Women's Physique Posing Routine

On May, 11, 2013, I will be competing in my first Women’s Physique competition.  As you are aware, if you have been reading my blog, I am not new to competitions at all, but this division is new to the world of Bodybuilding and new to me.

The physical criteria is different between all the divisions, although to the untrained eye, many can look quite similar. The main difference for me was the posing.  In Figure there are “quarter turns” and then “model poses”, I had those down, and they were easy. Physique requires similar “quarter turns” although these are performed with every part of your body flexed (unlike Figure) and are slightly more exaggerated to showcase the added muscle the competitors have. In addition, there are “bodybuilding mandatory poses” that differ in that the hands are left open and not clenched into fists, so the end result is a much more fluid and feminine look. The competitor must have one foot in the “toes pointed, heel off the ground” position in each of these poses. Again, this creates a softer look when comparing it to a Bodybuilder.

Last, Physique requires a “Posing routine” set to custom mixed music that each competitor will select, and create.

Many of the women who moved into this new division came from Bodybuilding backgrounds, so they have an advantage in that they already knew the mandatory poses and had performed a posing routine at the evening finals before.

I first wanted to move to Physique because I tended to carry more muscle than Figure competitors, and did not like the new “softer” (higher bodyfat) look that the division moved to. I like to be very lean and I feel I look best leaner than most people like to be.

My last competition was May of 2012, I decided to take a year off so my family could enjoy a summer without me being on a strict diet, and so I could concentrate on adding some additional muscle to my frame. The adding muscle part proved to be harder than I had imagined. A natural athlete cannot add as much muscle mass as one who takes androgenic drugs, but my decision is to remain natural, so I shall always be a bit behind the curve in that department, and I am perfectly happy that way.

I quickly realized that proper posing was a vital component to learn and started posing with Kristy Enos every other week. We concentrated only on the posing, not the routine. She was a fantastic teacher and I would not be where I am today without her.

The mandatory poses are what the competitors are judged on, the posing routine is not what will decide the placement, and it’s more of a treat for the audience to see the beautiful bodies move to music. So I didn’t worry too much about the routine at the start.

Once I had the posing down, and was no longer working with Kristy, I launched into it. I quickly learned this was not something I could do on my own. Why? I am a great dancer, I love dancing, why couldn’t I do it on my own?

Because it’s basically bodybuilding poses set to music. I just learned the darn poses; they aren’t second nature to me like dancing to music I love, moving my body the way it feels good. The routine had to be purposeful, choreographed and show the muscle groups that I have worked hard to build.

I knew it didn’t matter to the judges what I did, or how I looked, but I think it comes down to personal ethics. I want to do my best, even if it doesn’t count. It’s what you do when no one is looking that proves the kind of person you are, do you help someone and perhaps don’t take credit? Do you do a kind deed without thought of repayment?  Or do you only do what needs to be done just to ensure you get ahead in life?

I decided I needed to hire a professional, someone who could choreograph a routine for me, someone who had a lot of experience.  I had some fairly specific criteria: 1) They had to have been in Bodybuilding a long time (experience); 2) They had to actually offer this as a regular business, I didn’t just want some competitor to throw something together and say they choreographed a routine for me; 3) I had to like their personality.

#3 is interesting, how would I determine that? Well I like a fun loving, energetic and positive person. I can tell from Facebook and pictures what kind of person they are. A whiner or a Prima Donna? I have no room in my life for that.

I found my gal and I contacted her.

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Michelle Brent

Michelle has been a bodybuilder for 20 years.  She certainly fits #1! And I saw her deliver other routines, she fit #2. And #3? Well if she still lived on the West Coast we would tear up the town together! (She is from Monterey, California)

Michelle and I connected on Facebook and we chatted a bit. I explained that I was a newbie so I needed something basic. I also expressed that music was important to me, I didn’t like all the painfully slow songs that so many competitors used.  She said she could design a routine that would be suitable for a less experienced competitor like me.

I finally found some music I thought might work, something that made me want to move yet could possibly work with bodybuilding poses and I sent it to Michelle for her advice. She liked it and said go for it!  She then recommended a fellow who could mix the music, JSinn of Masterminds Productions and once he finished my music, she would choreograph my routine.

All of this requires a lot of trust. I am a very trusting person. I will always trust you until you give me a reason not to, I have rarely been disappointed.

I paid Michelle’s fee through her PayPal account for her other business Michelle’s Magic Morsels (I haven’t had the pleasure of trying these yet, but they are cookies made with whey protein and egg whites!);  and a couple weeks later she then emailed  a video of herself performing the routine. 

