Bodybuilding where bigger is always better

“You can prepare for 12 weeks and a guy you don't know can just turn up and blow you out of the water,” Mehajer said.

The imperfection he sees — a lack of definition in triceps or not enough bulk in biceps — is lost on those not attuned to what the judging panel looks for.

But in the street, or more forcefully on the beach, what people see is a body to die for — veins you can count, an absence of cellulite, skin that is almost translucent and, most of all, bulging muscles.

“You always want to put on size,” Mehajer, the New South Wales state president of the International Natural Bodybuilding Association, said.

“But most of all, you want to improve, to be just that bit better.” Weightlifting, an Olympic sport, is all about power. Bodybuilding, in contrast, is all about appearance. Both require mammoth sessions pumping iron, yet there is very little cross-over.

Like the Olympics, which come around every four years, the medals in bodybuilding competitions go to those who are not always the best but who are the best on the day. “The guy who won last year can finish nowhere this year,” Mehajer said. “He could have been 6 percent body fat last year but 8 percent now and that means he's out of it.”

Ash Abdollahi, a Sydney University veterinary science student and novice bodybuilder, is in training for the world natural bodybuilding titles in 2012. He also looks in the mirror and sees muscle groups shouting out for exercise.

“You look at yourself and you look OK for an ordinary person,” Abdollahi said. “But you are always trying to push for that extra bit of quality. There's always someone in the gym who's a bit better, so you work on those minor flaws.” Like any other sport, having good genes is a huge advantage but less than perfect genes is not the death knell for ambition.

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