Finally, the timing was right.

Participating in a bodybuilding competition was something Command Sgt. Maj. Dawn Rippelmeyer had wanted to do all her life. The Minnesota native got that chance on June 4 as part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord bodybuilding championship at Nelson Rec Center.

Rippelmeyer, a Soldier in the 42nd Military Police Brigade, finished second in the women's middleweight competition and won the title of best poser.

"I was extremely happy," said the 46-year-old. "Just seeing the transformation of my body during training was great, and the competition was the icing on the cake."

A group of about 15 friends and coworkers, all sporting shirts and posters with her image emblazoned on them, were cheering Rippelmeyer on in the crowd.

"They were quite vocal," she said.  

Rippelmeyer spent six months preparing for the competition, and although she did it mostly to accomplish a personal goal, she also had her Soldiers in mind.

"I wanted to be a good example of what hard work and discipline can accomplish," she said.

Also making a sparkling bodybuilding competition debut was Sgt. 1st Class Brian Ellis. After being told for years by fellow workout partners in the gym that he should enter competitions, Ellis finally decided to take the plunge this year. He stepped up his training and started eating five meals a day.

"I'm not getting any younger," the 33-year-old Jacksonville, Fla. native said. "I wanted to take my workout to the next level to see if I could compete."

That he did, as Ellis, a Soldier with the 4/160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment HHC, won the heavyweight title. Initially, Ellis didn't like his chances because competition organizers combined the light heavyweight and heavyweight classes into one class.

Weighing in at about 198 pounds, Ellis wasn't sure if he would be able to measure up to competitors about 15 pounds heavier.

"I knew I would be leaner, but I thought right off the bat that I would walk away with just the experience," he said. "I was at least hoping for second."

Then the winner was announced.

"The feeling inside was like no other," Ellis said.

Amazingly enough, Rippelmeyer and Ellis weren't the only first time competitors who took home a trophy. Despite giving birth 16 months ago, Army spouse Summer Melton won first place in the women's figures category.

"My main goal was to get the competition under my belt," said the 29-year-old Yelm resident, who got her body fat down to 8 1/2 percent for the competition. "I was really happy and excited to win. It was a lot of fun."

Melton and her husband Gary (who finished second to Ellis in the men's heavyweight) trained together for the competition.

"We love working out together," she said.