2019. INTERNATIONAL SPORT UNIVERSITY AND WFF-WBBF-WPSF NEWS. LITHUANIA HELD INTERNATIONAL FITNESS AND BODYBUILDING TRAINERS AND WELLNESS COACH SEMINAR. 2019 Seminar was held in the Lithuanian Klaipeda City „Ibis Styles Klaipeda Aurora“ Hotel (Nemuno Str. 51) Conference Hall on January 27 (Sunday). The usual International Trainer‘s Seminar was held by the in European Union registered International Sport University (I.S.U.) that is recognized by the UNESCO at the UN and under support of the WFF-WBBF-WPSF International. The programme of the Seminar will be more wide as the usual seminar questions and it was added with a number of specific food and diet subtilities. SEMINAR LECTURERS AND PARTICIPANTS. At the 2019 seminat lectures were given by. DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS, EUGENIJUS VIZBARAS and DEIMANTE RAPALYTE. At the seminar participated high specialists of their kind of activities and famous trainers as VYTAUTAS MIKUCKIS, ARMANDAS PIKELIS and RAMUNAS SENDRIUS. UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL TRAINER‘S CERTIFICATE. According to the registered ISU University Programme and the USU Statute the Seminar attendants for one year time received the International Trainer‘s Certificate with the qualification – Fitness and Bodybuilding and Powerlifting Trainer and Wellness Coach. SEMINAR ACADEMIC HOURS WILL BE ACCEPTED TO PROLONG TRAINER‘S LICENSES. For a number of seminar attendants is important, that our seminar academic hours were accepted to prolong trainer‘s licenses which were given to trainers by other Governmental or Social Institutions before.
INFORMATION.
More information on the International Site www.wff.lt, see forum topics. Also information available on the Facebook pages: WFF-WBBF International, WFF-WBBF North America, WFF-WBBF South America, WFF-WBBF Asia, WFF-WBBF Europe, WFF-WBBF Africa, WFF-WBBF Asia Continental Federation, International Sport University (ISU), WFF-WBBF Pro Division, WPSF World Power Sports Federation.
2019. INTERNATIONAL SPORT UNIVERSITY AND WFF-WBBF-WPSF NEWS. LITHUANIA HELD INTERNATIONAL FITNESS AND BODYBUILDING TRAINERS AND WELLNESS COACH SEMINAR. 2019 Seminar was held in the Lithuanian Klaipeda City „Ibis Styles Klaipeda Aurora“ Hotel (Nemuno Str. 51) Conference Hall on January 27 (Sunday). The usual International Trainer‘s Seminar was held by the in European Union registered International Sport University (I.S.U.) that is recognized by the UNESCO at the UN and under support of the WFF-WBBF-WPSF International. The programme of the Seminar will be more wide as the usual seminar questions and it was added with a number of specific food and diet subtilities. SEMINAR LECTURERS AND PARTICIPANTS. At the 2019 seminat lectures were given by. DSc. EDMUNDAS DAUBARAS, EUGENIJUS VIZBARAS and DEIMANTE RAPALYTE. At the seminar participated high specialists of their kind of activities and famous trainers as VYTAUTAS MIKUCKIS, ARMANDAS PIKELIS and RAMUNAS SENDRIUS. UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL TRAINER‘S CERTIFICATE. According to the registered ISU University Programme and the USU Statute the Seminar attendants for one year time received the International Trainer‘s Certificate with the qualification – Fitness and Bodybuilding and Powerlifting Trainer and Wellness Coach. SEMINAR ACADEMIC HOURS WILL BE ACCEPTED TO PROLONG TRAINER‘S LICENSES. For a number of seminar attendants is important, that our seminar academic hours were accepted to prolong trainer‘s licenses which were given to trainers by other Governmental or Social Institutions before.
INFORMATION.
More information on the International Site www.wff.lt, see forum topics. Also information available on the Facebook pages: WFF-WBBF International, WFF-WBBF North America, WFF-WBBF South America, WFF-WBBF Asia, WFF-WBBF Europe, WFF-WBBF Africa, WFF-WBBF Asia Continental Federation, International Sport University (ISU), WFF-WBBF Pro Division, WPSF World Power Sports Federation.
INTERNATIONAL COACHES’ AND JUDGES’ SEMINAR IN KLAIPĖDA: THE ART OF POSING IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
An international seminar for coaches and judges will take place in Klaipėda on September 27, focusing on one of the most important, yet increasingly underestimated, elements of bodybuilding – posing.
