Exposed: “Fitness Pictures” Are Fake!
Discover the truth about these inspiring photos (Photos courtesy of Jason Helmes)
I recently did something I have wanted to do for a very long time.
I was nearing the end of a long cut and was the leanest I’ve been in a while.
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So, as a treat, I decided to get some “fitness pictures” taken by a professional. My photographer’s name was Stephanie Gagleard and she did excellent work. She was able to shoot me on location in Grand Haven, Michigan during a family vacation. We had rented out a house directly on the beach of Lake Michigan, and we took shots inside the house and outside by the beach.
Here are the results, which (to me at least) were amazing.
I was extremely pleased with the finished work.
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I wanted to get professional photographs taken for a few reasons:
1. Scheduling the session gave me some extrinsic motivation and kept me on point with my diet and training.
I’m not a powerlifter, I don’t participate in “fun runs,” and I have no desire to hit the stage in a bodybuilding contest. At the same time, a photo shoot like this gave me a goal to aim for. I also thought the pictures would be nice as a “keepsake.” When I’m in a nursing home one day, I’ll have those photos to show the unfortunate souls who are assigned to give me sponge baths.
2. The pictures would be useful for my online business.
As a coach, you should be able to walk the walk. While knowledge and your own personal look don’t always match up, it’s been said a coach’s physique is their business card. I wanted my business card to be impressive and well-polished. No more “selfie stick shots” on social media and websites.
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3. I thought it would be fun.
This needs no explanation. I thought it would be a good time and a learning experience. I’m not really into “things,” but I love “experiences.” So I ponied up the loot and made the appointment.
But there was one HUGE problem. When I got the pictures back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the photos … didn’t really look like me.
In a strange sort of false reality, I looked at the pictures over and over again. I liked what I saw … but it felt like I was looking at someone else in the pictures. They seriously didn’t look like me!
Take one more look.
You might think these pictures are me—and I promise you that I was present when they were taken—but below is how REGULAR me looks. In fact, the following picture was snapped just a few days after the above pictures.
No lie. Straight up truth. This is me, shortly after breakfast just a few days after the fitness shoot.
Check out this killer back picture with my girls.
That doesn’t look like me, either.
Here’s my actual back, taken a few days later in my kitchen.
That’s a bit different, eh?
Possibly my favorite pictures from the shoot are the “side abdominal/oblique” pictures.
Here are a couple of those.
Of course, those look like someone else as well. Here are my actual obliques.
I can see an ab or two, can you?
The revealing of my actual, natural physique isn’t meant to discredit any of the hard work I did, or shortchange the awesome work Stephanie did. (I would highly recommend her to anyone.)
Back in December of last year, around 8 months ago, I was around 268 pounds and 20% body fat (my estimate) after a long “dirty bulk.”
When it was time to cut the fat, the prospects of going at this alone seemed daunting. I called on a few buddies to help.
In order to get “photoshoot ready,” here’s what I did:
1. I hired my own coach in order to keep me accountable.
Paying someone to tell you what to do is one of the easiest ways to free your mind and stop “paralysis by analysis.” I took full advantage of this and hired coach Andy Morgan for the purposes of accountability and mental clarity.
2. I worked hard on my mindset.
I made sure to re-frame difficult situations and actively attempted to minimize stressors in my life. (Read more Jason on these topics at AnymanFitness.com.)
3. I hit my macros damn near every day for 8 months. (That is, my daily target amounts for protein, carbs, and fat.)
I took 3 days off my diet for a fishing trip, 1 day off for a friend’s engagement party, and another for the 4th of July. Other than that, I nailed macros every day for 8 straight months. That’s a 97.9% success rate over 8 months. I was rewarded with 40 pounds of fat loss.
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4. I didn’t miss a single training session.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday—for 7 solid months.
5. I asked friends— friends who had done fitness photoshoots before—to give me a few pointers.
Namely, fitness pros Bryan Krahn and Mike Vacanti. They both had a few “prep” pointers. I didn’t do anything too crazy. They just gave me a few, simple tricks to throw into my training and diet, and for the few days leading up to the morning of the shoot. (Thanks for the tips, men.)
6. I did not feel well when these pictures were taken. I was cranky, tired, and lethargic.
The pictures were taken at 7:30 at night. I had eaten a few, small meals of 25 grams of protein and a piece of fruit during the day—all-in-all less than 500 calories. I had barely sipped on water—just enough to wet my mouth. I was dehydrated from the travel. (The photos were taken after a 4-hour drive to our destination.)
I also spent a good hour “pumping up.” I estimate around 500 pushups and 100 pullups to get the physique looking good and the abs popping.
The slight dehydration, the small amount of food, and the nice pump gave me a very aesthetic look for the pictures.
7. The pictures were then filtered and touched up.
Lighting and angles are everything. Cuts appear deeper, muscles appear fuller, and the physique starts to “pop” under the right lens.
My photographer didn’t “enhance” these pictures in Photoshop—they are totally me. At the same time, we did everything under our control to take care of variables that would give us the best possible end product.
When all of these items were combined, the photos ended up looking really damn good.
There’s a reason they call it “photoshoot ready” and not “my condition all the time.”
While the look in photoshoots is attainable for me—if only for a brief moment in time—it’s not maintainable 24/7. Not only did my condition take 8 months’ worth of extreme dedication to accomplish,
I had to dehydrate myself and eat next to nothing for 24 hours in order to dry out, and then an hour to pump back up. The actual condition I was in during the exact moments the pictures were taken is a fabrication. I can’t look like that full time, at least not if I want to be healthy.
I used to idolize fitness coaches. I looked at their pictures and yearned to “look like that.” I desired the “superhero” physique: the defined six-pack, thick pecs, broad shoulders, and bulging yoke.
Ironically, now that I’m a fitness coach, I’m happier with my body as a constant work in progress and I don’t need the validation of these pictures.
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I do still spend much of my life dedicated to making incremental physical improvements.
I have, however, gotten much smarter in regards to what is naturally possible, and what isn’t.
This was highlighted for me in Kansas City this year, when I had the privilege of attending The Fitness Summit, a national convention for natural fitness enthusiasts. Most of the attendees were in decent shape. Very few of them looked like “monsters.”
Everyone looked lean and healthy.
But nobody looked like they did in their respective “fitness pictures” they had posted on their websites and social media.
Those conditions are created in order to make money.
Be sure to check yourself if you are striving for an unreachable ideal.
Never compare yourself to a glossy picture or an image on your computer screen.
Take progress shots of yourself—and compare yourself to the old you ONLY.
The fitness picture you are idolizing is never a maintainable possibility.
Last one, I promise.
Yours in honesty,
Jason
This story was originally published at AnymanFitness.com, the website of Jason Helmes, who is the author of this article and an online fitness coach.
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