Total Preparation Tris nea unfortunate t seen bodybuilder with a great physique, who has obviously paid his dues in the gym, posing beautifully onstage and then ruining the total effect becanse he has overlooked some detail of his presentation, The higher the level you reach in bodybuilding, the more ‘competitive it becomes. And when a judge is comparing you to an equally good bodybuilder and having trouble deciding to whom to award the higher score, some minor aspect of your appearance may make the dif-ference, such as your posing trunks, skin tone, skin color, haircut, or leas Obviously, you can't win a contest purely on the basis of presentation. Bodybuilding, after all, is primarily about development of the body. But the overall impression you make on the judges is made up of more than just your muscles and conditioning, and anything that detracts from that appearance can cost you when the final scores are tallied, POSING TRUNKS Itis important to choose the right posing trunks well before competition. If you wait until just a few days hefore the event you are taking a chance. You may have to search quite a while to find the ones you want, to order a pair through the mail, or even to have them specially tailored for you. Evaluate the color and texture of a particular pair of posing trunks, and have photos taken wearing them so you are absolutely sure they suit you in every way In the past, there was much more variation in the styles of posing Frank Zane trunks you'd see onstage than there is today. For example, bigger and more Herculean bodybuilders, such as Reg Park and I, wore trunks cut fuller than did leaner competitors such as Frank Zane. Today, virtually all the top bodybuilders wear very narrow-cut posing trunks, even the more massive physique competitors like Dorian Yates and Nasser El Sonbaty But even if trunks tend to be more of the same general style, there is still a big difference in how they are ent and how they fit, Some ride higher on the hips, some lower. Some are cut fuller in the back and others show more glute. So itis still important to be sure that the trunks you choose fi you well and show off your physique to your best advantage. For exainple, if you have powerful obliques, trunks that cut right across the bottom of these muscles are likely to make you look fat, as if there is fat hanging over them, while lower-cut trunks reveal the full extent of your mu velopment in the area and make the entire waistline look extremely im- cular de pressive. When I was an active competitor, bodybuilders wore a wide cariety of differently styled posing suits—some tider or thinner, with higher or lower waists, cut higher or lower on the sides. Modern bodybuilders like Nasser BI Sonbaty, Dorian Yates, and Shawn Ray, on the other hand, wear suits that are much more alike, even when their physiques are considerably different. However, there are still some differences, so be — carefl that the style and color of the suit you choose shows your physique off to best advantage. Franco ColumbuLou Perrigno (left) and 1, both of having large, massive frames, k much better in higher-cut posing trunks. Serge Nubret (center), on the other hand, with his narrow waist, could wear trunks cut much lower at the waist and higher at the leg The top of my posing trunks came to just about an inch below my obliques. Ang higher, and they would have made the obliques look fat. Lower, and the cut would not have suited my body type.Doyou have long legs or short? Is yonr waistline long or short? Do you have avery small waist or are you somewhat thicker in the middle? Do you have a powerful, Hereulean physique or one that is more slender and ‘Apollonian? You need to take all these questions into account and choose the type of trunks that are appropriate to your individual physique. T remember dloing television commentary at a contest and seeing a competitor with a good physique, but who had high las, high chest, and a very long waist. Unfortunately; he had chosen to wear very small, low-cut trunks, and this just exaggerated the length of his torso and made him look out of proportion. If he had chosen trunks that came up an inch or so higher they would have suited him much better and improved his appear ance onstage, Steve Reeves, for example, who is considered one of the most aes- thetic bodybuilders ofall time, had a very Tong waist and very narrow hips He wore fuller posing trunks to bring his body into proportion, If he had jor narrower, lower-cut trunks they would have detracted considerably from the aesthetie impression he was able to make. Itis also important to choose the right color. There is no hard and fast rule on this, but depending on your build and skin tone one color trunks can make you look great while another might easily detract from your overall appearance, Deciding what color trunks are best for you is largely ‘a matter of trial and error, ‘Try different colors, look at yourself in front of a mirror, have some photos taken, or ask the advice of friends. When you compete, look at pho- tos of yourself taken onstage to see if you like the effect of