In preparation for the 37th WFF-WBBF World Amateur and Professional Championship, which will take place on October 24–26, 2026, at the “Agila” Cultural Centre in Neringa, the WFF-WBBF World Federation, together with the International Sport University, will organize an international coaches’ and judges’ seminar in Klaipėda on September 27, 2026.
The upcoming seminar is significant not only because of its international scope, but also because of its long-standing tradition. Coaches’ seminars in Klaipėda were first organized back in 1987, meaning that this year marks another chapter in a tradition that has continued for almost four decades.
Posing – More Than Just a Required Part of Competition
The main topic of this year’s seminar will be posing in competition – posing technique, stage presentation, aesthetics, and the importance of posing in the overall evaluation of an athlete.
According to the organizers, this subject is particularly relevant today. In their view, the standard of posing has declined considerably in recent years, while stage presentation has increasingly lost some of its aesthetic and artistic qualities.
In bodybuilding, an athlete’s physique must not only be displayed – it must be presented professionally. Posing allows athletes to demonstrate their proportions, symmetry, muscular development, posture, and overall aesthetic preparation. For this reason, the art of posing remains an essential part of high-level bodybuilding.
The seminar will therefore bring together highly experienced professionals who will share their knowledge and practical experience and address the question of how to improve posing standards and restore a greater sense of professionalism and aesthetics to stage presentation.
New Fitness Categories and Current Judging Issues
The seminar will cover much more than posing. Participants will also be introduced to new fitness categories, while important issues concerning athlete evaluation criteria and current judging practices will be discussed.
Particular attention will be given to ensuring that coaches and judges share a clear understanding of judging principles and are able to evaluate athletes objectively in terms of physical development, proportions, symmetry, aesthetics, and stage presentation.
Seminar participants will also have the opportunity to obtain the appropriate international coaches’ and judges’ qualifications, making the event an important platform for professional development and qualification improvement.
A Return to the Classical Concept of Bodybuilding
The purpose of the seminar goes beyond the professional development of judges and coaches. The organizers aim to strengthen the understanding of bodybuilding as a sport in which success is determined not only by physical development, but also by aesthetics, proportions, symmetry, elegance, stage presence, and professional presentation.
It is an effort to return to the classical concept of bodybuilding – one in which an athlete’s stage performance should be engaging and appealing not only to the judges, but also to the audience.
The September 27 seminar in Klaipėda will be an important step toward improving the qualifications of coaches and judges, developing athlete evaluation standards, and strengthening posing culture within international bodybuilding and fitness.
Further information about the seminar programme, lecturers, and participation requirements will be announced soon.
More information: www.wff.lt and www.worldfitness.lt
INTERNATIONAL JUDGES AND TRAINERS SEMINAR IN KLAIPEDA.
WHEN BODYBUILDING BECAME JUST ABOUT MUSCLES: WHERE DID THE ART OF POSING GO?
Bodybuilding was once about much more than displaying muscles. It was about the stage, music, movement, artistry, and the ability to turn one’s physique into a true stage performance. Today, much of that has disappeared. Has bodybuilding become too simplistic?
This question will be discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda, Lithuania, at an international seminar for coaches and judges, organized by the World WFF-WBBF Federation and the International Sport University (ISU).
One of the main topics of the seminar will be the art of posing, its importance in competition, new categories and judging principles, as well as the future development of bodybuilding.
There Was a Time When Muscles Alone Were Not Enough
There was a period in bodybuilding history when an athlete had to be more than physically well prepared. He had to know how to present his physique.
In 1987, during the establishment of the USSR Bodybuilding Federation, a series of specialized seminars was organized. One of them was conducted by Vitalijus Asovskis, then head of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding.
Together with Česlavas Tamulevičius, the founder of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding, and drawing on their practical experience and years of work with athletes, he developed a classification of the main bodybuilding poses.
This was not merely technical work. Posing was understood as a special language through which an athlete told the story of his physique on stage.
On Stage, It Was Not Enough to Be Strong — You Had to Know How to Show It
At that time, the free posing routine played a particularly important role.
An athlete did not simply perform the mandatory poses. He created his own performance: choosing the music, arranging the sequence of poses, transitions and movements, and creating a complete stage presentation.
Judges evaluated the overall impression of the routine, artistry, stage presence, musicality, posing technique and the athlete’s ability to move smoothly from one pose to another.
