ANBF Bodybuilding Guidelines

Overview

ANBF Bodybuilding (Men’s/Women’s) Division events consist of two parts: Group Comparisons and Individual Presentations. Competitors perform a 15 second introductory walk to center stage prior to the group comparisons and then perform a posing routine immediately following group comparisons.

Eligibility

All ANBF Bodybuilding competitors must be age 16 or older. Current membership in ANBF is required of all competitors to participate in ANBF events. The ANBF is a 100% drug tested organization via polygraph and random urinalysis. The ANBF requires athletes to be 7 years drug free; using the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited substance list, which can be viewed at www.anbfnatural.com. Competitors must pass a polygraph screening prior to their events to attest to their natural status.  Winners at events offering a pro card must submit to urinalysis and pass drug screening in order to be awarded pro status.

Competitor Rules

Competitors will be weighed during check-in to determine the appropriate weight class.

 

The competitors will be judged in plain, undecorated posing trunks (men) or two-piece (women) suit which crisscrosses over lower back. All men’s suit bottoms must be v-shaped, no thongs are permitted. No fringe, wording or sparkle allowed for judging (men and women); however, for posing routines/finals, these things are allowed. Suits will be verified for compliance during competitor check-ins. Competitors are not allowed to alter the fit of their suit by hiking up the back or pulling up on the sides during front/rear lat spreads. No jewelry other than wedding rings (men and women) or hair adornments are allowed during judging. Bumping and/or shoving during comparisons are not allowed.   Competitor’s numbers will be worn on front left and rear middle of their suit.   Competitors are encouraged to use stage tanning products, but should remember to be careful not to wipe such products on competition facilities’ surfaces such as walls, floors, and auditorium seats.  

Classes

At the promoter’s discretion, classes will be split weight depending upon the number of competitors registered for the event.

Judging Criteria

Judges will evaluate competitors equally on the following criteria:  

• Muscularity - Muscularity refers to muscle size and development relative to the competitor’s frame; including shape, size, separation, definition, and hardness or visibility of striations and vascularity. Level of muscularity is determined by the extent of development in relation to the size of the skeletal structure. Also to be considered is the shape and contour of the developed muscle and muscle groups. Deep cuts and muscle separation are also desired.
• Symmetry/Proportion - Symmetry is a measurement of the evenness of development of the competitor’s physique and how well the parts of the physique fit together; including muscle size and shape as well as relation of each muscle in a group to all other muscles in the group. Symmetry includes the balance and proportion of the competitor from side to side, top to bottom and front to back. Symmetry is a measurement of evenness of development and how well the parts of the physique fit
• Definition/Conditioning – Conditioning refers to the level of separation between adjacent muscles as well as striations delineating sections or fibers within the same muscle group and the degree of firmness (hardness) of muscle tone. Leanness is important but an overly dieted appearance is neither advantageous nor desirable. Muscles should be full and well defined with relative levels of conditioning, hardness and dryness. While vascularity can be a sign of proper conditioning, it is not required. The following are examples of common terms used in the bodybuilding industry. These words can be helpful to assess what could be descriptive to the physiques being judged in this division: Ripped, shredded, peeled, striated, dry, diced, hard, vascular, grainy, massive, thick, dense, etc.

Judging

Individual Presentation

Each class will be introduced individually one by one. The competitor will proceed to center stage and be given 15 seconds of free posing. Competitors can perform any poses of their choice. The MC will introduce each competitor by name and where they are from. Competitors should choose stances that display their physique in the most favorable manner. Once complete, the competitor will remain on stage and line up on a diagonal line placed in the back corner of each side of the stage.    

Group Comparisons

After the 15 second individual presentations are complete, each class is brought to front center stage and is first guided through quarter turns to display physiques from the front, left, back, and right and then taken through rounds of mandatory sculpted poses. The front and rear stances are to be with head and eyes facing the same direction as the body, heels and toes together, knees can be soft, but should not be overly bent. Arms should be no more than 2 inches from the competitor’s hip (front or side). Lats should be spread wide as to accentuate the v-taper. Shoulders and chest should be held high, but not hunched toward the ears. The side poses: head and eyes facing the same direction as the body, heels together or front foot may be shifted slightly forward of the rear foot (no visible space between the feet). Both legs should be straight or competitor can have a slightly soft knee. Competitors may twist slightly but keeping in mind that the twist cannot be overly done. Twist only enough so that that the rear shoulder (facing away from the judges) can be displayed. The front arm (facing the judges) must not be moved any further than the middle of the hip.   NOTE: Competitors who are overly twisted or not following other ANBF posing guidelines may, at the discretion of the head judge, be corrected. Failure to comply with ANBF posing guidelines could result in a deduction of points from overall score.   Following the quarter turn round of comparisons competitors will be asked to display the following mandatory poses:

• Front Double Bicep
• Front Lat Spread
• Side Chest - both sides
• Side Tricep - both sides
• Rear Double Bicep
• Rear Lat Spread
• Most Muscular – Crab(men only)
• Most Muscular - Hands on hip
• Abdominals with one thigh
• Side serratus – both sides

In classes where competitors are very close in comparison, additional poses may be used to help differentiate physiques; these include:

• Right/Left Thigh (flex and rotate)
• Right/Left Hamstring
• Calves (up on toes)

Finals

Individual Presentation/Routine

The bodybuilding individual routine presentation portion will immediately follow the group comparisons. After a class files off, the first person in the class will perform their routine. Routines should be no more than 60-90 seconds in length and should be used to show the competitors individuality using posing, dance moves, etc. Routines should be done tastefully and be conducive to a family atmosphere.   NOTE: If a competitor has already performed a routine in a previous class, they will not do the routine a second time. If the competitor has crossed over to another category (physique to bodybuilding) the competitor may perform their walk/routine in subsequent class.  

Overalls

In events with multiple bodybuilding classes, the winners of each class will return to the stage for comparison judging following the same procedure as judging.

Scoring

Judging for placements within each class will take place during judging. Each judge takes all criteria into account and assigns an overall score for each competitor in the form of a rank/placement during the group comparison round. The highest and lowest rank for each competitor is dropped as a safeguard against bias; whether intentional or on a subconscious level.  The remaining judges’ placements are summed, and the competitor with the lowest sum receives first place in the class, while the second lowest sum receives second place, etc.   Routines will also be judged as part of the competitor’s presentation.  Each routine will be scored using the following system: -1 (no effort, bad choice of poses to display physique), 0 (good overall display of physique utilizing proper choices of poses to show strengths, nice effort), +1 (excellent display of physique, good choice of poses), +2 (exceptional display of physique with exceptional choice of poses to highlight strengths). The routine scores will be totaled and averaged where the amount will then be deducted from the competitors overall score to determine final placement.   The same judging procedures are followed for judging of overall winners.