MOVING UP FROM BIKINI TO FIGURE

Have you competed in bikini, but the whole time on stage you never really felt like yourself? Have you done well but thought that you would have much more fun competing in the figure category? Do you want to know how you would go about it?

Not to worry, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with women over the years on exactly that and coached many who’ve made the step up that have gone on to win shows and overalls. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain the process behind moving up from competing in the bikini class to figure

BIKINI VS FIGURE CRITERIA

Let’s remind ourselves that what the judges are looking for in either one of those categories is a little bit different. Bikini competitors must display a good level of conditioning, a good level of muscular development in their glutes and delts and have strong stage presence. The judges will be looking for bikini competitors to have a nice hourglass shape when they hit their side shots with a small midsection.

The figure category is split into three different classes: toned figure, athletic figure, and trained figure. To find out more about the figure criteria, including the different classes, click here. The most common pathway for a competitor moving up from bikini would be to go into toned figure. In toned figure the judges will be looking for competitors to display a good level of conditioning, a good level of muscular development in the lats, delts, quads and glutes and a strong stage presence. The judges will be looking for toned figure competitors to display an ‘X frame’ in poses and bring a balanced physique to the stage.

Other key differences between the categories are that the mandatory and compulsory poses are very different. Also, after the comparison round in bikini you’ll perform an I walk but in figure you’ll have to do a 60 second routine.

As you can see, what the judges are looking for varies from category to category as does how you pose, so how do you go about moving up from one to the other?

TRAINING

Now that you have a more of an understanding on what the judges are looking for in both classes you’ll recognise why your training has to change. As a bikini girl you’ve no doubt hits your glutes and delts threes time a week. Alongside that you may have hit your back perhaps once a week and had very minimal quad work across the week. As you make the step up to toned figure your training will need to change in order for you to fit the criteria better.

What does that mean exactly? Quad work will need to increase across the week and be hit more frequently (roughly twice a week). This may coincide with a reduction in glute volume as your quads may need to almost ‘catch up’ to the glutes. As you drop glute volume down, it may also allow you to hit your back more frequently across the week. Lets look at a rough example of how different bikini girls and figure girls may train:

Bikini split: Lower, Upper, Lower, Off, Upper, Lower, Off
Figure split: Pull, Lower, Push/arms, Off, Lower, Upper, Off

Of course I’m speaking in general terms, program will need to be individual to your own strength and weaknesses.

TIME FRAME/CONSIDERATIONS

You won’t mange to make the transition from bikini to figure in one off season, it’ll more than likely take you 18-24 months as a minimum. Why? Just simply due to the time it takes to grow muscle. If you’ve competed in the past and done well, the last thing you want to do is step on stage and not be competitive. Therefore, you’re going to have to invest the required time to get the muscle on in the right places so that when you get back on stage, you’ll be right in the mix for trophies.

I often say that you don’t pick your category, your category picks you. What do I mean by that? The best figure girls out there will typically have wide clavicles, small ribcage, high lat insertion, small waist, and wide hips. Why does that matter? As they add muscle to that frame it suits the ‘X frame’ shape the judges are looking for. This however is simply down to genetics. If you have small clavicles, big rib cage, low lat insertion, big waist and small hips you might get beat simply because you don’t suit the criteria as well vs someone that does. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make the jump it just means you might need time, and lots of it, to add the necessary tissue to fit the criteria better.

It's also worthwhile noting that as you progress into the more muscular classes the use of PEDs becomes more common and widespread. You could compete naturally as a bikini girl in untested federations and do well, but as you make the move into the more muscular figure class, you may need to consider using PEDs just to simply get the size on that’ll be required to do well.

In summary, the bikini category and the figure category have very different criteria. The judges will be looking for a different look in either one which will mean that athletes will train in a slightly different manner.  If you are looking to make the transition up from bikini to figure you should give yourself time to get the required muscle on. This may also depend on your genetics and if you are going to use PEDs or not.

Vaughan Wilson Bsc Hons