New Olympia Qualifications for 2012 and Beyond

For those unaware, the 2012 Olympia is aiming to be more elite with some new changes. Here's the official IFBB Advisory Notice on Olympia qualifications, beginning next year:

Photo credit: IFBB Pro

When you stop to think about it, it's a great way to make the Olympia more special then it already is. Yes, this does mean there will be LESS competitors on the Olympia stage from this point forward, but the Olympia is supposed to represent the absolute BEST of this industry, right? I have no problem with it. Besides, For those divisions that might lack a few competitors, invites could be issued. So placing in the top 3 in ANY competition is still important, as it can do a long way in possibly seeing yourself on the Olympia stage beginning next year and the years to come. Also, there's men's and women's physique that's going to be part of the Olympia soon. The rest of this year's shows are NOT affected by this rule. This will take place at the start of the 2012 season.

I'll admit, when I first heard about these changes, I wasn't too keen on them in terms of women's fitness is concerned, as there are not as many shows for fitness as there are for figure and bikini. But after reading this, my worries died down...for now, at least. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how much this will truly affect women's fitness.

What are YOUR thoughts on the new Olympia qualifications? Do you think this will positively or negatively affect women's fitness? Post your thoughts below or send a Tweet to us at SaveFitnessNow.

Changes to IFBB and NPC Fitness

There are some changes being made into the fitness division beginning for the IFBB in a few short weeks for the NPC next year. Personally I think they are for the better, and I'll explain why below the official advisory notes (from IFBBPro.com)

 CHANGES TO NPC FITNESS:
Beginning in 2011, the emphasis in Women’s Fitness will be the fitness routine and will be scored as 1/3 on Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit and 2/3 on the 2 Minute Fitness Routine. The 2 Minute Fitness Routine scores will be doubled. The mandatory movements within the routine, in no specific order, in Women’s Fitness are as follows:


* Push Up (of any kind)
* High Kicks
* Straddle Hold
* Side Split


The Physique/2-Piece Swimsuit round will be judged during prejudging and the 2 Minute Fitness Routine will be performed and scored during finals. It is suggested that finals begin with the 2 Minute Fitness Routine.


All trophies should be awarded to Fitness athletes in their routine outfits.


The Overall comparison will happen immediately after all awards for each height class are given out.


For the Overall comparison, Fitness athletes will be judged wearing their routine outfits. 

Source: http://www.npcnewsonline.com/news_2010BOGnotes.cfm

Honestly, I think it's great that the fitness division has mandatory moves again and I also agree that the majority of the fitness judging needs to be from the routine, yet it doesn't make the physique round seems unneeded at the same time. Having a routine is a major part of fitness, so having it count more makes a lot of sense. Bottom line, you can have a VERY nice physique, but if you're routine isn't up to snuff, you could be on the outside of the top 5 easy. We'll see this take affect at the Ft. Lauderdale Cup on November 20th and in the NPC next year.

Good luck to all fitness competitors with these new changes! :)