Why do bodybuilders use fake tan?

Did you know that a sunless tan helps to define bodybuilders’ muscles?

Stretch marks formed from weight training can actually be camouflaged with a fabulous and glowing spray tan too.

Beautifully sunkissed tans, the heat of the spotlights on stage and bulging muscles are the core essentials of a championship. But why do bodybuilders opt for dramatic, eye-catching tans when there are plenty of natural-looking alternatives to choose from?

The answer? Competitive bodybuilders use self-tan, whether a spray tan or a self-tan, for the same reasons as the rest of us. The only difference is that they use plenty more of it to achieve an exaggerated finish.

Here are some of the main reasons why bodybuilders use sunless tanning option:

It defines the appearance of muscles.

Muscles appear more prominent on darker skin tones in comparison to lighter skin tones, so fake tanning is a clever way to increase muscle definition without making a further effort or increasing training schedules. 

Layering up self-tanner on the skin is a bodybuilder’s last-ditch attempt to accentuate his/her muscles for competitions and contests. Many bodybuilding champions opt for an extra dark tan to highlight the chest, torso, arm and leg muscles to the maximum.

It creates the illusion of a slimmer profile.

Bodybuilders can spend years reducing their body fat and upping their weights at the gym to ensure that their muscles are visible even when not flexed.

A spray tan helps bodybuilders to look even leaner, as the darker colour draws the eye inwards towards the obliques and transverse muscles of the abdomen.

It covers up stretch marks.

Any weight training, such as lifting dumbbells, causes muscles to increase in size. This can often result in the creation of stretch marks under the surface of the skin.

What you may not notice is that many bodybuilders have stretch marks on their triceps, biceps and shoulder area following intensive periods of weight training ahead of competitions and championships.

A sunless tan helps covers up these marks and other blemishes by evening out the skin tone. A balanced complexion appears attractive under competition lights and ensures that all eyes are on the muscle definition, rather than on any scars and blemishes.

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