The Ultimate Posing Guide for NatBod Bodysport Athletes

If you are preparing for a NatBod Bodysport competition, you might be wondering how to pose on stage to showcase your physique and personality. Posing is an essential part of natural bodybuilding, as it allows you to express yourself, highlight your strengths and minimise your weaknesses. NatBod Bodysport is a unique style of natural bodybuilding that offers the opportunity to be creative and flexible with your posing, as there are no strict rules and a unique pose off round. In this article, we will guide you through the basics of posing, the on stage posing procedure and how to develop your own individual style.

The Basics of Posing

Before we move on to the specific poses for each category and round, we need to start with explaining stance, the foundation of any pose. Stance is how you stand on stage, and it can make a big difference in how you look and feel. You can choose any kind of stance that suits you best, provided it aligns with the pose. For example, you can stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, or wider, or closer together. You can also angle your feet slightly inward or outward, depending on what looks best for your legs and hips. Try experimenting with different ways to stand facing front on, from both sides and facing behind. You may even want to have different stances for each pose.

The next important thing to address is to keep the midsection tight at all times. This includes keeping your waist slightly pulled in when relaxing between poses. Depending on the pose, you might choose to flex your abs hard, add a twist to the waist or maybe pull your stomach up in a vacuum. It is up to you to experiment to see what suits your body best and what suits each individual pose best.

Listening to the Head Judge

Another important thing to remember when posing on stage is to listen to the head judge. The head judge is the person who calls for all the poses and instructs the athletes on stage. You should follow their instructions carefully and promptly, as they are designed to ensure the fairest and best judging results.

The head judge may ask you to move around, swap places or repeat poses in order to compare you with other athletes and judge you on different criteria. This gives you an opportunity to show off your physique from different angles and perspectives.

The head judge will also repeat instructions if they believe an athlete has not heard or has heard incorrectly. They will also use hand signals or point at athletes to make their instructions clearer. You should pay attention to these cues and act accordingly.

We ensure that all interactions between the judging table and the athletes on stage are always positive and friendly. We want you to feel comfortable and confident on stage, and we respect your hard work and dedication.

On Stage Posing Procedure

Now that we’ve explained those basics, we want to go over the on stage posing procedure round by round. There are three rounds in a NatBod Bodysport competition: Round 1 – Mandatory Poses, Round 2 – Quarter Turns and Round 3 – Pose Off.

Round 1 – Mandatory Poses

In this round, you will perform a series of poses that are specific to your category: Athletic Bodysculpting or Classical Bodybuilding. The head judge will call for all of these poses (reminder that you may be moved around on stage between poses and may be asked to repeat poses). You should follow the judge’s instructions carefully and execute each pose with confidence and grace. Each pose is scored individually, so make sure you nail every one of them.

The mandatory poses for Athletic Bodysculpting are:

• Front Double Biceps: Stand facing front on with both arms raised and flexed at the elbow, showing off your biceps and upper body muscles. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Side Oblique: Turn sideways with one leg in front of the other and one arm behind your head. Twist your upper body slightly towards the judges, showing off your oblique muscles and waistline. You can choose which side to turn, but make sure it matches your stance. Keep your other arm relaxed at your side, on your waist or slightly bent at the elbow. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Back Double Biceps: Turn around and face away from the judges with both arms raised and flexed at the elbows, showing off your biceps and back muscles from behind. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed, you can flex one calf if you choose.
• Front Abdominals: Stand facing front on or with a slight twist at the waist with both arms raised behind your head. Flex your abs hard, showing off your abdominal muscles and waistline. Keep your chest up and your legs flexed.

The mandatory poses for Classical Bodybuilding are:

• Front Double Biceps: Stand facing front on with both arms raised and flexed at the elbows, showing off your biceps and torso muscles. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Front Lat Spread: Stand facing front on with both arms on your waist slightly with your elbows spread out to the sides, showing off your latissimus dorsi muscles and width. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Side Chest: Turn sideways with one leg in front of the other and both arms crossed in front of your chest. One arm will be showing your biceps muscles. Flex your chest hard, showing off your pectoral muscles and thickness from the side. You can choose which side to turn, but make sure it matches your stance. Keep your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Side Tricep: Turn sideways with one leg in front of the other and one arm behind your back. Extend your other arm and flex your triceps hard, showing off your triceps muscles and thickness from the side. You can choose which side and arm to extend, but make sure they match your stance. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.
• Back Double Biceps: Turn around and face away from the judges with both arms raised and flexed at the elbows, showing off your biceps and back muscles from behind. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed, you can flex one calf if you choose.
• Back Lat Spread: Turn around and face away from the judges with both arms slightly bent at the elbows and spread out to the sides, showing off your latissimus dorsi muscles and width from behind. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed, you can flex one calf if you choose.
• Abs & Thigh: Stand facing front on with both arms raised behind your head. Flex your abs hard, showing off your abdominal muscles and waistline. Flex one leg hard, showing off your thigh muscles. You can choose which leg to flex, but make sure it matches your stance.
• Most Muscular: Stand facing front on with both arms crossed in front of your chest or on your waist. Flex your entire body hard, showing off your muscularity and definition. Keep your chest up, your abs tight and your legs flexed.

