ANBF Women’s Fitness Guidelines

 

Competitor Rules

Part 1 – Comparison Round: Women’s fitness competitors will be judged in a two-piece suit that may be of any color, pattern, and style. Suit should cover at least 30% of the glutes and should crisscross over the lower back, with the straps hoked into the bottoms. Suits should be in good taste. Thongs, t-backs, or G-string bottoms are strictly prohibited. ANBF promoters reserve the right to disqualify a competitor from competing in a specific show if their suit is inappropriate. Clear heels must be worn during this portion of the judging. Jewelry and hair ornaments will be allowed during the quarter turns portion of judging only.

Part 2 – Fitness Routine: During the fitness routines portion of judging, women’s fitness competitors may wear costumes of their own choice, however, the costume must cover at least 30% of the glutes. Costumes should be in good taste. Thongs, t-backs, or G-string bottoms are strictly prohibited. ANBF promoters reserve the right to disqualify a competitor from competing in a specific show if their suit is inappropriate. Footwear is optional during this judging portion only. Jewelry, body and hair ornaments, watches, bangles, pendants, necklaces, and bracelets will NOT be allowed during the fitness routines portion of judging.

During the fitness routines, props are allowed under the following conditions: A competitor must be able to carry their prop on and off the stage themselves. ANBF pre-approval is required. Failure to obtain pre-approval may lead to disqualification. Prop must be free standing.

Women’s fitness competitors’ numbers must be securely attached..

Music containing vulgar, profane, and/or offensive language during the fitness routine is strictly prohibited.

 Classes will be determined after check in.

 

Judging Criteria

Judges will evaluate Women’s Fitness competitors on the following criteria:

Fitness Routine – See “Individual Fitness Routines” below.

Posing/Presentation – Posing/Presentation score is a measurement of how well the competitor presents herself and displays their physique on stage as well as adherence to ANBF posing guidelines. Competitors should present themselves with poise, good posture and confidence and should utilize posing that enhances their physique (i.e., no overly pointed elbows, arms too far from midline of body, or inability to display symmetry. Competitors should be able to transition between poses quickly and smoothly.

Symmetry – Symmetry score is a measurement of the evenness of development of the competitor’s physique and how well the parts of the physique flow together. It 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 between all muscle groups and proportion when viewed from all sides. No body part or muscle group should stand out from the rest.

Muscularity – Muscularity refers to muscle size and development relative to the competitor’s frame, including shape and size. The level of muscularity is determined by the extent of development in relation to the size of the competitor’s skeletal structure. Also, to be considered is the shape and contour of the developed muscle and muscle groups. 

Women’s Fitness competitors should display:

  • A degree of muscularity greater than bikini but less than women’s physique is sought; however, excessive mass is not desired.
  • Well-defined muscles that flow evenly.
  • Round, full delts that flow into the biceps and triceps.
  • A taper in the lats flowing into the oblique with fluid lines into the sweep of the upper thigh.
  • Visible quad development.
  • Visible hamstring development.
  • Full, round, firm glutes

Conditioning – Conditioning refers to the level of differentiation between adjacent muscles 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. 

Women’s Fitness competitors should display: 

  • In general, the women’s fitness physique is very similar to a women’s figure physique. It should demonstrate visible muscle separation and conditioning without striations including:
  • Visible abdominal separation
  • Visible separation between delts, biceps and triceps
  • Visible quad/hamstring separation
  • Round, firm glutes with visible tie-in to hamstrings
  • These words can be helpful to assess what should notbe descriptive to the ideal physiques in this division: Ripped, shredded, peeled, striated, dry, diced, hard, vascular, grainy, massive, thick, dense, etc.
  • Note: Women’s Fitness competitors should not display deeply drawn-in faces or stringy-looking muscularity (an emaciated look).

 

Group Comparisons

Before or after the individual presentations for each competitor are complete, the class is brought to front center stage and is guided through quarter turns to display physiques from the front, left, back, and right. Quarter turn transitions should be fluid with no stiff, jerky, military-style, or overly suggestive movements.

  • Front/Rear Stance– 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 and side) and should be relaxed from the elbow down through the fingers. Lats should be spread wide as to accentuate the v-taper. Shoulders and chest should be high, but not hunched toward the ears.
  • Side Stance – In the side stances (left and right), the head and eyes are facing the same direction as the body (to the side), heels are together or front foot may be shifted slightly forward of the rear foot (no visible space between the feet). Both legs should be straight, and competitors should not bend one knee (front or back). Competitors may twist slightly at the waist, while keeping in mind that the twist cannot be overly done. Twist only slightly enough that that the rear shoulder (furthest away from the judges) can be displayed. The front arm (closest to the judges) must not be moved any further than the midline 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. If the competitor fails to adjust when corrected, the judges are instructed to address this in their scoring. Failure to comply with ANBF posing guidelines will result in a lower placement in the presentation/posing round. Competitors are permitted to utilize other posing during their individual stage walks.

Individual Fitness Routines

Each competitor will be called onstage individually in numerical order. Amateur competitors will have a maximum of one minute to perform a fitness routine to the music of their choice. Professional competitors will have a maximum of two minutes to perform a fitness routine to the music of their choice.

The fitness routine must include the following mandatory movements in no order:

  • Push up variation of any kind
  • Straddle Hold
  • High Kick
  • Side Split

Fitness Routine score is a measurement of how well the competitor displays her athletic abilities and skills during a choreographed fitness routine to music. Competitors should present themselves with poise, good posture, and confidence. Competitors should be able to transition through their fitness routine quickly and smoothly. Other factors that can affect overall presentation score are hair, makeup, skin tone, complexion, and suit fit.

Desired Fitness Look