Posing

Last year Erin and I were wandering the streets of Las Vegas when we got pulled in to a time share presentation (I’m a sucker for freebies).  An enthusiastic little man spent 2 hours telling us about what a fantastic offer he had for us.  He explained the benefits, explained the savings and told us of the wondrous times we’d have if we just signed on the dotted line.  But of all the things that he could use to pitch the sale, he never actually showed us the inside of the hotel or any of the rooms that he was trying to get us to spend a small fortune on.  We took our free gift cards and left.

If you’re going to sell to an impulse buyer it’s not enough to just tell them what you have to offer.  You need to show them and present it in a manner that will impress them enough to seal the deal.  Think of judges as your impulse buyers.  When you step on stage, you’re selling a product.  No matter how much work you put into your physique or how good it looks, if you can’t show them, they’re not going to buy it.  I’ve seen so many competitors with great physiques place lower than they hoped to only because they didn’t know how to pose.  A fantastic physique with poor stage presentation can sometimes be surpassed by a mediocre physique with a fantastic presentation.  Judges assign placings based only on what they can see.

Anyone who’s ever been to a physique show is probably thinking to themselves “Thank you for wasting 2 minutes of my life Captain Obvious!”  I know . . . it seems basic, right?  It’s as easy as practicing your posing.  The problem is that for the majority of competitors, posing is an afterthought.  So much time and energy is focused on training and diet that posing seems to get kicked to the curb until the last week or two.  This doesn’t seem like a big deal until you watch a competitor who’s barely worked on posing standing next to a polished competitor who has practiced daily for the last 3 months.

There are 2 critical components to good posing.  The first is the form of the posing, which I’ll get into more here in just a bit.  The other is the conditioning of the person posing.  Posing is hard work to start with as it’s essentially a static hold.  Compound that with depletion, dehydration, the heat of the stage lights and nerves and you’ll develop a new respect for how effortless some people can make posing look.  Remember that posing involves more than just the actual poses that we normally associate with bodybuilding.  What we refer to as the “relaxed pose” is anything but.  Quarter turns are tightly held poses as well.

Every minute that you’re on stage you are (or at least should be) posing.  This is the case whether you’re lined up in the front or standing in the back.  You don’t want to be the guy or gal who is shaking uncontrollably every time they hit a pose or who is cramping up constantly.  Depending on the class size, you could be up there for a long time.  Are you prepared for 10 or 15 minutes of posing under hot lights if need be?  My advice would be to practice the “relaxed” pose, quarter turns and mandatory poses for a MINIMUM of 15 minutes a day for at least 8 weeks before competition.  As an added benefit, bodybuilders will find that spending ample time on posing will help bring out more definition in the muscle.

Practice makes perfect.  Or does it?

Everyone knows the old saying and everyone says it.  But as a correction, I refer to one of my all time favorite quotes from Vince Lombardi:  “Practice does not make perfect.  Only perfect practice makes perfect.”  If I do something wrong 1000 times today, the chances of me doing it right tomorrow morning are slim.  In all reality, I’d be better off not practicing at all than I would be to teach my body how to do something incorrectly over and over.  It’s far harder to break a bad habit than it is to form a new good habit.

Posing should be perfectly practiced to the point that it becomes natural and requires no thinking.  But it’s important to make sure that you’re doing it correctly from the beginning.  There are 3 things that every competitor should use to help dial in their posing:  A coach, a mirror, and a video camera.

Posing coaches:  If you’re using a trainer who is experienced in competition they can most likely help you with your posing.  If not, then it would be worth your time to consult an expert for some pointers and help with posing.  There are a lot of little tricks that can turn good posing into GREAT posing.  A good posing coach can teach you how to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses when you’re on stage.  This outside perspective helps achieve a better understanding of what judges will see and will set you on the right track for proper posing.

 The mirror is obvious and I have yet to see a competitor who doesn’t spend ample time in front of one.  I like to think of mirrors as training wheels for posing.  Eventually, you want to get away from them but they’re a great place to start.  When you’re posing in the mirror, pay attention to all the details.  If you’re hitting a front double bi are you just looking at your arms or are you also making sure that your lats are flared, your quad separation is coming out, etc?  You’re showing the judges the entire package when you hit these poses, not just one muscle group.  Make sure you present it all as well as you possibly can.  Are there any problems with posing in front of a mirror?  Only one:  You won’t have a mirror on stage.

Video cameras . . . they’re everywhere and they’re a dime a dozen.  I have 2 on my cell phone.  Why the heck would anyone need 2 video cameras on the same phone?  Never mind that, back to the topic at hand.  I’m amazed at how many competitors never video themselves posing.  They’ll get video of their dog doing something clever or of uncle Bob getting racked in the nuts at their nephew’s birthday party but it never occurs to them to video their posing sessions.  This is, in my opinion, the best tool we have for learning to pose.  Sure, you can practice front poses in front of a mirror but what about the back?  Watch closely next time you attend a show and you’ll see how many people look great on front poses but can’t manage to make a lat spread or a rear double bi look good.  Often times the poses will be non-symmetrical, arms will be turned down, etc.

The video camera is also a great way to say your goodbyes to the mirror and pose without any visual feedback just as you will on stage.  This feels very different from posing in a mirror where you can see what you’re doing and make adjustments as needed.  Now you’re posing based on feel but you have the ability to analyze the video and make sure everything is looking the way you want it to.  For a new competitor, I’d recommend using video every time you pose until you feel that your posing is consistent and dead on.  Once you get to that point, use the camera 1 day a week to keep an eye on things and track your progress.

Chance may favor the prepared mind but a judge's score card favors the prepared body.