Round 2 – Quarter Turns

In this round, you will be called through four quarter turns by the head judge. These are called relaxed poses, however you should keep all muscles tight and assume a “pose” of sorts so that you look your best and all muscles are tense. It is up to you to determine what “relaxed” posing style you choose. For example, you can stand with one hand on hip or arms relaxed at sides or slightly bent at elbows. You can also angle or twist or tilt or shift or lean or arch or curve or bend any part of your body as long as it looks natural and flattering for you. In this round, each of the criteria (Muscularity, Condition, Proportion & Presentation) are scored individually.

The quarter turns are:

• Front Relaxed: Stand facing front on with a relaxed pose of your choice. Keep all muscles tight and show off your symmetry and balance.
• Quarter Turn Right: Turn 90 degrees to the right with a relaxed pose of your choice. Keep all muscles tight and show off your side profile.
• Quarter Turn Back: Turn another 90 degrees to the right (or 180 degrees from the front) with a relaxed pose of your choice. Keep all muscles tight and show off your back profile.
• Quarter Turn Right: Turn another 90 degrees to the right (or 270 degrees from the front) with a relaxed pose of your choice. Keep all muscles tight and show off your other side profile.
• Quarter Turn Front: Turn another 90 degrees to the right (or back to the front) with a relaxed pose of your choice. Keep all muscles tight and show off your symmetry and balance.

Round 3 – Pose Off

In this round, you will perform three poses of your own choice: one front pose, one side pose and one back pose. This is an opportunity for you to be creative and show off your strong points. You can choose any pose that you like, as long as it is facing in the required direction. You can also use lunging or kneeling poses, as well as look for inspiration in old school bodybuilding. The head judge will call for each pose, and you should execute them with confidence and flair. Each pose is scored individually, so it is very important to the final scores and the work you put in here mastering unique poses could make the difference.

Developing Your Own Individual Posing Style

Now that you know the basics of posing and the on stage posing procedure, you might be wondering how to develop your own individual style. This is where you can really express yourself and showcase your personality and physique. There are no hard and fast rules for this, but here are some tips to help you:

• Hide your weak points and showcase your strengths. Every bodybuilder has their strong and weak points, and you should be aware of yours. For example, if you have a narrow waist, you might want to emphasize it with twists and vacuums. If you have a wide back, you might want to spread it with lats and double biceps. If you have a weak point, you might want to hide it with angles or unique posing. The key is to be honest with yourself and work with what you have.
• Experiment with different poses and variations. There are countless poses and variations that you can try, and you should experiment with as many as possible to find what works best for you. You can also mix and match different poses and create your own combinations. For example, you can do a twisting side pose with one leg raised, or a side chest with flexed tricep, or a back lat spread with a wide stance on your toes. The possibilities are endless, so have fun and be creative.
• Practice your poses and transitions. Once you have found your poses, you should practice them regularly and master them. You should also practice your transitions between poses, as they can add flow and elegance to your presentation. You can make your transitions dynamic, or elegant, or simple, depending on your preference. However, remember that mastering the poses is more important than transitions, they are like icing on the cake.
• Watch other bodybuilders and get inspired. One of the best ways to learn and improve your posing is to watch other bodybuilders and get inspired by them. You can watch videos of professional natural bodybuilders, old school bodybuilders, or even other NatBod Bodysport competitors. You can observe their poses, their transitions, their style, their expression, their attitude, their charisma, and their energy. You can also get feedback from them or ask them for tips. However, don’t copy them blindly, but rather adapt what you like to suit your own body and personality.

Stamina and Endurance

The last thing we want to talk about is stamina and endurance. Posing on stage can be very exhausting and demanding, especially due to the comprehensive judging of NatBod Bodysport. You need to be able to hold your poses for a long time on stage, sometimes for minutes at a time. Also you might need to be able to repeat your poses several times if asked by the judges. You don’t want to lose points or look bad because of fatigue or cramps or shaking or sweating.

Therefore, you need to train your stamina and endurance for posing as well as for training. You can do this by practicing your posing routine regularly and timing yourself. Work on posing drills where you hold each pose for 10 seconds or more without relaxing (increasing the time over sessions up to a minute even). You can also do cardio exercises such as running or cycling or swimming to improve your overall fitness and endurance.

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you some useful information and tips on how to pose for NatBod Bodysport competitions. Posing is an art form that requires practice, creativity, confidence and passion. It is also a way of expressing yourself and showcasing your hard work and dedication.

Here are the key points to remember:

• Stance is the foundation of any pose
• Keep your midsection tight at all times
• Follow the judge’s instructions
• Round 1 – Mandatory Poses: Learn all the poses
• Round 2 – Quarter Turns: Keep all muscles tight
• Round 3 – Pose Off: Be creative
• Hide your weak points and showcase your strengths
• Experiment with different poses and variations
• Practice your poses and transitions
• Watch other bodybuilders and get inspired
• Train your stamina and endurance

We wish you all the best in your NatBod Bodysport journey and we look forward to seeing you on stage! 🏆