With washboard abs and rock-hard glutes, Sarah Pickering is the picture of fitness.
The 5ft 1in beauty, who is training to be a PT, sculpts her impressive body with a rigorous six-day-a-week workout regime.
Weighing just 53kg, the 26-year-old can deadlift an impressive 110kg – over twice her bodyweight.
The pint-sized beauty has been pumping iron for seven years, but really ramped it up three years ago when she started working as a fitness model.
"I love to be in front of the camera," she said. "I work hard on my body and I’m proud of my achievements and my work ethics. It’s fun for me."
SCROLL DOWN FOR TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME A FITNESS MODEL
Sarah says she is body-confident and loves the buzz she gets from showing off her impressive physique on stage.
"My body is brilliant, I love it," she said. "I’ve really put effort into my legs and my back and now I’m focusing on the front upper parts."
And the fitness fanatic wants to encourage others to love their bodies too.
"Never dislike a part of your body, just realise that it needs work and commit to changing it and give your self a chance. Rome wasn’t built in a day," she said.
HOW TO BECOME A FEMALE FITNESS MODEL
Here James Bishop, director of RIPPEDmodels reveals what it takes to become a fitness model
How can a woman become a female fitness model?
It boils down to two basic ingredients – the fuel you put into your body, and the work you do to sculpt your body.
You want to be filling up on good quality calories to provide the energy you need to build your body.
Some women become fitness models after many years of training for a sport – their bodies are already in good condition because of the training, so they take the next step and become a fitness model.
Some just enjoy working out, they live for their next gym session and see fitness modelling as a way to push themselves further.
There really is no barrier – we have plenty of mums on our books and plenty of ladies who used to be larger or out of shape and wanted to do something about it and decided to turn their lives around and are now some of the best fitness models we have.
What kinds of exercise regime do they have to follow?
It depends on the kind of model they want to be. An aesthetic fitness model isn’t necessarily covered with huge muscles, whereas a muscle model will be a bodybuilder who is a lot bigger.
Aesthetic fitness models tend to be incredibly well-toned, with low body-fat that allows their muscles, especially their abdominals, to stand out.
To maintain this body shape, women will tend to focus on low weight, high repetition exercises in the gym, to keep their muscles strong and defined, and they will also work in lots of cardio exercises such as running, cycling or stepping to keep their blood pumping.
Larger bodybuilders will use much heavier weights and less repetitions – the aim is to get bigger, so their muscles will need to work a lot harder.
They also tend to do less cardio exercises, although many still do a lot of cardio as it is still important to keep the body-fat percentage low.
What is a fitness model's diet like?
You wouldn’t buy an expensive car and put the wrong fuel in it – fitness models are just the same.
They don’t want to spend hours training and then fill up on fatty, processed food.
However, the calorie content will often need to be high in order to provide the energy needed to fuel your body’s growth – but the golden rule is to take in “good” calories.
For most, a high protein diet (think lots of chicken, turkey and lean meat) with lots of vegetables and healthy food to provide the vitamins and nutrients needed is the best method.
However, everyone deserves a day off once in a while and fitness models are no different.
Many look forward to their “cheat days” when they allow themselves some fast food and ice-cream or an indulgent meal out and a well-deserved drink.
I think this is important, they should reward themselves every so often. As long as it’s not every single day though.
What does it take to become a successful fitness model?
In one word – dedication. You need to be dedicated to your diet and dedicated to training.
It can be hard if you are in the gym on a Friday night when your friends are all out at the restaurants or going out for a drink – but for a fitness model, it becomes normal and the gym or studio becomes like a second home.
What do clients look for in a fitness model?
Clients who are looking for fitness models will always want two things: a perfect body and good looks.
Our clients range from underwear brands to fashion labels, from gym equipment manufacturers to car brands.
They want to be associated with health, vitality and fitness. Of course, each individual client will often be looking for specifics – such as a specific hair colour or style, eye colour or skin tone.
How would you go about getting your first shoot?
The best way is to practice beforehand – get a friend to take some good shots of you.
Research different poses and buy a bikini that suits you and showcases you well.
When you have some good shots, send them in to a good fitness modelling agency and if they like you, they will put you on their website so that clients can see you.
The trick is to find a good, specialist fitness modelling agency – not a general modelling agency that will cater for all different looks and body types and will not necessarily have fitness modelling as their main sector.
And my biggest piece of advice is do not spend thousands on a professional photoshoot and stay away from agencies that insist you do so.
Clients prefer to see images that are as natural as possible on our website so they can make a hiring decision based on a natural looking photograph of a specific model.
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