Flex F_UK_2018_April | Page 88

A s the competitive season is drawing closer, here are some DOs and DONT’s from me, your posing Pro. stage tips that could apply to you, and could even make the difference between winning and losing. When I’m judging for The PCA, I often see athletes making small posing mistakes which make the biggest difference. Here are my 1. The First Impression … the front relaxed pose. This is probably the hardest pose to master, and the easiest to get wrong on stage. This pose can display all of your weaknesses if you don’t get it right. The most common mistake I see in this pose is the shoulders being rolled forward. This displays more traps than shoulders, making your top-line appear unbalanced and dominant in the wrong areas. Make sure you lift and roll the shoulders back to sit them on the lats, displaying a wide top line to present capped shoulders and less traps. This will then make the v-taper appear more impressive. Remember this is the first pose in your comparisons for all the bodybuilding and figure categories, so it’s crucial you get it right! 2. The Back Double Bicep. Don’t cut yourself short by not pulling your lats out! I see a lot of female competitors getting this wrong purely because they’re not sure how it should feel. You would think that in order to engage and display your back muscles you need 86 FLEX | APRIL 2018