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Why Womens Physique ?

F

FBBFan

Member
Apr 17, 2013
17
0
I am very curious about the answers from you, Ladies.
I asked some of the competitors i know and got not many logical answers.....
Why would you switch to Women's Physique Category ?
- if you were competing in Womens Bodybuilding?
- if you were competing in Figure?
 
sassy69

sassy69

TID Lady Member
Aug 16, 2011
1,067
398
The easy answer is:
- if you've competed in FBB in the past and either couldn't or chose not to "get big", this is a "less big" option for you.
- if you've competed in Figure and were "too lean" or "too big" or not satisfied w/ the limited posing or don't like wearing the shoes, it's a nice option to go to. There are also Figure competitors who are looking to go beyond Figure to "go to the next level" w/ their training, but again, don't have to go to the level of FBB.

In the broader picture, the never-ending discussion of how FBB has gotten "too big", here's a toned down option. However it begs the also never-ending trend of everything in physique competition to "more" - more muscle, more leanness, more whatever. If someone shows up just a little bit more <whatever> and stands out from the crowd w/ a nice overall package, and then gets rewarded for it, that will establish the new trend. That approach can occasionally backfire if you aren't familiar w/ the "norm" for your particular competition. I think a great example is the NY Pro show recently. Seems "east side" tends to like bigger & leaner, whereas the same competitors could compete on the West Coast and not do as well.

My personal stance - I competed in FBB from 2000-2010. I was never particularly "big", but I also had zero interest in competing in Figure, had zero skill to compete in Fitness and more than zero interest in competing in Bikini. Since 2010, I've been out w/ a shoulder injury and a plethora of soft tissue problems that have hindered my ability and enjoyment of training over the last 5 years. Additionally, I've given up some muscle to the lack of training and also aged another 5 years into my late 40s and I'm staring 50 in the face right now. I have no interest in trying to rebuild enough muscle base for FBB. I also have lost interest in FBB, some from the negativity that surrounded it when Physique was introduced and for some, seemed to translate less into "Hey look at the new category" and more into "Hey take a look at just how freaky FBB is and it should die and we should all look to Physique as the new peak of women's competition". I also lost interest in it due to the freaky requests I keep getting since I started competing at the national level for shit I have no interest in getting involved in or even want to know about. (No offense to people who like that stuff, .. its just not for me and not the attention I wanted when I started pursuing competition.)

So as I've gotten most of my injuries addressed, I'm sitting at a lower degree of muscle, less ability to go as heavy as I used to , less desire to go as heavy as I used, but still wanting to stay in shape and get on stage and express myself w/ the posing. Thus Physique is a nice option for me to pursue this fall.

Having watched Physique evolve over the last 5-6 years, some things you have to admit about it:
- it has energized women's competition and brought some really nice physiques to the stage.
- it is more doable than FBB for many competitors both in the ability to get to that level, desire to not get to the extreme level and generally more acceptable overall end result (relative to the extremes usually associated w/ FBB)
- I still expect it to trend towards "bigger", but then that aspect of women's competition will never go away, so I guess we just live with it.
- I'm still ambivalent about some of the mandatory poses and some of the competitors' ability to execute good poses - this was a huge aspect of FBB for me, so I hate to see people miss the point of excellent and aesthetically amazing posing capability.
- I really hope the judging keeps the trends towards 'more' under control - it isn't a competition for the extreme - so in fact the challenge becomes keeping a cap on the size and leanness while still presenting a detailed, lean, but nicely muscled and proportioned physique.
 
Missmaxx1313

Missmaxx1313

TID Lady Member
Oct 17, 2015
8
0
The easy answer is:
- if you've competed in FBB in the past and either couldn't or chose not to "get big", this is a "less big" option for you.
- if you've competed in Figure and were "too lean" or "too big" or not satisfied w/ the limited posing or don't like wearing the shoes, it's a nice option to go to. There are also Figure competitors who are looking to go beyond Figure to "go to the next level" w/ their training, but again, don't have to go to the level of FBB.

In the broader picture, the never-ending discussion of how FBB has gotten "too big", here's a toned down option. However it begs the also never-ending trend of everything in physique competition to "more" - more muscle, more leanness, more whatever. If someone shows up just a little bit more <whatever> and stands out from the crowd w/ a nice overall package, and then gets rewarded for it, that will establish the new trend. That approach can occasionally backfire if you aren't familiar w/ the "norm" for your particular competition. I think a great example is the NY Pro show recently. Seems "east side" tends to like bigger & leaner, whereas the same competitors could compete on the West Coast and not do as well.

