Gurn, flex and juice at Marbella bodybuilding competition

MARBELLA will host the second round of prestigious bodybuilding and bikini fitness competition International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Olympia Amateur from Friday, June 10 to Sunday, June 12.

Comparable, in scope of categories and scale, with professional jamboree Mr Olympia, which helped launch the acting career of ‘Austrian Oak’ Arnold Schwarzenegger, the contest is open to athletes from all IFBB-affiliated national federations who possess federal licences for 2015 and 2016, with all winners except Classic Bodybuilding eligible to apply for the IFFB Pro Card.

The first round, held in Kuwait, attracted 300 competitors from over 50 countries, with the Spanish version expected to be even more popular, taking place at the Palacio de Congresos Adolfo Suarez, which has a capacity of 1,500 spectators.

Under the IFBB system of judging, entrants are evaluated in three distinctly different rounds of judging, plus a final ‘posedown’ round for the top five-ranked competitors after the first three rounds.

In round one, they are viewed semi-relaxed from the front, both sides, and back. In round two, they pose in groups and individually in seven well-defined compulsory poses, and in round three they perform personal free-posing routines to their own choice of music.