the trunks you've chosen. Ask the judges for their opinion. T always subscribed to the Reg Park theory of wearing dark brown trunks because I felt they didn’t distract from the physique in the way colored trunks, or even black ones, might have done. Bill Pearl wore very theatrical trunks, powder blue and sparkling, through most of his career, nd he could do that. But I noticed in his last few contests he wore darker ones, so pethaps he came to believe the same thing, Of course, I've seen bodybuilders who looked great in bright red trunks, but for others a bright red color makes their skin seem too red and ruddy, taking away from the quality of their tan, Again, you need to find out what works best for you. ‘Once you have determined the cut and color of the posing trunks you want to use, try to obtain several pairs so that you ean put on fresh trunks after a long prejudging session and look your best for the evening show: It is also good to have extra trunks so that yon can change for backstage pho- tos ora picture-taking session the day after competition, [ ahvays liked to have a variety of different-color trunks available, too, for photos taken against various colored backgrounds or outdoors. 663,664 A good tan helps to keep your definition from disappearing under the bright stage lights. These bodybuilders take the communal approach to catch a few rays Look at photos of contests from the early days of bodybuilding and you'll see a lot of competitors standing onstage with virtually no tan. This is def- initely not a good idea, When a light-skinned bodybuilder stands under the bright lights onstage the illumination tends to wash him out and makes it difficult for the judges to see his definition and development. A good tan will keep this from happening. The skin tans to protect it- self from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun. When the skin is ex- posed to these rays, the melanin (skin pigment) which has remained from your last tan, but has faded, becomes dark again; this is why you ean seem to tan after just one day in the sun but, in fact, your body has produced no new pigment to protect you. True tanning, during which new melanin is produced, takes considerably longer, a week to ten days, so it doesn't pay to stay out in the sun for long hours at a time trying to rush a tan Itis best to tan in stages, twenty minutes to a half hour a day in the be- ginning, depending on your skin type, where you live, the time of year, and the altitude (the higher up yon are, the stronger the ultraviolet rays). If you are fair-skinned and bum easily, you must take extra caution, But re- member, even the darkest skin can be bumed and damaged by the sun if the exposure is long enough. Experts advise us not to sunbathe between the hours of 10 a. (and can therefore do the most damage to the skin), but that is exactly the and 2 PM, when the rays of the sun are most intensetime when most people prefer to ie out in the sun. So let me just pass on the warning that excessive exposure to the sun tends to cause wrinkles and. gives the skin a leathery look and that the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer. Tanning, then, must be approached with a certain degree of moderation and care. Ifyou want to spend more time in the sun—a day atthe beach, for ex- ample—and you have fair skin, I would recommend using some kind of sunscreen to cut down your overall exposure. As I said, you can only tan a little at a time; too much sun will simply cause you to bum and peel, and the damage that can be done to both health and appearance by overexpo- sure to ultraviolet rays is all too well documented. ‘Alot of bodybuilders eomplain that they don’t have the time or the pa tience to lie around in the sun for hours. But there are other ways. Franco and I used to go down to the weight pit in Venice (now christened the new “Muscle Beach”) so we could work out and get some sun at the same time. World Gym there has an outdoor deck where you can train and tan simul- taneously, and a number of gyms around the country have decks or rooftop facilities that allow you to do the same thing. When we worked lay- ing bricks, Franco and I would take off our shirts in order to work on our ‘uns as well. You don’t always have to be doing only one thing at a time. Even in Los Angeles, we don’t alvays have enough sun to maintain a good tan. There are often a lot of clouds and fog along the coast. Some L.A. bodybuilders spend a lot of time in places like Palm Springs to soak up the desert sun, When I first came to California, we discovered you could go up in the mountains above the Malibu area and often be high enough to be in the sun looking down on the clouds below. This is “Muscle Rock’ is, where we used to go to do outdoor physique photog raphy. ‘Tanning, by the way, is not just for fairskinned bodybuilders. Most darker-skinned bodybuilders like African-Americans or Latinos find that spending at least some time tanning changes the skin texture and depth of tone and adds to their appearance onstage. One aesthetic consideration is that you don't want your face to be darker