Men's Bodybuilding poses

Also called: front double bi, FDB

1. Set your feet just inside shoulder width with one leg slightly forward, and turn the front foot out a few degrees so the quad sweep faces the judges.
2. Raise both arms to just above shoulder height and rotate your fists inward until the biceps peak points at the ceiling rather than at the side wall.
3. Flare the lats wide before you contract the arms — width is set first, and an arm contraction pulls the lats in if you lead with it.
4. Pull air out rather than in: exhale to hollow the waist, then hold the abdominal wall tight while the upper body stays flared.
5. Press both quads into the floor and squeeze the calf of the forward leg, so the lower body is not idle while the judges read the upper.

Also called: front lats

1. Plant your thumbs into the crease of the obliques just above the hip bone and drive the elbows forward, not out to the sides.
2. Push the lats out and down toward the floor rather than up toward your ears — the shape wanted is a cone, not a shrug.
3. Keep the shoulders pulled down as the lats open, so the traps do not swallow the neckline.
4. Hold the chest up and the ribcage still while you spread; a chest that collapses takes the width with it.
5. Squeeze the quads and turn the front foot out so the lower body reads as part of the pose.

Also called: side pec

1. Turn to your stronger side and place the near foot on its toe, heel raised, so the calf is already loaded before the pose begins.
2. Grip the near wrist with the far hand and pull across your body while pressing the near arm back into that pull.
3. Lift the ribcage and rotate the near shoulder slightly toward the judges to bring the pec across rather than flattening it.
4. Drive the raised heel down against the floor to hold the hamstring and calf tight through the hold.
5. Keep the far shoulder low and the waist turned away, so the torso reads narrow through the middle.

Also called: rear double bi, BDB

1. Step one foot back onto its toe and keep the weight over the front leg, so the rear hamstring and calf stay loaded.
2. Raise the arms to shoulder height and contract, then pull the elbows back a few degrees to open the upper back behind them.
3. Pull the shoulder blades together and down at the same time — together alone lifts the traps and buries the detail.
4. Tilt the pelvis slightly forward to sharpen the lower-back arch without letting the ribcage lift with it.
5. Hold the head still and square; a turned head shortens one side of the back and the judges see it.

Also called: rear lats

1. Set the hands on the waist with thumbs forward and fingers back, then push out through the elbows to open the back.
2. Spread from the bottom of the lats upward, so the widest point sits below the armpit rather than at the shoulder.
3. Keep the traps relaxed and the neck long while the lats do the work.
4. Bring one leg back onto its toe and press down to hold the calf, so the pose does not stop at the waist.
5. Breathe out into the spread rather than in — a full chest narrows the back from the front and does nothing behind.

Also called: side tri

1. Turn side-on, reach the far hand behind your back, and take hold of the near wrist or fingers.
2. Straighten the near arm hard against that grip and rotate the elbow slightly back so all three heads face the judges.
3. Press the near foot onto its toe and lock the calf before you settle into the hold.
4. Lift the chest and pull the near shoulder back, so the arm reads long instead of collapsing into the torso.
5. Hollow the waist on the exhale and keep the abdominal wall braced through the count.

Also called: abs and thighs

1. Bring both hands behind the head and take one leg forward with the heel planted and the toe lifted.
2. Crunch down into the abdominal wall on a hard exhale rather than holding a full breath.
3. Extend the front knee to lock the quad, and let the judges see the separation before you move.
4. Keep the elbows wide and level; dropping one shortens that side of the torso.
5. Hold the ribcage down through the crunch so the waist stays tight rather than blocky.

Also called: crab, most muscular of choice

1. Choose one version and rehearse only that one — a crab, a hands-on-hips, or a hands-clasped — so the shape is the same every time you are called.
2. Drop into it from a settled stance rather than lunging; the judges are reading density, and a scramble costs the first second of the hold.
3. Round the upper back forward and pull the shoulders toward each other to bring the traps and rear delts up.
4. Drive the hands together or into the hips hard enough that the forearms and chest fire at once.
5. Keep the knees soft and the quads switched on, so the pose does not stop at the ribcage.