It takes more than clean food and consistent training to present a stage-ready physique. In an August 4 Instagram post, Charles Glass explained how using mirrors can help or hurt your posing routine.
Glass has decades of experience shaping elite IFBB Pro bodybuilders, including front-running Men’s Open competitors. Glass’s teachings have helped Mr. Olympia champions like Dexter “The Blade” Jackson and the late Shawn Rhoden.
Whether the goal is fat loss, muscle-building, or stage presentation, Glass has a toolbox to draw from. While the mirror is essential for learning a posing routine, he believes it eventually leads to diminishing returns if overused.
Charles Glass Reveals How to Use Mirrors Without Hurting Your Posing Routine
In the Instagram reel, Glass spoke on the importance of posing with confidence, which he said comes from knowing how you look in the mirror during each pose:
“Learn with the mirror, then learn to pose without it. You don’t have a mirror on stage. Hitting your poses with confidence comes with knowing how you look in each pose instead of constantly checking in the mirror each time. @christinawellness_ifbbpro did a great job.”
He went on to explain that mirrors can become a distraction after learning a routine:
“I think sometimes the mirror can be a distraction but when you’re learning a routine, then you use the mirror, but once you get it… you can’t use it anymore because it just throws you off. That’s why so many people do much better when they are out there posing than when they’re in here posing.”
Glass also warned against just going through the motions with posing, emphasizing that it’s a mental challenge.
“They see one mirror, they do it, and now they forget about it, and now they just go through it. It’s here [in your mind] it’s in my head, and I know what I got to do. I’ve got to present my poses, look this is me, this is what I have, then show it”
It often gets overlooked, but posing routines can have a massive impact on how an athlete places at a bodybuilding contest. Lee Haney acknowledged this and broke down why presentation is a non-negotiable at the highest levels. He recently offered posing advice to Andrew Jacked (Chinedu Andrew Obiekea) and Samson Dauda, two of the tallest Men’s Open competitors set to clash at the 2026 Mr. Olympia.
A physique is only as good as it can be presented onstage. Charles Glass believes the mirror is a double-edged sword, capable of helping or hurting a posing routine.