than the rest of your body. But your face, and your nose in partic ular, tends to absorb a lot more sun, So take care to protect your face by ‘wearing hat or using sunscreen to prevent your nose and forehead from getting burned. where TANNING PARLORS AND SUNLAMPS Indoor tanning parlors have proliferated all over the country. You lie on a bed that is, in effect, a giant sunlamp, and you get your exposure in short, calculated doses. People generally consider tanning beds to be safer than exposure to the sun, but itis important to realize that any rays that can tania Where Lived in Europe the sun twasn’t intense enough for me to get «dark tan, whereas Dennis Tinerino had the advantage of a muuch hotter climate. As a result, he Tooks tan and defined, while I look white and appear smoother than I really was. This photo was taken in Palm Springs in 1974, See how much more attractive, hard, and defined the physique looks with a davk tan.you can also burn and damage your skin, o the same cautions apply to us- ing suntan parlors as to lying out in the sun, Start slowly. Give your skin the time it needs to tan, and try to avoid burning and peeling, which not only make you look bad butalso force you to start all over. Home sunlamps present the same dangers, Many people have burned themselves badly, even damaging their eyes, by remaining too long under a sunlamp. ARTIFICIAL TANS Using artificial coloring agents to deepen skin tone has become almost universal in bodybuilding. No matter how good your tan, a skin dye or bronzer can make it better. That's why hotels frequently despair when, playing host to a group of bodybuilders. Their laundry rooms fill up with sheets and pillowcases covered with rubbed-off skin dye. The use of artificial tans allows a bodybuilder with only a base tan to look as if he'd spent the summer in the tropics, and allows bodybuilders who are very fairskinned and don’t tan well at all to compete equally against those who are more blessed with melanin. This also has a health benefit, since the use of these coloring agents means that the competitors don’t have to spend as much time in the sun as they once did. However, for fair-skinned bodybuilders, its a mistake to try to get your entire tan from a bottle, Artificial tanning agents over totaly pale skin tend to look very unnatural. The bodybuilding physique itself, with its exaggerated muscle development, looks very strange to many people in the first place. Ifyou combine that with an odd unnatural-looking skin color, the final ef fect is very strange indeed. So I recommend that you get as good a tan as le first and then increase its depth with the use of artificial agents. ‘The most often used coloring products are based on a product called. Dy-0-Derm, a skin-dyeing product developed for individuals with severe skin problems. One of the more popular products based on Dy-O-Derm is Pro-Tan, available in gyms and by mail order. Another version of this, type of dye, giving a slightly more bronze look, is Tan Now. These and other similar dyeing produets are advertised in most of the physique mag- vines. ‘Skin dyes like these actually bind to the skin cells themselves and. won't come off until the cells do—which takes about twenty-one days. AF- tera few days you'll begin to see the color gradually flaking off, which gives, an odd appearance unless you reapply some color. The best procedure for applying these products i to (1) shower and serub off as much dead skin as possible, (2) apply’a coat of the color, wearing rubber gloves to keep the palms of the hands from staining, (3) allow to dry for several hours, and (4) shower again to wash off the stain that has not actually bonded to the skin, This process should be done gradually over a period of days. Do not try to get a deep tan with only one application, 667668 ‘There are other types of artificial tan products that are more like a tra- ditional bronzer than a dye. This type of coloring is easier to apply and fades fairly quickly, but doesn’t give the same solid, deep look that the skin dyes do, Skin bronzers ure available at most drug and cosmetic stores, and there is a version called Competition Tan by Jan Tana that is specially for- ‘mulated for bodybuilders. Most bodybuilders don’t use a bronzer by itself Instead, they create a base color by tanning and applying a skin dye, and then use the bronzertype coloring on top of this to create a finished look and to cover areas where the stain may have begun to flake off Applying color correctly is very important since it has a tremendous effect on your overall appearance. Some bodybuilders show up looking yellow onstage or so dark it looks as if they were covered with shoe pol- Others apply the coloring too late, or when they are perspiring, so iat rivers of color run down their body onstage, spoiling the effect they are trying to create. Too much color on the face also creates a very strange and unattractive look, as does getting stain on the hands and feet, or too much on the knees and elbows. Remember, you spend years leam- ing to train and months following a strict diet; its worth some