For Dunedin couple Nicola Whiston-d'Artis and Ferg d'Ardis, it is also an opportunity to fly the flag for the province.
The pair will be joined by five other Otago gym junkies at the South Island body building championships in Christchurch on September 4.
This will be the second tournament for Whiston-d'Artis.
She won the novice figure category at the South Island championships in 2008 and came second at the nationals in the same category that year.
The 34-year-old was overseas in 2009 but has returned to New Zealand and is keen to make an impact on the women's open division.
"[The figure category] is all about a lean, toned look. We generally compete at around 8%-10% body fat, so we try and retain a real feminine look as opposed to the physique category which is a real muscular shape. We wear bikinis with sparkles and have long nails and wear high heels on stage."
All the posing is done with open hands and with a smile on the face, she added.
The constant smiling hurt almost as much as the strenuous exercising, she joked.
Then there is all the dieting, tanning and waxing.
It is certainly no party being a body builder.
And it can be expensive, too.
The couple spend between $300 and $400 on dietary supplements and personal training sessions each month.
If that is not enough to put you off, the week before a tournament is particularly gruelling.
"The last week is the hardest.
We go through a depletion phase and a carbo-loading phase.
We start dehydrating on the Thursday night.
You're drinking cap-fuls of water so you're not having no water at all.
You're just limiting your intake."
While it might sound awful to some people, Whiston-d'Artis loves the sport.
"It is really structured and organised, and that is one thing I really like about this sport. You are only dieting 12 weeks out [from a tournament]."
Whiston-d'Artis has not sworn off all treats.
And she decided this time around she could not face training on a diet of boiled chicken and rice.
"I went to a nutritionist because I want to train for this competition under a different regime. I didn't want to eat boiled rice and boiled chicken and boiled everything.
"So I'm still able to eat porridge and nuts and seeds and vegetables and meat."
Fish 'n' chips?
"No. Probably not."
Never?
"Not very often."
Hmmmm.
"You do get hungry. And we go to our own corners when we need to. But Ferg is the cook in our house."
D'Artis will be competing in his first tournament.
Turning 40 helped convince him to take up the sport.
The couple live in St Kilda but travel to Mosgiel so they can train with experienced trainer Glenn Morton.
Other Otago body builders to compete at the South Island championships are Natalie Menkes, Donovan Chisholm, Kyle Duncan, Ariana Ridley and Alex Spenceley.