This forced athletes to develop far beyond the gym.
Lifting weights alone was not enough to become a stage virtuoso. Athletes had to learn how to control their bodies, understand music, use the stage, connect with the audience and present themselves to the judges.
Anyone can lift a barbell. Far fewer can command a stage.
As a result, there were occasions when a physically outstanding athlete lost to a competitor who was better able to present his physique on stage.
This judging philosophy encouraged bodybuilders to work harder and develop not only their physiques, but also their stagecraft.
The Vilnius School Created Not Only Physiques, but Stage Art
Specialists of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding carefully studied the experience of other sports. They analyzed routines from artistic gymnastics and figure skating, examining their structure, artistry, musicality and judging principles.
This experience was then adapted to bodybuilding.
As a result, Lithuania produced an entire generation of athletes for whom the stage was just as important as the training hall.
Among them were Pranas Murauskas, Jevgenijus Gorelikas, Jevgenijus Žurcevas, Rišardas Krinickis, Vytautas Pleckevičius, Saulius Misevičius, Vladas Kapcevičius, Viačeslavas Chleborodovas and many other athletes of that era.
Their performances were not simply demonstrations of poses.
They were performances.
What Happened to Bodybuilding Today?
Today, free posing routines are no longer evaluated in many bodybuilding competitions.
And this creates one of the fundamental problems.
If posing skill has no impact on the final result, why should an athlete spend hundreds of hours developing it?
Perfecting posing requires time. It requires coaching, specialized knowledge, stage experience, musical awareness and countless rehearsals.
As a result, athletes naturally focus on the elements that directly influence their competitive results.
The result is increasing uniformity.
The same movements. The same poses. The same stage solutions.
The athlete walks onto the stage, displays his physique and walks off.
But where has the individuality gone? Where is the personality of the performance? Where is the moment when spectators are waiting not only to see what kind of physique an athlete has brought to the competition, but how he will present it?
Is Bodybuilding Losing Its Stage Identity?
Bodybuilding has always been unique because it brought together sport and stage performance.
Muscle was only one part of the equation.
The other was the ability to present it.
When the artistic component disappears from the judging system, competitions become increasingly uniform. And the more uniform they become, the fewer reasons spectators have to look forward to the next athlete’s performance.
Perhaps this is why it is time to look again at something that was once considered an essential part of bodybuilding.
2027 Could Become a Year of Change
The WFF-WBBF Federation has announced plans to reintroduce the evaluation of free posing routines for professional bodybuilders starting in 2027.
This would represent an attempt to bring back an element that once encouraged athletes to become not only physically powerful, but also true stage performers.
Will this change bodybuilding?
The answer will depend on how the judging criteria are formulated and how the idea is received by athletes, coaches and judges.
But one thing is clear:
Bodybuilding cannot be reduced to a display of muscles.
An athlete on stage should not simply stand there.
He should perform.
This will be one of the key subjects discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda at the International Seminar for Coaches and Judges.
Perhaps it is time to remember that bodybuilding does not begin when an athlete steps onto the stage.
It begins when an athlete learns how to tell the story of his physique on stage.
More information about the seminar: www.worldfitness.lt
INTERNATIONAL JUDGES AND TRAINERS SEMINAR IN KLAIPEDA.
WHEN BODYBUILDING BECAME JUST ABOUT MUSCLES: WHERE DID THE ART OF POSING GO?
Bodybuilding was once about much more than displaying muscles. It was about the stage, music, movement, artistry, and the ability to turn one’s physique into a true stage performance. Today, much of that has disappeared. Has bodybuilding become too simplistic?
This question will be discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda, Lithuania, at an international seminar for coaches and judges, organized by the World WFF-WBBF Federation and the International Sport University (ISU).
One of the main topics of the seminar will be the art of posing, its importance in competition, new categories and judging principles, as well as the future development of bodybuilding.
There Was a Time When Muscles Alone Were Not Enough
There was a period in bodybuilding history when an athlete had to be more than physically well prepared. He had to know how to present his physique.
In 1987, during the establishment of the USSR Bodybuilding Federation, a series of specialized seminars was organized. One of them was conducted by Vitalijus Asovskis, then head of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding.
Together with Česlavas Tamulevičius, the founder of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding, and drawing on their practical experience and years of work with athletes, he developed a classification of the main bodybuilding poses.
