The Art of Posing/Presentation, By: Shawn Ray
Like any good Artist, “Presentation” is the bottom line in regard to communicating with their audience. In Bodybuilding, the Athletes are the Artists and their Posing Presentation is their form of communication with their fans.
In the old days, bodybuilders would spend the bulk of their time building bulging muscles in the gym to impress the judges. However, they soon found out that they would have to do more than look big to win contests by merely getting on stage and flexing their muscles. The Photographers catch the individual poses of the athletes however, as the sport progressed there was more emphasis put on Transitions and creating Illusions by the athletes that would soon allow the more professional and polished bodybuilders to beat the guys that had bigger muscles!
Steve Reeves was a bodybuilder with classical lines, shape and beauty in the 50‘s. Former Mr. Olympia, Chris Dickerson was one of the early bodybuilders from the 60’s that considered themselves an “Artist” by the way he presented his body in competition as Art. Others raised the bar in the 70’s in order to keep up with the changing times as the “Illusion” of bodybuilding quickly became a reality and paving the way were great posers like; Arnold Schwarzennegger, Ed Corney, Mohammad Makkaway, Bob Paris, John Brown and Samir Bannout. These guys were opening the door for athletes of diminished muscle capacity and volume. By creating innovative and dramatic posing routines, soon some athletes were able to topple the biggest and the baddest bodybuilders of the 20th Century where names became legend like; Lee Labrada, Vince Taylor, Kevin Levrone, Milos Sarcev and Flex Wheeler.
Today, we have top guys like the recipients of the newly created “Best Presentation Award” that follows the Mr. Olympia every year valued at $10,000.00 by way of Shawn Ray Productions with past winners of the award: Melvin Anthony and Darrem Charles, two of the most symmetrical and dynamic posers in the game who have raised the bar and standard for others to compete with. The Art of Posing has been lost for the last few years, as the Posing Round has lost its meaning and the scoring of this round is not reflective of what is being seen onstage. As a matter of fact, the Posing Round is no longer even scored. Therefore, the incentive to be creative and thoughtful regarding the Presentation has been greatly diminished. What we see now are a lot of athletes doing little more the “Guest Posing” routines which are not routines at all, leaving a lot to be desired by the paying customers who attend the shows hence the creation and incentive of the Best Presentation Award.
Being a former competitive bodybuilder in 13 Mr. Olympia contests over 15 years, I prided myself on the Art of Posing and Presentation. I always kept the paying fans in mind when presenting my physique, regardless of how the posing round was being scored. As a result, my Posing style garnered me many Guest Posing opportunities at amateur contests for pay. A large portion of my annual income was derived from contest promoters hiring me for my ability to perform along with my accomplishments in competition. The many years of practicing posing for competition were rewarded handsomely by appreciative promoters and fans that enjoyed the Classical display of my hard earned physique!
In my very first bodybuilding competition in the summer of 1983, I placed 2nd in the Teenage division but won the award for Best Poser. At the time, I believe I was more proud of the fact that I was the best poser award that night in my first show than I was at placing 2nd and beating bigger guys than me. One week later, I competed again and won the Middle Weight Class, Most Muscular Award, Overall Teenage Champion and Best Poser! I put my heart in soul into my training and nutrition first and secondly, how to display my physique properly which paid dividends when the promoters, writers, photographers and magazines began to take notice. I was never the biggest or the tallest in any show I ever competed in but I learned how to show what I had by constant years of practicing my posing.
Before I ever hit a pose as a bodybuilder, I studied how to hit the 7 mandatory poses correctly. I bought magazines and videos to learn the correct positioning of the feet, hands, torso and facial expressions while hitting a pose. I began to mimic the bodybuilders I favored and studied my body in the mirror. I got second opinions for athletes more experienced than I every chance I got when I leaned out for competition. Repetitious practice is how I became able to properly show my body to the judges, I learned how to hit each pose 2 different ways, the right side and left side of my body were equally important. Once I mastered the mandatory poses (Front/Rear Double Biceps, Side Chest, Side Triceps, Abs & Thigh, Front /Rear Lat spread) I practiced the transition moves to get from one pose to the next. I focused on Fluidity, Balance and Eye Contact. I always tried to remain relaxed and comfortable while onstage even when I wasn‘t. My focus was to draw the crowd and judges to me by setting myself apart from the others athletes onstage by being prepared and professional even though I had little experience. I took the like a veteran performer due to the many practice sessions spent working on my posing after the training sessions were over. It built confidence and stamina from the constant practicing that would later pay off in competition with guys who were just bigger than me. The final thing I would do is select music for my presentation. This is a very important aspect of drawing the fans and judges to you onstage as well. I never chose “Back Ground Noise” as music to perform to. I chose music that had meaning to me, something that moved me and music I knew every beat and lyric to. My posing music had to reflect who I am as a person with feelings and emotions that related to me the person. This harmony is evident by the way I flowed through the routine along with the music not against it. All too often, we see bodybuilders posing to back ground noise and music that is mismatched to their physiques. Very little thought goes into their music selection and it shows when they are onstage in the form of coordination and fluidity. Careful consideration should go into choosing the appropriate music for the occasion. For example, Guest Posing music is different from Competition music.
Generally speaking, when Guest performing, I would choose faster more upbeat music with high energy and up tempo lyrics. In Competition, I would choose more dramatic stylish love songs, as I would let the music and lyrics move me. I focused on Slow Songs, as my style was more Classical, allowing for more emphasis on transitions.
Everyone needs to find the kind of music that best reflects who they are as a person or personality.
In conclusion, you’re Posing/ Presentation is all you have to leave the fans and judges with when the contest is over. Learning how to hit the poses properly is as important as hard training and dieting. One without the other is like a Peanut Butter without the Jelly. They can exist separately but together they make for a complete treat!
Practice, practice and more practice is necessary when it comes to mastering the Art of Posing if you wan to separate yourself from the masses! In the end, when your physique is not enough to win the grand prize of first place, your posing routine may very well be the only thing people are talking about when the show is over if the winner fails to come in fully prepared. So dot the I’s and cross the T’s to ensure you’re completely prepared to have fun and have the audience and judges in your corner regardless of the outcome of the contest.
In Strength & Honor,
Shawn
