Walking onto a brightly lit stage in front of hundreds of people, Laura Knapp flexes all the muscles in her body while forming various poses. She struts for a small group of judges who will decide whether they like her or not.

Two years ago, Knapp an ordinary mother of one working for a printer company based in Atlanta, was not comfortable with her appearance. She was motivated to go to the gym and start a healthier lifestyle. The more she worked out, the more she loved it and what it was doing for her, so she kept going. In October 2014, she attended her first bodybuilding competition, where she met a trainer, Brian Hoydic, who was willing to work with her and push her past her boundaries.

Knapp described how she has always respected bodybuilders, which inspired her to take on the challenge herself.

“I’ve always had an interest in bodybuilding, and admired muscular women, but it never occurred to me that I could look that way,” Knapp said.

Hoydic, Knapp’s trainer, mentioned how she has developed into a bodybuilding expert.

“[Knapp] didn’t know how to work out in the beginning, but now she’s in the top 5 in the nation in her age and weight class,” Hoydic said.

Knapp’s daughter, RHS junior Lilly Brock, expressed her pride for her mother for taking on the challenge of bodybuilding.

“I think it’s really healthy for her, and I’m proud of her. She didn’t have any hobbies before this, so I’m glad she found something she enjoys,” Brock said.

Knapp described her workout schedule throughout the week, how her workout changes when preparing for a competition, and how she must work out with low weight, and do higher reps to keep her form perfect and sustain her build.

“If I’m working out before a competition, I work out 14 times a week. When I’m off competition, I only work out 5 times a week. I do lower weights, higher reps. As I get better at this, I can go up in weight and not compromise my form.” Knapp said.

Knapp explained how she has participated in 5 bodybuilding competitions since she started out, and the difficulties she faced at these competitions.

“At these competitions, I have to get onstage in front of hundreds of people and pose. Posing is really hard. Looking natural when you’re flexing everything is very hard,” Knapp said.

Hoydic discussed the competitions in further detail, noting how they involve 9 judges and different groups of bodybuilders.

“Usually they’ll be a group of people in a weight class. They do poses, and the judges will move them around, and decide who they like best,” Hoydic said.

Knapp expressed why she dislikes the diet that’s involved in bodybuilding, and how the diet helps increase her metabolism.

“I eat every 3 hours, protein and carbs, because small meals get your metabolism work faster to burn more fat. Eating the same thing day after day, 6 times a day gets really boring,” Knapp said.

Knapp discussed how much she loves bodybuilding, and how long she is looking to participate.

“It has been fantastic, I’m healthier on the inside and outside. It is my goal to compete when I’m 70, so I’ll be doing this for many years to come,” Knapp said.

Hoydic discussed Knapp’s work ethic, and how she works harder at bodybuilding than any client that he has ever trained.

“She’s probably one of the hardest working people I’ve been with. She works 110% all the time. When I ask her to jump, she says how high,” Hoydic said.

Knapp expressed how she has never had the amount of motivation bodybuilding has given her, and how she has never felt healthier both mentally and physically. Bodybuilding gave Knapp something she felt was missing from her life – a passion.