Elite Physique

By: Dan Kennedy, National Bodybuilding Champion & IFBB Judge

During a previous Q&A I discussed Arnold’s top 10 posing mistakes. I wanted to expand on his list by sharing with you my many years of judging experience and really reveal what the most common flaws an athlete makes while they are on stage. Let’s face facts; posing displays your physique and if you unable to present your physique properly then the judges will have no choice but to mark you down. Posing mistakes are common at the novice shows and a competitor may be able to get away with a flawed presentation but at the National level such lack of attention to detail is frowned upon and scored down. Perfect posing is an easy way to command the attention of the judges and will allow for easier judging. As a competitor you should strive to make the judges’ jobs easier. You can make it easier by bringing your “A” game and presenting a perfect package – spot on conditioning, full muscle bellies and perfect presentation. Alternatively, you can make it easier for the judges by showing up out of shape or by not showing the judges your true potential – but we won’t discuss that. Let’s start with bodybuilders and their mandatories in this instalment and then follow up later with bodybuilders’ posing routines, figure and bikini mandatories and their custom poses.

Bodybuilders Relaxed 

Believe me when I say this but the relaxed pose is the most important pose you will do. It is the first pose the judges see and from there they make their decisions. “Relaxed” is not really relaxed. You had better stay tight and be aware that the judges are getting their first impressions of the line-up. Now I’m certain that I don’t have to remind you about first impressions. There are two common flaws with the relaxed pose. Athletes extend their arms out too far. You’re on stage posing not driving a Hog. Get those arms down! Also, athletes tend to flex their abs. They do this by crunching their upper body down. This is not doing them any favours. If you’re in shape and standing with your chest up the outline of your abs will be present. This is the correct pose - save posing your midsection for the ab/thigh shot.

Front Double Biceps

As previously mentioned with the relaxed pose you have to expand your chest up. Do not crunch down and flex your abs. This is an easy way to lose your V-taper. Another common flaw is to shrug your shoulders up while flexing your biceps. Keep your delts down and raise your elbows and you won’t appear narrow. If you insist on shrugging your shoulders save it for after the show when you tell everyone “I don’t know what I did wrong.”
Front Lat Spread – Arm position is the biggest flaw I see with this pose. Grab your waist at belly button level (fingers in front and thumb behind) and pull your lats out. Don’t flex your lats – they won’t pop out. Just move your elbows forward, keep your chest up, protract your scapula and your lats will magically appear. Keep your elbows in-line with (or slightly ahead of) your body because if your elbows move too far in front of your frame you’ll lose your shoulder width!

Side Chest

Wow! Where do I start with this pose? All mandatories should start at the feet and work upwards so let’s start with the leg positioning. Flex the calf closest to the judges (the alternative is to pose the furthest calf but let’s leave that one for your posing routine) by coming up on your toes. Those toes should be positioned in the center of the rear foot. Both legs should be squeezed together. By doing this you are creating the illusion of a thicker leg. Your hams will pop! If you were to look at the legs from your knees back you should not see any light. Failure to do so will give your legs a narrow appearance. Another newbie mistake is to pose with the leading palm down. If you were to actually think about flexing your bicep you wouldn’t pronate your hand you would supinate it. By placing your palm up you are in effect supinating your hand and that will lead to a better peaked bicep to display.

Side Triceps

As with the side chest pose lean to pose your legs and you’ll be half way there. Don’t pose straight on. Rotate your upper body slightly so that you enhance your V-taper and also roll your shoulder back. Another dirty trick is to grab your wrist and not your hand. By doing this you are shortening your arm length which will make your arm appear bigger. Remember to hit it hard!

Back Double Biceps

The #1 flaw I see with this pose (and I see it a lot!) is that athletes squeeze their shoulder blades together thinking that they are flexing their backs harder. This is NOT the way to hit a back double bi. For the pose to be perfect you need thickness AND width. When you retract your scapula you create the illusion of thickness but at the expense of width. Keep the lats wide when hitting this pose. Remember give the judges what they want when doing the mandatories and you are free to hit the pose your way when you are preforming your posing routine.

Back Lat Spread

Hit your calf first. Plant your leg at a 45 degree angle not straight back. Rotate your knee out slightly so that your leg looks thicker. Sit down slightly and flex your hams. There is no need to touch your hams – I’m certain you didn’t forget them in the pump up room. Unlike the front lat spread it is advantageous to extend your elbows in front of your body (but this is not an exercise in flexibility). You’ll give your lats a wider appearance which is what you and the judges want. Remember to hold your waist just like in the front lat pose.

Abs and Thighs

The most common mistake I see with this pose is that competitors lean too far forward. Yep, you’ll flex your abs hard but you’ll also cast a shadow over your hard work. Try leaning back and bucking your hips forward. The secret is to flex upwards not downwards. Another one that really confuses me is the competitor who flattens out when they pose. You know the type. They have a great set of abs standing around and then when they go to hit an ab/thigh pose the entire ab area flattens out. It’s like there is a short circuit between their brain and their abs. Essentially that scenario is exactly what is happening. It’s primarily due to lack of posing practice. Before you hit the stage practice, practice and practice all your mandatories. Oh did I mention to practice? You’ll develop a better mind to muscle link and be able to make your abs pop! Don’t forget to forcibly exhale to flex your abs harder.

That concludes this portion of common posing mistakes. Make sure you surf back to Muscle Insider for my next instalment and the most up-to-date industry news!

If you want Dan Kennedy to answer one of your questions, send it to questions@muscle-insider.com or visit ElitePhysique.ca