From the
BBing & Fitness News FeedBodybuilding takes a curvy turn Los Angeles Times June 10, 2006
Amid the oversized, bulging, veiny muscles of female bodybuilding — and what some dismiss as women’s heads plopped on men’s bodies — comes a competition for the less intense.
The look is still muscular and cut. Competitors have strong definition in their upper bodies, abdominal muscles and legs, emphasized by low body fat — but without the heavy striation and veining seen in bodybuilding.
Called ‘‘figure’’ competition, the division is new to the bodybuilding circuit, but growing fast. Amateur competitions five years ago brought out 75 women; now the same shows draw 200-plus.
‘‘It’s a boomer, I’ll tell you what,’’ said Jim Manion, president of the National Physique Committee, an amateur bodybuilding federation.
Although the bodybuilding and hard-core fitness worlds didn’t embrace figure competition at first, it’s now welcomed with bear hugs. The physiques are attainable by almost any woman — without the help of banned substances — and the sport is praised for providing a palatable image of fit, strong women.
In figure competition, the emphasis is on the feminine. Curves are compulsory. Competitors wear high heels, makeup, jewelry, sparkly swimsuits, and in some contests, evening gowns. Facial beauty is prized. The division emerged on the scene when numbers for fitness competitions started dropping several years ago, according to Manion. In those contests, competitors show off their physiques (still not as big as bodybuilders), and perform a demanding aerobic routine.
Also, women who had competed for years were experiencing overuse injuries but were looking for a way to stay in the game. Promoters were looking for a way to keep bodies on stage and ticket sales up.
But the evolution was also prompted by a reaction to female bodybuilders’ physiques, according to Steve Downs, chairman of the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation.
‘‘In bodybuilding,’’ Downs said, ‘‘as the athletes became leaner with more emphasis on muscularity, even in the natural ranks, women themselves weren’t that enthralled with it.’’
Figure, he adds, allows training, discipline and competition without the blown-up physiques.
This new category also eliminates the justification for anabolic steroids and other muscle-enhancing substances, long tied to bodybuilding. Though there is talk of drug use among figure competitors many in the industry say the sport has far less abuse than bodybuilding.
Figure competition appeals to Gina Aliotti, a 21-year-old San Diego State University student who’s been athletic her entire life.
‘‘I’ve always had a more athletic build, and growing up with girls who are really thin, it was nice to be appreciated for the body type I had,’’ she said. More contests followed, and Aliotti earned her pro card last year.
The bodybuilding route was never tempting. ‘‘I never wanted to do that,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s not the look I liked. I want to stay feminine and have feminine lines and curves. I never wanted to be that muscular. It was just a turn-off.’’
As Aliotti goes through a typical routine, it’s apparent that her workout isn’t about pushing tons of weight. She does shoulder presses with 20-pound dumbbells — more than most women would hoist — but on leg extensions she lifts only 30 pounds, and on triceps (arm muscles) kickbacks she uses 15-pound dumbbells.
Figure competitors, like bodybuilders, hope for prize money, modeling gigs and sponsorships to help defray costs. Many, like Aliotti, become trainers. But prize money in figure is paltry compared with bodybuilding. In the WNBF, said Downs, prize money this year for bodybuilding will be $60,000; for figure, $12,000.
