Bill Dobbins BILLDOB@aol.com

In NPC shows, free-posing is relatively unimportant as far as competition is concerned. Each competitor comes out and does a brief posing routine, without music, during pre-judging. But it is the comparison posing that decides the contest. By the evening show, when posing is done to music, the competition has already been decided.

For amateur competitors, working on the mandatory poses should be a priority. It is amazing to see the number of bodybuilders who have obviously trained and dieted hard for a show but who have little idea how to do the basic poses.

Of course, having a terrific posing routine is very valuable to anyone planning a career in bodybuilding. But I frequently see amateurs preparing for competition by practicing their own posing routines endlessly at the expense of being able to properly execute the mandatories.

In IFBB contests, the situation is very different. Both mandatories and free-posing are very important. In NPC contests, the top five or so are brought out in pre-judging, do a few comparisons, and that's that. In IFBB contests, the competitors are frequently called out again and again over a 30 or 40 minute period. When this happens, not only do you need to be able to do the mandatories properly, you have to be able to do them over and over without tiring or getting cramped.

However, many IFBB competitions have been decided by free-posing or by the final pose-down. One reason is the multi-round scoring system used by the IFBB. Frequently judges will use the later rounds as a means of making adjustments when they feel they have a certain competitor scored too high or too low. At the Ms. Olympia in Los Angeles, with Lenda Murray and Bev Francis neck-and-neck, and the Olympia two years ago with Lenda finishing just ahead of Laura Creavalle, the free-posing round was decisive in determining the outcome.

But when it comes to NPC shows, my advice is to practice the basic poses as much as possible. And not just the so-called mandatories. NPC judges can ask you for any pose they want, such as "your best leg shot" or "your best back shot." So even though there is no mandatory lat spread (for reasons explained in an earlier communication), learn to do it anyway.

And, by the way, this is something especially important for women: Practice posing from the shoulders down only. Concentrate on keeping your neck and face muscles relaxed. Bodybuilding is not a beauty contest, but looking attractive, relaxed and confident on stage is always an advantage in a sport in which aesthetics is so important.

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