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POSING
HANDBOOK
PERFECT YOUR POSING TO SHOWCASE YOUR
HARD-EARNED PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES ON STAGE
WITH THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
CONTENTS
■ IT ALL STARTS IN THE MIRROR
■ TYPES OF POSING
■ POSING REQUIREMENT
■ PERFECT YOUR POSING
■ PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
■ MANDATORY POSING GUIDELINES
• QUARTER TURNS
• FRONT DOUBLE BICEPS
• REAR DOUBLE BICEPS
• FRONT LAT SPREAD
• REAR LAT SPREAD
• SIDE TRICEPS
• SIDE CHEST
• FRONT ABDOMINAL AND THIGH
• MOST MUSCULAR
■ POSING ON STAGE
■ FREE-POSING ROUND
■ BONUS TIPS
■ SIDEBAR
■ 10 TIPS FOR POSING
■ PRACTICING POSING FOR MUSCLE
GROWTH AND SELF ASSESSMENT
■ THANKS
CONTENTS
#INITTOWINIT
CONTENTS
I
T TAKES MUCH MORE THAN
A PERFECT BODY TO REIGN
SUPREME ON THE COMPETITIVE
BODYBUILDING STAGE. TO WIN
SHOWS YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW
TO SHOWCASE YOUR CHISELED
PHYSIQUE TO THE JUDGES IN THE IT ALL
BEST POSSIBLE WAY. STARTS
With so much emphasis and effort placed on
optimal training and nutrition there is often a IN THE
key element of bodybuilding success that is left MIRROR
out – posing and presentation. This is like going We all know that dieting for a
show can make you go through
to war without any ammunition. As a competitive emotional highs and lows. This
bodybuilder walking onto stage with nothing on but emotional state combined with
tan and posing trunks, the best weapon you can have countless workouts performed with
with you is your posing prowess. little to no energy can make you
feel completely and utterly drained.
Regardless of how you feel
MERVYN HANNIE & BULELANI JOLA you still make time to hone your
ability to display and promote
your physique on stage to the
best of your ability. This can be
tough between the dieting and the
training but you don’t want to end
up letting your hard work in the
gym and in the kitchen go to waste
on stage, and possibly miss out on
that first place trophy, especially
if you were the most conditioned
athlete in the pose-down.
You can’t afford to make
unnecessary mistakes if you want
to out-muscle your competitors
and be the cream of the crop after
months of tough dieting and
excruciating workouts. It is hard
enough to get to the stage in the
first place and you don’t want to
be your own worst enemy when it
matters the most!
Posing is therefore not a last
minute decision on show day but
one of the most important factors
in your preparation for a contest.
It all starts in the mirror where you
need to practice your posing.
CONTENTS
TYPES OF
POSING
A pose is either optional or
mandatory, depending on the
rules and requirements of the
federation an athlete belongs to.
Certain federations may also have POSING REQUIREMENT
additional posing requirements The various federations may have different posing
for the final rounds such as requirements and criteria, but the main mandatory poses
pose downs between the top that can be found in most if not all federations include:
competitors or even a free posing 1. Quarter turns
routine where an athlete can 2. Front double biceps
get creative and showcase their 3. Front lat spread
physique in unique ways. 4. Side chest
During the pre-judging portion 5. Back double biceps
of any bodybuilding show athletes 6. Back lat spread
will be called upon to complete 7. Side triceps
the mandatory poses. The athlete 8. Abdominals and thighs
can often be called out several 9. Most muscular
times to be compared with their
fellow competitors. It is at this THE POSE DOWN:
stage when the judges get their Once the seven mandatory poses in round two are completed,
initial impressions and start the IFBB Chief Judge will call for a 30- to 60-second pose down
forming a score based on what performed to music of the organiser’s choice.
they see. Many athletes believe
that a show is won or lost in pre- THE POSING ROUTINE:
judging because first impressions Once selected, each of the top six finalists will perform an
count so much. individual posing routine to music of his choice, up to a maximum
Following the mandatories of 60 seconds.
