Mastering the Art of Posing
Researched and composed by Vic Goyaram
With personal inputs from several competitive bodybuilders
The importance of posing
You have spent years constructing your physique and you must know how to show the fruits of your hard labour. Whether you are showing your physique to judges on contest day or simply posing in front of your friends at the gym, you should know how to display your body properly.
A great poser is not only one who can do break dances, robotic moves or a full split while still showing his muscles. A great poser is someone who can use posing to his best advantage, to show his strengths and hide his weaknesses to create an illusion of, for example, greater mass or greater shoulder-to-waist differential.
The Power of Illusion
How many times have you seen a well developed bodybuilder “die away” in a lineup because he cannot pose properly to display his muscle? I bet quite a few times and this is really a pity. I have personally seen massive bodybuilders looking really good when relaxed but look bad and awkward when starting to pose. I have also on many occasions seen competitors looking rather mediocre or blocky when standing relaxed but look startling and much bigger as soon as they start hitting poses.
Gentlemen, FLEX!!
In this series on posing I will show you the mandatory poses, what the judges are looking for in each pose and my personal notes on how to highlight your strengths, hide your weak points and what to avoid doing in each pose. I will also show you pictures of how bodybuilders slightly “manipulate” each mandatory pose to their advantage. You will be stunned by the number of variations to each pose that bodybuilders use. For instance, Arnold, Kai Greene, Frank Zane and Toney Freeman each hit the front double biceps differently.
Bottom line is bodybuilding is an exhibitionist sport and bad posing can “wreck” your physique.
Mandatory Pose 1: Front Double Biceps
Balance bodyweight evenly on both legs. Legs should be slightly bent at the knees. Do not keep the knees straight. Flex the legs hard to show separation. Do not put your feet straight forward. Point your feet outward (see picture above) as this will allow you to show separation in your legs and also your calves. Keep the stomach tight and under control at all times. Raise your arms to hit a double biceps position. Raise arms to about shoulder level. Neither too high nor too low. Flare your lats as you raise the arm. Supinate your wrists (hands turned toward you) to show the biceps peak
What the judges are looking for in this pose and what you should do to make them happy
The first thing that will capture the attention of the audience and the judge is your midsection. Make sure you are in good condition and have the proverbial “washboard abs” before you step onstage. If your condition is off it will show very prominently in the midsection.
The judge will perform a head to toe survey of the body, looking for overall muscle density, balance and definition. The judging panel will analyse the following areas of the body for the points mentioned:
Arm development: whether or not there is sufficient biceps development and a good balance between the biceps and the triceps Biceps peak are a plus point as well as the split between the two heads of the biceps.
Chest, shoulders, lats and serratus: Whether or not there is balance between the chest and shoulders and the arms. The arms should not overpower nor be overpowered by the chest and shoulders. Take a look at Branch Warren (pictured below) and you will see that his arms are overpowered by his thick chest and shoulders in this pose. Extra points are scored if the lats flare out well and the serratus muscles are visible.
Midsection: The midsection receives a lot of scrutiny in that pose. A bad midsection (more often a result of insufficient dieting and substance abuse than bad genetics) will ruin your front double biceps. Maintain the abs tight at all times.The judges look for abdominal control and whether or not the internal obliques show above the hipbone. You score more points if you can flex your abdominals along with the rest of your body (see picture below)
Legs: The judge will look for leg development, not only in terms of size but also in terms of separation and balance. How well you can show the various muscles in the legs and how visible they are will also depend on your conditioning. If you show good adductor development you can spread the legs slightly more to showcase them (see Branch Warren in the picture below) and this will earn you extra points. Many competitors focus only on showing the teardrops and not their adductors in this pose.
Calves: Yes, the calves are also judged in the front double biceps pose!! Judges will look for diamond shaped calves that are visible from the front. Weak calves will set you back so make it a must to develop the inner gastrocnemius as well as the front (tibialis anterior) muscles.
Balance and Abdominal control
The judges look for balance in this pose.
a. Look at how Branch Warren's thick lats and chest overpower his arms. Dexter on the other side shows greater balance among the muscle groups in the pose.
b. Dexter shows better abdominal control as he is able to flex his abs and show better serratus
c. Branch spreads his legs a little more because he can show his beefy adductors
d. Smile: Be friendly to the audience and the judges
Abdominal control in action
"Mauritian Blade" Jack Madanamoothoo shows complete
mastery of the front double biceps and exemplary muscle control.
Note the control that he is able to exercise on his abs and how
effortless he makes this pose seem. He did his homework not
only under the weights but also in front of the mirror. (and so should you)
Perfect balance
The "Ronnie Coleman of Mauritius" Denis Ayen
in an awesome display of balance among his chest, shoulders
and arms. Note how arms insert into his shoulders and lats.
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