NatX's Podcast

S1E2 - Mastering Posing Across Federations

• NatX • Season 1 • Episode 2

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0:00 | 40:59

We break down how posing rules differ across federations and why small adjustments change placings. From first-show mistakes to pro-level polish, we share mobility fixes, endurance drills, and cues that make shapes pop fast under pressure.

• overview of divisions and key federations
• first-show posing mistakes and lessons learned
• mobility limits, cramping, and pose endurance
• CPA freedom vs WNBF constraints for men’s physique
• bikini posing trends toward hourglass emphasis
• classic physique asymmetry and wrists-together side chest
• workshop insights on footwork, rotation, and flow
• judging speed, callouts, and first-impression strategy
• video over mirror for reliable practice feedback
• coaching lanes and how to get help

Thanks to True North Sportswear for sponsoring this video
Use Team Natx to get 15% off your order


If you guys do need help with posing, definitely speak to one of us. We have our application link or consult link in our bios


Setting The Stage: Today’s Topic

SPEAKER_02

Okay, welcome back, guys, to our second episode of our NetX podcast. Thank you guys for joining us again. Now, today we have just the both of us, but then we have a different topic for you today.

Federations And Divisions Overview

SPEAKER_02

Today we actually want to talk a little bit about the posing for competitive bodybuilding. Now, in the world that we all live in, all of you fans who have watched bodybuilding know we have a good couple of categories. So for those who don't know, who you are listening to this the first time, or you haven't been to a bodybuilding show, we'll just quickly explain to you what categories are there. We have men's bodybuilding, we have women's bodybuilding, we have men's classic physique, men's physique, women's figure, women's bikini, there's also women's wellness, and then there's the newer category women's fit model. Did I miss any?

SPEAKER_00

Fit model. Um I think, and then we put we said bikini, right? Yeah, we said bikini, yeah. Oh yeah. No, I think that's pretty much all of them. I know there's some really niche ones and some smaller organizations, but I think those are those are like the biggest ones, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, those are the more well-known categories that we have in the bodybuilding space. Uh, and that applies for Mr. Olympia and all across the MPC shows. And for us in Canada, it's the CPA. For the WMBF, and I'm not sure about OCB and the MPAA. I'm not too sure about that. I think MPA follows a very similar structure as the WMBF, and so does the uh OCB. We have men's and women's bodybuilding, that's the same. We have classic physique. For men's, I think it's more or less the same. It's just classic physique, bodybuilding, and men's physique. And then for women's, is with WMBI, they have this category called the fit body. Yeah, I think it's just bodybuilding with heels on.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and then there's like the transformation class.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, then there's the new you transformation class. I think they know about summer shredding. Is this summer shredded or summer shredding? I don't remember. I think it's summer shredding. Yeah. So that that has another category for for like a the new you, so the transformation category. A very famous influencer, I think, whose name is uh Gorilla or something.

SPEAKER_00

Christian Guzman? No, no, no. He's the organizer, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But there's another influencer. I think his his uh Instagram is called Gorilla or something, but I'll tag him. I really, really nice guy. Anyways, uh he competed in that category and you think he won. So really, really, really, really cool. He's a really really awesome guy. I don't know if he remembers me, but uh, but then that's basically the whole criteria

Tested Vs Untested And Regional Nuance

SPEAKER_02

for all the categories in the bodybuilding show. Now, today we actually want to talk a little bit about uh our journey throughout. Now, Brandon, you have competed in um bodybuilding uh as well as men's physique. I've only taken part in men's physique, and we actually wanted to share some of the things that we went through during these posing routines. Now, first show we were all terrible, at least I don't know about you, but I was terrible. Uh for my first show was back in 2017. The show I competed in was a non-tested show back in Hong Kong. There was well over 200 athletes in that show, so I was a very small

