NEWPORT — The slender, long-haired woman sitting in her rocking chair gently stroked her tiny kitten, Murphy. Weighing a trim 115 pounds, the woman certainly did not conjure up images of “Hulk Hogan” or “The Ultimate Warrior.”

But apearances can be deceptive. Corinne Knapp is ranked as one of the state’s top women in bodybuilding competition.

Petite Corinna Knapp, 35, of Newport began bodybuilding two years ago in an attempt to gain weight. She ended up intrigued with the control she discovered that she had over her appearance. “When I go into the gym,” she said, “I think I can change anything I want to. Bodybuilding makes you a stronger person.”

Knapp quickly admitted that the toning and lifting regimen is “the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” She has always been active in sports — basketball, swimming, riding, archery, tennis and racquetball — but “none of them were ever as demanding as this.”

Bodybuilding is an activity that woman may use to achieve a variety of ends, said Knapp, including gaining or losing weight, tightening and toning musculature, working to overcome physical disabilities during rehabilitation, and for more esoteric reasons such as building character, strength and confidence.

However, bodybuilding can be dangerous for women, she cautioned, because a woman’s natural body fat percentage is much higher than a man’s. For competition, she said, this percentage must be low. If too low, it can cause physical damage including damage to the reproductive system. “Men can get down to 6 or 7 percent body fat,” she said, “without it causing a problem.”

Women can have 18 percent or higher body fat and must get down to about 11 percent for competition. If a woman’s body fat gets too low, she can really become ill, Knapp said. She uses calipers at each workout to keep a careful record of her exact percentage. “For me,” she said, “it is really easy to get lean. If I drop too low, I just eat.”

Knapp said the sport allowed her to challenge herself. She said she was in better physical condition now than she was 10 years ago.

“Older women past 30 have more mature musculature,” Knapp explained. “A lot of women don’t even start bodybuilding until after they hit their 30s.”

Knapp recently placed second in the Miss Vacationland bodybuilding competition in Winslow. In her first meet, last spring in Farmington, she shocked herself by coming in fifth. “I never intended to enter competition, and I really never expected to place,” she said.

Knapp said that women in competition do not aspire to a massive, muscular look like their male counterparts, but instead should be very lean. The judges look for the definition, or cut, of the muscle. As a sport, bodybuilding is still very male-dominated, she said, but it’s becoming more popular with women.

Although Knapp highly recommends bodybuilding for women, she cautioned newcomers not to jump into the sport. She said that a complete physical, including informing the doctor that you are about to begin bodybuilding, is a necessity. Once you have a clean bill of health, she said, the next step is finding a good gym. Knapp has been using Gilley’s in Waterville but is waiting for a new facility, Spartan’s in Newport, to complete ordering its equipment so she can work out close to home.

The fact that she can control not only her weight but exactly how each body muscle looks is thrilling, said Knapp. “It is really an addictive sport. When you work for a whole year and can really see the changes, it is all worth it. Your body is always changing. I could work out in the gym for 10 years and never feel that I’m really done.”

Knapp said that her husband and two sons, not bodybuilders themselves, support her fully. She works out at the gym about three days a week. “They are very understanding,” she said.

As a matter of fact, said Knapp, the boys have boasted to their friends and when she has picked them up at school yell, “Hey Mom, show them your bicep!”

“That part gets pretty embarrassing,” she said with a laugh.