competitors who make it to the These poses can also be combined in various ways during
final rounds may compete in the pre-judging and final rounds. For example, according to the
the free posing round, where rules and regulations of the biggest federation in the world, the
all seven compulsory poses International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness (IFBB), the
can be incorporated into a Men’s Bodybuilding categories will consist of the following four
choreographed 60-second routine. rounds and posing requirements:
Once again, points are given here 1. PREJUDGING: Elimination round – includes quarter turns
for excellence in posing ability. and four mandatory poses,
2. PREJUDGING: Round 1 – includes four mandatory poses
and comparisons of seven mandatory poses,
“MANY ATHLETES BELIEVE 3. FINALS: Round 2 – includes seven mandatory poses and
THAT A SHOW IS WON OR a pose down,
LOST IN PRE-JUDGING
BECAUSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS 4. FINALS: Round 3 – includes a 60-second free posing routine.
COUNT SO MUCH.”
CONTENTS
PERFECT
YOUR
POSING
Aspiring bodybuilders are
always eager to get their
hands on the latest training
and nutrition secrets. This also
applies to posing but those in the
know will tell you that there is
actually no secret to posing -
only hard work.
Bodybuilders must put in as
much effort into their posing
routine as they do into their
weight training and their diet.
Athletes who have stood in the
limelight at a bodybuilding show
know that they need to ruthlessly
critique their bodies because
BOYSIE NCOBO & LOUIS BESSINGER
MANDATORY
POSING GUIDELINES
JULIAN-LEE RHAMDARI
TIP: Keep your
arms tense but at
your sides and your
feet flat in each
turn. Don’t twist
your head or torso.
QUARTER TURNS
Quarter turns are the first series left side of body. As with the front lower body. Again, stand straight
of poses a competitor will be semi-relaxed pose, you should and widen your shoulders. It is
asked to complete. They provide stand straight with feet flat on the also a good idea at this point to
a good indication of overall muscle ground. Face forward and tense flex the calves and hamstrings
size and definition, and symmetry. your shoulders, thighs and abs for maximum effect. As with
To begin the quarter turns, stand slightly. Technically, when standing the previous quarter turns, the
in a semi relaxed position. Arms to the side you should not twist competitor should, when turning
should hang to the sides, with your body around to emphasise for a third time, stand straight and
weight distributed evenly. Widen any aspect of the upper physique. look ahead, this time to expose
the shoulders, flare the lats and This, however, is done quite often. the right side of the body. Finally,
flex the thighs and abs to enhance Another quarter turn to the quarter turn to the right (to face
muscularity. The quarter turn to right is done to display the rear the front once again) and stand in
the right is next and shows the musculature of the upper and the semi relaxed front pose.
CONTENTS
FRONT DOUBLE
BICEPS
To convey bicep size and lat width it is
important that the competitor lift their
elbows higher than their shoulders with this pose.
The key thing to remember is to keep the shoulders
down and elbows up so that lat development can
be emphasised. It is also important to pull the arms
back slightly to highlight the separation between
the biceps and triceps. Bend the legs at the knees
slightly to accentuate the quads. Remember to keep
everything flexed. Breathing is also of importance.
Inhale when you bring your arms into the flexed bicep
position. Take short breaths when you are in the pose
and keep your abs as tight and flat as possible.
REAR LAT
SPREAD
Legs should be positioned as in the rear double
bicep pose. Push your waist in with your hands and
flare your lats out (this pose should also emphasise
the shoulder to hip taper). Move your hands to the
front of your body while keeping your shoulders
up and straight. Never hunch over as this can
greatly detract from the muscularity of the upper
lats. Keep your calves, hamstrings and glutes tight
throughout the pose.
