How Does Judging Work?

Many of you probably haven't the slightest clue at how bodybuilding contests are judged.

First of all, this is not a powerlifting meet, so I will NOT be lifting a single weight in a competitive arena come the day of the contest (well I will, but that's only to pump up.)

Like I said in an earlier post, bodybuilding is the subjective judging of the appearance of the competitor, aka A Male beauty contest.

But they are looking for the competitors that have the best balance of the the following criteria :

Muscularity:
This IS a muscle contest after all, so muscle size definitely matters, but by no means is it the only thing that matters.

Conditioning:
You can be big as a house but if you got a layer of fat over those muscles, you can forget about it. The hallmark of stellar conditioning are the striated glutes. See an example here:

See how his glutes literally have lines in them. That means that there is so little fat on his body that not even his butt has flab. That my friends is ripped!

Shape:
While this is more of a genetic attribute, how do the muscles look aesthetically? Are they round and billowing (favorable) or very square and/or are there obvious signs of injury (unfavorable.) The ultimate example of shape (proportion and symmetry as well) is probably Flex Wheeler:
See how his muscles are round and flowing and each muscle is clearly defined and separated? This is very nice (say it like Borat)


Proportion:
Are your arms too big for your chest? Do you have big quads but small calves? They have ideal proportions (for example the calves should be about the size of the biceps.)

Symmetry:
Does your right and left sides match up? If so, good! If not, head back the gym, sucka!

Presentation:
How well do you showcase your physique? Are you able to highlight your strengths and hide your weaknesses? Realize that when posing the entire body is tensed (from the toes to the traps) how well can you hold on? Do you look like you're struggling? This includes the posing routine as well (Im currently working on getting my posing routine from last year up on youtube. Be on the lookout!)