First Shows: Posing Struggles

SPEAKER_02

piece in that athlete. I don't remember what I placed, there were so many people. But my posing was really, really awful. My shoulders were in the front, and then I was hunching, and then I didn't have meat, I didn't have a lot of meat on me back even like back in 2017. So I looked even smaller, and then uh I don't think I even flared my lats out properly. So I just looked like a stick man, and I think flaring of the lats that was a big thing. I didn't I didn't get it, so my belts weren't flexing, I was just their hand on the hip, technically. That was it. Um supposing it's a little different. We did have quarter turns. It was back in 2017. We had quarter turns, so it's a very similar structure as what the WMBF would do. So I'm very similar to that. But then I was looking back at some of the photos. I could show you guys one, like if I pull up on the screen here, if you guys are watching the YouTube. Um, well, the side poses are basically the same, but then my ribs were just basically flared out and leaned back to so it looks so ugly. But then that was fun. That was my first show, and then um I think we worked with a couple of athletes and then we worked with a couple of coaches. Uh so the posing got better back in 2018, and then it just started slowly changing from there. But yeah, enough about my show. Like, what about your first show?

SPEAKER_00

And the posing was so much different back in because my first show was 2014. So not I don't think there was really like any major posing coaches or anything back then. So I remember like doing my front post. I think my both my feet were just facing forward, and I just had what had one hand on hip and then one arm slightly elevated. But yeah, no, like when I look at the photo of it, it's so definitely so cringy to look back, but that's everybody started somewhere, right? I was pretty much just my shoulders, my lats weren't out, but my shoulders are also like cave forward kind of weird. And uh I remember the back pose being like the hardest for me just to like open up my lats. Um, and I think even for the CPA or I think it was the BCABBA at the time where you had one hand on hip and like you had to do kind of like WMBF, and for some reason I could just never open up enough, and then my one latch uh wasn't out or my um scapula was kind of pulled back into retraction and just it looked really off. Um so I would say those were the biggest things for

Coaching, Mobility, And Cramping

SPEAKER_00

me. Um with the ab engagement, I was always pretty good at like being able to flex my abs and keep my ribs down. I never really had that issue. Um but just the rotation too, like the thoracic rotation with the side pose, it didn't even look like I was rotating, it just looked like I was like pretty much facing the side with one hand. So yeah, it it was pretty bad. And then um as the years went on, like I I slowly started getting a little bit better with it. I get a little bit of help from coaches and stuff like that. But I would say it probably wasn't until 20 like 23 is when I was starting to get like decent at posing, just through I think, yeah, some of your help, um, some of help through like Jeff Alberts and stuff like that, with opening up a bit more. And then it wasn't until pretty much this last season where I got help from Chris Sparecat. Like he really helped me um with the posing. Like, I think I had like five or six sessions, and just some of the tweaks with it went so far in terms of just having a bit more flow. I did notice though, even with posing out my shoulder still. I find when I get really lean, I don't know if it's I think you're like the me too, like you just start getting a little bit more tight. So especially if you're practicing posing a lot, things can stiffen up. So I've still had a bit of a shoulder round, but I think last year was definitely the the best year of posing for me.

SPEAKER_02

I totally agree when po posing gets very, very difficult when our body fat gets so much leaner. We have less liquid in the body, so rotating is much, much harder. And I think the harder we try to hold the pose, I get cramps in a lot of my my places, my low back, my rear delts, especially, just trying to flare out those lats. That's the first place that I find to cramp up. Um, even on stage when I'm a little bit more well-fed, that's also usually the first place. It's just nerves kicking in while we're on stage. No matter how many times I find how much we competed, there's always that little bit of stage fright when we step on there. We just want to do our best, and then even how many practice, how many times we practice, it's just very, very difficult. Uh, but I agree with some of the things that you said. We in the beginning, it will gradually get better. Uh, I've never experienced the CPA. I've watched many of the shows, I've gone with friends in many of the shows, uh, but I've never experienced myself what just doing a front and a back would feel like. I can imagine it, uh, as we do that in the WMVF box walk. Basically, the walk out, and then you've hit the front, you hit it back, and then you just leave.

CPA Freedom Vs WMBF Constraints

SPEAKER_02

So I can get a sense of what it may feel like, but I've never really played around that much on stage what might look better, you know, the two hands on one hand on one hand on hip, or the two hands on hip or the two arms just out there. You've competed in both CPA and WMBF and a whole bunch of other shows. No, actually, that's it. There was only that one BCA BBA.

