Female bodybuilder talks about competition and offers tips on how to stay fit

NEW YORK - For Tennille Ray, maintaining her sculpted arms, 12-pack abs and muscled legs is a full-time job.

Ray is a professional bodybuilder in the figure division - which means she has eye-popping muscles but is still expected to be curvy and feminine. She has been competing in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation for about a year, winning her debut and going on to be named Miss Universe at a competition held in Barbados earlier this year against more seasoned professionals.

Ray was fit before - she has been a personal trainer in New York since 2001 - but she didn't consider a career in bodybuilding until a friend at her gym suggested it. Then, an overweight girl told Ray she was so pretty she wanted to see her in magazines - and that if Ray did it, the girl would get in shape, too.

"It really appealed to me, the idea that I could inspire this little girl," said Ray, who hopes eventually to use her winnings for a wellness centre for children. So far she's earned more than US$5,000.

Last spring, she signed up for a retreat held by a pro bodybuilder that taught some diet and exercise basics. But Ray had to refine her strategy as she went along.

The transformation was difficult. It took her about four months of intense, two-hour workouts and a serious amount of dietary restraint. Bodybuilders eat constantly, but it's a very specific formula, heavy on protein and vegetables and light on sodium and fats, Ray said. She was often cranky and exhausted. She turned down dinner invitations with friends because it would be hard finding something that fit her diet. Giving up cheese was particularly tough.

"I thought, I eat healthy, this should be fine," she said. "I was so wrong. It's a totally different way of thinking. You're eating to feed your muscles, not for enjoyment."

Slowly she noticed her body changing, becoming more sculpted, and her energy returning. Her hard work paid off: She won her amateur debut in September 2008 and turned pro.

"Tennille came in and kicked butt right off the bat," said Charlie Carollo, vice-president of the WNBF. "She's really disciplined, but she's also got God-given genetics that really help her out."

Ray, who won't tell her age, works out regularly and brings food everywhere she goes, munching on salad with mushrooms, broccoli and fresh fish during a recent interview. She says she relies mostly on fresh vegetables and natural nutritional supplements.

Other bodybuilders have turned to steroids to make their muscles bulge. The WNBF bans controlled substances and drug tests, and gives polygraph tests before each show to combat drug use.

But even without drugs, women can harm their bodies by becoming so lean, said Meaghan Murphy, features director for fitness at Self magazine.

"You have to have fat on your body," she said. "The nutritional aspects of body building scare me. There are not enough carbs, there are supplements not monitored by the FDA, perhaps they're toying with hormone cocktails. ... It's risky."

Ray is often asked by strangers on the street how she got so fit.

"You don't have to go as extreme as me to be fit," she said. "You still feel good and successful just working toward your own goals."

Here she mentions five proven ways to help keep fit, whether you're on the road to competition or just want to squeeze into a smaller size: