How to Become a Fitness Model
A career in fitness modeling can be fun and rewarding. To be a successful fitness model, you must work hard and be strategic with your decisions.
You will have to acquire and maintain a reasonable level of fitness, through proper diet and sufficient exercise.
This post is a comprehensive guide on how to be a fitness model. Let’s get to it!
Staying in Shape
Develop A Workout Plan: To be a fitness model, you have to create an effective workout plan based on your level of experience.
If you are just getting started with workouts, you can begin by working out three days per week, and after a few weeks, add a fourth workout day.
For the very intense workouts on your schedule, ensure that
they are well spread out over the week so that your body can have enough time to recover. If you are more experienced with workouts, your schedule can be more intense. For instance, you can adopt a five or six days a week workout schedule.
It is recommended that you consult your doctor before you start a new exercise routine. Exercise triggers changes in the body that you might want to discuss with your doctor.
Also, if you are in your teenage years, your muscles and bones are still growing, which makes it all the more important to check with your doctor. It is also crucial to see your doctor before getting started if you have any serious medical conditions.
A personal trainer can offer their expertise to help you develop an optimized exercise program that is customized to your fitness goals and level of experience.
Keep Track of What you Eat: Proper diet is very important in your fitness modeling career. You have to plan your meals well and control your diet always. Ensure that you keep track of your calorie intake on a daily basis to avoid going overboard. Everyone has different dietary needs depending on factors such as age, gender, and fitness goals.
Keep track of factors such as body weight and body fat percentage – by doing this, you will know when and how to make appropriate diet adjustments.
For instance, if your body fat percentage is very high, you may incorporate healthy fats such as olive oil and omega-3 in your diet, plus a cardio exercise in your workout schedule.
Don’t Reduce your Nutrient Intake as you Cut Calories: It is imperative that you maintain a healthy level of nutrients intake as you cut down your calorie intake. You have to gradually reduce your calorie consumption so that your body can burn fat and make muscles visible, but you shouldn’t compromise your overall health while doing so.
Prioritize on foods that are rich sources of nutrients so that you can stay within the allowed quantities while also getting enough nutrients.
For example, if your diet plan allows 200 grams of carbs a day, go with nutritious carbs sources such as potatoes and berries instead of low-nutrient carbs such as sweets. Relying on multivitamins is not recommended. Also, skipping meals regularly is highly discouraged.
Get a Professional Trainer: When it comes to fitness, you can only do so much by yourself. You can, however, accomplish much more with the help of a professional trainer. If you are just getting started, seek the assistance and guidance of the fitness instructor at your gym. They will guide you on body fitness in general.
As you go into professional modeling, seek the services of a personal trainer who is experienced in your area of focus. Different modeling types require different physiques.
For example, runway modeling and print modeling may demand different kinds of physique. A trainer can help you achieve an even better physique even when you are already fit.
Marketing Yourself
Develop Your Brand: Figure out what your brand is, that is, what you represent in the fitness modeling space. You can do this by asking yourself questions such as, what motivates you? What makes you a unique fitness model? What are your defining aspects as a fitness model? For example, your brand could be a fitness model that overcame a struggle such as health issues.
Look into your day job and see whether it can help define your brand. Often, fitness magazines prefer personal trainers over standard fitness models. This is because personal trainers such as yoga instructors are more likely to seamlessly execute a modeling technique while also appealing to the eye.
Once you have a fitness modeling brand, you will then be able to decide what type of physique to pursue. For instance, to be a competitions model, you will require a more defined physique that you would need for magazine modeling.
Learn How to Pose: Learning how to pose seamlessly is an important factor in any kind of modeling. Posing properly is just as essential as having a good appearance. To learn how to pose, consider hiring a model coach who can train you on how to pull off the most amazing poses. Also, you could take a modeling class or gather information on modeling poses from reliable online sources and fitness magazines.
Consider searching for images online to see how models pose. YouTube videos can also be a great source. Practice how to pull off different poses and figure out what kind of poses you are best at. Consider doing this in front of the mirror.
Get Active on Social Media: Creating active social media profiles can go a long way in advancing your fitness modeling. Consider setting up accounts on all the major social media sites including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Make sure that you update regularly, preferably daily.
Keep your followers engaged - Develop great content that is helpful and inspiring to your followers. Share with your social media followers a comprehensive account of your fitness journey and motivational stories on fitness. Give workout and diet tips.
