After watching last season's American Gladiator on NBC, Patti Franklin of Lansdowne said to herself, "I have to try this."

The 41-year-old mother of four learned that the show was looking for new competitors last winter, so she and some friends flew to New York and waited 14 hours in a cold February rain for a chance to be on the show.

After weeding through a reported 12,000 contestants and holding several rounds of auditions, producers selected Franklin as one of twenty female contestants. Twenty men are also competing for the American Gladiator title.

The show was taped in April and May, said Franklin, and she is under strict guidelines not to discuss the show's outcome. "I can say that the other competitors and I became wonderful friends. We email each other constantly -- almost daily," she said.

Franklin describes herself as having been very athletic in high school and college, but after getting married and bearing four children, she found herself 55 pounds overweight. "And then, eight years ago, I started working out -- when my youngest child was two," she said.

Franklin is now a trim 120 pounds with an athletic 16 percent body fat. She has competed in and won several fitness competitions since her lifestyle change.

"Many people who are starting an exercise and diet program get frustrated because they set goals that are too big," she said. "The key is to set small, realistic, obtainable goals -- and not give up."

When Franklin is not competing, caring for her family, or working out at the local Gold's Gym, she is on the job as a pediatric nurse in Ashburn.

So, what's next for Franklin, now that the taping of American Gladiator is over?

"I'll be competing in the Fitness America nationals in Las Vegas this November," she said.

Any viewing parties for tonight's broadcast?

"I have friends who are getting together tonight to see the show," Franklin said, "but I'm just going to stay home with my family and watch. After seeing the previews, I'm kind of embarrassed to watch myself."

American Gladiator airs tonight on NBC at 8 p.m.