Kuumomi Kaaihue knows about being in the spotlight after years of watching her father, famed Hawaiian musician Henry Kapono.

But tomorrow, it will be her turn under the lights as a contestant in the women's portion of the 28th Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding Championships at Blaisdell Center Concert Hall.

"In terms of being in the spotlight, if anything (she learned was) seeing him on stage and seeing his composure and confidence," Kaaihue said.

Kaaihue, 27, is competing in the Women's Hawai'i Figure Contest. Other competitions include the bodybuilding championships, which is a national qualifier, a Jr. Hawaiian Islands Championship and an Over-35 Masters Championship.

Kaaihue also will draw from her experiences as a local athlete. Kaaihue grew up playing basketball and volleyball for Punahou School, and volleyball at Chaminade University.

"Playing sports here in Hawai'i and college, you get used to having to maintain composure in those situations," Kaaihue said. "You have to be able to tune out certain things and focus in that type of environment, definitely."

Kaaihue is entering her first competition after two years of training. She began working out seriously after she and her father joined the Hawaii Athletic Club.

"It got to the point where I was going consistently and was seeing results," she said. "But I wanted to put a focus on my training, with an end goal."

So with the competition in mind, she increased her training to six days a week, sometimes twice a day.

And she had to change her diet.

"It's a lifestyle change," she said. "Eating is 80 percent of seeing the results. Eating regularly, every couple of hours, five or six smaller meals. Eating healthier, whole grains, fruits.

"The diet was the biggest thing I had to change. Living in Hawai'i, there are so many opportunities to eat."

She started at about 170 pounds with 18- to 20-percent body fat, and is now about 135 pounds and 11- or 12-percent body fat.

"I never was really overweight, but it was more a body change, building muscle and losing fat," she said.

Another contestant making her debut in the competition is Francine Summers, 43, of Kapahulu.

Summers began her training about a year ago after receiving encouragement from Mits Kawashima, the organizer of the Hawaiian Islands Bodybuilding Championships.

As the owner of Action Rehab Physical Therapy, Summers knows how to take care of her body. But she wanted to push herself.

"I always was interested in it, but when I was younger I didn't think I could do it," Summers said.

She has taken her body from 165 pounds in 1999, when she "had some really bad stuff happen," to a sleek 116 pounds and 13-percent body fat.

"It took a long time to come back from that," Summers said of her earlier weight gain. "I never want to go back to that place again. Since I had gotten over the heavy stage, and to what everybody's normal body was, I wanted to take my body further."

When she started training a year ago, she was 107 pounds with 28-percent body fat.

Workouts three times a day and a change in her diet —switching to six smaller meals a day instead of just large meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner, like Kaaihue — helped Summers to prepare her body for the upcoming competition.

"The same clothes are huge on me," she said.

Although her workouts have been winding down in preparation for the competition, Summers said usually she feels "fantastic, with a lot more energy. I feel like I'm in better shape than I've been in my entire life."

The changes go beyond physical.

"It helped me overcome a fear of insecurity," she said. "I know I can do (anything) if I need to."

Her newfound confidence will help her tomorrow.

"I'm still scared," Summers said. "It's coming up on Saturday and I look at some of the girls and they are so young. But I worked really hard and I'm going to do the best I can.

"I'm winning just to get on the stage at my age. My friends are motivated by what I'm doing."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.