David saw it and remarked “Damn she looks like she is having fun!” and she does, that’s what makes it all so special. It’s about the enjoyment of it all, the experience. She said I could contact her with any questions, gave me some tips and encouragement and then rest was up to me.

She and I chat once in a while; she checks in and asks how I am doing. I go to the gym and practice every Friday afternoon after training, and on Saturday and Sunday for about 45 minutes to an hour.  I get a lot of smiles, and questions, men walk by and waive or give me a thumbs up, people stand at the door and watch.  They are very curious as it’s not every day you see something like this, Bodybuilding for women is becoming a dying art, and Physique is in its infancy, so there are not too many of us! It’s important to feel comfortable performing in front of strangers so doing this with an audience is a plus no matter how uncomfortable it may seem at first.

I have changed a couple things; just slight placement of my hands or arm movements, the beauty of this is it changes according to each person’s personality.

You can hear my music that JSinn mixed, it is the pink triangle on the right side of the main blog page, under the woman snapping the whip, (it has a watermark sound to protect the mix). I cannot show you the routine as I haven't performed it yet! You have to wait for the competition.

Could I have done this without spending the money on a routine? Probably. Would I have felt comfortable and excited about it? No. I am glad I did it, I feel great heading into this! As you can see by these pictures, taken 8 weeks out, my physique is on point, I look good. My posing is fine, I know the required moves. It's now just more practice on the routine and I have plenty of time.

I am having fun! 

A lot of it this time around. I think I have the diet down so it's not rough for me, (I am sure I will go through my small meltdowns here and there though); I no longer have those painful 5 inch heels required for Figure (I sent them to my friend Sakura); I love how my physique has changed, it looks different, more muscular and healthy; I get to train as hard and lift as heavy as I want; and I am enjoying my posing and dancing!

Remember: Girls Just Want To Have Fun?

One word of advice is that you should not wait till the last few weeks. I started posing with Kristy about 9 months before my competition, and I got my routine 4 months ahead. Give yourself time, stress causes your body to produce cortisol!

Contact Michelle if you are interested. You can reach her via Facebook or email her at michellesmagicmorsels@yahoo.com                                              

Women's Physique Posing Routine Music

I have finally selected music for my posing routine! It's been a very difficult decision, and the funny thing is, whatever I do really has no bearing on my score or placement really! The routine is simply entertainment for the audience, thanking them for sitting through the long and (sometimes) very boring day or evening of judging.

These pictures were taken 16 weeks out from my next competition, I have just stated cardio and...a modified diet. I don't have a lot to lose!

The routine is part of the excitement of Women's Physique for me though. I love to dance, I love to move, and just being able to do my own thing, instead of "quarter turn to the right" over and over will be fun and rewarding.

I have competed exclusively in Figure, its where I belonged when I started, in fact, the division of  Physique did not exist when I started and Bikini began my first year competing, in fact, at my first competition was a woman competing in Bikini who went on to become the very first Bikini pro! She looked great and really seemed to set the bar, but Bikini got softer and softer. I never would compete in Bikini, it's not for me. I don't have the physique nor am I comfortable with the posing (and I have friends who compete in Bikini, so I will end my comments here).

As Bikini expanded, the look for Figure changed, it became "softer" and I liked looking "harder". I also grew and developed my physique more, and basically made myself too muscular for Figure. At least, that is the feedback I received from the judges and other competitors. That's great news to me, I like a more muscular look and it suites me better, I have wider shoulders and narrow hips. I worked hard to add more muscle, eating right, letting myself get a little "big" in between competitions, but never fat. 

My last competition was May of 2012, and although I placed first in my category, when I asked for feedback from the head judge, she said:

" You are too hard, striated and separated for both figure and physique. You have the size to transition into women's physique if you wanted. If you want to stay in figure then you need to soften the look and bring your muscle size down some. The new criteria for either division is a softer look. No striation and no hard/deep separation. The difference in the figure and woman's physique is size. Physique competitors can have more muscle but must maintain a softer feminine look. It is not woman's bodybuilding.”

No one could have said anything better to me! As a natural athlete (drug free), to be told I am too hard, striated and separated, especially for a woman of 51 is quite an accomplishment. It shows a lot of dedication to diet and training, rest and recovery.

Picking my music has been tough because being on stage is a very scary event for me, so I needed something I was completely comfortable with. Much of the advice I received said to pick something "feminine and slow", but I am not a particularly "feminine" woman and I never do anything slowly! So why would I start with this. I decided to forgo the advice and picked what I liked, something that I felt I could move to and enjoy. 

