If you want to make it big as a fitness model, there is one thing in particular that you should be very familiar with: fitness. This might sound very obvious as models of this kind usually have a broad knowledge on this topic, but even for fitness models, there are always new things to learn. Having background knowledge on the body, training and sports in general is a clear advantage. Above all, fitness models radiate one thing in particular: fitness and health. For this, having a body with a low percentage of fat as well as strict discipline when it comes to your diet and workout sessions is essential. Your training is especially important: with only one or two workouts a week you won’t get very far. Having shorter but more training sessions a week is way more effective to achieve long-lasting results.
Apart from your athletic appearance, the advantage of working as a fitness model is the positive effect on your mental wellbeing through sport. Because as you exercise in your training sessions, your body releases happiness hormones like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. These hormones not only help us focus and feel more awake, they also make us feel happy and content after exercising.
Before the Workout
Whether you are a fitness model or not, before you start your training session, you should always make sure to have a proper warm-up. This is so important because it reduces the risk of injuring your muscles, tendons and joints. A warm-up increases the blood flow in your muscles, which makes them stronger. The consequences of starting your workout with cold muscles could be muscle strains or even torn muscle fiber, which can be easily avoided by stretching and warming up. In addition, a warm-up increases the flexibility of your muscles and joints, which makes your training more intense and effective.
Your warm-up should consist of two parts: the general and the specific warm-up. The general warm up increases the temperature in your entire body, whereas the specific warm-up prepares the individual muscle groups you’re going to work out in the session afterwards. The better you warm up before your workout, the lower the risk of injury.
Targeted Training through Strength Training
As one of the essential forms of training for fitness models, weight training is very effective in building muscle and defining and training specific parts. You choose your weights based on your progress in training and your body’s muscle mass. It is important to keep in mind that for women it is generally more difficult to build muscle than it is for men, due to the hormone testosterone. As women’s bodies produce more estrogen than testosterone, their muscle growth is slower. To train specific muscle groups more effectively, using heavier weights will give you a greater effect. Make sure that your training focuses on all muscle groups equally rather than on certain muscle groups in particular.
Building muscle is especially important for fitness models. Due to a lower body fat percentage, your muscles will look more defined pretty quickly. But you still have to build them first and then keep training them regularly. Continuous training and getting enough sleep will help you build muscle mass. But your diet plays an important role, too. Fitness models should always make sure that their diet is balanced and healthy and includes enough protein.
But apart from building muscle mass and strengthening your body, there is an additional benefit to strength training: It can help reduce your weight. When exercising, the body needs a lot of energy, which means that you will burn a considerable amount of calories. And this doesn’t stop after you finish your workout, your muscles will keep burning calories. At rest, muscles burn three times as many calories as fat does, which is why having a lower percentage of body fat and more muscle can be important for losing weight.
Endurance Training or Cardio to Train Your Whole Body
Apart from strength training to increase muscle strength, cardio training or endurance sports play an important role too. Of course, these build muscle, too, but far less effectively. Swimming, cycling or running are not only fun, but benefit the body in many ways. Swimming for example is considered to be easy on the joints and at the same time, it trains your whole body. Additionally, you will burn a lot of calories, and the many different swimming styles allow you to change it up from time to time to keep it interesting.
However, if you want to burn a lot of calories and fat, you should go running. Running increases your body’s energy expenditure. This highly depends on a person’s height, though: For shorter people, their energy expenditure is pretty high, whereas taller people won’t expend as much energy. But one big advantage of running is that it trains almost all of your body parts: your feet, legs, abdomen and arms as well as your back. This is where the biggest muscle in your body is located, the latissimus, which helps control your arm movements.
Training Your Body and Mind
In addition to systematically training your body and defining your muscles, it is equally important for fitness models to take care of their mind. For those who still need their physical training, we would recommend doing yoga. Originally from India, this practice will not only help you relax and calm your mind but has additional benefits for fitness models. Yoga increases your strength and flexibility and improves your body awareness. Being able to fully understand and control your own body will help you immensely, especially during photo sessions and castings in the modeling industry. If you find yourself in a stressful situation or are about to start an important photo session, yoga will help you become focused and reduce stress while your mind relaxes completely. This will also improve the cooperation of your muscular and nervous system, also known as coordination, and gather energy to regain your strength.
