Common Sense Tips for your Prep
I’ve been in the fitness field for a long time and I get a lot of questions about a lot of different topics. But one I want to address today (that almost always comes from women) is this: What does it take to look like a fitness model? It’s a common question because women are bombarded by these perfect looking women with perfect bodies, perfect tans, perfect everything. And they want to know how they can look like that too. Over the next two articles, I’m going to give you some personal insight, things I’ve learned from my own experiences about what it takes to look like a fitness model.
There’s a lot of hard work that goes into the training and dieting that fitness models and figure competitors do to get super lean for photos and competitions. At the same time, recognize there’s a lot of photo editing that does go on to get models looking so perfect for covers.
But for those gals that do decide to compete onstage in a teensy weensy bikini, there’s not much “editing” they can do, other than to look their best, after all that diet, preparation, training, posing, tanning, etc.
When I have to prepare for an upcoming photo shoot, I put myself through a temporary “cut” to drop some body fat and look leaner for the pics (more shredded, ripped, etc).
Time, and plenty of it
Ideally, you should give yourself PLENTY of time, so that you don’t have to create a sudden or severe deficit. If you’ve got more than 5 lbs to lose, you want to give yourself at least a month, or as much as 3 months if you’ve gotten 15-20. It depends largely on your activity level too, and the length of a lean out plan will vary from person to person.
Support
It’s important to have a qualified coach or support network in your corner. I’ve done this long enough to know some really credible and supportive coaches in both the body building and figure community, and they truly help me dial in the physique adjustments when I get closer to a shoot date with valuable input on cardio, diet, and program design. Photoshoot prep is both a science and an art!
Your goal should be to maintain as much of your lean body mass and strength while dropping body fat.
Nutrition
I personally do not function well on low carbs or extreme cuts in calories, and especially not to increasing cardio (my schedule is busy enough). I might begin with a cut of 400 calories/day less than my maintenance calories (i.e., the number of calories it takes to maintain my current, happy weight) and make whatever adjustments I need to my program. I always keep protein high, never cut carbs or fats from status quo. I DO have to clean up the junk food, and that’s a personal preference. Lots of people do well eating junky stuff during prep; I do not have that level of control 🙂 Nutrition is highly individualized and cookie cutter programs are absolutely terrible.
There’s no sense in being utterly miserable on your diet, so work with a good nutrition coach to help you along the way and yes, I do provide that service too. (sumi@shailafitness.com)
Training
In order to maintain strength and LBM while dieting, I always choose to maintain the same level of intensity (i.e., the weight on the bar) in my weightlifting routine. This is mainly so that I don’t go nuts. High reps bore me to tears and make me miserable; and again that’s a personal preference. Maintaining strength is of utmost importance to me; it helps me know if I’m maintaining muscle mass as best as possible. If my strength craters, I know it’s time to be off the diet, or take a brief break.
I DO have to cut back on volume, because you really can’t have it all on reduced calories unless you’re a genetic freak (I am not). That means, if on surplus/maintenance calories I could do more reps or more sets of a given exercise, I’ll cut down on either reps or sets when dieting, but work my best to maintain the same intensity (weight on the bar). I have been lucky enough to have sufficient time with my preps such that having to add a ton of cardio or activity to burn the fat hasn’t been necessary for me.
But, this sort of thing will again vary from person to person. Have a lot to lose and not much time? It might mean you have to get up and get moving a lot more to create a calorie deficit.
Supplements
I want to really emphasizes that training and diet are the absolute keys if you wish to reach your goal of looking like a fitness model or photoshoot ready. Many people get this backwards and hope that some magic pill can make up for a shitty diet or training, but you have to believe that this isn’t true.
In any case, I do not change much about what I supplement with regularly anyway. Creatine, caffeine, and whey protein (some people still consider this a supplement) stay in throughout my prep.
I have tried “pre-workout” energy/concentration focus formulas, but few of these appeal to me in the taste department. These formulas are usually caffeine based for the most part and will provide you with an energy boost if you feel like that’s lagging because of your diet.
And that’s where I want to wrap. Stay tuned for what it takes to look like a fitness model in part 2.
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