1. Front Double Biceps Pose

Stand facing forward (toward the judges) with heels almost touching, toes pointed slightly out and knees slight bend. Expand the chest up and spread out your lats. Then, have your arms out to the sides flexing both biceps with the thumbs tucked in a tight fist.

2. Front Lat Spread Pose

Leg stance is the same as in the Front Double Biceps pose. Put your hands into your sides with the thumb and fingers placed into each side of the pelvic bone and flared out elbows, keep the chest up and spread out the lats. The anterior delts should be a little forward. Keep the triceps flexed to show more depth and hardness in the arms.

3. Side Chest Pose

Take a quarter turn to the side, so judges can see your profile. Bend your knees slightly and flex the calf closest to the judges (by raising the heel from the ground). The toes of that calf should be right in the middle of the back foot. Put the front arm to your side with your elbow at a 90 degree angle and then bring the back arm across the front of the torso to grab the front hand (or wrist). Keep the chest raised and flexed.

4. Side Triceps Pose

Basic position is the same as in the Side Chest pose, except that the forward arm is now flexed straight down showing off the triceps (which is squeezed against the lat) while the back arm is stretched across the lower back to grab the forward hand (or wrist).

5. Rear Double Biceps Pose

Stand facing the rear of the stage, bring one leg a half step back and flex that calf. Put both arms out to the sides with biceps flexed. Make sure to squeeze all of your back muscles, posterior delts, hamstrings, calves and glutes, while keeping your chest up. A variation consists of extending the arms straight up in the air instead of putting them out to the sides.

6. Rear Lat Spread Pose

Basic position is the same as in the Rear Double Biceps pose, but now the arms are placed into your sides (above the pelvic bone), the elbows are pulled out and the lats are flared outward while keeping the chest up, trying to show your back as width as possible. A tip is bringing first the arms back closely to each side until the upper back is extremely tight and then placing the arms into the sides and spreading the lats out.

7. Abdominal and Thigh Pose

Stand facing forward, extend one leg in front of the other while flexing it and put both arms up over your head. Then flex your abdominal and oblique muscles. Optionally, you can bend or turn to the side to show off your oblique muscles more.

8. Most Muscular Pose

This pose has some variations. For the first one, stand facing forward, put one leg in front of the other flexing both of them and bend your upper torso slightly over your legs. Then bring your arms together in front of your body with your elbows angled out, hold in your stomach, and flex every muscle in the front part of the body. Another variation includes placing the hands on the hip area with the thumbs forward and fingers pointed down or back. Finally, another variation includes keeping both legs together and flexed and bringing your arms together in front of you with hands touching. In all cases, try to keep the pose very tight and compact.

Additional details of these mandatory poses (including explicative pictures and videos) can be found in the article “Pointers to Posing” by Scott Duncan, in the article “Posing: Video & Text Guides” by Mark Tilden, and in the “Posing Advice” section from Bodybuilding.com site.

The participants in a bodybuilding contest are evaluated by a panel of judges, which includes one head judge and a number of regular judges. All judges’ scores are weighted equally, yet the head judge, which is usually the most qualified and experienced person on the judging panel, is also responsible of driving the prejudging, by calling out the different poses and changes of position. In addition, he can consider additional comparisons or poses resulting from requests of the regular judges.

Typically, contests are evaluated by nine judges (one head and eight regular). Each judge provides a list per weight class ranking each competitor. This list orders the competitors according to the judge’s feeling on the position the competitor should place. The competitor’s position in the list determines a number of points that he receives. For instance, a competitor placed in the second position obtains two points from that judge. Following this procedure, at the end each competitor obtains a series including his scores from all the judges. For instance, a participant may obtain a series like the following: 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 2 (assuming 9 judges). According to this, a perfect score in bodybuilding is to receive all 1’s.