SPEAKER_00

Actually, I think it was actually like four of them, because like I don't think CPA was even a thing until I can't remember if it was like 2015. Because I know BCA BBA and them were a thing together, I think, and then they kind of split ways. And then I think most people went with CPA just because they it was the opportunity to get to the Olympia, it's through CPA. So the BCA BBA was just some other slightly different federation. BCABBA was kind of similar to the WMBF in terms of the posing, and then CPA kind of changed with like the the Olympia and stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so now we're just strictly talking about men's physique here. So the so for the BCABA is very similar to the WMBF, and I think for the M and not the MPA, I'm not sure about the MPA, so I can't talk about that. But let's just talk about BCABA and the WMBF. So for men's physique, one hand on hip is mandatory. That's the criteria, yeah?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So no matter what pose, the side pose, the back pose, the front pose, one hand is mandatory on the hip.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, okay. And for CPA, for CPA shows, they follow a very similar rule as the Olympia. If you some of you may watch or any other NPC shows, uh, you get a lot of freedom with either your two hands on hip, like the Superman pose, you get the two hands on side, one hand on hip. That's going to be optional for for men's physique in in those shows. Now you've done both shows. Which do you find you like better?

SPEAKER_00

So I like the CPA like um back pose 100% so much better, just because it's a lot easier to get into and I can pop my rear delts so much better. Um, I find I have been getting better with the mobility with like my lat, my shoulder, and being able to get into a good position. Um, but it it still doesn't look quite as symmetrical as something of the CPA where you both your hands are off. Um, I I think just it just looks a little bit better too. Like there's some people that can hit the WMBF one-handed hip pose, back pose really well, but I think it's just that's not like most people. I'm sure over time, with most people, they can get that mobility and everything that and make it look symmetrical, but it's just yeah, it's just more work involved with it. And I I don't know. That's that's me anyway. What what is your perspective on it?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I I would agree, it's more work for sure, and it also makes the posing a lot much harder uh for in for athletes to execute. So if you've been practicing and if you've really worked around it for you to have one hand on hip and have uh and actually nail the symmetry around for the back pose, then it means that you've put in a bit of effort. So I agree with the philosophy of it. I can understand why they wanted to put it in there. I I think there's a lot more flexibility and a lot more room for you to highlight the taper, the VT. Yeah, the taper and you're not restricted by some by a hand on your hip just

Bikini Posing Changes And Trends

SPEAKER_02

to ruin the entire hard work that you've put in. I think a good advantage of some of the CPAs ones that there is not a there's as long as there's no bodybuilding poses in the men's physique category, then that I think that would suffice for the judge's panel to see what athletes are and what they're good at.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like they should have like a vote, like they should do like a big poll on it, and like who wants to keep a poll like on Instagram or like and be like, okay, who wants to keep the hand on hip back pose and who wants to uh have both hands on hip or like your choice? Um, I I get it from the perspective of keeping things the same so that like it's easier to judge because if one person has one hand on hip, one person doesn't, yeah. Sometimes it can maybe be a little bit more difficult to judge. Yeah, um, but like if if you just have both hands off hip, I'm sure pretty much most athletes would be like okay, like I actually prefer this better.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, like speaking of that, now it's different from Europe. Let's talk about bikini now because I've realized that there's a posing change within these five years for bikini in the WMBF. Their side pose used to be much different. They their side pose is their old side pose used to be a like one hand on hip, and then their their less dominant leg is in the front, and they are on their tiptoes. So that's the old side pose for um bikini. Now it's gonna be really challenging to find a picture of that now, but I if I can pull a picture out, I'll pull a picture out and show you on the screen. The newer version is basically the CPA front pose now for bikini, and their front pose is just a it's a it's a slightly different men's visier front pose. Yeah, so that's their front pose. Now, this is for WMBF Canada and all the North American front poses for bikini. Um, I've seen a lot more side poses change into the CPA front pose now, and I've seen there's a lot of female athletes who like it more, who like this side pose, and they like they like what how they look. It really shows the hourglass. So I can I can understand why the CPA's front pose bikini looks like this, and they only have the back pose. Even the back pose is too. They used to have the rules where um

Classic Physique: Asymmetry And Side Chest

SPEAKER_02

one hand is also mandatory on one hip for bikini for the back pose. Now they've completely changed it. Yeah, now basically their back pose is the same back pose as MPC.

