This post finishes (for now) the competition series, which tries to provide the newbie bodybuilder with the basics of competition. In particular, this post provides a brief description of the General Mandatory Poses used to drive the Muscularity Round in a bodybuilding contest.
1. Front Double Biceps Pose
Stand facing forward (toward the judges) with heels almost touching, toes pointed slightly out and knees slight bend. Expand the chest up and spread out your lats. Then, have your arms out to the sides flexing both biceps with the thumbs tucked in a tight fist.
2. Front Lat Spread Pose
Leg stance is the same as in the Front Double Biceps pose. Put your hands into your sides with the thumb and fingers placed into each side of the pelvic bone and flared out elbows, keep the chest up and spread out the lats. The anterior delts should be a little forward. Keep the triceps flexed to show more depth and hardness in the arms.
3. Side Chest Pose
Take a quarter turn to the side, so judges can see your profile. Bend your knees slightly and flex the calf closest to the judges (by raising the heel from the ground). The toes of that calf should be right in the middle of the back foot. Put the front arm to your side with your elbow at a 90 degree angle and then bring the back arm across the front of the torso to grab the front hand (or wrist). Keep the chest raised and flexed.
4. Side Triceps Pose
Basic position is the same as in the Side Chest pose, except that the forward arm is now flexed straight down showing off the triceps (which is squeezed against the lat) while the back arm is stretched across the lower back to grab the forward hand (or wrist).
5. Rear Double Biceps Pose
Stand facing the rear of the stage, bring one leg a half step back and flex that calf. Put both arms out to the sides with biceps flexed. Make sure to squeeze all of your back muscles, posterior delts, hamstrings, calves and glutes, while keeping your chest up. A variation consists of extending the arms straight up in the air instead of putting them out to the sides.
6. Rear Lat Spread Pose
Basic position is the same as in the Rear Double Biceps pose, but now the arms are placed into your sides (above the pelvic bone), the elbows are pulled out and the lats are flared outward while keeping the chest up, trying to show your back as width as possible. A tip is bringing first the arms back closely to each side until the upper back is extremely tight and then placing the arms into the sides and spreading the lats out.
7. Abdominal and Thigh Pose
Stand facing forward, extend one leg in front of the other while flexing it and put both arms up over your head. Then flex your abdominal and oblique muscles. Optionally, you can bend or turn to the side to show off your oblique muscles more.
8. Most Muscular Pose
This pose has some variations. For the first one, stand facing forward, put one leg in front of the other flexing both of them and bend your upper torso slightly over your legs. Then bring your arms together in front of your body with your elbows angled out, hold in your stomach, and flex every muscle in the front part of the body. Another variation includes placing the hands on the hip area with the thumbs forward and fingers pointed down or back. Finally, another variation includes keeping both legs together and flexed and bringing your arms together in front of you with hands touching. In all cases, try to keep the pose very tight and compact.
Additional details of these mandatory poses (including explicative pictures and videos) can be found in the article “Pointers to Posing” by Scott Duncan, in the article “Posing: Video & Text Guides” by Mark Tilden, and in the “Posing Advice” section from Bodybuilding.com site.
1. Front Double Biceps Pose
Stand facing forward (toward the judges) with heels almost touching, toes pointed slightly out and knees slight bend. Expand the chest up and spread out your lats. Then, have your arms out to the sides flexing both biceps with the thumbs tucked in a tight fist.
2. Front Lat Spread Pose
Leg stance is the same as in the Front Double Biceps pose. Put your hands into your sides with the thumb and fingers placed into each side of the pelvic bone and flared out elbows, keep the chest up and spread out the lats. The anterior delts should be a little forward. Keep the triceps flexed to show more depth and hardness in the arms.
3. Side Chest Pose
Take a quarter turn to the side, so judges can see your profile. Bend your knees slightly and flex the calf closest to the judges (by raising the heel from the ground). The toes of that calf should be right in the middle of the back foot. Put the front arm to your side with your elbow at a 90 degree angle and then bring the back arm across the front of the torso to grab the front hand (or wrist). Keep the chest raised and flexed.
4. Side Triceps Pose
Basic position is the same as in the Side Chest pose, except that the forward arm is now flexed straight down showing off the triceps (which is squeezed against the lat) while the back arm is stretched across the lower back to grab the forward hand (or wrist).
5. Rear Double Biceps Pose
Stand facing the rear of the stage, bring one leg a half step back and flex that calf. Put both arms out to the sides with biceps flexed. Make sure to squeeze all of your back muscles, posterior delts, hamstrings, calves and glutes, while keeping your chest up. A variation consists of extending the arms straight up in the air instead of putting them out to the sides.
6. Rear Lat Spread Pose
Basic position is the same as in the Rear Double Biceps pose, but now the arms are placed into your sides (above the pelvic bone), the elbows are pulled out and the lats are flared outward while keeping the chest up, trying to show your back as width as possible. A tip is bringing first the arms back closely to each side until the upper back is extremely tight and then placing the arms into the sides and spreading the lats out.
7. Abdominal and Thigh Pose
Stand facing forward, extend one leg in front of the other while flexing it and put both arms up over your head. Then flex your abdominal and oblique muscles. Optionally, you can bend or turn to the side to show off your oblique muscles more.
8. Most Muscular Pose
This pose has some variations. For the first one, stand facing forward, put one leg in front of the other flexing both of them and bend your upper torso slightly over your legs. Then bring your arms together in front of your body with your elbows angled out, hold in your stomach, and flex every muscle in the front part of the body. Another variation includes placing the hands on the hip area with the thumbs forward and fingers pointed down or back. Finally, another variation includes keeping both legs together and flexed and bringing your arms together in front of you with hands touching. In all cases, try to keep the pose very tight and compact.
Additional details of these mandatory poses (including explicative pictures and videos) can be found in the article “Pointers to Posing” by Scott Duncan, in the article “Posing: Video & Text Guides” by Mark Tilden, and in the “Posing Advice” section from Bodybuilding.com site.
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