At first glance, these men and women look like any other body builder on the circuit, with bulging biceps and etched abs.
But there's something missing in this contest: no steroids, no growth hormones. Competitors must be "all natural."
Each contestant undergoes a drug test before their event.
"Looking for steroids, growth hormones or prescription diuretics," body builder Dewayne Malone said.
If they fail, they are banned from competing -- for life.
Steroid use has been linked to premature heart attacks, strokes, liver tumors, kidney failure and psychiatric problems. And these athletes say, it's not worth it.
Fifty-eight-year-old Mario Lerma is the oldest man competing.
"There is some self sacrifice, a lot of discipline and focus and refocusing, rededicating -- there is a lot of that," Lerma said.
The youngest is 14-year-old Chris Garza.
"Are you nervous?" we asked the teen.
"Yes, I am very nervous," he replied.
Achieving this kind of physical perfection at any age does not come easy.
"I usually wake up in the morning, start by doing a little pushups and then I go to the gym around 10 o'clock. I work out there for 4 and a half hours and then come back, do school work," Garza said.
And then there's the diet.
"It's a very, very clean and bland and not much salt at all. No sugar other than a little bit of natural sugar," Lerma said.
"All natural" body building is growing in popularity among men and women.
"I usually workout five days a week around three hours," body builder Sharon Pascal-Diaz. "It was hard at first but once I got use to it then it became second nature to me."
"I think it's amazing to see a woman in that kind of shape. You know I train a lot of them so I see the effort that they put forth and actually some of my women are tougher than some of my guys," Malone said.
They're all tough competitors hoping for a new and fair playing field without the dangers of the past.
"They are just extreme fitness people. They want to look the best that they could possibly look," Malone said.