SPEAKER_00

I I feel like everything's just slowly transitioning to be more like the CPA, which kind of makes sense, like because that's the most popularity, is that yeah, and like but like I I do see like because even with classic too, right? Like um WMAF is trying to make it different than than the CPA or the NPC, which like I get it. Like with the with the classic pose like the front with the asymmetric hand, with this asymmetric hand, right? Yeah, yeah. It's like at first when I was like getting people uh trying to help people with that, I was just having such a hard time. I'm starting to get better with teaching people how to do that one, but it's it's one of those poses where it's just it seems like it just involves uh more effort. I'm sure as it does develop and as there's more poaching coaches and stuff out there for it, um, it's gonna get better and better. But yeah, like I feel like last season for the WMBF that the classic poses were like I feel like a lot of people were really struggling with it. So it would be nice if they can maybe transition that one to like CPA as well, but I'm not sure. Like, what's your thoughts on that, man?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's a good point. Like, I would like they have a lot more freedom in some of the posings. However, I I do see the the problem is if they match the posing to uh NPC or CPA for classic physique, then they're basically hitting the same poses as bodybuildings. Then that defeats the purpose in having classic physique in the WMBF. So they have to make it slightly different and also include some classic physique. Uh, you know, back in the golden era, Arnold generation, the posings that were hit there, like the teacup, the mantis pose, things like that. Uh I can understand why. However, it is more challenging to pull off, and the only difference that probably individuals would probably see is just the trunks difference, not really that much different. Then why even bother have it?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and it's it's tricky for sure. But I I think the main reason why they brought it in because it was just so popular in the CPA, right? So trying to make sure that they can keep people in coming to like a WMBF Federation. So it's yeah, it's it's tricky, man.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And through these couple years with CBOM really leading the bodybuilding world, uh, just more people are more wanting to take part in classic physique. The numbers for bodybuilders has dropped down since last year. That's basically just for the individuals who are just like really big in genetics, and then they'll just do bodybuilding because they already have the structural frame for it, and then everybody else would just do classic physique and then after classic physique, pull on a pair of trunks and then do men's physique. So those two still today,

Workshops, Teaching Cues, And Footwork

SPEAKER_02

I think, remains the more popular um categories, and so is bikini. Bikinis has always been a very popular category. Uh, we usually have in WMBF, we usually have easily over over like 50 or 60 athletes for bikini. Uh this year we have just completed our WMBF Vancouver workshop. Not advertising, but we were just there. We did have uh a lot of new first-time competitors. Now I've got to meet some very gifted athletes uh who are going to be competing for their first time, and I'm very excited to see them. However, there was a total of I think it was 18 or 17 athletes that uh take took part in the workshop. 10 of them were bikini.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that makes sense, but that's like the ones in Edmonton here. I haven't went to one this year yet, but for last year, it's I would say the good majority has been bikini. Um, there were some though where there's a decent amount of bodybuilding and decent amount of men's physique. Um, it's interesting because it almost seems like when I was doing those workshops last year, like there was more bodybuilder and classic physique guys than actual men's physique guys, which it's usually almost the other way around where men's physique's been more popular. But it's cool to see yeah, classic physique starting to come up a bit more and um pulling more attention there.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Speaking of which, when is the are you gonna go to the uh Edmonton workshop or is it already over?

SPEAKER_00

Um, so there should be another one, I believe March, uh September March. I'd have to double check the date on that one. Are you gonna go? I'm gonna try to make sure I can get work off for that one to go check it out and help out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So you will be seeing Toby and Jackie there, yeah? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So Toby and Jackie are just the promoters for WMBF Edmonton. Now, if you do get a chance to hit there, see if they have the poster uh printed already. And if you can, like bring me one. For us, this year is a lot of a little bit special since we just won our WMBF Pro card last year. Our faces are going to be on the WMBF posters this year. So it's very rare to have your face on a poster in a public event. Uh so we just wanted to keep a copy for for at least for myself. I would like a copy of a poster so I can hang it behind me. If Kristen has it, I'm pretty sure you would want one. No?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll have to definitely pick one up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, because you you want one or what you got because you and Emma are also going to be on it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we'll probably we'll probably just get the one. I don't know. Or we'll we'll see. Maybe two.

