Grayslake woman enjoying bright lights of bodybuilding world

Sparkly earrings and bracelets. Check.

Bikini bathing suit: extra skimpy, and with plenty of shiny bling sewn into the fabric to make it pop. Check.

Sexy high heels. Check.

Perfectly coifed hair and dramatic, stage-quality makeup. Check.

Fingernails painted, blinged up and extra long. Check.

Spray tan. Check, check and check. Maybe even a few more checks.

"Sometimes, my coach will go over my tan three times, sometimes six or seven times," Ashley Abel said. "It depends on what the lighting is like on stage. The darker you are, the more muscle definition you can see."

Welcome to the world of competitive female bodybuilding, where the finishing touches on "game day" designed to catch the attention of the judges are as important as all the gritty, sweaty, unglamorous work that takes place weeks before in a hot and stuffy gym.

Abel, a 24-year-old personal trainer at Real Results Fitness in Grayslake, wasn't into weightlifting at all when she was a softball player and cheerleader at Grayslake North High School. On Saturday, however, she will be competing at 5 p.m. in the Titan Open at Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha.

The Titan Open is sanctioned by the National Physique Committee, the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States.

Like the dozens of other competitors who will compete in the women's divisions, Abel is knee-deep in the bodybuilding culture, committed to hard-core workouts and strict diets (lots of chicken, spinach, oatmeal, egg whites and protein shakes). Inspired by her mom Mary and her aunt Staci, both of whom are bodybuilders, Abel has been competing for four years, and says they have changed her life and her perception of what a healthy woman looks like.

"I used to be a typical teen. I ate garbage all the time, McDonald's, pizza, out to eat all the time. My friends and I were partyers, too. It was a pretty unhealthy lifestyle," Abel said. "Then I got into lifting and I just fell in love with it. I loved how it made me feel and look. I started eating really healthy.

"None of my friends were doing it. I kind of liked (being different). I loved being healthy. It was like a high."

Abel has seen her weight soar to highs that she could have never imagined. But here's the thing: she loves it. She says bodybuilding forces you to change your ideas about weight, the numbers on the scale and body image.

The 5-foot-8 Abel, a petite size 2/extra small in high school at 115 pounds, is now 160 pounds and is up to a medium shirt and a size 7 or 8 in jeans.

She lifts daily, and she lifts heavy. Abel can max lift 175 pounds on the bench and does a 195-pound back squat, a 335-pound dead lift and a 190-pound power clean.

"It took me a while to get used to that number," laughed Abel, referring to the 160 pounds but also pointing out that she hovers around a 4 percent to 5 percent body mass index. "But I know it's all muscle, so I'm OK with it. I love the muscles. I love women with muscles. We were made with these muscles so why not show them off and see what they can do?

"I look at strong women in such a different way. They are beautiful and powerful. I want to inspire younger girls who think that they need to look like a Victoria's Secret model and are out partying and not exercising and not eating well. I want to inspire them to think differently about all of that."

On Saturday, Abel, who has been training as part of Team Iron Nation out of Kenosha, will be competing in her sixth event. She competes in the figure division, one of four divisions for women.

The bikini division places the least emphasis on muscle development while the bodybuilding division is the most hard-core, and places the most. The figure and physique divisions strive for a balance between fit and muscular and beauty.

Here are some of the NPC criteria for Abel's figure division: overall muscle tone with shapely lines, overall firmness and not excessively lean, a healthy appearance, makeup and skin tone. In addition, the contestants all must nail four predetermined poses on stage to showcase specific muscles.

Abel has one first-place finish under her belt. But since she has not earned professional status, the payout is just some hardware, pride and motivation for more.

In her last competition, Abel, who dreams of competing professionally, finished third. The judges told her that she was not lean enough in her midsection or legs. Abel, who was already working out multiple times a day, added a cardio workout at 3 a.m. to help her slim down.

"I'm feeling really good now. This is the leanest I've ever been. I tried to listen to the judges and really improve on that. That's why I like to have a few months between shows, to really make those improvements," Abel said. "I'm excited about this show (on Saturday)."

Abel used to be terrified before her shows. The bright lights of a bodybuilding stage can be harsh and unforgiving.

"I remember my first couple shows and waiting (backstage) and feeling like I was about to have a panic attack," Abel said. "I've never been good in front of crowds. I'd have the hardest time giving a speech in school, and now I'm in front of a bunch of people in a bikini?

"But I just do it. I walk out there and somehow all that just goes away. Now, I feel really good about what I'm doing, and I think about everything that went into getting there. I actually end up feeling the most natural and comfortable I ever feel about anything."

• Follow Patricia on Twitter @pbabcockmcgraw. Her email is pbabcock@dailyherald.com.