When I put the garage gym together, I ordered a 6'x6' mirror, framed it with 2x12 boards, and painted it black. It's our training and posing corner. Tonight I spent some time with my boys in our corner, working on their posing routines for the upcoming show. After tucking Superman and the Incredible Hulk in bed, it was my quiet time to put together my posing routine. I began scanning through photos of my favorites, the old school bodybuilders.
I am impressed by all of the pros, but the ones I aspire to pose like aren't the mass monsters of today's sport. It's the artistic style and physique of the classic bodybuilders that I'm drawn to They way they sculpted and posed the body became the model for statues, posters, and all of the bodybuilding trophies. I practiced the most aesthetic poses from Arnold, Frank Zane and Ed Corney. They truly mastered the art. I have admired posters of these guys since I was a kid. I'm just a bigger kid now, trying to emulate their poses for my fleeting moments on the bodybuilding stage.
It was an inspiring hour. The music, the concentration, and trying to pose the body in an artistic way felt good. Sweat dripped from every pore. It's not as easy as the masters make it look. But the process felt great. I experienced a high from it. I came in and told Kristen how inspiring it was, to try to emulate the great ones by posing like they did. She said it reminds her of how she feels doing yoga. That made sense.
I remember my mother in law saying to me, "I've never really been able to understand the whole bodybuilding thing." That was no surprise. As for me, I've always liked it. But tonight, alone in my garage, in front of a big mirror, I came to understand it on a much deeper level. And it truly inspires me to master the art.