Try to follow as many industry participants as possible, such as models and photographers- this can be instrumental in building a professional network that can be helpful in getting you out there.
Create a Modeling Portfolio: When you are just getting started, a simple portfolio of yourself taken in good lighting by a friend could suffice. You could have about ten incredible shots in your beginner portfolio. Ensure that the shots are of high quality. When you do gigs, include the published shots from such gigs in your collection.
Creating a fully professional portfolio before signing with an agent may not be necessary – a simple but well-done portfolio is adequate when starting out. Once you are signed with an agent, the agent will develop a professional portfolio of yourself.
However, you should have a great portfolio with recent photographs of yourself when looking for an agency to sign with. A beginner portfolio can also be used to search for gigs, independent of an agent.
As a fitness model, your portfolio should include body shots for viewing by industry participants. Ensure that you are appropriately dressed for such body shots.
Breaking into the Industry
Send your Photos to Modeling Agencies: Modeling agencies offer professional representations services in the modeling industry. An agency assists with the creation of a professional portfolio, search for job opportunities and matching you with suitable jobs. Have your photos well done and submit them to the agencies you would like to sign with.
When starting out, you are unlikely to get signed with the top agencies in the industry immediately, so it is advisable to submit your photos to many agencies, big and small.
You can find prospective agencies by doing an online search for agencies that work with fitness models. You can also check out the public profiles and social media profiles of other fitness models to see which agencies they are signed with.
Be on the lookout for any open calls to be held in your area so that you can prepare and attend. Open calls are a good avenue for getting signed by agencies and also getting industry exposure.
Enter Fitness Modeling Competitions: Fitness competitions offer great opportunities for gaining recognition in the modeling scene. While participating in fitness competitions, you get a chance to network and meet key industry participants.
Stay updated about any competitions in your area by looking online and on print media. Check that you meet the requirements of the competitions you want to enter. Dedicate enough time to preparing for the competition so that you can perform at your best.
Attend a Model Search: Many modeling agencies travel to different areas holding modeling auditions. This is called a model search - it is similar to an open call, but the agency comes to your locality rather than you going to their offices. Any participation charges should be minimal (for covering the costs incurred in holding the search).
Avoid model searches that charge hefty amounts – it might be a scam. Such model searches are highly recommended if you live in a small town with limited fitness modeling opportunities. Focus on making valuable industry connections while participating.
Attend Modeling Conventions: Attending modeling conventions could be instrumental in acquiring industry leads. However, such competitions can be expensive, and it is important to weigh the cost and the benefits so that you make a wise decision on whether to attend.
If you feel that you could be a top fitness model that just needs exposure to succeed, then modeling conventions can be helpful. Remain professional at the convention and try to establish valuable industry connections.
Be Wise with the Contracts: Do not sign up with agencies that require you to pay exorbitant sign-up fees or charge you hefty amounts for developing your portfolio. Such agencies may not have your best interests at heart. A proper agent earns their income from commissions after they get you a job. Read and understand any contracts and releases before signing them.
Be confident while dealing with more experienced industry participants. Don’t feel intimidated because you are a beginner. Ensure that the contracts and releases do not contain overly-restrictive clauses that are disadvantageous to you. If you have a legal practitioner at your disposal, you may ask them to help with reviewing the contracts.
void Getting Swindled: Steer clear of agencies that sell you dreams of grandeur; they may be trying to scam you. If an agent approaches you out of the blues, that may be a red flag.
Most legitimate agencies don’t just contact models out of nowhere, so be cautious of people that approach you promising overnight success in modeling. If you have a prospective agency, perform an online search to verify their legitimacy.
Maintain your Fitness Modeling Career
When you get entry into the modeling industry, it will be vital for you to stay professional and maintain good physical and mental health.
Stay Professional
You must always maintain reasonable levels of professionalism to succeed in modeling.
Maintain Physical and Mental Health
Physical and mental health is paramount for success in a fitness modeling career.
Mental health issues such as low self-esteem can ruin your modeling career. Practice mindfulness to maintain good mental health.Understand that failure and rejection will be part of your journey – learn how to handle them well.Avoid excessive drinking while attending modeling functions as this can be detrimental to your physical and mental health.
Final Thoughts
Becoming a fitness model can be a challenging journey, but the tips provided here can help you navigate more easily. Hard work and dedication are vital in this process. Staying professional and maintaining good physical and mental health will help you establish and develop a successful fitness modeling career.