Preparing for a Bodybuilding Show – Part 1 of 2
Attire and Skin Care
By: Andre Rzazewski (ALLMAX Athlete, Personal Trainer and Bodybuilder Competitor)
So you’ve decided to enter your first bodybuilding competition. You and some of the other meatheads (these are the only opinions that mattered to me) at your gym agree-you’ve got the symmetry (complete package, not just chest and bis), the mass (you’re jacked) and the conditioning (shredded) to step onstage at your first show and have your physique evaluated by a panel of judges.
"In addition to having your physique fully prepared and dialed in, there are several other things that you need to focus on to be stage ready."
Posing Suit - Your tighty whities, speedo or borat style banana hammock will not do. Proper posing suits can be purchased off the rack, but finding a custom suit tailored to your physique is always the better choice. The off the rack lycra suits look just that, off the rack and cheap. Finding a local custom suit designer is well worth the extra effort and money. SXE FX is the designer I have always sought for my suits and I always get great feedback on them. She is located in the GTA and can be contacted through her website www.sxefx.com
Tanning - The stage lights are extremely bright and are fantastic for enhancing definition, but if you are not dark enough, your cuts will not be as noticeable and your lines washed out. You do not need to bake your skin in the sun or under the lights of a tanning bed. A spray tan two days out and again the day before and apply Dream Tan 1 hour before I step onstage. This will give you all the darkness you need along with a great sheen already mixed into the dream tan, negating the need to add any oil. Make sure the body and face is freshly shaved or waxed and free of all hair before tanning.
"The expression “presentation is everything” could not be more true in any sport, when compared to bodybuilding"
Posing - The expression “presentation is everything” could not be more true in any sport, when compared to bodybuilding. Posing is creating an illusion of mass onstage, in which each pose is ultimately designed to maximize the width of the shoulders and minimize the width of the waist.
Posing takes weeks, months and years of practice. One should start in front of a mirror, but graduate to having someone knowledgeable critique and even videotape the posing session so that you can go back to correct and perfect your poses. There are 7 mandatory poses you will be expected to display during the symmetry and muscularity rounds of the prejudging. Since there are no mirrors on stage, you will need to know exactly how each pose feels and remember to completely contract each muscle, from head to toe.
Posing Routine - Once you have a good handle on your poses, you will need to create a posing routine. These are usually 90 seconds in length, where you will incorporate each of your 7 mandatory poses to 90 seconds of music of your choosing. Depending on the organization you choose to compete with, this routine will be marked and can have an impact on your final placing. If using more than one song, the track should flow well, be professionally mixed and not have any pauses or breaks. Your routine should also match the theme of your music along with any props or costumes you may decide to use.
"Your routine should also match the theme of your music along with any props or costumes you may decide to use."
Puming Up - Now that you have made it to the show full, dry, tanned and confidant with your physique, your suit, your posing and your routine, you only need to pump up and hit the stage. Theoretically, there should be plenty of weights backstage so that each athlete can pump up beforehand, but this is not always the case. Bring along a rubber exercise band with medium tension so that you can use it in a worst case scenario. If energy levels are low, you may choose the bands over free weights anyway. Lie down and keep legs elevated in long periods of waiting. This will keep all blood in the upper body. About 30 min before hitting the stage, start to pump up the shoulders, chest and arms as much as possible.
Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn more about the pre-competition bodybuilding diet and supplement routine.
Part 2 of Preparing for a Bodybuilding Competition
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Andre Rzazewski is a certified personal trainer, working with several top professional competitive athletes. He is also an Allmax sponsored athlete and a Natural Professional Bodybuilder. Please visit his website at www.totrainer.com for more information on contest preparation.