I was referred to JSinn at MasterMindz Productions, and put my trust in him. I was glad I did, just as I have experienced most of my life, trusting others is always the right decision. I sent him the song and asked "what next"? He said just to tell him the length, where to start and where to end and he would do his magic and he would cut out "the swears". The rules state that the music cannot have profanity or explicit content  and there were a couple problems, this song had some swear words, and the entire song is about nasty sex! The more I thought about it though, I realized that all music seems to be about sex doesn't it? Either wanting sex, having had sex, wishing they were having sex, talking about sex, or breaking up with someone they already had sex with! I decided to move ahead with the song.

He pushed me to make a decision, don't wait! I made it, emailed him and he quickly emailed me right back. He told me I couldn't do what I wanted. I didn't understand and I tried to explain. "I like the chorus, so I need you to start here so I can have some of the chorus and some of the other part". He explained that I need an intro, a middle and an outro.

JSinn sent my music right away, with a watermark (his voice over) so I could listen and let him know my thoughts. And what were they? I was dancing the happy dance! I loved it! I never could have imagined it this way, he took bits and pieces, cut them and spliced them (I guess that's' the lingo) and created a smooth song with a lead in (intro) and the middle and a definite end!

I have known a few people who did their own, but at what cost? JSinn's prices were amazingly affordable,  I had thought it would have been much more expensive, but I was wrong. And, he was great fun to work with too, he's got quite the personality, but then he's an artist so that makes sense huh? Why would I work so hard dieting, training, calculating, paying entry fees and going through all the emotional ups and downs of competing just to save a few bucks on my music? The place to save money is on a hotel room (share one) not on the important stuff. 

I have inserted a YouTube of the original song I liked, remember that I have only 60 seconds to perform my routine, so it's not long! JSinn started in with some of the intro, then the chorus and the real end, its fabulous! Keep in mind this version has his "watermark" on it (MasterMindz over and over) for copyright protection.

I could only add this as a widget on the main blog page, so just look for the hot pink arrow right under the woman with the snapping whip on the right hand side! You can hear his fantastic version of the there.

Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog- the blue Ready In 5 Weeks link at the top to view the video).

Shoot JSinn and email, check out his Facebook page, and talk with him before you make a big mistake with your routine and music! 

Now...I can start practicing the routine!

I attempted to add an MP3 player to my blog, but after a week of reading and setting up accounts to host my files, I was unsuccessful and very frustrated. So.....I will have to write another post when I finally figure it all out. Any techies out there who can help me, please do so!

I set up a Dropbox account and copied the files into the public folder, but nothing! If you want to hear his magic just email me and I can send the file to you!

Music for Women's Physique Routine

I recently attended a meeting with our Human Resources department, so that a core group of people in my department could better understand each other’s working styles, and therefore learn how to communicate better.

There were four “styles” of communication:

Brown:  They just want to get things done. Very businesslike and factual, they stick to the work at hand and like to be direct and to the point.

Blue: They need to connect with other people, touchy feely. It’s all about how everyone “feels”.

Green: Information, they need lots and lots to make a decision.  They like time to think things through and process.

Red: They are flamboyant, tell stories, mix business with socializing and are ready to take action with little or no information, they hate rules and make decisions instantly. They love to party.

Guess what I am?

RED!!!

In fact they all laughed when we went over the communication styles and even the facilitator, who had only met one on one with me once, said he instantly knew I was a RED.

I tend to frustrate the Browns and the Greens. Oh well! Good thing David is a BLUE, through and through!

My RED likes the prospect of Women’s Physique, in fact I have found my music and I wanted to ask for your feedback- what do you all think? I am dying to get your input.

I want my routine to be upbeat, fun, fast paced and engaging. The music cannot have any foul language but the innuendo can still be there. It has to be fun, this is not going to work for me if it is too serious.

Take a look at this music video, the routine will only be 90 seconds long, but when you are depleted and dehydrated, that can be an awfully long time. I haven’t practiced  posing yet but am meeting with Steve on Friday to go over some and start. I can still play with my dancing though!


I will be continuing my search for music, I still have lots of time but this one was fun and seemed to have a good beat to it. I practiced dancing a bit in the living room, and decided I really need to learn the poses to decide if this would work.


I sent it to Roy who thought it was kinda slow, but I don't think it should be super fast or it would be difficult to hold the poses. He was also wondering if I was planning to replicate the barbie doll moves and I said no, I just thought they were cute....sheesh!

Email readers will need to navigate directly to the bog to view this. I would love to hear your feedback!