Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of contest preparation for figure competitors, and their bodybuilding counterparts as well, is tanning. Competitors put full emphasis in their training and dieting, but my experience has been that things like tanning are often left to a hasty application of some unknown product or a hurried visit to the tanning salon a day or two before a contest, with both scenarios leading to a less than perfect showing onstage.
In my time as a judge, I cannot emphasize enough, how many bodybuilding and figure competitors that I have seen onstage that looked as though they might have been in good enough shape to win their class, fall short because their tan wasn't optimal. You hear the complaints after the show, that they were in better condition than the class winners, and very often they do indeed have a valid point. But the most important aspect of physique competition is that it does not matter what you look like; all that matters is what the judges are able to see, while you are onstage and if your coloring is not spot on, all of your hard earned definition becomes impossible for the judges to see.
Lights & The Principles of Color Onstage
Almost every contest employs the use of bright white lights to illuminate competitors onstage. These lights are not exactly the best for untouched physique presentation, as the white light has a tendency to wash out the cuts and definition on all but the darkest colored bodies. You could be in terrific shape, but stand under the lights without a tan, and almost magically, the finer lines of separation will most certainly disappear.
This happens whether you are of a light or dark complexion, and there simply is not any natural skin color that will allow optimum muscle visibility under stage lights without some degree of color applied. Plainly put, everyone needs to tan, regardless of skin color. Most darker skinned beginning competitors find it odd to have to tan or use a tanning product as part of their contest preparations, but it is very much required if you are serious about being your best onstage.
There is another factor involved as well, the fact that most people are not at all one complexion all throughout their bodies. For most, your face and arms are somewhat darker than the rest of your body, as they tend to be exposed to more direct sunlight than your torso and your legs. That difference in shade, while almost imperceptible while looking in a mirror under normal lighting conditions becomes very apparent under the hot, bright, white lights of the stage. So much so, that you end up looking like a multicolored quilt, which not only takes away from your overall physique presentation, but it also blurs the hard earned conditioning that you trained and dieted so hard to display.
Given the dangers posed by continued exposure to ultraviolet radiation, I would advise everyone to limit their time in the tanning bed, or out in the sun. Always ensure that you are putting your health first, and keep in mind that as a physique athlete, you need to do as much as possible to protect your skin. Instead of tanning, I suggest you use a tanning product that you know and that you try on at least a week before your contest or photo shoot to see just how it should be applied to get the look that you want onstage. Don't wait till the last minute.
Author, personal trainer
NYC and champion natural bodybuilder, Kevin Richardson is the
founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise. Read
his blogs, download Kevin's free ebooks and learn more about his
unique NYC personal training service
at his official website.
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