The NPC Worldwide and IFBB Pro League have added a new bodybuilding category. In a video shared on December 17, 2024, Tyler Manion unveiled the ‘Fit Model’ division, its judging criteria, and physique guidelines.
The Fit Model division was created to offer women an entry-level category for bodybuilding. Starting in 2025, this new category will be included in NPC Worldwide events. In 2026, the Fit Model division will be featured at IFBB Pro League-sanctioned competitions.
IFBB Pro League Vice President Tyler Manion underscored that it will differ from the Bikini category. In addition to a different front pose, the suits are required to be solid colored with ‘moderate’ covering bottoms. He says athletes from this division will boast less muscularity and development compared to Bikini competitors.
IFBB Pro League & NPC Announce New ‘Fit Model Division’ with Judging Criteria and Physique Guidelines
This category will be a throwback, with Manion suggesting in a recent YouTube video that the ideal look would be similar to what former three-time Bikini Olympia Ashley Kaltwasser presented at the 2015 Olympia.
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“We want to go back for this division. We want the peak look to be what Ashley Kaltwasser looked like when she won the Olympia in 2015,” he adds.
“What we’re looking for in this division is obviously less muscle and less development than you would see in the Bikini division. Basically, you still need a small amount of muscle that gives nice shape.”
Since this category is meant to accommodate entry-level athletes, judges won’t be looking for conditioning, roundness, or capped delts. Instead, they are prioritizing balance between the upper and lower body.
“We’re going to be looking for balance between the upper and the lower body, but the conditioning will be less than Bikini. We don’t even want to see even really a slight separation anywhere in the physique. We don’t want to see roundness and capped delts. We don’t want to see etched-in midsections from the front.”
From the back, they don’t want to see visible tie-ins but are asking competitors to present firm glutes.
“From the back, we’re looking for full glutes with no visible tie-in area but the glutes should still be firm when doing the model walk to the back of the stage. We still want to see firm glutes and some glute development but not what we’re seeing with obviously you know, top-level Bikini Pros.”
In addition, officials aren’t looking for defined hamstrings.
“We don’t want to see etched in hamstrings, really hamstrings should not be visible at all. Like I said, we’re not seeing separation, so even tie-ins, the tie-in area should not be visible, we just want firm glutes here.”
This division is supposed to harken back to what you’d see in an old-school magazine of a fitness model.
“Basically what you would see on an old-school fitness magazine cover of a fitness model, this is what we want to see in this division. The front pose is going to be a little bit different. It’s going to be kind of what the Bikini front pose used to be back in the day.”
Tyler Manion emphasized that this division will be different from Bikini despite some similarities.
“The front pose is going to be like it used to be back in the day for Bikini. You’ll have one foot in front of the other, the hips will be slightly tilted. Again, we’re looking for balance from top to bottom here. We’re not looking for hourglass shape and other things we look for in Bikini so this is going to be different from Bikini.”
The back pose will remain the same as in Bikini.
“The back pose will basically be the same kind of back pose as the Bikini division except we’re looking for different things.”
As for the suits, no bling will be allowed, they must be solid in color, and they expect ‘moderate coverage on the bottoms.’
“When it comes to the suits, no bling is going to be permitted on the suits. The suits are going to be solid in color and when it comes to the cut of the bottom of the suits, we want to see moderate coverage on the bottoms.”
Competitors will be asked to perform their front pose, back pose, and exit the stage. Overalls will require the model walk.
“When it comes to the presentation of the division, at NPC shows you will walk out, you will do your front pose, you will do your back pose, and then you will exit the stage. For overalls, you will perform the model walk, that will be part of the overalls for the NPC. What we’re planning to do, this is going to be implemented at all NPC shows in 2025.”
The IFBB Pro League will introduce the Fit Model division in 2026.
“IFBB Pro shows will start up in 2026,” he adds. “This means yes, at Pro qualifiers in 2025, this division is going to be offered at those shows. This is not only for the United States, this is for the entire NPC Worldwide as well.”
Manion specified that NPC competitors who commit to the Fit Model category will not be able to cross over into other divisions.
“You cannot enter into the Fit Model division [in the NPC] and cross over into the Bikini division, the Wellness divisions, or anything else,” he shared. “I think it’s something that will bring in more women to the sport.”
This exciting addition will allow women the chance to showcase their physiques without the muscular and conditioning demands of other divisions like Bikini and Wellness. With 12 bodybuilding categories available, the IFBB Pro League and NPC continue to emphasize inclusivity for athletes.
RELATED: Tyler Manion Announces IFBB Pro League Will Not Add New Divisions After Men’s Wellness Controversy
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