Breon Ansley Demonstrates How to Perform Three Classic Physique Poses

Two-time Classic Physique champion Breon Ansley may make his final return to the Classic Physique Olympia in 2022 before switching divisions. The 42-year-old bodybuilder maintains a toned physique but changed his diet during the 2022 offseason to build mass in a bid to dethrone three-time reigning Classic Physique Olympic champion Chris Bumstead.

Along the way, Ansley will also have to match the elite posing of two-time Classic Physique Olympia runner-up Terrence Ruffin. Ansley is no stranger to the artistry of showing off his body and shared his knowledge of how to do three poses in a video posted to his YouTube channel on September 25, 2022. Check it out below:

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Ansley’s breakdown of each pose is a culmination of what he teaches others and what judges have shared with him throughout his career.

Front double biceps

The front double biceps pose starts “from scratch”. This means that the basis of the pose is to place the feet in the correct position on the same plane. Putting one foot in front of or behind the other is a trap – put your feet in the same horizontal plane and then bend your legs.

The legs are there – I shouldn’t lose the legs. Once they’re hired, they’re hired.

Up the body, the fists are positioned at the temples as you bend. Ansley wraps his fingers around his thumbs. The elbows and wrists are rotated backwards from this position, allowing the lower back to move into a slight extension. Ansley used the cue “standing up,” which helped him get his lower back in shape. A smile connects the pose.

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When one leg is more dominant than the other, Ansley offered insight into an incline variation that sinks the weight into the non-dominant hip to better showcase the stronger quad. This slope can also accentuate the shoulder-to-waist ratio.

lateral chest

Working each pose “from scratch” is a pattern Ansley relies on to avoid leaving gaps in his pose that could cost him points from the judges. For side chest, the back foot is positioned in line with the arch of the top foot, allowing for back knee flexion. Panning around to the front of the pose, Ansley’s legs are touching – there should be no space between the legs.

The vastus medialis of each leg — also known as the teardrop muscle — should be connected for the entire side-chest pose. The upper leg pressure helps break up the lower leg strips, emphasizing the quad sweep and the visual separation between the glutes and hamstrings.

With the upstage hand over the top of the downstage wrist, the downstage forearm moves back into the downstage lat. Shoulders stay parallel to hips as chest pops out. Again, the smile connects the pose.

Back double biceps

Hitting the right angles on stage and making sure the pose is conducive to those angles is all or nothing for a podium position. If the pose isn’t at the right angle, the shadows won’t emphasize the muscles as well as they could, and the visual benefits of that shading could be lost from the judge’s perspective. The best physique doesn’t win the Olympia if the bodybuilder with that physique can’t show it off properly.

Place the more dominant leg (ie, the better hamstrings) off the floor in a balanced, shoulder-width stance behind the other. The distance between the feet is about half a foot. Both feet are rotated at a 45 degree angle so all the details are visible when the legs are bent.

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The upper body mechanics are the same as the front double biceps pose, except that a slight backward tilt is preferable as judges are often looking at the stage rather than a steady view. A slight backward tilt allows more detail to be seen from their angle. Turning the head from side to side can add extra feathering to the traps.

At the time Ansley’s video was published, he was 13 weeks away from the 2022 Olympia. Should he find his way back to the Classic Physique Olympia throne, he would win the most titles of all time with three bumsteads.

Featured image: @breonma_ on Instagram