First of all: I’m in Bucharest!!! The never ending tour of Europe led me in Romania so thank you very much to all the Romanian people who are so nice and warm with me.

It’s more than two weeks that I’m on the road in Europe and so far so good: everything has been very well planned and the outcome is above and beyond my expectations. I’ve been attending so far events, photoshoots, I recorded a teaser which will be soon published and I start to feel a bit tired for the traveling and the intensity of the work but I’ve got still plenty of energy to spare.
While here in Bucharest I will face more some James Bond genre of shooting but back in Turin I also did a fitness photoshoot and it is about this kind of shooting that I want to write about in this post.
I already faced the topic in the article “how to get your body ready in just a week” but here I want to tell you more about the last minute tricks you need to know to be spot on and completely ready for a good quality fitness related shooting session.
These are little advises that you need to know especially if, like in my case, you travel a lot, you’re doing plenty different kind of session in a small window of time and, why not to admit it, if you are not anymore a young gun 🙂
Let’s say you are ready because you are lean and strong, but your skin fades a bit the result of your previous homework: chances are that the stress of the plenty of gigs, the flights and the fact that you might be very tired make your overall look a bit off.

First of all be sure you have always 24 hours between gigs (and I say 24 really stretching it) because you need to deplete and refill your body before a fitness photoshoot.
Remember also that is not really the way you are but is more likely the way you appear, at the end of the day you must give the right illusion of a very fir body even if you are not at your best.
If you’re body is fading don’t worry: you’re probably just holding water. Let’s say you are 24h away from the shooting. Feel your body: if you are too tired is way more beneficial a solid hour of sleep than a depleting session in the gym. If you decide to check in the gym be fast, use light weights and high reps, don’t get INJURED and don’t train legs. If you decide to rest don’t feel guilty: at all!
Now: chances are you look at the mirror and you are flat and off … again: no worries.
We are let’s say 20h away from the shooting, start to low your water intake and from now on you will eat every 2 hours small meals of carbs (the quicker are the carbs the better). You can have some protein based food along with carbs, but not protein powder or anything else with chemicals in it.
The more carbs you get in the less water you should drink unless you see that your muscles can’t absorb the glycogen and getting the right pump and size.
Keep some hydrating cream with you because the more you cut the water the drier your skin gets and you want elasticity instead.
Try to rest as much as possible. In the morning take a look in the mirror: if the water is gone … perfect, don’t drink anymore beside a single shot espresso … max two: caffeine is diuretic but you can’t intake too much of the water with it.
If you see that your body can still fill out more keep eating very quick carbs like rice cakes and marmalade and avoid fats.
Right before warming up for the photoshoot go for sugars if needed. Some people (I’m not one of them) takes also a spoon (dry) of commercial pre-workout.

Before the shooting you must start to pump up: beware you muscles right now are exposed and very weak, you overall body is weak so do first plenty of dynamic stretching.
Having a good make up artist with you is always positive because they can hide the wrinkles and the signs of a body under physical stress due to starvation and dehydration.

Remember that in most of the cases you must keep poses while training or flexing … be prepared of that because cramps can play a bad role and ruin in everything.

As you finish the shooting don’t start to drink like a crazy or eat like there will be no tomorrow but zip to the water gradually and eat with moderation or your body will refuse whatever you put in with a very bad consequences. Not too mention that too much food and too much water all together can make you blow like a balloon.

Guys: that’s it for this time! As I said I’m in Bucharest, you will see soon the outcome of my work here, plus I just received a nice teaser of my job done in Turin so stay tuned!

Thanks so much to all of you and, this time, a special mention to all the nation of Romania.

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Love You All

Ivano Cheers