This was not merely technical work. Posing was understood as a special language through which an athlete told the story of his physique on stage.
On Stage, It Was Not Enough to Be Strong — You Had to Know How to Show It
At that time, the free posing routine played a particularly important role.
An athlete did not simply perform the mandatory poses. He created his own performance: choosing the music, arranging the sequence of poses, transitions and movements, and creating a complete stage presentation.
Judges evaluated the overall impression of the routine, artistry, stage presence, musicality, posing technique and the athlete’s ability to move smoothly from one pose to another.
This forced athletes to develop far beyond the gym.
Lifting weights alone was not enough to become a stage virtuoso. Athletes had to learn how to control their bodies, understand music, use the stage, connect with the audience and present themselves to the judges.
Anyone can lift a barbell. Far fewer can command a stage.
As a result, there were occasions when a physically outstanding athlete lost to a competitor who was better able to present his physique on stage.
This judging philosophy encouraged bodybuilders to work harder and develop not only their physiques, but also their stagecraft.
The Vilnius School Created Not Only Physiques, but Stage Art
Specialists of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding carefully studied the experience of other sports. They analyzed routines from artistic gymnastics and figure skating, examining their structure, artistry, musicality and judging principles.
This experience was then adapted to bodybuilding.
As a result, Lithuania produced an entire generation of athletes for whom the stage was just as important as the training hall.
Among them were Pranas Murauskas, Jevgenijus Gorelikas, Jevgenijus Žurcevas, Rišardas Krinickis, Vytautas Pleckevičius, Saulius Misevičius, Vladas Kapcevičius, Viačeslavas Chleborodovas and many other athletes of that era.
Their performances were not simply demonstrations of poses.
They were performances.
What Happened to Bodybuilding Today?
Today, free posing routines are no longer evaluated in many bodybuilding competitions.
And this creates one of the fundamental problems.
If posing skill has no impact on the final result, why should an athlete spend hundreds of hours developing it?
Perfecting posing requires time. It requires coaching, specialized knowledge, stage experience, musical awareness and countless rehearsals.
As a result, athletes naturally focus on the elements that directly influence their competitive results.
The result is increasing uniformity.
The same movements. The same poses. The same stage solutions.
The athlete walks onto the stage, displays his physique and walks off.
But where has the individuality gone? Where is the personality of the performance? Where is the moment when spectators are waiting not only to see what kind of physique an athlete has brought to the competition, but how he will present it?
Is Bodybuilding Losing Its Stage Identity?
Bodybuilding has always been unique because it brought together sport and stage performance.
Muscle was only one part of the equation.
The other was the ability to present it.
When the artistic component disappears from the judging system, competitions become increasingly uniform. And the more uniform they become, the fewer reasons spectators have to look forward to the next athlete’s performance.
Perhaps this is why it is time to look again at something that was once considered an essential part of bodybuilding.
2027 Could Become a Year of Change
The WFF-WBBF Federation has announced plans to reintroduce the evaluation of free posing routines for professional bodybuilders starting in 2027.
This would represent an attempt to bring back an element that once encouraged athletes to become not only physically powerful, but also true stage performers.
Will this change bodybuilding?
The answer will depend on how the judging criteria are formulated and how the idea is received by athletes, coaches and judges.
But one thing is clear:
Bodybuilding cannot be reduced to a display of muscles.
An athlete on stage should not simply stand there.
He should perform.
This will be one of the key subjects discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda at the International Seminar for Coaches and Judges.
Perhaps it is time to remember that bodybuilding does not begin when an athlete steps onto the stage.
It begins when an athlete learns how to tell the story of his physique on stage.
More information about the seminar: www.worldfitness.lt
INTERNATIONAL JUDGES AND TRAINERS SEMINAR IN KLAIPEDA.
WHEN BODYBUILDING BECAME JUST ABOUT MUSCLES: WHERE DID THE ART OF POSING GO?
Bodybuilding was once about much more than displaying muscles. It was about the stage, music, movement, artistry, and the ability to turn one’s physique into a true stage performance. Today, much of that has disappeared. Has bodybuilding become too simplistic?
This question will be discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda, Lithuania, at an international seminar for coaches and judges, organized by the World WFF-WBBF Federation and the International Sport University (ISU).
One of the main topics of the seminar will be the art of posing, its importance in competition, new categories and judging principles, as well as the future development of bodybuilding.
