Welcome back to the show! Today I’m starting a new series where I share 10 tips to help you better prepare for your first competition. The first tip I'm sharing today is to pick the right category. I break down each of the categories in detail to help you better understand what they are, the goal of each of the categories, and help you better determine which one fits you best.

Want to chat about the episodes and be a part of our weekly podcast group gatherings? Search for the group called “The ‘Everything Else’ in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders!” And come join the conversation.

Additional Resources:

-Want to learn how to pose for NPC, OCB, or Fitness Universe? Register for the next virtual posing clinic at http://www.learntopose.com

-Want to feel fully prepared on stage at your competition? Join my weekly posing classes at http://www.weeklyposing.com

-NEW weekly posing class called “Posing Mechanics for all men and women divisions” now available on Sundays! http://www.weeklyposing.com

-FREE posing tutorials for Figure, Bikini, Wellness, and Men's Physique competitors at www.learntopose.com

-FREE ebook “5 Things Every Bodybuilding and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com

-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at shop.killitwithdrive.com

-Want to WIN your next competition? I can help! Learn more at: www.posingwinsshows.com

Key Takeaways:

*The Bikini Category (3:15 )

*The Men’s Physique Category (4:30 )

*The Wellness Category (5:50 )

*The Figure Category (7:52 )

*The Women’s Physique Category (9:21 )

*The Classic Physique Category (12:30 )

*The Bodybuilding Category (16:05 )

*Pageant style shows and their categories (16:20 )

Welcome back guys! Just me here on the mic again today with a new podcast series I’m doing that breaks down my top 10 tips for all you new people thinking about doing shows. This is also a great refresher for you veterans too. A lot of you new people probably stumbled across this podcast after a lot of bumps and bruises while combing through all the nonsense out there trying to figure out this thing called bodybuilding.  My federation is better than yours. Our federation is better because we are natural. My federation is the most prestigious. My federation is the most glamourous. You will hear me say over and over that the best federation is the best option for YOU. This is the most exciting and one of the most expensive hobbies you will ever take part in. So regardless of which federation you choose, today, I’m going to talk about the first of my 10 tips to help you better prepare and feel more confident for your first prep.

Starting with the different divisions. There are so many to choose from it can get confusing. You’ve got bikini, wellness, men’s physique, figure, classic physique, open bodybuilding, women’s physique, and then you have other divisions that are more glammy like fitness model, model, muscle model, and so on. Knowing where you best fit is important because it can be discouraging to spend all the time an money preparing for a show only to place really low in a category for no reason except your body was better suited for a different category. 

So let’s start with the bikini, men’s physique, and the wellness divisions. Bikini is looking for an athletic amount of muscle and a proportionate physique. The amount of muscle required in the bikini division is the least amount you are going to see on a bodybuilding stage. This is usually where people start when they are new to training and bodybuilding, and especially after a weight loss transformation. You will see the bikini competitors in non drug tested federations leaner and more muscular than drug tested federations so if you are brand brand new you might want to make note of this. It can get confusing when you start looking at pictures. In fact, I saw a social media post recently of a side by side competitor photo from a coach who only works with clients training for NPC and IFBB shows, which are not drug tested. The “before” photo of his competitor looked like the “after” photos of what many new competitors look like when competing for the first time on drug tested bikini stages.  So this might help you put things into perspective when I say the look of bikini is different in drug tested versus non drug tested organizations, but it’s still the least amount of muscle required among all the different categories.

Men’s physique is the entry level division for the men’s categories and requires the least amount of muscle compared to the bodybuilding division, so this is a perfect starting place for men who have had a significant weight loss or those who are somewhat new to training and are hitting a stride with their workouts. The biggest stand out with men’s physique is the tight abs and a dramatic shoulder to waist ratio, so make sure your 6 pack is showing and you know how to flare those lats. There has been a dramatic upswing in the amount of men’s physique competitors coming to me to learn how to pose and who are over 50 and looking to do their first show. It’s a perfect division for you!  My over 50 men’s physique posing clients start off a little shy at first.  In a private session I asked one of my students to do something with hit foot and his initial response was, “I feel like a ballerina.”  I took a screen shot of him and pulled it up for him to see what he looked like with the foot position change and compared it to a screen shot I took of him without the adjustment. His response was not only did he not look like a ballerina, he looked pretty freaking good.  And slowly the confidence blossomed. So, men, you can look strong, athletic, powerful, and artistic at the same time.  Just freaking let go and watch the magic happen.  I won’t let you look like a ballerina, ok?

Wellness is probably the division that confuses people the most. Wellness isn’t an out of shape bikini competitor. Or a soft and thick bikini competitor. Wellness is a division that rewards a very specific body shape and appearance. Wellness is for women with trained physiques that are structurally lower body dominant. Many women are confusing this category because they are assessing their body when they are carrying excess body fat and thinking that this is their structure. Remember, I said wellness is looking for a trained physique. In layman’s terms, you need to be muscular. So assessing your physique when you are leaner is important. For example, me, I’m nowhere near contest shape right now and am loving lifting heavy and getting stronger. I have a boootay right now. And some thick legs too. If I wear shorts I got a little SWISH going on with my quads as they sweep past each other with every step.  My fat distribution is lower body dominant at the current moment. But if I drop 20lbs and show my trained physique this is not the case. Structurally I am quite symmetrical. When I drop weight the symmetry shows. So you can’t be analyzing your body in the off season when it’s not looking as trained and detailed.  I’m seeing a lot of symmetrical bikini girls thinking they are wellness and doing some super squatty posing to create more lower body dominance. I don’t advise doing this. I advise you get an honest assessment on your structure and best category from the beginning so you can start posing and learning better stage presence for the category you want to score your best in.  Feel free to post in my Everything Else in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders group on Facebook and ask more questions on this.  It’s a free group where we have conversations on all of these episodes and all things bodybuilding.     

Moving on to the more muscular categories like Figure, Women’s Physique, Classic Physique, and Bodybuilding.

Starting with Figure. Figure is looking for a trained, symmetrical, physique.  Figure was designed originally to provide another option for Fitness competitors who were required to do an athletic performance as part of their scoring.  Many fitness competitors didn’t want to have to do the routine that included things like strength holds, flexibility, gymnastic tumbling, dance, and more. Many suffered injuries.  So figure was born and it was meant to look a fitness competitor. Over the years it has evolved into being a division that looks for a very specific style structure. A wide shoulder to waist ratio. Very trained physique with visual cuts in the quads and detail in the hamstrings. Broad shoulders with dense caps to them. And of course tight abs and a small waistline. You don’t develop this type of physique with 2 years of training. So the figure division is for very athletic women who have many years of training under their belt and are symmetrical, not lower body dominant. But don’t be scared by the description of capped shoulders and quad cuts. The posing that is required for the figure division is meant to dramatize these features on you. The poses are not shapes we stand in in everyday life. In fact, I remember my friend Shelley calling me a “sleeper” because when I stood normal I look unassuming and small. But when I flared my lats and flexed, poof, I look like a completely different person, and joked that I looked like a flying squirrel. So don’t be intimidated by this division. It’s a great option for those who have developed and carry more muscle.