Comp Plans, Size Goals, And Pro Paths

SPEAKER_02

I think she may be coming to um Vancouver for for for the Vancouver show. They usually come over to help. So if they're gonna come along, then I'll see if they have already printed, then I'll just grab one for them.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I I'm uh I'll likely be coming for Vancouver, the Vancouver show as well. So we'll see. I still gotta map that out too to make sure I'll be good for that. That's coming up pretty soon, right? What's what is the date for the Vancouver show?

SPEAKER_02

So it's going to be May. So for the Vancouver show, for all you listeners are going to be uh it's usually in the beginning of May. It's the first show of the spring. It's on May 2nd for this year in 2026. So May 3rd on the 2027, if you guys are going to be listening in. It's usually WMBF Canada's first show. Uh then for if we're now we're roughly about 12 to 11 weeks out from WMBS 2026 first show. Uh, we have quite a couple of people sign up already, and uh it's going to get more and more once the date actually closes. So it's gonna be a really exciting show. Same place, same MC, uh, same old me. And uh yeah, we're gonna be really excited to see all these athletes come in. Thanks to True North Sportsburg for sponsoring this video. Use Team Natx to get 15% off your order. We appreciate your support. Now back to the video. Now we're back. So back speak uh talking back uh to classic physique we were just talking about. The posing for classic physique, we have the asymmetrical uh for WMB, I have the asymmetrical front poses, and I think they have a different side pose too. Instead of um the side chest, yeah, they they want the two wrists to stick together for the side chest. I don't know what to think about that one. I've never tried it. Have you tried it?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it it looks really good for some people. I know for um who was it last year that did it really well? Like Travis's was pretty decent.

SPEAKER_02

Did you find like if for those athletes that you worked with that had to do the classic physique, like the two wrists together, did you find that there for some people, like in terms of structure-wise, would work better for them? Like people with longer arms or shorter arms, like did you find any stats on that?

SPEAKER_00

If you have like bigger arms um and like delta stuff, like it looks good because you can kind of find it. If your arms are a little bit smaller, sometimes you can see a bit more gapage. Um, but it's kind of hard. So I would say, yeah, if you have big arms, it generally looks pretty solid with that side pose. But if you have super long arms, I feel like it kind of there's just a little bit more gapage, and you have to like adjust how high you might have to actually bring your arms down a little bit more to kind of close that gap. Yeah, that one, I didn't find that one too bad to to help people out with. Um, the asymmetrical front pose, I find you actually have to angle yourself. So if you hit it straight along where your shoulders are completely forward, I find it doesn't look great. But if you kind of have it so like one or your body slightly rotated this way, um, I find it kind of flows a little bit better that way, and changing the foot positioning um definitely helps with it. Um I almost find that even like in the positioning where you're putting your feet for men's physique, almost doing something slightly similar to that, but spiking that right calf um with that front classic pose actually looks pretty good. Um, so I found that's been really helping with kind of getting more flow with it.

Judging Speed, Callouts, And Criteria

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and then uh through the workshop there was our previous uh our past WMBF Pro Classic Physique or Bodybuilder. Uh I think his name is Jorado something. I can't I can't read his last name, but he he just won his uh he came to WM, he came to Vancouver, he didn't win, and he went to Calgary and won his pro card there. He came to the workshop to help out with the posing. This guy biked over North Fence. Like damn. He biked over. But um he was showing some of the classic physique posing to the athletes that were there, and he also mentioned something very similar. It's like it's just better for you to just angle your hips. Uh he almost put a similar uh men's physique footing. Uh it's very similar, but not quite because more or less you have to flex the other quad while you're hitting that front pose. So it was it was interesting to watch him uh do his uh do his routine and demonstration. That was really, really cool. And I think now uh people are starting to get more used to it, people are practicing it. It was the first year last year, and uh this year is gonna be the second year. I believe there's gonna be a lot more changes, and people are gonna find a little bit more success in hitting those asymmetrical poses, uh, which I think is cool. Yeah, uh it's it's gonna be really exciting to see for uh the first spring athletes and how what their talents are gonna be like, and that's going to be, I hope it's going to be a really big show and competitive show too. But speaking of which, it seems like you were literally you were literally digging into all the posings for classic physique. Is that in your wheelhouse?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I've I've been getting better at uh help, like especially like the mandatory poses. I'm still, I feel like as a like helping with posing, like to do helping with routines, that's not really my strong suit. But like with setting up like foot positioning and like the angling and stuff for classic, I've been really developing more skills along that. So I feel pretty pretty confident with helping out with classic, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so is that your so you're gonna do any any classic physique shows?

