‘What Does It Really Take To Get The Body Of A Fitness Model? Fitness Model Workout’ – Monica May
You know all those girls you see scrolling on your Instagram feed, with sculpted bodies and toned muscles?
They look so good, right?
I know when I was first starting with fitness and weight loss I would kill for a body like that.
And still, to this day after so many years of hard work, clean diet and sweat, I still can’t manage to look as good as a fitness model.
So, how do they do it?
I decided to do research on what does it really take to get the body of a fitness model, including fitness model workout, dieting, and lifestyle.
And today I’ll give my very best to uncover the secrets and answer the question of what does it really take to get the body of a female fitness model.
Who knows, maybe you’ll get inspired to become one too!
Now let’s take a peek into a fitness model workout plan right away!
1. They Follow A Fitness Model Workout Program
Every fitness model follows a strict workout plan. A workout plan is designed just for them, depending on their body structure.
However, this workout plan is different than the regular workout program that fitness trainers recommend when you make the first step in the gym.
The fitness model workout plan is customized especially for them, and usually includes splits training sessions with lots of heavyweight and lots of cardio.
Which leads us to the next step…
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2. They Lift Heavy Weights
Pretty heavy.
Fitness models do strength training on a daily basis, using super challenging weights.
Their strength training sessions are usually designed with the specifically chosen weights, number of rep and sets.
Lifting is and should be hard and you shouldn’t be able to do more than 10 reps.
Also, strength training always comes first, at the beginning of their workout.
Only 5-10 minutes to lightly warm up, and then they hit the weights.
3. They Always Warm Up And Stretch
Always!
And not only warm-up but cooldown too.
Here’s how it looks like:
- warm up
- strength training (split body training)
- cardio
- stretch
4. They Make Every Rep Count
Quality over quantity!
That’s the rule when it comes to strength training for a fitness model.
To really build strong muscles, fitness models usually do 6-8 reps with heavier weights, rather than doing 15 reps with lighter weight.
That’s where your muscles get stronger.
Also, the perfect number of sets is determined depending on the weights but is usually 3-4.
5. They Do Phases
Making your body a sculpted piece of art is a process that’s usually done in phases.
This means that fitness models have a phase where they lift heavy weights, and not do cardio at all.
This phase is known as the strength phase and it’s actually the one where the most muscle-building phase.
The next phase is the cardio phase.
Usually, this phase is complemented with a pretty strict diet.
6. They Eat Healthy
The food that the fitness models are consuming is a bit different from the food that the average person would think is healthy.
They eat mostly proteins. A lot of proteins especially at the end of the day so that the muscles recover well and grow.
It’s really important to eat a lot of veggies and fibers too.
It’s really important what you eat before the workout too.
In order to have the energy needed for the following workout, the food you are eating should be full of proteins and energy, but still you should keep it healthy and clean.
On cardio days and rest days, there are only protein meals included, no carbohydrates or fats, only clean proteins and green salads.
They even eat without any oils, olive oil, or any kind of oil.
This is because when it is the cleaning period, they want to get the best results they can, so they don’t risk it all by adding oil or frying their meals.
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7. They Take Supplements
Yup.
Including whey protein and pre-workout formulas.
Fitness models usually take all sorts of supplements that promote muscle growth and fat burn.
They also help them recover faster, hydrate and get that extra burst of energy.
Vitamins and minerals are a must on their list too.
7. They Rest A Lot
Rest is a key point of their training process.
This means a good night sleep of 8 hours a day, to help the muscles recover, getting them ready for the next training.
They also have rest days (as I already mentioned). However, they never rest two or several days in a row.
Just one day, once or twice a week.
No more, no less.
8. They Pose
Also, they learn how to pose.
Now you may think to yourself, why is she telling me this?
Well, because of a huge reason – I don’t want you to ever compare your ‘resting couch’ body pose, to a fitness model’s ‘profile picture on IG’ pose.
They flex their muscles and learn to pose so they get out all of their muscles and hide all of their flaws.
So, don’t feel bad about yourself next time you scroll down your favorite fitspo on your feed.
9. They Are Not Perfect, But They Love Themselves, Flaws And All
And last, but not least, fitness models workout, eat healthy, and do all of these things above, but yet they are not perfect.
You know why? Because nobody’s perfect.
We all have flaws and that’s a part of being a human.
However, self-love and self-respect are on the top of their list.
That’s why most of them are starting to get honest about their bodies, showing us the imperfect side of them…
We don’t always see the ‘behind the scene’ part, and usually, that’s the real part.
ME vs. STILL ME 🙋🏼♀️ – @deniceemoberg
So, what you should focus on is eating healthy, exercising daily, constantly making healthy decisions, and most important of all – LOVE YOURSELF.
