"So You Wanna Be a Fitness
Model"
People that follow my stuff know I generally write
about nutrition, supplements, training, and other
topics that are more science based than subjective
topics, such as what is covered in this article. I
decided to shuck my science geek persona, and write
on a topic I know will be helpful to thousands of
would be and wanna be fitness models.
As well a known "hard core" science based
no BS writer, why I am writing what some will perceive
as a "fluff" article? Over the years I have
gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals that ask
me via email, letters, or in person "how do I
become a fitness model Will? You have been in the
business a long time, surly you of all people should
know." I get this from newbies and I get this
from women that have been at it a while but have been
unable to "break in" effectively.
The fact is, I have been in the fitness, health,
and bodybuilding biz a long time, and though I am
known as a science and nutrition based "guru"
type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged
fitness and figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness
America, Fitness USA, and other federations as well
as given marketing and business advice to all sorts
of athletes, including fitness models. So, it's not
as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to
use this space to cover a non scientific topic, which
is, how one goes about being a fitness model.
This article will be useful to both experienced and
novice types looking to "break in" to the
biz. If you are already a professional and successful
fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some
useful information from this article.
First the bad news, there is no one way to become
a successful fitness model. There is no single path
or magic secret. There are however some key things
a person can do to greatly improve their chances of
"making it" in the fitness biz as a model,
and perhaps using that success as a launching pad
to greater things, such as movies, TV, etc.
Several of the top fitness models (Trish Stratus
and Vicki Pratt come to mind but there are many others)
have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds.
Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to being
successful as a fitness model, this article will be
about as close to a blueprint for success as you will
find.
"Do I need to compete?"
This is a question I get asked all the time and it's
not an easy one to answer. In fact, the answer is
(drum roll) yes and no. The person has to deicide
why they are competing in the first place to answer
that question. For example, do you need to compete
if your goal is to be a successful fitness model?
The answer is no. Many of today's well-known fitness
models have never competed, or they competed in a
few small shows and it was clearly not part of their
success as fitness models. However, competing does
have its potential uses.
One of them is exposure. At the upper level shows,
there will often be editors, publishers, photographers,
supplement company owners, and other business people.
So, competing can improve your exposure. Also, competing
can make sense if you are trying to build a business
that is related to your competing or will benefit
from you winning a show.
For example, say you have a private training gym
you are trying to build. Sure, having the title of
say Ms Fitness America, or winning the NPC Nationals
and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and
the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios
were it would help to have won a show for a business
or other endeavors.
On the other hand, it must be realized that winning
a show does not in any way guarantee success in the
business end (and it really is a business) of being
a fitness model. The phone wont ring off the hook
with big offers for contracts. Also, it's very important
to realize that it's common that the 4th or 6th or
8th place finisher in a fitness or figure show will
get more press than the winner. Why? Though the winner
might have what it took to win that show, it's often
other gals the editor, publishers, supplement companies
etc, feel is more marketable.
I have seen it many times where the winner was shocked
to find she didn't get nearly the attention she expected
and other girls who placed lower have gotten attention
in the form of photos shoots, magazine coverage, etc.
Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself the
important question "do I need to compete and
if so, why am I competing?" Answer that question,
and you will know the answer to the heading of this
section. Winning a title of some sort can be a stepping
stone, but it is not in itself any guarantee of success
in the fitness industry. It's like a college degree;
it's what you do with it.
Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all
means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing
as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness
model.
Right body, wrong federation?
Ok, so after reading the above you have decided you
are going to compete, or will compete again. If you
don't plan to compete, you can skip this section.
The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have
the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation
has its own judging criteria and a competitor will
do poorly simply because they didn't bother to research
which show would be best suited for them.
I will give you a perfect real world example of this.
Recently I judged a show whose criteria for the figure
round was the women should be more on the curvy softer
side with some tone, vs. being more muscular and athletic
with less bodyfat that other federations might allow.
At this show one of the most beautiful women I have
ever seen came out. She was very proportional, great
muscle tone, lean, and athletically shaped with narrow
hips and waist and wider shoulders. How did she do
at this show? She didn't even place in the top ten!
Why? Because she was not what we were instructed
to look for and didn't fit the criteria. After the
show I informed her that she looked great, but this
may not the federation for her. I told her she had
much more of an NPC type body, where a little more
muscle, athletic build, and less bodyfat is rewarded.
The following week I was judging an NPC fitness,
figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How
did she do? She won the entire show with all judges
voting her number one unanimously.
Conversely, if your body type tends to be more rounded
and toned, but with a little more bodyfat, wider (but
not fat!) hips, you may be better off competing in
say the Fitness America Pageants. If you are going
to compete:
(1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is
for that federation and
(2) go see those shows as a spectator for several
different federations and see which one your physique,
style, etc will fit into best.
(3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic
abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which
requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition.
I often see women who would do well in a figure show
but really don't have the athletic abilities do the
routines required to be competitive with other athletes
in the show. Some shows will allow you to do both
competitions and some wont.
Continue to
Part 2 >>
>> Click here for Will Brink's Bodybuilding Revealed
>> Click here for Will's Fat Loss Revealed
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