Classic Physique poses

Also called: front double bi, FDB

1. Stand tall through the spine first — this division is scored on line, and height through the torso is the frame everything else hangs on.
2. Bring the arms only to shoulder height, not above, so the shoulder-to-waist taper stays the widest thing in the picture.
3. Vacuum the waist on the exhale and hold it: the small midsection is what separates this from an open bodybuilding pose.
4. Keep the front leg turned out and the knee locked so the thigh reads as a clean sweep rather than a mass.
5. Let the lats open only as far as the taper stays graceful; over-flaring here reads as the wrong division.

Also called: side pec

1. Set a deliberate S-curve through the body — chest lifted, waist drawn in, hip turned slightly away — before you contract anything.
2. Take the near arm to a right angle and press it back into the far hand without letting the shoulder roll forward.
3. Raise the near heel and point the toe to lengthen the calf, so the leg line finishes rather than stops.
4. Turn the hips further from the judges than in an open pose, which narrows the waist and lengthens the whole side.
5. Breathe the ribcage up and the stomach in on the same breath, holding both for the full count.

Also called: rear double bi, BDB

1. Place the rear foot on its toe and put the weight through the front leg so the hamstring line stays long, not bunched.
2. Contract the arms at shoulder height and stop there, keeping the silhouette square rather than sprawling.
3. Draw the shoulder blades down before you draw them together, which keeps the neck long and the V clean.
4. Pull the waist in hard on the exhale — the back looks widest when the midsection under it is smallest.
5. Keep the head level and the chin off the chest so the line runs unbroken from heel to crown.

Also called: abs and thighs

1. Take the hands behind the head with the elbows wide but relaxed, framing the torso rather than crowding it.
2. Exhale fully and draw the navel toward the spine before you crunch, so the vacuum sets the shape first.
3. Extend the front leg and lock the knee, letting the quad separate under a still hip rather than a driven one.
4. Crunch only as far as the waist stays narrow; folding hard thickens the midsection this division is scored on.
5. Hold the shoulders down and back through the count so the chest stays open above the tight waist.

Also called: classic pose of choice

1. Pick a pose that shows your best line rather than your most tissue, and rehearse only that one so it lands identically every time.
2. Rule out anything that reads as a most muscular — both rule books that call this pose bar one explicitly.
3. Choose a shape you can hold still for a full count without shaking; a wobble undoes whatever the pose was showing.
4. Set the waist and the stance before the arms, so the pose is built on the taper rather than added to it.
5. Practise entering it from the pose called immediately before, so the transition is part of what you have rehearsed.