time and effort to lean to get your color correct or else you end up raining all your other efforts. Putting color on at the last minute can also be very dangerous. I re- member one contest in which Lou Ferrigno applied a bronzer just before he went onstage, and with the oil on his skin and the amount he was sweat- ing, the artificial tan ended up running down his body and totally spoiling his appearance, In some cases you can apply color at the last minute, but it takes a lot of experience and know-how to do it right. Which look would you rather have—heing a little paler onstage than you'd like or having lit- tle streams of color running all down your body? POSING OIL Bodybuilders use oil onstage to highlight the shape of the body and bring out the full definition of the muscles. Intense lights have a tendency to flatten you out, and a light coat of oil along with a good tan allows the judges to fully appreciate your development. When you see a competitor standing onstage without enough oil you ean immediately see that he looks flatter, less muscular, and much less interesting, You need help to oil yourself completely—somebody to put oil on your back and tell you whether you have achieved an even application, In your early contests, you can generally find another competitor who will oil your back if you oil his. However, when you get into higher-level competition, you can never be sure that a rival won't play a trick on you. For example, at the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest in South Africa, I wasoiled up and ready to go onstage and somebody said to me, “Only going to pose half your body, huh?” But I didn't get it until Bd Comey told me that only half of my back was oiled. I remember quite clearly who put the cil on me, but I won't mention any names. I'd been in enough contests so that I should have known not to trust any other competitor in that situa tion, but to double-check for myself in order to be sure. Oil, like color, is often best applied in stages. When your skin is dry, especially if it is hot backstage, the first coat is likely to sink in fairly quickly. After a few minutes, add another coat and you'll begin to see the kind of effect you are seeking, Be careful of putting on last-minute color and oil one right after another, since this is almost guaranteed to make the color run, You need to experiment to find the kind of oil that looks best for you. A product like baby oil is great for photo shoots, where the light is totally controlled, but generally makes you too shiny onstage. I've seen body- builders use everything from olive oil to Pam spray to oil up before a show; as well as various kinds of body oils and ereams. Use experimentation andl experience to see what works best for you. Just keep in mind that too tmuch oil is as bad as too little. Having the lights glaring off your body as if you were a mirror is not going to gain you any advantage with the judges, HAIRSTYLE Hairstyles vary in bodybuilding just as they do in the rest of society. In the 1960s and 1970s there were bodybuilders who went with the then-current fashion of long hair. In the 1990s suddenly you saw a number of body- builders standing onstage with shaved heads. Neither extreme, in my opinion, is a particularly good idea for competition bodybuilders, Now, let me make it clear that I understand how you wear your hair is part of you—part of your personality and self-expression. Fashions change ‘and that includes fashions in hairstyles. [look at photos of extreme skiers with their spiked, multi-colored hair, guys who are really out there and who are really terrific athletes, but it’s important to realize that they are not judged in their sport on their appearance. In the same regard, who cares how long a runner's hair is or whether a long jumper has a tattoo or words shaved into the side of his head? But the look, the visual clement is an essential part of bodybuilding, as it is, for example, in figure skating Figure skaters also have to be extremely careful of what kind of appear- ance they present to the judges. In bodybuilding, if your hair is long and shaggy, it not only comes down over your neck and obscures your traps, but also makes your head look bigger—and your body correspondingly smaller, The Afro hairent of the 1970s ahvays seemed to me to do the same thing, making the head 669Hair today, gone tomorrow. Bodybuilders long ago learned that shorter hatr tends to make the body look more massive, but Shawn Ray illustrates the degree to which many bodybuilders during the nineties took this idea to its ultimate conclusion.look bigger and the shoulders and upper body smaller in comparison. Compare photos of Robby Robinson as he looked in the 1970s with long. hair with his appearance in the 1980s, wearing his hair shorter, and you'll see the difference. As I said, bodybuilders appear so strange to people that anything that adds to that strangeness can be detrimental, making them look more like pro wrestlers than physique competitors. This includes dyeing the hair, shaving it off, or anything else you can do with hair. Of course, Tom