My personal stance - I competed in FBB from 2000-2010. I was never particularly "big", but I also had zero interest in competing in Figure, had zero skill to compete in Fitness and more than zero interest in competing in Bikini. Since 2010, I've been out w/ a shoulder injury and a plethora of soft tissue problems that have hindered my ability and enjoyment of training over the last 5 years. Additionally, I've given up some muscle to the lack of training and also aged another 5 years into my late 40s and I'm staring 50 in the face right now. I have no interest in trying to rebuild enough muscle base for FBB. I also have lost interest in FBB, some from the negativity that surrounded it when Physique was introduced and for some, seemed to translate less into "Hey look at the new category" and more into "Hey take a look at just how freaky FBB is and it should die and we should all look to Physique as the new peak of women's competition". I also lost interest in it due to the freaky requests I keep getting since I started competing at the national level for shit I have no interest in getting involved in or even want to know about. (No offense to people who like that stuff, .. its just not for me and not the attention I wanted when I started pursuing competition.)

So as I've gotten most of my injuries addressed, I'm sitting at a lower degree of muscle, less ability to go as heavy as I used to , less desire to go as heavy as I used, but still wanting to stay in shape and get on stage and express myself w/ the posing. Thus Physique is a nice option for me to pursue this fall.

Having watched Physique evolve over the last 5-6 years, some things you have to admit about it:
- it has energized women's competition and brought some really nice physiques to the stage.
- it is more doable than FBB for many competitors both in the ability to get to that level, desire to not get to the extreme level and generally more acceptable overall end result (relative to the extremes usually associated w/ FBB)
- I still expect it to trend towards "bigger", but then that aspect of women's competition will never go away, so I guess we just live with it.
- I'm still ambivalent about some of the mandatory poses and some of the competitors' ability to execute good poses - this was a huge aspect of FBB for me, so I hate to see people miss the point of excellent and aesthetically amazing posing capability.
- I really hope the judging keeps the trends towards 'more' under control - it isn't a competition for the extreme - so in fact the challenge becomes keeping a cap on the size and leanness while still presenting a detailed, lean, but nicely muscled and proportioned physique.
That was very informative Sassy. Thank you. I'm a beginner in this world amNd could use as much info as possible. My goal is to eventually compete in physique. If you have any good tips on where to get started I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again
 
Mike_RN

Mike_RN

Senior Moderators
Staff Member
Aug 13, 2013
2,643
2,919
Piggy-backing on Sassy's post: Women's physique allows many athletes to remain "softer" or traditionally "feminine" in the off-season as well. There is still a very big stigma attached to bodybuilding in general but particularly the women in FBB. Also Physique is heighted instead of weighted so the judging is less likely to favor the "extremes" since height is a great limiter to mass accrual. Meaning the little girls have a better shot ;)
 
fit_dynamite

fit_dynamite

TID Lady Member
Oct 11, 2017
150
89
This is a great thread because many of us have been faced with this decision. Before WPD came along we only had either figure or bodybuilding to showcase our hard work. I lived it and have competed in all three divisions. My first show 2006, (after coming out of retirement) I competed in both figure and bodybuilding. I came home that night with 6 trophies. I won both the novice and open in figure and I won both open and masters bodybuilding and took home 2 overalls. The next year I headed to a national show in figure and was told I was way too muscular, too hard and too lean. My advice from a few judges....stop training (seriously thats what they told me), and don't diet so strict. hahaha I then competed in bodybuilding the following 2 years at the national level and was told I had great conditioning but add more size. I felt at that point I had reached my potential. But by this time it seemed that figure had evolved more and I would give figure another shot. Local shows in figure I would win and a few overalls too. In 2010 I competed at nationals in figure and did not place. I remember standing in line back stage and talking to a few girls. The 3 that I spoke with all had only been training for a year. ONE year. They were soft, hardly any muscle and their glutes were jiggly. They all placed in front of me. I knew that night this would be my last show. During that weekend of that show, a good friend of mines who is a IFBB judge stopped me in the lobby of the hotel and said "I will be seeing you next year at the new division I hope." And of course he piqued my interest. 2011 the first year of WPD! I competed 3x that year and 3rd time is a charm. Won my pro card!
 
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