There Was a Time When Muscles Alone Were Not Enough
There was a period in bodybuilding history when an athlete had to be more than physically well prepared. He had to know how to present his physique.
In 1987, during the establishment of the USSR Bodybuilding Federation, a series of specialized seminars was organized. One of them was conducted by Vitalijus Asovskis, then head of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding.
Together with Česlavas Tamulevičius, the founder of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding, and drawing on their practical experience and years of work with athletes, he developed a classification of the main bodybuilding poses.
This was not merely technical work. Posing was understood as a special language through which an athlete told the story of his physique on stage.
On Stage, It Was Not Enough to Be Strong — You Had to Know How to Show It
At that time, the free posing routine played a particularly important role.
An athlete did not simply perform the mandatory poses. He created his own performance: choosing the music, arranging the sequence of poses, transitions and movements, and creating a complete stage presentation.
Judges evaluated the overall impression of the routine, artistry, stage presence, musicality, posing technique and the athlete’s ability to move smoothly from one pose to another.
This forced athletes to develop far beyond the gym.
Lifting weights alone was not enough to become a stage virtuoso. Athletes had to learn how to control their bodies, understand music, use the stage, connect with the audience and present themselves to the judges.
Anyone can lift a barbell. Far fewer can command a stage.
As a result, there were occasions when a physically outstanding athlete lost to a competitor who was better able to present his physique on stage.
This judging philosophy encouraged bodybuilders to work harder and develop not only their physiques, but also their stagecraft.
The Vilnius School Created Not Only Physiques, but Stage Art
Specialists of the Vilnius School of Bodybuilding carefully studied the experience of other sports. They analyzed routines from artistic gymnastics and figure skating, examining their structure, artistry, musicality and judging principles.
This experience was then adapted to bodybuilding.
As a result, Lithuania produced an entire generation of athletes for whom the stage was just as important as the training hall.
Among them were Pranas Murauskas, Jevgenijus Gorelikas, Jevgenijus Žurcevas, Rišardas Krinickis, Vytautas Pleckevičius, Saulius Misevičius, Vladas Kapcevičius, Viačeslavas Chleborodovas and many other athletes of that era.
Their performances were not simply demonstrations of poses.
They were performances.
What Happened to Bodybuilding Today?
Today, free posing routines are no longer evaluated in many bodybuilding competitions.
And this creates one of the fundamental problems.
If posing skill has no impact on the final result, why should an athlete spend hundreds of hours developing it?
Perfecting posing requires time. It requires coaching, specialized knowledge, stage experience, musical awareness and countless rehearsals.
As a result, athletes naturally focus on the elements that directly influence their competitive results.
The result is increasing uniformity.
The same movements. The same poses. The same stage solutions.
The athlete walks onto the stage, displays his physique and walks off.
But where has the individuality gone? Where is the personality of the performance? Where is the moment when spectators are waiting not only to see what kind of physique an athlete has brought to the competition, but how he will present it?
Is Bodybuilding Losing Its Stage Identity?
Bodybuilding has always been unique because it brought together sport and stage performance.
Muscle was only one part of the equation.
The other was the ability to present it.
When the artistic component disappears from the judging system, competitions become increasingly uniform. And the more uniform they become, the fewer reasons spectators have to look forward to the next athlete’s performance.
Perhaps this is why it is time to look again at something that was once considered an essential part of bodybuilding.
2027 Could Become a Year of Change
The WFF-WBBF Federation has announced plans to reintroduce the evaluation of free posing routines for professional bodybuilders starting in 2027.
This would represent an attempt to bring back an element that once encouraged athletes to become not only physically powerful, but also true stage performers.
Will this change bodybuilding?
The answer will depend on how the judging criteria are formulated and how the idea is received by athletes, coaches and judges.
But one thing is clear:
Bodybuilding cannot be reduced to a display of muscles.
An athlete on stage should not simply stand there.
He should perform.
This will be one of the key subjects discussed on September 27, 2026, in Klaipėda at the International Seminar for Coaches and Judges.
Perhaps it is time to remember that bodybuilding does not begin when an athlete steps onto the stage.
It begins when an athlete learns how to tell the story of his physique on stage.
More information about the seminar: www.worldfitness.lt
WFF-WBBF International since 1968
Trainer‘s and Coaches seminar since 1986
September 27, 2026, Klaipeda, Lithuania
Official information: www.wff.lt; www.worldfitness.lt