Platz and later Lee Priest opted for a semi-long, slicked-back total blond look, which most of their fans approved of. Some bodybuilders look good with shaved heads. But I've seen competitors at the Arnold Classic in Colum- dus whose strange tastes in hair styling, or the lack of it, did not do them any good with the judges. The idea is to present yourself onstage in a way that works best for you, You should avoid copying someone you admire or following a particular fashion unless the look you arrive at suits your par= ticular physique and overall appearance. How, then, do you decide about hairstyle? Study your haireut in the inirror, look at photos, and decide whether you would presenta better ap- pearance with longer or shorter hai, or hair cut in a different style. Think. about it—is having your name shaved into the side of your head really go- ing to help you win contests? Is wearing ponytail or a Mohawk going to add to or detract from the overall impression you make on the judges? The bottom line to all of thisis simple: Is what I am doing with my appearance, color; haircut, or trunks going to help me win this contest or not? ‘Also, don’t shy away from getting help from professionals. In my movies, I rely a great deal on hairstylists to help me create the character Tim playing, In Commando and Predator, playing tough soldiers, 1 wore iy hair in a kind of macho brush eut. For Ticins, director Ivan Reitman ‘wanted to soften my look, so he had my hair lightened, which he felt suited the character, So by all means try working with a hairstylist, maybe wear your hair a number of different ways over time, until you find the style that suits you best. BODY HAIR Another means bodybuilders use to improve their appearance is to shave off their body hair prior to a contest. This gives the skin a much smoother and cleaner appearance, and makes the muscles more visible. The sim- plest way to do this is just with a regular safety razor, carefully going over the chest, arms, and legs, anywhere you want to get rid of hair. It feels funny to be shaved like this, and it takes getting used to. For one thing, it albways made me feel smaller and lighter, and that can be a psychological disadvantage going into a contest until you get used to it 67Therefore, I don’t recommend that you shave just before a contest. In- stead, try shaving a couple of weeks prior to the competition and then giv- ing yourself periodic touch-ups. This way, if you should cut yourself or invitate your skin, there will be plenty of time for your skin to heal and re- tum to normal. Franco Columbu always had an odd approach to remov- ing body hair: He didn’t like to shave, so some time before any contest he would begin pulling out body hair with his fingers! By the time he was ready to shave, there was very little hair left, This is not a method I would generally recommend, to say the least. DRESS G FOR SUCCESS In the past few years, there has been a press conference held in associa- tion with the Mr. Olympia contest and all the competitors attended wean ing suits and ties. I think this is a very good idea. In the early days of bodybuilding, the stars of the sport didn’t go around wearing mul colored baggy; obnoxious “clown pants” as they have been called. John Grimek, Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Bill Pearl, Larry Scott, and others knew how to dress. They wore suits, casual pants, and sports shirts and gener ally managed to look like solid citizens rather than gym rats. Sergio Oliva had short-sleeve shirts specially tailored with a V cut into the sleeve to ac- commodate his gigantic arms. Bodybuilding contests are won and lost onstage, of eourse, but mak- ing a good impression on the judges and other bodybuilding officials can certainly help when things get close. And since bodybuilders make a good part of their living doing seminars and guest appearances, being respected. and well thought of certainly isn't going to hurt. You don't have to go around in a tuxedo all the time, but check out what kind of nice-looking, classy sweats somebody like Michael Jordan wears. Be aware that how you dress and comport yourself can convey the impression for the entire week- end that you are a winner, the kind of person who is a good representative for the sport of bodybuilding. FINISHING TOUCHES Really good bodybuilders leave nothing to chance onstage. Many wear something on their feet backstage so that when they come out to pose, their soles will not be dirty: Others bring several changes of posing trunks and change whenever their trunks become soiled with coloring, sweat, oF oil. One simple factor often overlooked in terms of hair, and other aspects of personal appearance as well, is basic hygiene, Steve Reeves, the firstreally famous modern bodybuilding champion, was known for his im- maculate personal hyygiene—his hair was ahvays clean and cut well, his fin- gerails immaculate, his grooming impeccable. Go backstage at many contests and you'll see competitors who need to lear this lesson and who throw away success for lack of nothing more than personal grooming and cleanliness. 673