Round one
: Standing Relaxed Pose
The first
round of bodybuilding competition is called standing relaxed, but it is
anything but that. It is also called a symmetry round, as if all the
judges are supposed to be looking at is the shape and proportion of your
physique, but that is also incorrect (although a lot of judges don't
understand this). Every round in the bodybuilding contest is a physique
round and the judges should be looking at everything they can see all
the time.
To practice for standing relaxed pose,
stand straight up, feet together, your hands at your sides. In all
posing, you start from the ground up, so begin by flexing your thighs.
Some bodybuilders bend their knees slightly to help flare out the
thighs, but sometimes this can make you look too squat, so look in the
mirror and see if you look better with your knees locked or slightly
bent. Tuck your butt in slightly, pulling up with the abdominals, which
tilts the pelvis slightly and helps keep the abs tight and defined.
Extend your spine upward, keeping it as long as possible. Stretch the
spine; don't lift the shoulders. This allow you to stand tall and
expands the chest. Flare your lats slightly, enough to push your arms
out to the side, but not so much that it appears you are doing a lat
pose. Tense your arms, make sure your abs are flexed, and keep your face
relaxed.
In theory, the proper way to pose for
round one "standing relaxed pose" is to hit this pose to the front, turn
90 degrees to the right and keep hitting it, turn to the back, to the
other side, and then again to the front - keeping that same standing
relaxed pose the whole time. In practice, when they turn to the side,
competitors tend to straighten the arm nearest the judges, flexing the
triceps, and twisting in their direction as well. This makes no sense at
all in a round designed to show the judges your overall shape and
proportion. But as long as the head judge allows it, competitors will
try to get away with whatever they can. However, the better your
symmetry, the less we would advise your flexing and twisting to hide it.
The only way to condition yourself for
standing with all of your muscles tensed for long periods of time is to
do it. Stand with your thighs and abs tensed, your lats flared, your
pecs massive. Don't be too obviously posed, but let your arms hang
almost naturally at your sides. Use a clock or a stopwatch and practice
standing relaxed pose like this for one minute, then turn and stand for
one minute facing each of the other three directions. Flex the calves,
especially when your back is facing where the judges would be, and don't
forget the leg biceps, the buttocks, the lower back and the lats; keep
the waist pulled in, be conscious of the whole body. A few minutes of
standing relaxed pose will exhaust you, but you need to keep at it until
you can stand like this for half an hour or more without shaking,
sweating, cramping, or looking too strained and anxious. It is best to
practice this with a training partner watching to see that you keep
everything flexed and warning you when you start to let down.
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