HEATHER POLICKY |
A Future Pro Among The Amateurs? |
Heather Policky began competing in the NPC in 2000. To any true fan of female bodybuilding who looks at her on stage she already looks a lot like a pro competing against amateurs. But she was placed 4th in the 2002 USA and finished 5th at the Nationals a few months later (comprehensive photo coverage is available in the member's area). Why did Heather finish so low? One explanation is that she simply too good - but in a way NPC judges often have trouble recognizing. She looks too big and too hard standing beside NPC amateurs. She would most likely be more acceptable to the judges if compared against pros like Yaxeni Oriquen or Vicky Gates, who would make her look relatively small and, dare we say, "feminine."
|
|
|
|
|
Actually, looking at Heather in comparison to the pros you can see she is not all the big and dense. After all, she has only been competing for two years - how could she be? But you have to wonder about some of the criticisms you hear about her from NPC officials. Compare her to the top IFBB pros and it is clear that she doesn't need less muscle or thickness to compete against the pros - she needs more! With a physique like Heather's, the bigger you get - as long as you are training correctly - the better your aesthetic and symmetry, as the comparison below indicates. So why tell women the opposite when it is clearly not true?
 |
 |
 |
Heather Policky |
Vicky Gates |
Yaxeni Oriquen |
Actually, contrary to what the judges say to competitors, they actually reward hardness and muscularity. If you look at Sarah Dunlap's physique, part of what makes her so good is extreme muscularity and definition. But if you keep telling women not to get too muscular, many will deliberately avoid achieving this level of development and suffer for it in how they place. Certainly, while Heather Policky probably had the best strucure on stage - and may have the best pro potential of the five top competitors in her class (click for photo), she could stand to develop more definition and muscularity. But women bodybuilders are unlikely to do that if they are told their physques are already too hard and muscular.
 |
Sarah Dunlap |
To what degree Heather's placing was too low can be a legitimate matter for disagreement. It is not a slam dunk. But if it had to do with using criteria like "femininity" or was a residue of the hopefully now defunct "guidelines" that almost ruined the sport a few years ago, there should be no question that is inappropriate to good bodybuilding judging - and is just plain wrong.
Decide for yourself what you think about this issue. But remember, the point of any legtimate bodybuilding contest is to select the best competitors by the well established standards of bodybuilding. This should be as true for women as it is for the men.
CONTACT HEATHER POLICKY AT
www.heathersweb.com
Click to visit HitBox.com |