Learning How to Pose for a Fitness Comp

An important and often overlooked aspect of getting ready for a bikini fitness competition is posing.

Although it sounds simple enough, learning how to walk & pose in a way that best showcases your body is an art. There are so many things to think about when on stage – are you smiling? Are your shoulders rolled back and chest open? Is your tummy in and butt out? Are you walking with straight legs and swaying your hips? Are your arms flowing like a dancer’s or are they stiff and rigid?

And of course above all else can you balance and transition between the poses smoothly? Is your personality and confidence showing?

Keeping all of the above in mind whilst at the same time trying to grab the judges’ attention and making them see your body at its best is no easy task!

Here’s my progress from my first posing practice a few months ago up to yesterday’s group posing session with Adrianna (more on that below):

Lesson 1

 

Lesson 7

Thanks to my posing coaches Roberta & Adrianna for taking me from clumsy to confident!

 

As you can see quite a bit has changed – starting with my confidence! None of this would have been possible without the posing coaching and the effort I put in at home.

If you are considering or are already preparing for a competition it is important to spend a few minutes at least 5 days a week working on your stage poses and walk. And you better start early!

Typically I would spend 20-30 mins in the mornings before my workouts doing some stretching and posing. Stretching the muscles is important as it will help you with the posing – I typically focus on the hamstrings and back as most of the poses involve a twist of the body.

I then do a few exercises with my stage heels to loosen up my hips and improve my balance. This is finally followed by practising the whole stage routine a few times in front of the mirrors and a few times without mirrors (yup… there will be no mirrors on stage!).

There’s still a lot of work to be done as I continue to improve my pose transitions and arm movements with 11 weeks to go :O !

So here are the top 3 tips I have learned along the way to help you with posing:

1. Find comfortable shoes which fit the purpose (remember the stage may be slippery) and practice daily (or at least 5 times a week) in your stage heels to wear them in and gain confidence;
2. Stretch daily – it is important to stretch your hamstrings and calves in order to elongate the leg muscles when walking in heels and also work on improving flexibility of the back to help with poses which require twisting;
3. Watch videos online of previous competitions – notice how the contestants enter and exit the stage, how they pose and make eye contact with the judges and how they transition between poses including arm movements. You will quickly learn what looks good and what doesn’t!

If you are based in Dubai and need help with your posing practice, join Adrianna and the team for weekly group sessions here.