SPEAKER_00

Like uh for me in the future? For you, yeah, for you. Yeah, um, yeah, I'll probably we'll see. We'll see. Probably a year or two from now, like not this year, but next year, maybe next year.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe, maybe next year.

SPEAKER_00

But uh you sure?

SPEAKER_02

Because uh Worlds is in Calgary this year.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know. I don't uh I like uh we've chatted about before. I I don't think I've had enough time to put on enough size to make any significant improvements. I could probably come in leaner, but like I don't think I could come in with a bit more size than I I think would be needed, especially if we're doing like the coward show. If I was gonna try to get a pro card there in classic, like I think I need a bit more size.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. It's going to be uh because Matthew just won his pro card in Calgary for classic physique, and then there was this other guy they gave out two pro cards. So this year is gonna be also uh a little bit exciting, just outside the topic of posing. Now, the WMBF have changed their rules for giving out pro cards. I'm not gonna go into all the detail on what is it, but then uh if you guys want to know, go check out their Instagram page. They made a post on uh how to get your pro card and um

Stage Time: Fast CPA Vs Longer WMBF

SPEAKER_02

what is the criteria to actually go to Calgary now. Now, Calgary is gonna be a I think it's called a quote unquote national show now. And then the other the other shows are going to be pro qualifiers, and then if we have like 140 athletes in one show, that's going to be a super pro qualifier. Means that there's gonna be more pro cards handed out. So you guys can go check that out. And um, so I just want to guys let you guys know the rules have changed for WMBF uh Canada this year. It's going to be a little bit more challenging to uh get your pro card, but posing is gonna be part of that, so you better hit your poses right. And we really recommend you practice your posing. And we've talked about this in some of the workshops, and every single volunteer, like guest poser who's came, they all said the same thing. Female and male, they both said the same thing. You really gotta practice and hold though those poses in WMVF Canada. They have you hold those poses for quite a longer period of time and make you do a lot of quarter turns. Now, for the CPA, it's just the front and back, which I think it's so cool. There was a workshop, there was a seminar that I went to, a local seminar. I think there was this guy called Serge. He's one of the head judges in some of the NPC shows. He made a speech uh about the upcoming uh CPA shows, and I got an opportunity to ask him privately uh on the judging criteria because a lot of the CPA shows, like in Van City, the one of the bigger, bigger national uh national shows in Vancouver, is they have easily over 200 athletes that take part. I asked them, you guys have a judging panel of seven people. How do you and you have to judge over 300 people? How do you guys determine to pick your top 10? And of course, his um the the standard answer is oh, it's experience, and but I asked him, like, how do you manage

