There is a pretty big difference between being a female fitness model and being a female fitness competitor.

Not all women that are fitness competitors are fitness models, and not all fitness models are fitness competitors.

Did that make any sense?



Female fitness competitions are competitions that stress muscle tone over muscle size.

Muscle size is important in female bodybuilding which is a whole 'nother subject.

Female fitness competitions kinda resemble Miss America pageants, without the singing.

Contestants..sorry..I mean competitors... wear swimsuits and high heeled shoes and come out for the judges, doing half turns and quarter turns to show off their physiques.

They have to look lean and ripped, but not too ripped.

That is where the contest diet comes into play, but there are a growing number of fitness competitors that stay at "contest weight" all the time now by watching their diet and workouts carefully.

Anyway, they are judged on their appearance and also they come back out for an aerobic, dance or gymnastic routine.

If you notice, a lot of fitness competitors are former gymnasts and personal trainers, so that's right up their alleys.



Two of the biggest professional fitness contests are the Fitness Olympia (created in 1995) and the Fitness International (created in 1997).

Both are run by the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) and doing well enough in amateur competitions to get your IFBB Pro Card is a big deal.

Interestingly, one woman has won the most Fitness Olympias (four) and Fitness Internationals (four also) and that is Susie Curry who by the way, becoming a fitness model, started out in gymnastics.



Now to be a fitness model, you don't have to be a fitness competitor, although that can help you to get your name out there.

A lot of the popular fitness models of the 1990s never set foot on a stage.

The 2000s changed that a bit with the increasing popularity of the internet.

Fans would see a beautiful fitness model and look her up online and see that she actually hadn't competed anywhere.

That kinda lowers their rep.

"Okay, she's hot, but what has she actually done?"



Back in the 1990s, Muscle Magazines started running their own "Swimsuit Issues" like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and moved many of the fitness competitors (and female bodybuilders depending on the magazine) from the stage to posing for their cameras.





Here are a few of the famous fitness models that made the transition...