Thursday, October 28, 2021

Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing

Posing

Posing is one of the more important elements of bodybuilding and one that in many cases is neglected. A competitor with a well-muscled and cut body can lose to a competitor with less muscle who is better able to show the judges what he or she has.

I'm not going to get into individual poses in this article. There are many sources available on the web, in books, magazines and videos that demonstrate the various poses. Rather, I will talk about the "psychology" of posing and the importance of posing practice.

While you will hear the head judge repeatedly call out, "Relax!" between poses, there is no such thing as being "Relaxed" during a competition. From the moment you step onto the stage you are being judged, and every muscle in your body must remain flexed. Every pose is built from the legs up. If you are doing a side chest and your legs are not flexed, your upper body will look great while your legs and calves will look flat. You will lose points. In bodybuilding, the judges are looking for your flaws. As a bodybuilder, you are looking to hide those flaws. It's a cat-and-mouse game. As a 67 year-old competitor, I have a little extra skin around my midsection. I can't get rid of it no matter how much I diet or how many hundreds of crunches I do. So, to hide my "extra skin", I lean back a little during my poses to tighten up the area. And, when doing the last pose of the round, the Most Muscular, I place my hands together, in front of my abs, which shows my upper body cuts while "hiding" part of my midsection.

If you think about it, all the training you do to get ready for a competition is laid out on the table during the 10 minutes you are on stage for your Class. It would be a shame to see all that hard work go to waste because you didn't pose well. Posing practice must become part of your workout schedule during the entire time you are training. I work out 45 minutes-a-day, five-days a week. I do cardio for at least 20 minutes, three or four-days a week. I pose at least ½ hour a night, two evenings a week, and pose for 45 minutes with a video recorder on Saturday morning. The last week before a contest, I practice posing every evening.



Posing is hard work. If you aren't exhausted after being on stage for six - 10 minutes going through your "relaxed" round and mandatory round, you haven't posed hard enough. One helpful hint: some competitors begin taking potassium tablets about a week before your competition. By doing that, you will prevent cramping, which if it occurs on stage, can be a killer.

Every competitor, as part of the competition, must choreograph a 60 or 90 second routine set to you own music. While most of the time, the individual posing routine is not counted in your overall score, it sometimes is used as a tie-breaker or to place a person second or third, if it's close. Nevertheless, your posing routine should be entertaining, lively and should show off your best body parts to their fullest. Try to pick music that is familiar. Make a CD and have two copies with you at your competition. Never do anything gross or that shows bad taste. Bodybuilding is a family-oriented spectator sport. A vulgar performance can get you disqualified from a competition. During the 60 or 90 seconds, you don't have to show every pose in the book. Do between eight and 10, with graceful movements between poses. It's OK to move about the stage while you perform your routine. In some cases, it's permitted to use props. Check with you organizer.

Posing in a competition is a lot of work and a lot of fun. If you have practiced enough, you will pose well and you will look confident. You might still shake a little and you might get a case of dry-mouth, but if you know your poses and are confident, you can deal with it. The individual posing routine is your chance to have the judges and audiences see you at your best, without any other competitors to distract them from you.

One final tip. SMILE while you pose. Don't make faces or show strain. You are in control. Have fun.
 

Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Posing



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