Rather than chasing someone else’s body, make sure to be your own beautiful.
That’s the beauty of it!
Till next time babes!
xo,
Monica
Thanks for this article, I found it to be quite illuminating and pretty correct from my experience! I have been training for a while now and really want to work up to the body of a fitness model- they are so strong and sexy! But I do think that it is not so cut and dried. Not every fitness model trains the same way, with the same number of training sessions or weights principles. I personally know a few fitness models (being a personal trainer myself) and their workouts and training are quite different to one anothers’. Some train 5 days per week, with heavy weights and cardio. Some train only 4 times and others train 7! When it comes to our bodies, my belief is that it is not a one- size fits all game, we are all different and so are our bodies! This is a good thing :)
Hi Annie,
I totally agree with you! I share the same opinion, every single body is different, so for every one of us, it takes different workout programs and different training time.
What can I say, you said it just right!
All the best,
Monica
bruce lee jog/sprint 3 days a week before breakfast 2 miles. He was the 2nd person that did use the blender making protein shakes his wife said. Around 12pm he weight training. 5-6pm gungfu JKD. ALT. Gungfu with training at home likd boxing with heavy bag 40min workout he did this also intermediate fasting see youtube.com videos. Which is see onemealadaydiet.com website.the jog on empty stomach after you hop out bed – burns the body fat because no carbs be in your stomach. The body burns glycogen untell 30min. Then begins to burn body fat after 30mins. Intermediate fast works that 1 meal is less than 1000 calories . The trick is- you are to make that meal full of vitamins at the samd time use portions control. For example meat must not be bigger than the size of your own fist not the next persons fist. Dinner plates food must not be too much food. Keep all foods within center circle not outer circle of dinner plates. If men cut out breads the stomach will get flat in 10 days- FAT LOSS
Thanks for this article, I found it to be quite illuminating and pretty correct from my experience! I have been training for a while now and really want to work up to the body of a fitness model- they are so strong and sexy! But I do think that it is not so cut and dried. Not every fitness model trains the same way, with the same number of training sessions or weights principles. I personally know a few fitness models (being a personal trainer myself) and their workouts and training are quite different to one anothers’. Some train 5 days per week, with heavy weights and cardio. Some train only 4 times and others train 7! When it comes to our bodies, my belief is that it is not a one- size fits all game, we are all different and so are our bodies! This is a good thing :)
Im 143 lbs, I eat a lot of big portions of food that leaves me sleepy after, and I crave sweets after eating. I lack consistentCy in going to the gym and I need advice on all of the above and ways to become and stay motivated/discipline. My goal is to see my body toned like those pics shown earlier but it’s really hard to push pass the burn and the pain when in the gym it make me feel like giving up. ALL Advise suggestions cautioning are welcomed. Blessings :)
Hey Crisy,
Well, I really want to help you, but you should start helping yourself first.
I’m happy that you wrote to me, because that means that you care, and that you really want to go for it, and get fit, but you need just a little push, and some extra motivation.
I suggest you to think about your goal. Is it important, why is it important to you, do you want it badly, will you be able to give your 100% to get the body you want… Think about what you’re giving up, and what do you get: You give up some food, that gives you 5 minute pleasure, and you go for a body, mind and soul, that believe me tastes 100 times better than your favorite food!
Thoughts like these always helps, but because it is hard for us to remember them when we’re hungry and bored, try writing them on a list and hang them on your fridge. You just need some extra push and that’s okay!
Love
Monica
Hi Monica! Great post :) I have a question about cellulite. I pretty much work out 5-6 daya a week with 5 days of weights and 1 cardio day. I eat breakfast. I eat 2 hours before I work out and right after I work out and I cant seem to get rid of my cellulite in my thighs, above knees and butt. Any tips?
Marisa
Dear Marisa,
I got the same problem. I got fit, I slimmed down, but my cellulite was still here.
So I was doing some researches about that, and found out that actually cellulite is something that people have even if they’re not overweight.
Actually, it depends on your genetics, on the type of your skin and body hydration.
So, what you can do is: drink a lot of water, continue workout out as you are, and finally change your diet into healthy low carb eating plan.
This helped me get my cellulite out of my thighs.
I hope I helped you, and for any other questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Love,
Monica
Hey Monica! I started perusing the other articles on your blog and this one caught my interest. I’m currently training to get a “fitness mode” body…not actually be one. I’m just doing it to challenge myself because I like a good challenge. These are all GREAT tips and I hate to keep pointing out things that may not be accurate, but I’m pretty sure that where you say fitness models ONLY eat protein on cardio days isn’t entirely true. It’s pretty much impossible to do that. Nearly every source of protein is going to have some fat or carbs in it. Carbs are also still important to fuel cardio workouts but in a “cutting phase” they will still be kept really low. You may not have meant it this way and were just emphasizing that their diets are primarily protein, but more realistically the diet they follow is probably around 50% protein with the rest compromised of carbs and fat. This is still an incredibly difficult diet to stick to…one I plan on implementing within the next month. I’ll have to let you know how it goes!!
