FST7-TIP: Posetips with Hany Rambod

Jan 3, 2024

By Nutrition Monsters

In the world of competitive bodybuilding and physique contests, muscle mass and a low body-fat percentage are only half the equation. Posing is everything. It is the ultimate biomechanical translation of your hard work on the gym floor to the stage. A perfectly executed posing session can physiologically make the absolute difference between winning and losing.

Hany Rambod, the legendary 24-time Olympia-winning coach and the brains behind Evogen Nutrition, analyzes the performance of the newest Team Evogen Elite athlete, Schuyler Reeves, after his first competition. Here are the crucial anatomical guidelines from The Pro Creator to perfect your presentation and eliminate common mistakes.

1. The Front and Back Double Biceps Pose (Front & Back Double Biceps)

When setting up the double biceps pose - both from the front and the back - many athletes make a crucial biomechanical mistake in the angle of their arms. Hany advises you not to bring your forearms too close to your biceps. When you bend your arms too far, you shorten the visual line of your arms and flatten the muscle belly.

In addition, it is essential not to curl or supinate your wrists too aggressively. By keeping your wrists neutral and stable, you create a broader, more powerful frame and ensure that the biceps bulge as much as physiologically possible without the forearm muscles disrupting the visual balance.

2. The Side Chest Pose (Side Chest)

The side chest pose is designed to show the three-dimensional thickness of your physique, but it requires strict control over your breathing and posture. A common physiological pitfall is that athletes tend to shrink inward as soon as they pull their active chest muscle backward. This immediately destroys your posture and makes you look smaller and narrower on stage.

The Pro strategy: Take a deep breath into your chest to maximize your lung volume, keep your chest proudly elevated, and rotate your shoulders in a controlled manner toward the judges. This physiological expansion guarantees a considerably broader, fuller, and more dominant appearance.

3. The Front Lat Spread Pose (Front Lat Spread)

With the front lat spread pose, everything revolves around creating the ultimate V-shape by pushing the latissimus dorsi (the broad back muscle) as far outward as possible. To perform this biomechanically correctly, you must keep your elbows and shoulders pulled tightly back.

The most common mistake in this pose is rolling or rotating the shoulders too far forward. This closes off your chest and actually makes you look narrower physiologically. Stay broad and dominant by lifting your chest and consciously spreading your shoulders wide.

The Post-Competition Phase: Maintain Physiological Control

After months of extremely strict dieting and physiological exhaustion during contest preparation, most athletes fall into a familiar trap after the show: uncontrolled overeating (binging). Your body is in an extremely metabolically sensitive state and absorbs every calorie at record speed.

To maintain control over your physiology and avoid completely losing your sharpness, it is essential to keep weighing yourself regularly during this process. It is completely biologically normal to gain up to 10-15 lbs (approximately 4.5 to 7 kg) during the first week after your competition due to replenishing fluids and glycogen. However, make sure to resume your cardio routine as soon as possible and return to your planned nutritional structure to get back on track.

Pro Tip from Hany Rambod: Protect Your Blood Pressure

Immediately after a competition, when your body is mildly dehydrated, you must absolutely avoid excessive salt intake. An acute, massive influx of sodium can physiologically push your blood pressure into a danger zone, posing an immediate risk to your health and cardiovascular system.

Therefore, be extremely careful with your post-show meals. Avoid excessively consuming sushi overloaded with salty soy sauce, and do not add extra salt to fried or fatty foods. Enjoy your recovery phase, but do so with scientific intelligence.

The Evogen Strategy for Optimal Post-Competition Recovery

The transition from an extremely dry competition physique to a healthy, anabolic off-season status requires smart biochemical support to protect your cells and relieve your organs:

Intra-Workout Mineral Balance: When your physiology begins to stabilize after the competition and you resume training, stable electrolyte balance is crucial to prevent blood pressure fluctuations and severe cramps. During your sessions, drink Evogen Amino K.E.M.. This formula provides all 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) for immediate muscle preservation, while also containing a premium electrolyte matrix and coconut water powder to perfectly regulate fluid balance at the cellular level.
Clean Muscle Saturation: Prevent your body from developing digestive issues or bloating by eating heavy, fatty foods immediately after prep. Fuel your muscle cells post-workout with Evogen IsoJect. This ultra-pure, cold-filtered whey isolate contains zero sugars and fats. Thanks to the patented IGNITOR™ enzyme technology, the amino acids are absorbed extremely quickly, giving your muscles immediate anabolic building blocks without burdening your digestion.
Controlled Pump Without Stimulants: Do you want to take advantage of the huge influx of carbohydrates in the weeks after your competition for brutal muscle growth, without placing additional strain on your blood pressure with heavy doses of caffeine? Then use the stimulant-free pre-workout Evogen EVP 3D in combination with liquid Evogen EVP AQ (liquid glycerol). This increases nitric oxide production and drives fluid deep into the muscle cells through healthy osmotic pressure for a maximum 3D pump.

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FAQ

Why am I not allowed to curl my wrists during a double biceps pose?

If you curl your wrists (flexion) or supinate too much, you overactivate the muscles in your forearms. This draws visual attention away from the biceps and shortens the anatomical line of your arms. By keeping your wrists straight and stable, you force the biceps to contract into a perfect, visually larger peak.

How does shrinking in the side chest pose make me look smaller?

When you pull your chest back and let your shoulders drop, you reduce the diameter of your ribcage and press your collarbones inward. This creates a physiological narrowing of your silhouette. By taking a deep breath into your chest and lifting your sternum, you maximize the visual surface for the judges.

Why does my weight increase so drastically in the first week after a competition?

During competition preparation, your muscle glycogen stores and intracellular fluid volume are physiologically completely depleted. As soon as you return to eating normally (or more) after the show, your body immediately stores every gram of carbohydrates as glycogen. Because each gram of glycogen binds several grams of water, your body retains a large amount of fluid in the cells, leading to a rapid weight gain of 10-15 lbs.

Why is excessive salt intake immediately after the match dangerous for blood pressure?

After a competition, your body is extremely sensitive to osmotic shifts due to dieting and fluid restriction. A sudden, massive intake of sodium (such as through soy sauce or fast food) physiologically draws a large amount of water directly into the bloodstream. This rapidly increases the circulating blood volume, which can lead to an acute, dangerous rise in blood pressure.

How does Evogen EVP AQ help me keep my muscles full without affecting my blood pressure?

Evogen EVP AQ uses pure liquid glycerol instead of heavy stimulants or excessive mineral spikes. Glycerol increases osmotic pressure in a safe, controlled way and forces fluid to hydrate specifically intracellularly (within the muscle cell wall). This gives you that full, three-dimensional 3D look and muscle pump without overloading your cardiovascular system with heavy neurological stressors.