SIDE TRICEPS
Stand to the side and press the front thigh and
chests score
higher at
shows.
calf hard against the rear leg. Keep your abs tight
and pulled in. Keep the arm to be displayed straight
and grasp the wrist of this hand with the opposite
hand to hold it in place. Press your arm against
your torso to create an illusion of thickness. This is
incredibly important as the triceps tend to get tucked
into the lat, which doesn’t allow a true representation
of maximum muscularity.
SIDE CHEST
Position your legs as you would with the side
triceps pose. Take a deep breath and lift your chest
up and out. Grasp the arm to be displayed with the
opposite hand. Bend your arm to flex the bicep. Avoid
lifting the rear shoulder up as this will reduce chest
thickness. Instead, keep this shoulder down and bring
your arm across slightly to highlight the striations in
the opposite chest muscle.
CONTENTS
MOST MUSCULAR
(OPTIONAL OR COMPULSORY)
As the name suggests, the most muscular pose
should display maximum amounts of muscle to
overwhelm the judges. All frontal muscles will be
displayed as the competitor crunches each hand
together while contracting the chest, biceps and
shoulders. There are many variations on this standard
“most muscular” pose: stand with palms on hips and
push down, or place one palm on your hip and the
other in front of the body, or place both hands behind
the back and pull your arms forward.
TIP:
When you
contract your
abdominal
muscles for
this pose
it’s very
important to
note if your
waist gets
thicker when
you flex down
as this might
detract from
your overall
symmetry.
FRONT ABDO-
MINAL AND THIGH
With this pose, try to emphasise lat width and, of TIP: Don’t
course, ab and thigh development. Begin by placing forget to flex
one leg out and flexing the thigh and calf. Place your your thighs
hands behind your neck and bring your shoulders and calves
when you
down. Flare your lats while keeping elbows up and do a most
back. Vacuum the abs in and crunch down on the muscular
frontal rib cage, abdominal wall, intercostals, serratus pose.
anterior and obliques while exhaling.
CONTENTS
IT IS UP
TO YOU
During the posing rounds it is
important to keep in mind that
the judges can only judge what
they see on the stage on show
day. It is up to you to highlight the
strong points of your physique while
downplaying your weaknesses.
In general judges at bodybuilding
shows will all look for a hard,
striated physique where muscles
and muscle seperation is clearly
visible through the skin with near-
zero body fat distorting the view.
All that posing practice will amount
to nothing if you haven’t achieved
the level of muscularity and
conditioning required to achieve JOHN LESLIE & VUSUMZI NJISANE
success on the competitive stage.
FLEXING AND POSING
Posing between sets at gym can have a profound effect on
muscle hardness and detail. In fact, entire workouts can be
based around the concept of iso-tension, where the muscle is
tensed and held in an isometric contraction for a count of ten.
Flexing works in much the same way, but for bodybuilding
purposes the emphasis should be perfecting your pose and
chiseling your muscles as a pre-contest strategy.
Posing in the gym also helps you to pre-assess your physique
to observe any weak points, which can then be addressed
before stepping on stage. As bodybuilding legend Arnold
Schwarzenegger himself once said, “You can’t practice posing
too much. I always believed in flexing and posing whatever body
parts I was training during any workout in the gym. If I trained
arms I would stop between sets and do some arm shots, studying
myself in the mirror. Training legs or anything else, I would always
take time to pose. Posing this way is not vanity. It has two specific
advantages. On the one hand, this constant flexing in itself is a
good form of training, helping to make the muscles hard and well
defined. On the other, it constantly shows you exactly how much
development you have achieved or failed to achieve. As great as
CHRIS FITZPATRICK
SHANTI MITCHELL
rhythmical and controlled, enjoys a grumpy
not chaotic. bodybuilder –
6. Know your limitations – do entertain your
not think you can pull off audience!
ULTIMATE BODYBUILDING
THANKS
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO
MADE THE PUBLISHING OF THIS ESSENTIAL
BODYBUILDING RESOURCE POSSIBLE:
CONTRIBUTORS
PHOTOGRAPHY
ANDREW
HUDSON
IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER