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"Beach Lean" or Contest Lean which do you prefer?

Mar 02, 2021 - permalink

I might be in the minority here but I've always looked at the contest week countdown of my favorite buff beauties and always thought to myself "man she looks prime at 5-6 weeks out". I understand what the judges want and what gets you a pro card but I wish the aesthetics for women were pushed to include a more "healthy" fat level. Not only does it imho accentuate curves and femininity but just generally looks healthier and sexier. So let's open the debate floor.

I tried to find an example of what I mean heres the buff beautiful body from Britain Kiera Aston (tried to use filter free pics for accuracy)

Mar 02, 2021 - permalink

I'm not really a fan of contest lean or even "beach lean." I actually really like offseason bulk. During a cut, bodybuilders lose strength, and they're generally at their weakest come contest day. I'm attracted mostly to strength and power, hence why I like the offseason look.

I like powerlifters a lot as well. I find, for example, Carina Davis extremely hot. At 260lbs, she can easily squat over 500lbs. That is extremely sexy

Mar 02, 2021 - permalink

I'd love to see a contest where the women cant compete below "x" bodyfat ratio. Kind of like what they did with the models in France so they'd stop eating heroin and puking backstage.

X would be a number equivalent to "beach lean". I've always thought this approach would work better than " 20% less big" allowing them to be healthy, carrying the higher bodyfat that women are supposed to have regardless.

Mar 02, 2021 - permalink

Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn't lowering the standards just "flood the talent pool?" Looking like a FBB that is 5 weeks out is easier than day of competition. I realize they judge on more than just definition like symmetry and size, but I think definition is what separates the good from great. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't kick Kiera out of bed regardless of body fat percentage. Most women don't like how ronnie coleman and jay cutler look on contest day.

Mar 03, 2021 - permalink

SgtBig you make a good point I hadn't considered that. Yeah the possibility of it turning into a psuedo beauty pageant is definitely there (arguably bikini division is moving there already). I guess the judges would shape expectations in the contests,like all things the division would evolve to match those

Mar 03, 2021 - permalink

No point to a muscle contest when the bodyfat levels blend separate muscles into one monomuscle

Mar 03, 2021 - permalink

A woman at this level of conditioning isn't shredded, nor is she a monomuscle. This would be my ideal FBB contest look.

Mar 03, 2021 - permalink

Second example since Gina is a bit of a "wonder of the world" ..

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

I feel like I am very much in the minority when it comes to conditioning. It seems that the majority of people like the off season look, where as I have always preferred contest conditioning. I love the completely ripped and shredded look. I want to be able to see each muscle rippling and flexing.

And I loved seeing each striation and the vascular look as well.

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

I dunno Rita looks pretty tasty there. I saw her in 2014 at the Wings of Strength in Chi and in that tan suit when she won 1st 😍😍😍. Dont get me wrong contest lean can be f'kin sexy as hell too sometimes it depends on the girl. Like I will concede my girl Victoria D is always looking beautiful but in her 2013 NPC suit when she got her pro card that was her supreme form no doubt.

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

Definetly contest lean. Seeing each muscle fiber is pure art.

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

I might be in the minority here but I've always looked at the contest week countdown of my favorite buff beauties

Oh I'm with you 100 %, I arrive at that conclusion almost everytime

Love the bulky-bulking stage in non-contest clothes (srly, I think I always hated thouse shiny sequin-like bikinis, I feel they are kind of a joke), tan or not (good tans and serious muscles on that stage usually is amazing)

So in competition they loose size so no bulkness, so you have a bunch of girls in tight poses that look weird

Also weird/bad tans

Some great fbb kind of stay bulky or really bulky, but most of the time I prefer the casual, training or erotic backround than the way they film the competition I will throw the stone (!?) also many times is crap (I think), when it was televised I think it was an extra amount of good taste they way they filmed and edited in general, catching most poses from the right angle and zoom, etc.

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

This photo is intriguing, there is a point where I just think she is so BROWN

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

I can absolutely do without the fake tan, especially on the women with a fair complexion. Give me the porcelain skin with some serious muscle over the fake tan any day!

Mar 05, 2021 - permalink

I can absolutely do without the fake tan, especially on the women with a fair complexion. Give me the porcelain skin with some serious muscle over the fake tan any day!

word! to me palid skin does requiere some healthy and meaty with good fat body, in my book like like Shannon Seeley

but she isnt that palid or as you say better porcelain, she has a great skin tone

But well, that photo, that heavy fake tans and over it some super contrasting (that could be good) contest bikini with that carnival stuff and colour I don't quite dig, and suddenly the hard makeup at the neck, face another different country.

Eitherway the girl still kind of shines, but really I cannot concentrate.

fp909
Mar 06, 2021 - permalink

5-6 weeks out is my ideal favorite look. Lean enough for striations and vascularity, but full and no gaunt faces, incredible pumps. when i buy videos i try to target that time as best i can. really, i just want some good details (and for some women their topless chests are perfect and breastless at those dates. but i don't have any need or want to see their individual blood cells. The closest I've ever gotten was around a week before/after showtime.

Mar 06, 2021 - permalink

I feel like I am very much in the minority when it comes to conditioning. It seems that the majority of people like the off season look, where as I have always preferred contest conditioning. I love the completely ripped and shredded look. I want to be able to see each muscle rippling and flexing.

And I loved seeing each striation and the vascular look as well.

I'm with ya, cmk! A weight trained woman, while still uncommon, isn't as rare a find as it once was. But as rare as they still are, the shredded contest ready woman is the rare of the rare. And all that hard work, effort and sacrifice that went into creating their physiques, as well as the look itself, is Sexy AF to me!

Mar 06, 2021 - permalink

Competition shape. Every. Single. Time.

Mar 07, 2021 - permalink

Agree

Mar 07, 2021 - permalink

It is good to hear that others agree with me. I knew there were others that felt as I did, but here, and other forums, the majority prefer off season, or several week out from contests.

For me it has always been contest conditioning. It might be because that was my first exposure to female bodybuilders. I remember being young and flipping through the channels on our satelite dish (and no I do not mean the modern DirectTV Or DISH, but rather the old large 12ft diameter dishes. We lived way out in the country) and finding a competition on ESPN. Seeing Bev Francis blew my mind.

Even since then, its been full on competition conditioning. The more ripped the better.

Mar 07, 2021 - permalink

If the girl achieves that kind of conditioning, I always love to watch, but it is not the case of most girls that really look that powerfull in contest shape.

Funny, this photo is shopped (I can see now, as I tried to acomplish the same just yesterday, you can see the blured bikini, the veins are copied from the same photo or another), but I think the original was quite shocking aswell.

Mar 08, 2021 - permalink

contest look for me. just love seeing these women strut around on stage with no fat on their bodies wearing next to nothing

Mar 16, 2021 - permalink

I love a lot of different looks but there is something so amazing about the contest look. A peak of perfection achieved after so much hard work. And it is 100% about the muscle at that point. Every single inch of the body primed to show off every hard muscle. Seeing muscles in that condition being flexed that hard is incredible. I find it very beautiful.

Mar 18, 2021 - permalink

I've always preferred the stage-ready look. It's about the payoff from all the hard work that the women put in.

Mar 25, 2021 - permalink

I feel like I am very much in the minority when it comes to conditioning. It seems that the majority of people like the off season look, where as I have always preferred contest conditioning. I love the completely ripped and shredded look. I want to be able to see each muscle rippling and flexing.

And I loved seeing each striation and the vascular look as well.

I'm with you ;-)

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