CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE May/June Issue | Page 17

Number one is take care of your
health. We are only given one
body in this lifetime and we must
take care of it. That is the most
important thing right now.
Second, would be to try to
maintain your normal routine as
much as you can, even if your
show has been postponed or
cancelled. As competitors, we
crave that structure and when
it gets ripped away from us
suddenly (like it has now) it can
be hard. Now is the time to get
those creative juices flowing
with your workouts and cardio,
we all have to right now!
If it helps, pick another event a
little later in the calendar season,
or even book a photo shoot (when
safe and permitted) so you still
have a goal set and something
to works towards! Offer each
other peer support, stay in touch
with other competitors online
and swap ideas!
Keep in mind this is only a
temporary situation. It may take
some time for us to get past it,
but we will prevail. Always try to
stay positive.
Juan: How do you feel about the
evolution of the women's classes
as the winners are getting more
muscular and bigger throughout
the years in all the categories?
Tami: Every category has evolved
from where we first started. I
actually think that the specific
look for each woman’s division
now is the best I’ve ever seen. I
don’t think it’s that the women
are getting “bigger” and more
“muscular”. The categories
have evolved to the stage where
female athletes are attaining
the right amount of muscularity,
balance and proportion for each
division.
Juan: When you are judging a
men's physique competitor, is
only their upper body muscularity,
symmetry and condition judged
or is there more you guys look at
to determine your placings?
Tami: As with any category it’s
about the “complete look” and
presentation of the physique.
I would say yes, the main
component we are looking at
is their upper body muscularity,
symmetry and conditioning
because we can’t see a good part
of their legs with the board shorts
covering them up. Yet, that’s not
to say they shouldn’t be training
legs and only focus on their
upper body! There still has to
be a balanced look to the whole
physique. Presentation/posing
is also a big component in men’s
physique and the one category
where I see the most mistakes
made in posing properly.
Sometimes that can be a factor
in determining placements, so
it’s very important to practice
posing and when it comes time,
displaying the physique properly
to the judges.
Juan: Thank you very much Tami!
It was such a pleasure and I am
sure all our readers can learn
from your expertise to come in
better at their next show!
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