Many people try their entire lives to reach physical perfection. Society can be obsessed with the “perfect body” and what it means to be healthy.

There are people out there pushing this goal to the next level.

They don’t just strive for the perfect body; they compete for what they see as the perfect body.

  Ali Abuhasson, sophomore from Safwa, Ash Sharqiyah, Saudi Arabia, recently won overall champion in his division at Music City Muscle, the biggest body-building competition in Nashville, Tenn.

Having competed in men’s physique competitions for two years, he competed against people who have been in competitions for as long as 10 years and won.

“I believe that I got lucky; there were 290 competitors and I won,” Abuhasson said.

Luck plays the tiniest part in this rising sport, where contestants have to prepare their bodies in radical ways.

“I start training very hard two weeks before my competition,”Abuhasson said. “I wake up at 5 o’clock every morning. I tell myself before I wake up that if I want to win this competition I have to do something different.”

Abuhasson says he trains more as a competition nears.

“I go to the gym two times a day when it gets closer to a competition,” Abuhasson said. “So I go to the gym at 5 a.m., I do faster cardio and drink a lot of amino acids to maintain muscle. I make sure to eat a lot of clean protein. Sometimes I can eat up to 20 eggs a day and I drink coffee before my second workout of the day. Caffeine is an excellent fat burner, for those who know how to use it. If you drink coffee before you work out, you will notice a difference after one week.”

  Abuhasson is no stranger to sharing his nutrition and workout secrets.

He has many followers on Facebook and Instagram where he shares how he prepares for competition.

“I try to clarify everything since it’s a new sport,” Abuhasson said. “I post my diet and my workout routine, because I have a lot of people asking. And I try to help people diet. I believe that if you treat people nicely, and you tell them all the things you do, that will take you to the top. And I’m still learning myself. I do not claim to know everything about this sport.”

Abuhasson got involved with men’s physique competitions two years ago, when he started working out at the gym.

“I really liked it and my family, who is always so supportive, stepped in and said ‘Hey, you have nothing to do, why don’t you focus on this and do competitions?’” Abuhasson said. “And so I did, and I really liked it.”

Abuhasson is on the fast track to being successful in his sport and is looking to pick up sponsors at the Pro Show in St. Louis in 2015.

Being as successful as he is at such a young age, he said he could not do what he does without his brother’s support.

“He’s always with me, when I’m doing diets he calls and checks on how I’m doing with them,” Abuhasson said of his brother’s constant support. “I can’t do this alone. You work out alone, you cook alone, but you have to have someone to share these things with.  He is now doing body-building competitions himself and we share a lot of things. We are always reading up and learning.”

By this time next year, it is possible that Abuhasson will be competing in worldwide competitions with sponsors and more people wanting to know how he is able to do what he does.

No matter how much he works out and diets, Abuhasson said you have to stay positive for any of it to work.

“It’s all about staying positive,”Abuhasson said. “I believe you can do anything if you stay positive.” 

Story by Taylor Inman, Staff writer