BIGGER is always better in the world of competitive bodybuilding.

Judge at the upcoming ANB South Pacific Bodybuilding Championships at Magpies Sporting Club, Leonie Leonard, said she is looking for "guys and girls that look healthy”.

"I don't like to see people that have dieted themselves down to being malnourished,” she said.

In addition to her judging duties, Ms Leonard, the owner of Power Station gym, has been training Mackay residents for bodybuilding competitions for the past 10 years and will have two of her charges taking the stage at the South Pacific Championships on April 7.

A former competitor, Ms Leonard said she started training others because people were looking to her for advice and there were no other coaches in the region.

"We had people coming to us who had paid a lot of money for online coaches and were getting a lot of bad advice when it came to their diet and not getting the support,” she said.

Over the past 10 years, Ms Leonard has taken a number of athletes to the top level, including Sarina native, Bec Steele, who now competes professionally on the world stage and will be making a guest appearance at the South Pacific Championships.

Ms Leonard said the championships in Mackay had a "beautiful feel” and were a great stepping stone into a fiercely competitive industry.

"The crowd are really supportive, (the promoters) make the competitors feel really welcome and it's not intimidating at all,” she said.

Australasian Natural Bodybuilding North Queensland promoter Rhonda Barnes said her company had put on two events each year in Mackay for the past two years and the competition kept growing, in no small part due to the large gym culture in the city.

More than 30 competitors are travelling from as far as Rockhampton and Gladstone to pose for the judges.

The competition is open to all natural, non-drug enhanced athletes; however, not all competitors are drug tested as Mrs Barnes said the process was too expensive.

It's a shame. There are competitions for people who want to do that. People here want to compete naturally, they want a level playing field,” she said.

The South Pacific Championships in Mackay will be the first competition of the North Queensland season. The Coral Coast Classic will take place in Townsville a week later on April 14 and there will be a return to Mackay later in the year for the Mackay Regionals on September 1.