control over the content circulating on social media platforms in order to contain what they deem as 'inappropriate' trends. Last month, authorities in central China issued a new set of regulations for live-streaming hostesses, banning them from wearing lingerie and sexy uniforms, as well as see-through, flesh-coloured or figure-hugging clothing. In a more unusual move, male stars in China who wore earrings recently had their earlobe obscured by web publishers in an alleged 'earring ban' to prevent male celebrities from looking 'too alternatively'.All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility