Posing, Posing, Posing

I had the opportunity to speak with a highly knowledgeable individual who has spent many years in the fitness industry and even judges national level shows. I anxiously picked his brain as I tried to soak as much information in as I could. He gave me helpful tips but ultimately he came back to the importance of stage presence and posing.
I recently looked at the history of the competitors for the Ronnie Coleman. I could not understand the placing of the girls and was dumbfounded by how the judges made their decision. Turns out you can spend hours in the gym and weeks sacrificing with dieting, but if you do not bring the whole package, your hard work can be overlooked.
I decided to make my posing practice and walking in heels a daily routine and put just as much attention in those details as I do my meal planning and workouts. Today I spent 15 min practicing and drilling my husband on which poses flattered my physique, hid my muscular legs the best, made my butt look the best etc....
I then turned to the internet for additional guidance and I will share with you the information I found helpful.

Here is a video from Missy Coles, IFBB bikini pro and Team Bombshell athlete about posing tips.

Photo Credit

This is a video from the Bikini Olympia 2011 and I found it very helpful, as these are the best of the best.

I plan on avoiding a full frontal pose to assist in hiding how large my quads are. My first pose will be the front/side pose.

Photo Credit
I then plan to do a slow and exaggerated hip thrusted turn to the back to highlight my glutes and also hide my thigh tattoo as much as possible.
I posed with a open leg, single hip thrust last contest and I think it made my legs look larger. I think this pose, my husband agrees, highlights my glutes but draws attention away from my thighs.


Photo Credit

This week I will incorporate posing practice into my daily routine and wear my heels whilst making dinner, folding laundry, etc. to get more comfortable walking in them.

- Whittney C.