the judges should be slightly bent, with the heel high off the floor and the ball of the foot firmly on the ground. The rear leg should be straight so that you’ re standing at your full height, not in a semisquat position.
As with all the poses, the stomach should be sucked in tight. This is particularly important in the side poses. The rib cage should be lifted up as high as possible. The chest sits directly on top of the ribs, so the higher you lift your rib cage, the bigger the chest will appear.
Your arms should be held close to your body, preferably tucked in under the rib cage, with the shoulder closest to the judges pulled back to open up the chest area. The rear shoulder
From left to right: Derek Lunsford, Jose Raymond, Flex Lewis, and Ahmad Ashkanani. needs to be shifted forward so that the shoulders and upper back are as square as possible to the judges, while your waist and midsection are kept side on— and as narrow as possible— to the judges.
The hand of the arm farthest from the judges should be placed either atop the wrist or hand of the arm closer to the judges, with the front arm’ s hand palm up. You can now apply pressure with the top hand, which can assist with the flexion of the muscles in the forward biceps and deltoids. Obviously, also make sure both pecs are flexed as much as possible.
There is a lot to think about when performing any pose. This is why it’ s so vital to spend many hours practicing and perfecting your posing before hitting the stage on competition day.
I’ m a fitness competitor who is more gymnastics oriented, without much of a strength background. How much strength do I need to showcase to do well in fitness? Are there certain moves I need to master to be successful?
The fitness routine, which makes up 66 % of an athlete’ s score, is based on strength, flexibility, and a cardiovascular component, so strength is very important. That said, there are four mandatory poses that need to be included: pushups( either one or two arms), high kicks, the straddle hold, and the side split.
However, at the national level, you want to have more strength moves than what’ s required, including combination strength moves— that’ s at least two or three strength moves together, such as a handstand coming down to a straddle hold.
Of course, it’ s a lot of work to learn those moves, but that’ s what will separate you from other competitors and help you nail all the components that go into a top score.
PER BERNAL
Strength, agility, flexibility, and creativity are all on display in the routines of IFBB Pro League fitness competitors.
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