The art of posing.

In the ballroom of Essen’s Villa Rü, regional bodybuilders converge to learn the proper art of stage posing.

Thirty-year-old Julia Victoria Schmieja describes the art of posing as critical to competitive success. Over the past few years she says she has spent over 800 hours practicing posing. She told Waz:

“Bodybuilding is not just about building as much muscle mass as possible, but above all about the aesthetic presentation of the muscles on the stage.”

In that way, she said, bodybuilding is not just the art of a physical body, but how it is moved and manipulated. She says that the successful poser is tactical and highly intelligent.

“Bodybuilding is like figure skating. First, you have to learn how to play pirouettes and then present them on a freestyle on ice.”

Schmieja has made a living out of her passion, teaching posing for two years for two years and participating in three local championships. She also developed her own brand of clothing and jewelry in collaboration with another trainer Andreas Kirsch. But she says teaching posing is by far her most rewarding activity.

The first stage of one of her posing sessions is explanatory. She runs her students through the four standard poses, explaining the emphases and details to each. She also discusses the intangibles that so often determine a champion:

“Anyone who enters the stage as a bodybuilder must have a charisma. The jury does not judge by muscle mass, but by the aesthetic overall impression.”

Then the students jump out of their jogging pants and sneakers into bikinis and high shoes in front of the large mirrored wall. From there it’s practice practice practice. One of the students says the sessions has helped her greatly:

“So far, I have always had problems putting my back muscles properly in the limelight. Now I know what to look for and can continue practicing at home.”

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