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What fitness category is right for you?

Updated: Feb 24, 2022

Updated for 2022!


This is part 2 of my beginners guide to fitness competitions. In part 1 you found out how you pick the right federation for you. Go and read that first if you haven't already.



Here we will covering in more depth the SPORT end of the competition spectrum and explain the categories you can compete in.

This guide is useful for the following federations: UKBFF, NABBA, BNBF, PCA, 2BROS PRO, BNBF, WABBA and I strongly advise you to go and read the rules carefully for your specific Federation as their are some variations in bikini style and glute coverage that should be noted.


I have also written a handy guide on which bikini bum shape you need for each federation, to read up on that follow my link to What's the Crack?...





So...you've been to some shows, watched some video's and selected your federation, now it's time to see which category (sometimes also called class) you fit into.



Category Breakdown


These are four main categories in the sport federations...bikini, wellness, body fitness and physique. These can be further divided by experience, age, condition and height if there are a large number of competitors.



Bikini


In the larger federations bikini categories will be sub-divided by condition, experience, height and age if there are a large number of competitors in a class or category.


CONDITION

Bikini (UKBFF) and Bikini toned (PCA)is the 'softest' of the fitness looks. Bikini competitors are expected to look fit and healthy with good muscle tone ( but not defined muscle tone) and balance across the body.


Bikini trained (PCA) is a step up from bikini toned, for women with a more toned muscle structure and lower body fat. Symmetry, balance and proportion are also very important.


HEIGHT

Most of these federations separate out height classes for bikini categories. The idea being that like is being judged by like....to make it fairer in comparison. Expect at the minimum to have a short and tall bikini class, 2BROS PRO are the exception and go further with 8 height classes (published on their website). If particular height classes are undersubscribed they will probably be grouped together with another height class.


AGE

Junior is aimed at women under 23, open is open to all ages and masters is generally for women aged 35 and over.




For most of the shows the bikini style is fairly flexible in terms of design. You can wear either the triangle or bra cup design according to your personal preference and bottoms can be fitted with or without connectors. Bikini style bottoms are usually scooped at the front and always scrunched on the bum.


If you are competing in a 2Bros Pro show they have bikini 'preferences' which I strongly advise you to follow if your aim is to place high. You should wear a triangle bikini top, and a pro bum cut with connectors worn very high on the hip.


For a quick visual look at all the bikini styles CLICK HERE



wellness (UKBFF/2BROS PRO)


This is a relatively new catagory and sits between the traditional bikini and body fitness. It is for women with less body fat, more muscle definition and who have more development on the hips and upper leg than the upper body. PCA equivalent would be the aforementioned Bikini trained.


Bikini style for all bikini divisions is a 2 piece bikini, the colour, style and material is of course your own personal choice.





body fitness


Figure (BNBF) and Body Fitness (UKBFF) categories are for women who have defined muscle on their upper and lower bodies and low body fat but by no means are as heavily muscled as physique. It is also very useful to note here that the posing for bodyfitness and physique differs greatly from that of bikini and wellness and a different bikini style is worn. Body Fitness and Physique traditionally wear a 2 piece bikini that crosses over at the back and attaches to the bikini bottoms.



For a quick visual look at all the bikini styles CLICK HERE


physique


Physique (UKBFF), Trained figure (PCA), BODYBUILDING (BNBF) are the most muscular women's categories and are designed for those women who display clear definition and striations in their muscle tone and have a heavy over-all muscle tone and very little body fat. Physique is one of the categories with the least competitors but has it's roots deep in the old school bodybuilding federations.





 

NOTES


links to federation rules:







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