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first they came for women's bodybuilding but i did not speak out because i was not into women's bodybuilding then they came for women's physique and i did not speak out because i was not into Physique then they came for wellness and i did not speak out because i was not into wellness .and then they came for what i am into and there was nobody left to speak for me .
Which competitions are doing that?
Many.
I'll give you a few of the recent ones I've noticed that had Women's Physique just last year and NO women's physique this year.
NPC STEVE STONE METROPOLITAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
NPC BETTER BODIES CLASSIC
NPC WORLDWIDE BENELUX
NPC SAN DIEGO CHAMPIONSHIPS
As long as the pipeline to Pro FBB remains open.
I still remember from the "good old days" - at a time where there was only a bodybuilding class (lightweight, middleweight and heavy weight) - that athletes used to say it takes around ten years before you can go on stage.
Fast move forward: within ten years the girl can take part in bikini, figure and WPD and become a pro along the way of moving up to the BB division. It is part of the criticism that athletes can become pro way too fast these days. Of course thats killing the heavy amatuer divisions.
I'm pretty sure the issue is there just aren't that many true FBBs. We're looking at every FBB on Earth here, so it feels like they're everywhere, but at any given show there are only 2-4 competing.
Compared to physique with 7 and wellness with 18 competitors per show, it makes sense. So few humans have the genetics to compete, even with supplementation. Physique is essentially bodybuilding. We still have WoS.
first they came for women's bodybuilding but i did not speak out because i was not into women's bodybuilding then they came for women's physique and i did not speak out because i was not into Physique then they came for wellness and i did not speak out because i was not into wellness .and then they came for what i am into and there was nobody left to speak for me .
Underrated post lmao
Most local shows only have a handful of competitors in each category as it is. A lot of the ones that do compete in Physique or Bodybuilding are really figure girls that entered the class to see how they like posing since there is no competition.
Also to be fair, the figure girls these days are the size of physique girls from back in the day
honestly its just money
The Arnold has scrapped everything but Wellness and Bikini. TUrns out that's what appeals to a broader audience and drives views and engagment. It has pissed people off but it's just a business decision.
The IFBB is still around but it'll be harder to get a pro card as shows drop those classes, but idk WPD is teetering on the extreme now and maybe they should get in bed with WoS.
Ever been to a contest? Wellness and Bikini is the time when the audience escapes the room. Its nerve wrecking to see them wiggle up and down the stage in their hundreds. It brings friends and families to the contest, maybe - in small numbers, but the argument that it attracts a broader audience is IFBB fairy tale.
Bikini and Wellness are a perfect garnish for the men´s competition, thats why they remain.
Ever been to a contest? Wellness and Bikini is the time when the audience escapes the room. Its nerve wrecking to see them wiggle up and down the stage in their hundreds. It brings friends and families to the contest, maybe - in small numbers, but the argument that it attracts a broader audience is IFBB fairy tale.
Bikini and Wellness are a perfect garnish for the men´s competition, thats why they remain.
Never been to a show before but I find that really strange, I thought most of the crowd would rather see women than men.
Never been to a show before but I find that really strange, I thought most of the crowd would rather see women than men.
You will find plenty of wanna be bodybuilders in the audience, lots of young fellas who are not necessarily there for the love of the stage presence (like somebody would watch ice skating for the love of the aesthetics) - they just wanna see their idols on stage.
Those big guys who they know from muscle magazines and who they secretly admire and follow suit. And if they want to see beautiful women they go to traditional beauty contests or to a strip club, but not to a bodybuilding show. The contests are always sidelined by supplement firms who are picking up on the demand. Thats the whole business concept. Its not about appealing to big masses, thats something the whole bodybuilding niche gave up on many years ago, its about making big bucks off the stupid punters.
Never been to a show before but I find that really strange, I thought most of the crowd would rather see women than men.
It doesn't make sense to me either, but our perspective is different considering we're on this website.
More people watch Sam Sulek daily than they do any FBB, Wellness, or Physique competitor. DLB, Vladislava, and maybe Dani Speegle cracked into the mainstream, but it's not easy or common.
You all have to realize that the reason this is happening is the WOMEN.
the WOMEN don't generally want to get that big.
The WOMEN aren't interested in taking massive PEDs and jeopardizing their health to compete against the standards that KEEP MOVING to a ridiculous amount of muscle which is in no way near what the majority of the population see as attractive or sustainable.
And so now WPD is experiencing now what WBB experienced 10 years ago. And guess what? The numbers of bikini and wellness competitors is growing because the standards are much more in line with how WOMEN want to look.
So if the judges keep creeping toward unsustainable and unaesthetic amounts of muscle on these women, the cycle will keep repeating, only we will just keep calling it a different division that gets obliterated.
Most women don't want to look like the current physique/WBB standards and most of the population don't want to look at the ones who do.
Aggressive and static judging standards for AESTHETIC muscle will keep the sport alive. Remember bodybuilding competitions are ultimately beauty pageants.
The judges are probably here too 😂
Everything just gets bigger each year. Cory Everson, Rachel McLish, etc won back then, but Bev Francis would've taken the title by today's judging standards.
It’s really upsetting and quite frankly pisses me off, and I’m sure many women as well, how the powers that be have all but eliminated Women’s Bodybuilding from NPC shows. And now the beginning of the 2024 season, many of the early shows that have had a Women’s Physique division just last year have dropped that category this year.
What happened to celebrating women and telling them they can do whatever a man can do? I guess they can do anything, except compete in an NPC competition as a Physique Woman or a Female bodybuilder.
Very sad and the NPC should be ashamed.