THERE was oiling, flexing and lifting.

Dozens of the south’s strongest men and women descended on Hampshire for the annual Solent City Bodybuilding Championships.

The 38th annual event, first held in 1978, saw men and women aged between 20 and 70 strip down to their smalls to show off their physique.

Before competing, the participants warmed up, lifting weights in the car park behind the hall and smothered themselves in fake tan and oil to highlight their perfectly sculpted muscles.

Each competitor had spent countless hours in the gym toning and bulking up ahead of the event.

The amateur competition was held at Thorngate Halls in Bury Road, Gosport, and organised by the Don Styler Physical Training Centre based in the town’s Monks Walk.

The event, compered by entertainer John Copeland, was judged by British bodybuilding champion 2015 Christal Cornick and bodybuilder Pete Wilson, who awarded medals to the top bodybuilders from a range of classes for men and women including those for juniors, seniors and novices.