Courtesy Photo For the past 15 years, Chrissy Makosy, a 41-year-old mother of three, really wanted to tackle bodybuilding.

She has run half-marathons and completed her first sprint triathlon last summer. But for the past 15 years, the 41-year-old mother of three really wanted to tackle bodybuilding.

"It's always been the thing I wanted to do, but was afraid of," she said. "I'd dated bodybuilders and helped them with their music and routines. But I didn't think I could diet -- I am a junk-food junkie. I love cookies, cakes and brownies."

She finally made the leap in May, registering for her first competition, the NPC MET-Rx Maryland State/East Coast Classic Bodybuilding Fitness Figure & Bikini Championships in Rockville at the end of summer.

Makosy, who is 5 feet 3 inches tall and normally a fit, muscular 128 pounds, trimmed down to 113 pounds over 10 weeks, cutting her body fat to 6 percent. She took second place in the state lightweight bodybuilding division, behind another Fredericktonian, Kristy Kraynak, and second place in the East Coast Classic masters division of the figure competition.

Competing in both bodybuilding and figure competitions is unusual because bodybuilding highlights lean muscularity, while figure competitions focus on more athletic, shapely physiques.

Makosy said she wanted to do both because she still wanted to maintain a feminine quality to her physique. It's a fine line to walk, she said, adding she could not have done any of it without the help of her trainer, Frederick bodybuilder Charles Dorsey Jr.

"He set out my meal plan," she said. "He told me what we needed to work on each day at the gym."

Training was not the difficult part for Makosy. She got up early and did cardio for 45 to 60 minutes each morning, and again in the afternoon, as well as teaching her Body Pump and Body Step classes.

She trained with weights for an hour, four times a week with Dorsey at Fitness First, where Kraynak, another 40-something mom, also works out.

Cutting sugar, dairy and bread from her diet was a different story.

"That got both easier and harder as the days went by," Makosy said. "It gets easier as you watch your body's transformation -- that's motivation to keep going. At the same time, it gets harder because you want to eat it more."

Makosy said there were a few mini peanut fudge binges along the way. Dorsey could tell immediately the following day and that got her back on track, she said.

She celebrated the night after the competition with chocolate truffles, six slices of pizza and an orange-almond cake, made by a friend especially for the occasion.

Her three boys -- Tyler, 12, Jake, 11, and Kevin, 8 -- fought over who got to carry home her two trophies.

Makosy said the support of her family meant everything. Tyler even joined his mother on early morning runs and began eating tilapia, grilled chicken breasts and baked potatoes like her.

"The boys all said afterwards, 'Mom, we're so proud of you,'" Makosy said. "As a mom, you don't hear that a lot."

Two months later, she said, she is back to her usual weight, a healthy 128 pounds.

"That's where I feel happy," said Makosy, who admitted she felt like she was shaking onstage from a combination of nerves and adrenaline. "But I do want to do another competition next year."