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Updated Thursday, December 31, 2009 10:40 am TWN, By Sid Astbury, dpa

Bodybuilding where bigger is always better

California governor Arnord Schwarzenegger is perhaps the world's best known bodybuilder. (dpa)

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Bodybuilding where bigger is always better

“Sometimes, it's not realistic to fix it,” Abdollahi said. “You have to say 'that's good enough for me.'” Mehajer's creed is that effort can fix what genes left out, that perfect preparation and a fabulous 10 minutes on stage in front of the judging panel can bring glory.

You can be a champion bodybuilder your whole life: there is competition at every level. You can be any size: tall or short does not make a difference. Melbourne's Tony Harnas, a personal trainer, has been pumping iron since he was 27 and is now Mr Australia in his over-50 age group. A world champion, he is an inspiration for many despite his wrinkles.

You can start at any time in life. Vesna Stansfield was 43 when she took up the sport, helped into it by physiotherapy for a bad back. A surgery theatre nurse in a country town, she competed in the national championships within a year of getting enthusiastic about weights and egg whites.

For Stansfield, it took a very deep breath to take to the stage in the briefest of bikinis, full make-up and six coats of fake tan. It was liberating. “It gives you self-esteem, self-confidence,” she said. “You start off shy and introverted and become more outgoing.” Natural bodybuilders, as opposed to just bodybuilders, eschew illicit drugs.

Competitors get tested for metabolites in their urine samples and are penalized when they are found to have cheated. Mostly, though, it is an honor system.

“I have friends that are completely natural and shy away from certain supplements,” said Abdollahi. “There are some competitors that are (completely natural), and some that aren't.” Bodybuilders smile when they are accused of what jokers call bigorexia and doctors would call body dysmorphia.

Keen runners can look desiccated, prematurely aged, but seldom get ribbed for being dysmorphic, for wantonly becoming emaciated.

Bodybuilding is something you can take up without courting harmful effects.

It is not for life: Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the world's best known former bodybuilder, is a shadow of his former self. He is now in charge of California, the world's sixth-largest economy, and not obviously impaired by his very successful struggle for bodily perfection.

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