At this point, each competitor must throw out his two higher and two lower scores in order to obtain a more unbiased score. For instance, in the previous example, two 3’s and two 1’s will be thrown out, resulting in the following series for that competitor: 1, 2, 2, 2, 2. By adding up these values, the final score for that participant is obtained. In the example, this final score will be 9. This process is repeated for all the competitors, and the one with the lowest score wins.

Sometimes, contest can be evaluated by seven or five judges. In the former case, only one high and low score can be thrown out for each competitor. If only five judges are present, then their five scores must be used (no scores can be thrown out).

In order to score the different competitors, the judges evaluate different criteria that contribute to the overall quality of the competitors’ muscular development. These criteria include Mass, Definition, Proportion, Symmetry, and Stage Presence, being all of them equally important. Mass refers to the perception of muscular size. Definition indicates the degree of muscularity brought about by the absence of subcutaneous body fat. Defined muscularity is necessary to fully display the development of the physique. Proportion implies an even balance of muscular development in comparison to each muscle group. Theoretically, having a ‘stronger’ body-part can be just as detrimental as a having a ‘weaker’ body-part. Bodybuilders must strive for equal development between all muscle groups. Symmetry denotes equal development of muscularity on both right and left sides of the physique. There is a common misconception with this term, which is often used to refer Proportion. Finally, Stage Presence includes posing performance and other factors influencing general appearance such as skin tone, grooming, charisma, and poise. Effective stage presentation is essential to display the physique to its maximum potential.

Further details about judging procedure can be found in the “Judging Criteria” section of ExRx.net site and in the article “Bodybuilding Competition FAQ” by Steve Kidwell.

A bodybuilding contest is typically structured in two different phases, namely the prejudging and the evening show. In the prejudging phase, the competitors are evaluated in three rounds. Each round is used to evaluate specific competences in the participants. These rounds are described below, though they do not always occur in this specific order.

The first round of the prejudging is the Symmetry Round. In this round, proportion and symmetry are closely evaluated, focusing on the relationships between the muscle groups. The more evenly developed the competitor is, the higher he will be placed. There is no direct flexing in this round. Instead of this, competitors stay in the Standing Relaxed position. This position consists of standing with heels together, toes pointing out at a 45-degree angle, and lats semi-flared. While standing in this position, the competitors are viewed from the front, both sides, and the rear. Despite being a “relaxed” position, it is in reality semi-flexed, since every muscle should be tight on stage.

The second round of the prejudging is the Muscularity Round (also known as Comparison Round). This is where the real flexing begins. In this round, mass and definition are closely evaluated, by comparing the level of muscular development and definition each competitor has acquired in relation to the other competitors. The comparison is driven by a series of General Mandatory Poses, though the judges can additionally request other poses (a.k.a. Optional Mandatory Poses). General Mandatory Poses include Front Double Biceps, Front Lat Spread, Side Chest, Side Triceps, Rear Double Biceps, Rear Lat Spread, Abdominal & Tight, and Most Muscular poses. I will describe in detail these poses in a later post. Examples of Optional Mandatory poses are Front Victory, Rear Victory, Serratus Intercostals Twisted Crunch, Flexing Calves from the Rear, Flex Thigh and Twist and Rotate, Crab Most Muscular, Hands on Hips Most Muscular, Hands Behind Back Most Muscular, and Flex Hamstrings.

The final round of the prejudging is the Free Posing Round, where competitors are allowed to freely express their muscularity by going through their individual poses routines. Depending on the organizing association, this round can be accompanied by music or not. All components including stage presentation are evaluated during this round, providing an overall impression of the competitor.

The evening show allows the competitors to show the audience what competitive bodybuilding is all about, by free posing with music of their choice. Notice that after the prejudging phase, all participants have already been placed except for the overall winners from each weight class. The winners from each weight class and the overall winner are decided in the evening show after the posedown.

You can find further information about bodybuilding contest structure in the “Competition” section of ExRx.net site and in the article “Bodybuilding Competition FAQ” by Steve Kidwell.