Coaching Bikini, Category Popularity

SPEAKER_02

to pick according to the quote unquote criteria? It's like, yeah, it's come it comes with experience, but then he'll he'll take a good look at you the moment you step on stage. Because the moment you step on stage until you get off the stage, it's about five to ten seconds, and that's it. You only get to show your front and your back, and that's it, until the comparison round comes in. The comparison round, they have 10 to 12 people lined up, let's say men's physique. They have 10 to 15 people lined up in one class, and then they'll do a front and a back, front and a back, and then that's it. Probably three to four times, front and a back, and then the second the second 15 people come out. So it's a very, very fast pace, and they somehow get to pick their top five, and the so they're what they call quote unquote first call out.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So I think that's uh that's a really efficient way, I would say, to pick your athletes and to pick your elite athletes in from in within the crowd. I still don't know how he does it, but it just comes, I guess, yeah, he's right. It comes with experience when you can just identify that particular one athlete who meets who meets the and all the criteria of what a men's physique or what a classic physique or what a bodybuilder should have. And then your second and third place will just be based upon that one athlete and the lineup.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, like it's I feel like those athletes to that, like especially the clear winter ones, they just pop on stage, and you can almost immediately tell when you're looking through all the guys. But when yeah, when you have people say, like at the world stage or at nationalist, that's where it takes some real skill to really kind of look at the smaller parts. But I think like with like some judges too, like some people, especially at the high level, look what people don't have rather than all the things they do have. Because like at that point, there's only minute things here or there that people don't have. Um, so it's almost easier to view it from that standpoint. Whereas I feel like with amateur shows, it's almost better to look with like, yeah, obviously you want the full balance of it, but if the more strong points is it's gonna usually be better, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I I agree because it's much more exciting to watch the pro show where everybody has the most basic thing, condition masks, and everything like that. It's much more exciting to watch. And the judges hard, like their hard job is to pick out what they're lacking. Yeah, that's that's gonna be the difficult part. I I don't know. It's just for me, it's just more fun to watch. Watching the 2023 show in person down at Seattle. That was a really that was an exciting moment, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's one thing too with CPA. Um, it's nice that it's quick, but sometimes it can make the show be like, what? The show's already over, like it feels like you didn't really have that much time on stage. We're the WMBF, though it is more challenging because you're like posing longer, they're running you through quarter turns quite a bit more. You do get to spend a bit more time on stage, which which is nice, especially when you do so much effort into

Genetics, Structure, And Look

SPEAKER_00

prep, if you're prepping 20, 25 weeks or something for a show to make sure you have that time on stage. So it's I feel like this is good, there's a good side and a bad side of both those ones. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I agree. Did we no, we didn't take we didn't cover all the poses because I can't speak for wellness because um I don't know much about the posing for wellness and figure, so I can't really speak to that, can you? No, no, so I can speak for bikini. I've uh I've had one, I've won uh bikini come out and um taken her from ground zero. So that project was very, very fun for me, and uh it's very exciting. You know, I really like it's hard. Like, definitely don't get me wrong for all the coaches out there who listen to this, or even some of the athletes who listen to this. Prepping females is hard, but it's really fun. I've really enjoyed that experience. And if I have the opportunity again, I'll definitely do it. Men's physics, of course, are going to be definitely one of our powerhouses, it's where where we thrive the most, and that's also the it's also the category that um we did well in. Yeah, but I don't know. I may I may or may not think about classic physics just moving up the ladder because you gotta do it, you gotta do it. Oh man, I have no legs.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like you play around posing too, because that's one thing with like bodybuilding too. If you you can work around with like the posing, you can make your legs appear a little bit bigger. Um, but yeah, like I don't know, just next off season.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Yeah, because I'm uh my age is also getting up there, so holding muscle mass isn't going to be easy for me. So we'll see. We'll look at because Eric Helm, how old is Eric Helm? He's like a year or two years older than I am, so he's like up in the 41 or 42.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Is he how many k kg did he did his stage weight go up in those couple years? Like I feel like up in the he's like up in the 70s or 80 kilos. Yeah, because he's taller. I think because he from his last um time you compete to like this just recent time, I think he was up like two or three kg or not, was it two? I don't know. It was he was up actually quite a bit of weight. Like he gained it like I think four pounds of muscle or something within that time frame. So, like, and like if he's like this, yeah, around the same age as you, like there's proof right there that you can yeah, but he's white, dude. Of course he can pack on the knee. You'll you'll get there, man.

SPEAKER_02

You'll get there. Maybe I should cut that out.

SPEAKER_00

That was funny.

SPEAKER_02

But yeah, so that yeah, also genetics is gonna take part of the role. Even for I think some poses actually look better for white people compared to Asian. I think there's just some poses that hit better.

SPEAKER_00

Man, there's some dense look in Asian Asian dudes too, like Don Land, like for man's physique. Do you know I know Don Lamb, yeah. Doe Dennis, right? Yeah, so I

Peptides, Naturals, And Future Rules

SPEAKER_00

feel like it's just just time, man.

