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Tanning is an extremely important aspect of presentation for all physique athletes.

Click on the link to jump to:

• Contest Tanning
• Pre Tanning
• Bodybuilding Tanning 'How To' Video Clips
• Evening out Darker Elbows and Knees
• Use Tan to “Fake” being More Cut
• Misc Tanning Notes
• Useful Links

There is so much written and said about contest tanning, that we will only touch on it briefly. There are few fixed rules here, and many debates have gone back and forth about the virtues of different techniques and products.

Unless anyone is a total newcomer to bodybuilding, they know that specific bodybuilding contest color must be used. Regular tanning products simply do not suffice, and it would be a massive error to not use bodybuilding specific contest color. The amount of layers/timing is all dependent on natural skin tones and product chosen.

One huge error that many a bodybuilder has made is not being dark enough. Being “under-tanned’ often can greatly distract from the physique and is something to be avoided at all costs. When you think you look dark enough under regular lighting, it is generally time to get darker, as stage lighting is a whole different issue.

Everyone has their favorite tan products, so choose the one that best suits your tastes.

If you are new to competing – practice! Don’t just wait till 2/3 days before the show and decide to apply some tan. There have literally been horror stories of one certain tan product turning people a greenish color.

Whenever airbrush tanning is available [by a competent person of course] it is an ideal option as it provides great coverage. Do not make the error of confusing regular airbrush tanning with airbrush tanning using specific bodybuilding products.

Short 'how to' tanning clip from Gary Udit, American promoter of the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro:

Unless you are of a dark skinned ethnic origin, you should consider pre tanning.

Tanning beds, while accepted not to be the healthiest pursuit, provide a great base tan. Depending on your natural skin tone a few trips might suffice or possibly many more. Well known top bodybuilder Jay Cutler says he tans from months preceding a contest due to his very pale natural skin tone.

Also, self tanners can be used anywhere from 10 – 4 days prior to the show for a base tan. The Mystic Tan and other airbrush tanning places are popular, but unless you are working with an unlimited budget you can easily do this yourself and save money. Depending on your skin tone, you might want anywhere from 3 – 5 applications of pre tan, and at general pricing that could cost in the region of $200 with airbrush tanning.

Airbrush tanning is marketed as a wondrous thing, but in reality is just a quick way of applying tan. You can get the exact same effect yourself at home by rubbing in a self tanning cream. Any decent quality self tanning cream is made to be ‘idiot proof’ and basically will not streak unless you do something super weird when applying. Just get a decent quality self tanner, and apply it to clean dry skin like a regular body lotion and then let it dry. You can save about $150 or so, which you can put towards other contest expenses.

Combining actual tanning, as well as a self tanning cream provides the best pre tan.

An older 1 minute long 'how to' tanning clip:

 A 2 minute clip from the documentary 'Raising the Bar' focusing on contest tanning:

A short clip about tanning from Gary Udit, American promoter of the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Show

Darker knees/elbows can subtly detract from a uniform skin appearance.

The most effective ways to deal with that, is if you are tanning in a tanning bed pre contest, apply an SPF [as in tan blocker] to the knees/elbows while you pre tan. This has to be done carefully and watch the progress as you do it, as you don’t wish to end up distinct circular patches of un-tanned skin.

Also be careful when applying contest color as the drier areas like elbows, knees and heels will soak up most products quite rapidly and create a darker appearance. Some recommend putting a light layer of cream on those areas [specifically the heels] prior to applying contest color.

Another little tip, or some might call it cheating, is to use tanning to help yourself look more defined. Using the general principle that darker colors recede, try making areas you want to look more cut darker.

Try this out for a laugh; take a good look at your abs in the mirror, then take an eyeliner pencil/deep brown eyeshadow and draw a line down the center of your abs. Notice the instant impact.

That is of course a very “ghetto” way of doing it, and does not look realistic; here are two better ways to accentuate your lines with use of tan.

You can do this with the use of tan application if you wish. Using the contest tan to try this is not advisable, as it is too heavy and will give an unnatural appearance. Try using a general self tanner to do this 24 – 36 hours before you begin your show tan procedure. Depending on your skin tone, you may need multiple applications to achieve the desired effect.

However, the best way to do this is in the tanning bed. Instead of applying a tan accelerator to your entire body, try just applying it to certain areas to make sure they get darker than the rest of you. It can work almost anywhere that you want to accentuate the lines. Consider various spots like the abs, thigh split [side view, between hams and quads] etc. Using a cotton swab gives the most precise results.

Before anyone emails us in a rampage decrying this as cheating, it has long been done by many in the know anyway, and pales in comparison to the geared up competitors who take it upon themselves to compete in natty shows anyway.

 Beware of choosing light colored posing suits as tan can often come off on them, and many a bodybuilder has taken the stage with streaks of tan all over their suit.

Recall, that most tanning products do come off seemingly everywhere. If you are traveling to compete, take some old sheets with you to the hotel, or you could get a nasty surprise on your hotel bill, when they bill you some massively overpriced amount for the sheets being ruined.  You can keep these same sheets for all future travel.

Be wary of the “paleface” issue – where bodybuilders are tanned all over, but have pale faces. It is normal to have faces slightly lighter than the body, which is fine, but significantly light really looks rather off. Combat this through pre tanning, and some tanning products can be applied very lightly to the face. Women can purchase a foundation to use when competing that is slightly darker than their skin tone.

• Phil Kabakoff's tanning products are very popular in Australia, for info see www.pke.com.au