What is a Bikini/ Figure competition?

Dear Readers, Athletes, and Customers, welcome to our Blog! This is a page that reflects our passion for this sport and we, at competitionsuit.com, intend to keep this section informative, casual, helpful but most importantly genuine. We are real athletes who love this sport, and we hope our experience can inspire ‘new-comers’ as well as seasoned veterans to pursue and push this sport further into the limelight.

The intention of this blog is to become a series of conversations pertaining to all aspects of competition. Please do not hesitate to leave a comment or share your experiences with us. We believe that a healthy exchange of information can only be beneficial for all parties. And we, the core founders of competionsuitshop.com, wished we had such information when we started out. It might have saved us a ton of money, time and even some nasty injuries that hindered our competition progress. So without further ado, let’s get talking about Bikini and Figure competition. What exactly is it?

As years go by, we welcome a lot of new bikini and figure suit competitors. We are so happy that our small industry is getting bigger. For new competitors, there is a lot of information out there and you will feel overwhelmed. We often get questions from friends and athletes emailing us saying “we are new to this sport, we know you guys are the pioneers of this industry. But how, what, where do I start?”. We are hoping that this read will give you a better idea of what this competition is all about.

Firstly, your number one priority is to know the purpose of why you want to compete. This sport may look easy on the outside but it is rather a challenging one, so knowing the reasons why being on this journey is important to you can really help you get through some of the challenges. Different reasons may motivate different people but the golden advice we can give you is this - remember that you are doing this FOR YOU and not for somebody else!

There is no sugar coating the fact that this sport will at some point have you thinking WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?  Why is this so hard and should I just quit? Speaking from experience, it is an emotional rollercoaster and requires your utmost commitment! Some competitors do get sick during comp prep. Making sure you are physically and mentally healthy and super ready before getting into this is very necessary. A bikini bodybuilding competition’s aim is to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass as much as possible.

There are three levels of competition, Bikini, Figure and Physique. With each category comes expectations of different body shapes, size, style and levels of conditioning. You will be required to wear a two-piece bathing suit that has ideally been custom-made for your peak stage condition. Keep in mind that you will be judged for your athletic and aesthetics qualities and your suit can help you score major points in both categories. How? Simply put, a unique beautiful design that fits perfectly will compliment your muscle definition and we know by experience that ranks athletes higher! We’ve made suits for champions and we’re confident that we will help you put together your suit and jewellery for show day so you have one less thing to worry about. We make suits for all federations / categories/ divisions for bodybuilding competitions. If you want to head over or open the homepage in a new tab you can do so by clicking here.

Bikini Competition

Here’s a quick summary of Bikini Competitions. Bikini competitors are judged based on their lean and firm physique, focusing on hamstring, glutes and abs. The degree of muscles and conditioning will increase from amateur competitions to professional competitions.

Bikini competitors wear a two-piece suit with "scrunch" bottoms, high heels, and bling accessories with tan, hair and makeup done to perfection. They are judged on their overall physical appearance and presentation on stage.

Figure Competition

Here’s a quick summary of Figure Competitions. Figure competitors are judged on their muscularity, focusing on rounded shoulders, striations in hamstrings and legs, tightness of the glutes and back muscle definition.

Figure competitors also wear two-piece suits. The difference however, is that the top part of the suit is connected to the bottom with a criss-cross strap on the back. This competition is a blend of bodybuilding and fitness, they are also judged on hair, makeup, suit and accessories. You can find examples of these suits here.

Physique Competition

Finally  a quick summary on Physique competition. This category is akin to professional bodybuilding. Athletes feature bigger muscle mass and development. They focus on biceps, triceps, abs and thighs. Judges are looking for symmetry, shape, proportion, muscle tone, and poise.

Physique athletes wear two-piece suits with V-shaped bottoms and are barefoot onstage. Posing for this category is similar to a traditional bodybuilding with quarter turns and 8 mandatory poses.

As you have read, different categories require different styled suits, and to save you the worry of which suit to get, we at Competitionsuitshop will take care of this for you! Simply email us and our experts with decades of experience will take all your details into consideration.

So now that you know what figure category you’re going to compete in, let’s dive a little into selecting an organisation you want to compete with. These are usually segmented as “natural organisation” where you are expected to without using any drug enhancement and you will be tested for drugs. Or you can choose organisations like NPC (National Physique Committee) where you are not drug tested.

I personally prefer the natural organisations, I believe it gives everyone an equal winning chance. But make sure you check the banned list of drugs if you’re going for the natural organisations. Some federation’s are just about the physique while others are about the physique and the glam, like the WBFF combines fitness and glamour so flawlessly. Every show / federation has its own rules and regulations with posing and what you can wear on stage. Some require limited posing styles whereas others are more flexible and allow you to be creative with your skills. See what category fits you best and go for it!

The location of the show also plays an important role. Some of you might not be willing to travel far so you may also want to take the location of the show into account when selecting a show. If you select one that is far from where you live, you will need to add expenses like travel, food and accommodation costs.

This is quite an expensive sport so you will need to be financially ready as well! I’d like to give y’all an idea about all the things you will be spending on in my next blog so stay tuned!

Ready to dive deeper into the world of figure and bikini competitions? Check out our blog for more insights and tips on preparing for competition day: Figure and Bikini Competition Day Checklist.