Kulla won the NPC Junior Nationals earning her pro status with the International Federation of BodyBuilders
by Andy Rogers
Thisweek Newspapers
After thousands of hours in the gym and years of eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, Lakeville’s JulieAnn Kulla can now say she has one of the best figures in the nation.
And she has the card to prove it.
Kulla earned her professional status with the International Federation of Bodybuilders after winning the NPC Junior Nationals June 19-21 in Chicago.
Even though her pro card says “bodybuilder,: that’s not exactly what she spends her time doing. She won the figure portion at the national event, which is separate from bodybuilding and fitness.
There’s no flexing chiseled, bulging muscles. It’s not a swimsuit contest either. It’s all about the individual’s physique. During competitions she poses and turns on stage. They look for symmetry, muscle tone, posture and specific lines and definition in the muscles.
Photos submitted.
At 27, Kulla didn’t take her time in the gym too seriously until her early 20s.
Kulla moved to Lakeville when she was about 15 from Iowa where she
participating in competitive gymnastics. She didn’t participate in
competitive sports while at Lakeville High School, but after a few
years she missed it.
After graduating in 1999, Kulla paid a visit to the Ms. Olympia
competition in Las Vegas and she was hooked. Her desire for athletic
competition reached a new level, so she worked out tirelessly in the
gym.
She’s been competing in local and national shows for the past four years.
In 2005 she placed second in the NPC Northern States Natural Classic
Figure. She won the Ms. Minnesota Figure short class in 2006.
At local shows there are about 20 women competing from around the state. At nationals, there are hundreds.
She placed eighth at Junior Nationals in 2007. She gained a sense of her potential so she took the year to build muscle.
On June 7 she competed in the Gopher State at Myth in Maplewood and won the competition.
That qualified her for the NPC Junior Nationals. There are five height
classifications — Kulla won Class B out of 40 women. She then took the
overall title beating out the other five weight-class winners, which
earned her the pro card.
She said she was calm entering the national competition. She said she did her homework, so she knew the judges criteria.
“I worked so much that I was very confident,” Kulla said. “The moment I
stepped on the stage the judges whispered to each other like I was the
one. They called me out first in each round, which pretty much means I
was in first.”
Near the end they called her forward with the top three women and she
emerged as the winner. Ever since then, she’s been inundated with photo
shoots, autograph signing and interviews.
“It’s a bit overwhelming,” Kulla said. “I’ve been very tired lately, but it’s a dream of mine to be in magazines.”
Her recent accolades have earned her a celebrity status with certain crowds.
“But I’m still the same old JulieAnn,” Kulla said.
Now that she’s in the elite category, she’ll compete with the best from around the world.
She’s competing in her first professional show in six weeks in New York
City. If she claims a top-three finish, she’ll qualify for the Miss
Olympia show in November is Las Vegas, right back where she started.
For now it’s dining on fish, fitness and more photos. This week is a photo shoot in Los Angeles.
She said it will be difficult for her to maintain her rigorous training
schedule with her recent onslaught of photo shoots and competition
invites.
For years she has spent mornings doing a half hour of cardiovascular
exercise on an empty stomach. At night she does another 45 minutes to
an hour of cardio and up to two hours of resistance training and weight
lifting. She’s at the gym until 10 p.m. almost every night.
In between she works a 9-5 job as a graphic designer.
“My nights are consumed with being at the gym,” Kulla said. “There’s no going out to dinner. No parties.”
Her routine stays with her during the weekend, but on Sunday she takes
a break from weight lifting to rebuild, but she still focuses on
cardio.
“I don’t do a full body work out every day,” Kulla said. “On certain
days I work certain body parts. Basically I tear down the muscle and
build it back.
“There’s not much time off for me. It takes a lot of mental focus and preparation to do it.”
Kulla is sponsored by Species Nutrition, which provides her with
supplements and proteins. Her diet is very regimented. She plans her
diet on her own, which is unique at her level. Most professional
trainers hire a dietician.
She eats meals every two-to-three hours consisting mainly of tilapia, broccoli and almonds — almost no carbohydrates.
Earning a sponsor was a significant accomplishment for Kulla because
the sport isn’t cheap. Competition outfits are custom made and can cost
more than a $1,000. Add that with the cost of travel and gym
membership, being a professional doesn’t mean automatic profits.
She’s trained almost exclusively at Lakeville Lifetime Fitness. She
said she receives plenty of looks from people curious about why she’s
always there and why’s she’s in good shape.
“Once I tell them, it all makes sense,” Kulla said.
Besides qualifying for Ms. Olympia, her other goal is to inspire others
to live a healthy lifestyle. She teaches an eight-week boot camp in
Lakeville with her sister that runs Tuesdays and Thursdays in a local
park.
“I get people who haven’t worked out in a while and it changes their
lives,” Kulla said. “It’s very rewarding. It’s a passion of mine. I
just want to be inspiration to people. If I can get one person to start
working out and change their diet.”
Information about her career and boot camp can be found at julieannkulla.com .
Andy Rogers is at
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Near the end they called her forward with the top three women and she
emerged as the winner. Ever since then, she’s been inundated with photo
shoots, autograph signing and interviews. 
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