First Posing Session

I had my first posing practice with Aaron last night and it was a definite success! We did body composition for the second time. I'm down 3% body fat and 6.5 pounds in the last 4 weeks. Very happy with those results! When I first walked into the posing room, I didn't really know what to expect. Let's just say that I'm not a huge fan of looking at myself in the mirror. It's so awkward. And flexing is a whole new ball game for me. For those of you who know me, you know that I'm bashful when it comes to this. I won't flex for ANYONE. Just one more reason why this show is going to be a HUGE challenge for me. I felt like a big fool at first, but I started to get it slowly, but surely. There are a lot of little things to think about when it comes to each pose. And who would have known holding a pose would be so exhausting! I could tell that my back was tight when I started to cramp up a little while doing my lat spread pose (which is really HARD by the way). This showed me that it's definitely going to take some practice before I'm able to hold these poses comfortably for the amount of time that I need to.

We went over 6 different poses.  It felt like 60. I took notes and tried to remember as much as I possibly could. Tonight will be my first practice session on my own. I'm excited! I hope I remember all the details we talked about yesterday. I know it will just take time. I'll get it! Aaron took pictures of me in each pose so I would have something to refer back to if I get stuck. He also wrote down a few notes for me.

It was definitely a lot of information to take in; and there is a lot more that will be thrown at me in the next few weeks, but I'm definitely excited. The challenge of learning and perfecting these movements is calling my name. I have 14 weeks to prepare, which makes me feel a lot better. Starting early with the poses is extremely important because as a competitor, if you don't have them down, you're score in the show will be docked and you won't do well. Like I said, it's extremely exhausting to hold these poses and if you don't condition yourself to do so, you'll find yourself going flat during your time on the stage. When this happens the judges are no longer able to see your muscles pop in the way that they need to in order to give you a high score.

Pose: Back Double Bicep

One thing that I can see being a challenge are the vacuums that I'll have to maintain during certain poses. Holding air in your chest while flexing AND breathing is harder than it sounds. Holy crap. I've known from the beginning that I'm going to have to work my ass off for this, but yesterday put this whole posing thing into perspective. I have my work cut out for me! It's not just flexing in front of a mirror. It is an art. There is a specific technique behind it. I can honestly say that I have a new admiration and respect for all competitors who have mastered the art of posing because it is NOT easy! My next session is March 7th and I'm already looking forward to it. My goal for that session is to be able to run through all 6 poses we went through yesterday with little to no corrections from Aaron :) Wish me luck!

Until Next time (which hopefully won't be as long as it was last time)

:)