FITNESS MODEL
So you are extremely fit, you are attractive and very disciplined. Have you thought about becoming a fitness model? Many attractive and disciplined individuals with a love for fitness have become fitness models as a career, for some extra income or just the excitement of the competition. I mention the words attractive and fit for obvious reasons but disciplined comes into play because a fitness model lives much like a professional body builder and not like your average glamour model. Their focus is to put on muscle, usually committing to 6 days per week in the gym for resistance training and low intensity cardiovascular exercise. The most important component is diet and it involves a twenty-four hour a day commitment. Diet, diet, diet is what gets a fitness model the very lean look they need to be photographed. They achieve extremely low levels of body fat and can only hold that peak level for 1 to 2 weeks a year for photo shoots or competitions.
Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? The only question that remains now is, “How exactly do I do it? We will give you an overview of the basics principles of training needed to get into the shape necessary to be a fitness model but you would be best served by the services of an educated (not just certified) personal trainer. When choosing a trainer look for one that has some experience working with bodybuilders or fitness models.
STAGE 1: Increasing Lean Body Mass
Before dieting down to extremely low levels of body fat, the fitness model must be sure that she will not look like an emaciated marathon runner and actually have some muscle to show off. A minimum of one year of intense resistance training is necessary to ensure the lean muscular look that the fitness model is striving for.
For the initial training program you want to choose compound exercises that involve more than one joint thereby utilizing more than one muscle group. A common mistake that women, in particular, make is only performing light weight, isolation exercises for fear of “putting on too much muscle”. I assure you this won’t happen by accident. If only it were that easy! If you are a beginner to resistance exercise the safest route would be to follow a periodization approach. This entails beginning with a repetition range of about 15-20 per set. You will begin to slowly and safely increase muscle endurance while still building a little bit of muscle strength. It also prepares your joints and connective tissue for the increased strain that will soon follow. Continue on this program for a minimum of 12 weeks before you significantly increase the resistance and bring your reps down to about 10 per set. This will shift the focus away from muscle endurance and more towards muscle strength. The increased load will significantly overload your muscles which, in turn, will lead to an increase in lean body mass. This phase of your training will continue for 8 weeks before you take a 1-2 week recovery phase after which you repeat the strength training phase all over again. This process continues until about 12 weeks before the fitness model plans a photo shoot or competition.
STAGE 2: Decreasing Body Fat
The final 12 weeks of preparation before a shoot or competition are critical for the fitness model. It is during this phase that the body fat levels will significantly drop while saving lean body mass at all costs. This is done through a combination of a very low fat diet, 30-45 minute low intensity cardio workouts twice a day 5-6 days a week and 6 resistance workout each week. At this point the fitness model should say goodbye to most of her family and all of her friends (except training partners) and let them know that she will see them again in 12 weeks. It takes that much dedication! The results, however, are worth the sacrifice.
In order to decrease body fat, the fitness model must be sure to be in a negative calorie balance. This means that over the course of a 7 day period, she must burn off more calories than she takes in. The problem with this is that the decreased caloric intake may also result in the loss of some lean body mass. It is a catch 22. You have worked so hard to put the new muscle on it would be a shame to lose it as you approach your goal date. The way to minimize lean body mass loss is through maintaining a high protein intake, keeping cardio intensity as low as possible (heart rate no more than 60% of max) and continuing to lift heavy. This is where many fitness models and bodybuilders go wrong. They assume that in order to get lean they must replace all of the heavy, compound exercises with light, isolation exercises. It is the diet and cardio that will lower your body fat, not the resistance exercise.
This lean and muscular look will take your body fat to unhealthy levels and the fitness model should not plan to stay in this peak condition for more than 2-3 weeks. Fat plays a significant role in the body and may negatively affect several metabolic processes. The fitness model should be aware that she will not have a period for most of the final 12 week period and should also pay close attention to any other physical changes and alert her physician at once. Rest assured that after dieting for more than 12 weeks there will not be much motivation to continue this training and dieting regime which is your bodies way of getting back to a state of homeostasis.
STAGE 3: Recovery
After the fitness model has completed all of her photo shoots and competitions over her 2-3 week peaking period she should take 1 month off of training while slowly returning to a normal diet. Many fitness models and bodybuilders make the mistake of binge eating after a competition diet which results in severe stress to the body. Remember why you got involved in fitness in the first place-to be healthy! Do what is best for your body and mind allow them to fully recover from the stresses of the training program before you attempt to peak again. It is very difficult to reach that peak condition more than twice in a 12 month period. While you are there, however, get out and show it off! Enjoy the fruits of your labors. Take lots of pictures to savor the memories and to one day prove to your grandkids that once, not too long ago, Grandma was really buff
Great fitness and diet help resources:
For Muscle Building And Fat Loss Program. Build muscle and shed fat with tips from trainer and bodybuilder Shawn LeBrun
For The Ultimate Rotator Cuff Training Guide. Physical therapist reveals how to fix rotator cuff pain and shoulder stiffness.
To Firm And Flatten Your Abs. Quickly shrink your waistline, lose body fat, eliminate low back pain and develop a stunning set of six pack abs.
For A Physician's Weight-Loss Secret. Drug-Free Weight-loss Prescription - No-Starving. No calorie counting. Effective, Safe. 14 years proven Results.
15 Top Internet Trainers Reveal All! Learn How To Burn More Fat And Build More Muscle In The Next 30 Days Than Most People Do In 90 Days Or Even 6 Months!
Weight Loss By The Numbers. How I Lost 28 Pounds & 3 Pants Sizes in 3 Weeks! Newly Increased Commissions. Affiliates receive $13.25 per sale!
Fitness-eBooks.com. Innovative weight training eBooks, covering rapid fat loss, muscle building, unique new exercises and powerful training programs.
Foolproof 30 Day Diet. The Fastest Way To Lose Weight - Guaranteed!
WeightLoss eBook :Negative Calorie Foods. Popular Weight loss Program. 3 Diet Plans, 150 recipes with negative calorie foods! Pictures of Negative Calorie Foods.
Comments to date: 1. Page 1 of 1.
Adam Hammond, Louisiana,USA | 3:59pm on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 |
Very helpful information! | |
