What's the difference between figure and bikini comps? Just BF%?

[take.it.off]

As a long term goal, I'd like to do some sort of competition, but I can't decide between figure or bikini.

The thing is, I am having a hard time differentiating. I understand that in bikini the women tend to have a 'softer' look - in comparison to figure - but is there anything else different?

How do I decide which is better for me?

Just curious - thanks ladies!

[take.it.off]

does nobody know??

[pyxis804]

does nobody know??

I'm no expert by any means but why don't you find a competition in your area that you think you can get ready for in time. Train and then see where your body is at about 6 weeks out and then decide which you think will be best. You can usually get a suit no problem in less that 6 weeks. Good luck!

[sonti]

Yes, body fat.

Figure girls should also have more muscle than bikini girls, but we all know how that goes nowadays

[RBeck_101]

From what I've read, it seems that organizations have different demands.
For example:

One organization, say NPC, whatever.... might pick a woman that is more muscular and hard to be the winner versus another organization, like ABA.

It also depends on what you want to look like in the end. Do you want to have 6-pack abs and really defined muscle separation? Then figure would be what you want.

If you like the softer and more beauty pagent look, then you would like bikini.

Check out the organizations that throw competitions in your area and see what the last winner looked liked - that will tell you which one to compete in as well. Hope this helps

[Linds33]

The main difference is that Bikini from what i have seen likes a softer body with a higher BF%.

In addition there are small differences such as the requirements for what you are going to wear (bikini you wear...well...a bikini that you can probably buy off the rack, figure you wear a posing suit that you would ahve to get from a specialty store or online).

Another small difference is the posing. The poses for bikini differ from the poses in figure. Bikini tends to have more of the "model" posing where as figure posing is geared towards showing your muscle definition.

[Inama]

The women in Figure have some muscle and some are ripped. The Bikini women tend to be softer with a bit of tone.

[Swiss64]

Keep in mind, too, the the look of bikini varies greatly from local competitions to IFBB Pro Bikini competitions. If you want to continue in this, then take a look at photos from both IFBB Figure and IFBB Bikini. Also, take a look at photos of NPC (or other organizations) at a National (non pro)level to give you more of an idea.

Basically, bikini girls (at least the ones I've been seeing of late that have been winning) definitely have muscle, but not as much as the top figure girls. They are still lean, many with defined abs, but again not as lean as figure girls. Legs are definitely not as defined as figure.

Posing is different. I think they are still trying to hammer it out for bikini, but there is no flexing like there is for figure. The poses are more relaxed.

[take.it.off]

Thanks everyone!!! This helps