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Published on Sunday, 08 May 2011 16:29
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Written by Stacey Naito DO, AOBFP
The National Physique Committee and the IFBB made a very 
smart decision in launching the Men's Physique Division, compelling Adonis types to grace the stage and women to fawn at them. Yet I recall a very grave mistake with most of the competitors at Muscle Contest in Culver City on March 26th, 2011. What was it? They were far too light, looking more like pals of Casper the Friendly Ghost than the bronzed beach gods they should have resembled. This meant missing a high placing for many competitors because the judges did indeed look at skin tone. I spoke with a number of my friends who judged that contest and they all mentioned this glaring lack of attention to competition color.
I cannot impress this enough on mens physique competitors: make sure your color is dark enough! A Mystic Tan will never be enough for you to stand out on stage. If finances are an issue and you need to sponge on color, make sure you have enough layers applied so that you are dark enough! You should have a nice, deep walnut tone to your skin which may look unusually dark off-stage, but which will look amazing onstage. Keep in mind that the stage lights are incredibly intense and will wash out moderate to light skin tones.
Another marker for you to use to gauge the appropriate amount of tanning product is to look at the ladies in the Bikini division. The level of color they have onstage is also appropriate for Mens Physique. The color level of Figure and Bodybuilding division competitors is a touch too dark for Mens Physique and should generally be avoided. The idea is for you to look like you just stepped off the beach, donning your board shorts and looking like the picture of health and fitness.
