After six months on the training described in the bodybuilder’s back-to-basics routine, “you’re going to look pretty damn good”, says Stark. Provided you’ve excelled in the kitchen as well as the gym.

“If you fool yourself into thinking you’re going to outrun a poor diet, you’re doomed to failure,” says Greg Stark, founder of Better Being personal training in Sydney.

Certified nutritionist Hamish Evans says correct nutrition is 75 per cent of the equation. So what’s correct nutrition?

“To get lean, eat clean,” says Evans. “Clean” means unprocessed. It means foods that are one thing – chicken, broccoli, milk – not a mishmash of chemicals and additives.

We’re betting that when it comes to eating, you couldn’t be bothered counting kilojoules or applying mathematical formulas. So we’ll make this simple as we can:

•To build muscle, eat five meals a day, each to the point of feeling 70-80 per cent full. (In addition, if you’re training first thing, you need to consume a small, carb-based meal 30-60 minutes before you rip in.)

• Base every meal around a high-quality protein source: chicken, fish, milk, eggs.

• Eat lots of vegetables.

• Your most important meal of the day is the one you eat within an hour of your workout, in the so-called anabolic window. Go for it with protein and clean carbs, while eschewing fats (even good fats), which can interfere with protein metabolism at this crucial stage.

• When you’re trying to strip fat to increase muscular definition, eat a little less, especially carbs, and even cleaner. Avoid sugar like you would the school bully.