SPEAKER_02

But you know, Don Land, yeah, for being I don't know what kind of Asian he is, but then Don Land, but he's got he's got the rare genetic for an Asian where his waist isn't actually that long.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So he keep when he pulls that Superman pose out, it actually looks good on him.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So you know, kudos to him. And then some of those really crazy Chinese uh IFBB pros that we see on Instagram, and those there's actually one, I don't know if his name, but he's just way too big for Ben's physique. But then somehow, of course, he's a pro, but he's just huge. He could basically stand in the trunks for and do classic physique, and he'll just do just as well. But yeah, he's got one of those rare, not really a short hip, but a very narrow waist and very shorter torso. And his arms and limbs are actually aren't that long, but he's actually not sh- I don't know, he's probably like my height, or maybe even a little bit shorter. So the entire package actually looks really good. Yeah, so genetics are actually getting getting better for for Asians, just not me. And then uh, but it's gonna be really exciting to see.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's gonna be a weird time, man. Well, like uh with uh I actually went on another podcast like uh last Sunday with Cash, and he he was talking about um like peptides, like there's so many new peptides and stuff coming out that through he was like having a chat with me about like, oh, do you think like the national federations are ever gonna allow them or what? And I'm like, and like I don't think so. Like that's that seems like it's something that's gonna enhance your physique, right? If there's any like extreme benefits to gain from them, it's it's not really natural anymore. So uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I can't speak for other federations, but at least for WMBF, any satellite retro tides or any osempic, any sort of peptides is very likely banned, even they're prescribed.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's gonna be tough in the future because there's probably gonna be say 10 years from now, there's probably gonna be a pill where you can take where you can just build monster without even working out, right? Probably. Like I'm up for that. So it's it's gonna be a weird with like no side effects and stuff like that, right? Like so it's yeah, no, that's gonna be a weird time.

SPEAKER_02

But uh, anything else you wanted to add to today's episode?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, like I would say the main thing

Posing Practice Without Mirrors

SPEAKER_00

is just for posing, make sure you're starting like as soon as prep starts, or even in your off-season. I know for me personally, off season is where I tend to slack quite a bit with the posing, and I know I gotta stay on top of it a bit more, but like just yeah, make sure when you start prep, you're starting your posing right away. It's gonna take more time than you think. It always looks a lot easier to do than when you actually do it. And when you start actually doing it, you'll be like, oh, okay, like I this does need a lot of work, or oh, I I do need to be able to increase my conditioning to allow me to hold those poses longer. So there's there's more to it than you often think. So just yeah, make sure you're getting on top of it earlier than later.

SPEAKER_02

I agree. And also one bigger point I wanted to bring out is when you practice posing, try not to look in the mirror.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. The the mirror, I would say, at first can be a useful tool, but you don't want to just rely on it because when you're on stage, there is no mirror, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So it's you're gonna know what you feel that what you look like without without a mirror.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and just understanding like the sensations when you're posing, like you should kind of like practice with the mirror bit, then practice without. I like actually having my camera set up so when I'm practicing without, I can still review what I was looking like and get some feedback and change it and then go back and do it again. Um, so I find those are those are definitely key.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, very good pointers. Uh so I hope you guys took uh took a good advice from today's podcast or today's episode or whatever you want to call it. If you guys do need help with posing, definitely speak to one of us. We have our application link or consult link in our

How To Get Help And Next Steps

SPEAKER_02

bios. So please feel free to uh click on that and fill out your information. We'll reach out, or just simply more slightly, just slightly into a DMs and uh just ask us directly. We're more than happy to help. So uh we do a variety of uh posing. Brandon can definitely help with men physique, classic physique as he's talked about, bodybuilding, definitely in his wheelhouse. And then for me, men physique I can do with uh I can help with uh bikini uh figure. I just know here bits in here and there. So we can discuss that if you guys like. But thank you, Gayensker, for listening. Remember to, if you like our content, of course, please subscribe, like, and share to all your friends. Tell them all about our channel. We really appreciate the support. And if so, thank you again. We'll see you guys next time.