Oh and perhaps some folks do try to eat close to no carbs or fat but it’s probably to get ready for a photo shoot or competition and it’s more of a temporary short-term diet than a longer term lifestyle change. Just thought I’d throw that out there too!
I’m still learning all of this stuff myself so I’m not trying to be a fact-checker. Just thought I’d weigh in with what I’ve learned during my process.
You have some incorrect and slightly inaccurate info–it’s a decent article, just could use some polish and quick fix on some spelling errors. Would you like some help?
Thanks for the offer.
Feel free to contact me on my contact mail if you have some ideas :)
A realy nice blog for girls like me. Gets motivation from this blog. i will also share this blog with my friends.
Hi! I am 125 pounds and a 14 year old girl and want to work out hard every single day. I do 30 minutes of HIIT workouts but my parents are not supportive of my activity. They will constantly supervise me so that I can’t exercise. I used to be all muscle and super fit but ever since they have been on guard, I have lost a lot of muscle and now might consider myself fat. They only allow me 30 minutes of alone time each day so that’s when I take a shower and workout in the bathroom. I really hate doing this as I am a rock climber, kickboxer, yogi, hiker, and biker and love doing workouts outside in a free-range environment, instead of one full of stealth and silence.
Do you have any advice for me to become super fit and lean again? I eat mostly vegan yet for lunch and dinner my family makes unhealthy food which is not good for my body. Do you know of any workouts that are silent but will make me super fit again?
I really want to be fit and strong and slim again because that was my reputation at school last year. Do you have any advice on this?
Dear Molly,
You’re so young and yet so aware and so smart.
You should be proud of yourself!
The first thing you should do is talk to your parents – tell them you want to live healthy and don’t want to end up like most of the Americans – unhealthy and over-weighted, carrying lots of diseases from early age.
I really hope they understand that you’re doing good for yourself, because support is everything, especially on age where you’re not able to provide your own food and cook it alone.
So, try talking to them, I believe they’d understand.
You’re young and you have your whole life in front of you, don’t ever lose that passion!
Hi Monica
I am 30% body fat right now and my dream is to do a fitness competition. Do you have advice on how I should begin? Should I drop fat first and then go to the strength building phase?
Deborah,
The very first thing you should do is clean up your diet.
Eating healthy will set the base for this plan you have.
I’d say, start lifting and clean your diet and you’ll kill two birds with one stone – start losing weight and start building lean muscle mass.
If you don’t have a nutrition plan yet, head on to https://fitgirlsdiary.com/my-meal-plan/
Love,
Monica
Hello!
Your blog is informative and motivational!
I wanted to ask, can a person new to fitness follow this plan?
Would you recommend it?
Tibiya,
Yes, beginners can follow this plan too.
However I would recommend you a 2 week warm up before starting off with the program.
The warm up would include mostly cardio and just trying out the different exercises with lighter weights.
That’s how your body will “warm up” for what’s coming.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.
Hugs,
Monica
Hi Monica,
Can I get the fitness model body as a vegetarian? I struggle to vary my protein intake aside from beans, tofu and eggs.
Dei.
Yes of course!
You can get your protein from beans, peas, legumes, eggs, dairy products such as low-fat plain Greek yogurt, mozzarella and even supplements such as protein shakes.
If you want to learn more about healthy protein foods, I warmly suggest you head on to my eBook and nutrition guide “The Hungry Fit Girl” and learn all about proteins and healthy foods in general.
Here’s the link: https://fitgirlsdiary.com/my-nutrition-guide/
Best,
Monica
Hi Monica,
Which supplements help to get lean muscle mass.
Rakhee,
There are so many supplements that can really help bring in the big gains and build some lean muscles.
However, I recommend these 5 to be the best and most effective once.
You can check them out in my Girl’s guide to supplements here:
https://fitgirlsdiary.com/girls-guide-to-muscles-essential-supplements-promoting-muscle-growth/
Hope I helped!
Love,
Monica
Those photos are ridiculously photo shopped, and are nonsense. The blond has clearly had at least 2 boob jobs, how embarrassing..
Kelly,
These are famous fitness models and IG influencers, and yes some of them may have had plastic surgery.
And I am all about people doing what they want to do with their bodies, so I am not here to shame plastic surgery…
However, the point is that not everything is as it seems on social media. Sometimes it’s photoshop, sometimes it’s supplements, sometimes it’s plastic surgery, and sometimes it’s posing, angles and lightning.
Anyways, hope my article helps :)