Last week on Facebook I asked bodybuilding competitors, what’s the biggest thing that makes you cringe when you see other competitors doing it on stage?
Number one on my list – during the evening free pose when a competitor asks the audience for applause with the “come on let’s hear it” hand gesture. I cringe every time. Earn it, don’t demand it.
Here’s how other competitors, judges and promoters answered the question –
-When you’re about to turn around and show your back to the audience, perhaps you should pick your suit out of your butt BEFORE you turn.
-Bad tanning and not knowing how to pose correctly
-The fact that they appear on stage. (this person was referencing how much bodybuilding has changed in so many ways for the negative)
-Don’t cringe or make faces if you don’t get the placement you want or feel you deserve. Be a Pro: step forward give a wave/thank you to the paying crowd; hit a pose and smile
-Please tan your faces
-Thigh slap
-Sticking tongue out while doing a crab most muscular while posing to Metallica
-Sticking the tongue out at all
-Looking down at the ground before getting into the pose that was called
-Relax and don’t try to do poses you haven’t practiced. If you haven’t practiced then just think of flexing different muscles. It is annoying to see one muscle group flexed the entire routine.
-Totally whack music that doesn’t complement or do anything for the posing routine. You wonder if any thought went into the selection process.
– Doing the front relaxed pose with arms so far out to the sides it looks like you’re holding two watermelons under your arms (I took this one from a Lee Labrada quote)
-Probably has nothing to do with bodybuilding, so I apologize if I’m not on topic, but as far as stage competitors are involved, it’s the rear bikini pose where the females stick their butts out at the audience in high heels. (Not bodybuilding but this one is too good not to post).
All the points are good ones, and it shows the two things that many competitors miss:
- Maintaining a high standard of professionalism at all times while on stage
- Asking “why am I doing this?”
Posing should accentuate YOUR physique. When acting in some of the ways mentioned above, if the answer is “because I’ve seen other competitors do it” then consider whether it makes sense for you, and whether it helps or hinders the art of bodybuilding.
2 comments
Excellent points. Judging 11 or 12 shows a year I see this all the time. Another misstep is when bodybuilders touch or point at a bodypart, as if from 15 feet away the judges need to be guided. Also, when competitors when facing the rear of the stage reach back and touch their hamstrings to feel if they are flexing them. The prepared competitor never does this, because he knows they are flexed. He has practiced enough to be sure.
Great points, Bill! And with your years of judging experience I’m sure you’ve seen it all from the judges table.