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Posing
There are some videos listed in the Resources/Links section
on the
www.theOCBwebsite.com
website. They can be useful for
learning posing techniques. There are a couple for
bodybuilding, and one for figure too. You can also get
copies of local shows in your area on video and study
competitors in them to look for what presents well, and what
can take away from presentation.
Learn the poses (photos of each mandatory pose are available
on the rules page of
www.theOCBwebsite.com), and practice them
in a mirror. Try slight variations of the poses to see what
makes your physique look its best. If you have a video
camera, tape yourself going through the poses. If you don’t
use a mirror when doing this, you can get a good idea of how
you would look on stage when you don’t have a mirror to
check your form. Watch your transitions from pose to pose
and think about what you can do to present them fluidly.
Posing takes a lot of practice to master, and a lot of
practice to avoid shaking while posing on stage. Many
competitors tremble when hitting poses on stage because they
didn’t practice enough and their bodies did not become used
to it. It’s never too early to begin practicing your poses
and quarter turns. For a new competitor, it’s best to start
at least 2-3 months before the day of the show. Shaking
takes away from one’s presentation. One trick that can help
with this is to make sure your jaw is relaxed if you start
to shake. This relaxes the muscles in the neck and prevents
shaking a lot of the time.
Most competitions have a ‘prejudging’ (group comparisons) in
the morning followed by the finals later in the day. During
prejudging you will go through quarter turns, and compulsory
poses with the other members in your class. Quarter turns
are judged for proportion and symmetry. You begin by facing
forward in a relaxed position. Relaxed is far from the
meaning though. On stage in the relaxed position you want to
flex your muscles while still appearing to be standing at
ease. The head judge then calls for a quarter turn. You
display your physique at a side view, then from the rear,
then the other side. After the quarter turns, you go through
the compulsory poses along with the other competitors.
Mandatory poses can be different depending on which
federation you are competing in, but virtually all of them
require the front double biceps, front lat spread, side
chest, side triceps, rear double biceps, rear lat spread,
hands over head abdominal, and a most muscular pose. That
does it for the prejudging. The decisions are made at that
time for each class with most organizations, but not
announced until the evening. Generally only the overall
winners are determined at the finals. Finals are basically
an opportunity to show your creativity. You're usually
permitted 60-90 seconds to pose to music of your selection.
After all routines are performed, awards are given out. Then
for the overall, each 1st place class winner comes back
onstage and goes through the quarter turns and compulsory
poses again. Judging is done at that time for the overall
winner. After the poses are complete most organizations have
about a minute of music while the competitors have a pose
down. Judges sheets are tallied at that time and the winner
is announced afterwards.
For photos
of poses and tips, visit our Posing Guide.
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