Janeen Lankowski is striking a pose in her two-piece exercise gear. In a new social media post the bodybuilder explains the importance of posing and shows off her strong body in the process. “When doing a show, one of the most important aspects I see many people neglect is their posing. Proper posing showcases the best version of your physique and highlights all the hard work you’ve put in. It’s essential to keep your stage presence simple and clean until you understand how to present yourself best. Posing isn’t just about standing in place; it involves learning how to move and feel each pose to bring out the best in you. You won’t master posing on your first try, which is why it’s so important to practice your stage presence and quarter turns daily. This allows you to feel the muscles and movement. Simply holding a pose isn’t enough – you must feel the pose and its flow. Even with your routine, having a great one is important, but if you don’t bring your personality into it, you risk losing the audience’s attention. It’s about bringing a part of yourself to the stage – not being a robot,” she writes in the Instagram post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care?
1. Gymnastics
“My entire life revolves around fitness, I’ve never known anything else, and I would not change it for the world! The initial exposure to fitness and competition began when my parents enrolled me at the age of two at the K-W Gymnastics Club. Training camps and competitions across Ontario showed a way to success as I won many titles in my early years,” Janeen explained to Fantastic Physiques about how she got started bodybuilding. An injury during a training session forced her to miss her “window of opportunity” and she was “forced to change my course of action,” she says.
2. Grueling Workouts
Janeen does a lot more than lift weights to prep her body for competition. “My preparatory competition training schedule includes weight-training, cardio workouts and posing sessions seven days a week,” she says.
3. Sleep
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Janeen understands the importance of rest. She tries “to get as much rest as I can to keep my body in the utmost condition,” she says. What are the health benefits of sleep? According to the Sleep Foundation, getting enough z’s is a mood booster, promotes heart health, regulates blood sugar, improves mental function, restores your immune system, helps relieve stress, and aids in weight loss.
4. Strict Diet
Nutrition is also key, she says. She follows “a very strict diet that I maintain for four months prior to the event,” she says.
5. Meditation
Finally, meditation is also crucial. “I also practice mental exercises such as meditation, listening to soothing music and burning incense. This helps to keep me grounded, increases my concentration and focus on the goal at hand,” she says. “When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress,” says the Mayo Clinic. Benefits include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
- Lowering resting heart rate
- Lowering resting blood pressure
- Improving sleep quality
