Competitors in each weight category first take part in pre-judging, where they perform seven compulsory poses in front of a panel of seven judges and one alternate judge.

Each judge must then rank the bodybuilders in order. Bodybuilders are given a ranking according to a scoring system where the competitor with the lowest score equals the lowest rank and wins. Each judge awards a score of one to the competitor they thought was the best. They then award a score of two to the competitor they saw as second best. The highest and lowest rankings for each competitor are discarded, and the five remaining rankings added together for the pre-judging "sub score", with the lowest score the best.

The top five qualify for the finals, where they perform their own personal 60-second posing routine, followed by the compulsory poses again and finally the posedown, with all five sharing the stage in a final attempt to impress.

Again, each judge ranks the competitors in order, with the highest and lowest rankings discarded, and the remaining five rankings added together for another sub-score. The bodybuilder with the lowest score wins the competition.