women's bodybuilding, fitness, figure and bikini questions

[athansor]

Hi all

Is there anywhere online one can go to get a current idea of what the difference is between the goal physiques of bodybuilding, fitness, figure and bikini competitors? I'm coming back to this after a bit of an absence, and women's bodybuilding seems to have changed quite a bit.

It seems to me that the bodybuilders of about 20 years ago are closer to the fitness competitors of today. I wonder if Cory Everson was to compete in today's environment, would she be fitness or bodybuilding?

I also recall that fitness competitors used to have to do quite a bit of flexibility/dance demonstrations in their routines, instead of the traditional posing. It used to make me nervous, because no matter how much I stretch, I can't get anywhere near doing the splits. Is that still the case?

Are there master's level competitions for all four, or is that only a bodybuilding thing?

I'm looking for the best route to go, as an older, natural vegan who is hoping to get big, but wondering if I'll end up looking more like a fitness competitor or bodybuilder by today's standards.

[pkjane]

They're phasing out the middles. So now (unless you plan to juice) you're stuck with figure (gymnastics) and bikini, which is very light weight. It's really changed.

 

Check the IFBB website and the Arnolds website, they'll tell you what you need

[djshrew]

It depends on which organization you compete with- they all seem to have different standards. figure usually has a masters level and no gymnastics required, usually just quarter turns. I'm not too familiar with bikini but I know fitness requires a routine and some orgs seem to be phasing it out.

 

I've seen some natural orgs where the female bodybuilders aren't much bigger than the figure girls