Why Your Lack of Consistency is Holding You Back

Lisa and Romane Lanceford discuss dedication, consistency and commitment after a recent shoot at the Bailey Studio.

When you view a professionally shot photograph featuring a toned, tanned and flawless fitness model, what goes through your mind?

Is it:

“I could never look like that”

“I bet a team of professionals got them ready”

“I just don’t have those genetics”

These insecurities are holding you back from personal growth. YOU are holding yourself back. Now, I’m a professional fitness and portrait photographer, not a life coach or personal trainer, but I know enough to be able to assure you that you are more than capable of achieving great things in the fitness industry. 

Whether your aim is to become a household name - like Gymshark - or you’re looking to simply uplift others and provide value, a professionally shot portfolio of images will help you soar above the rest. Mixing in pro shots with your raw content will help your followers and clients connect with you whilst subconsciously acknowledging your flex that you have assets and professionalism to flex. 

All you need for a good set of images is:

- A good attitude

- Good preparation

- A goal

All of these combine together to spell consistency. 

I sat down with Lisa & Romane Lanceford to find out more about their lives as fitness professionals that lead them to being behind the lens, from their training to their content creation. 

Lisa Lanceford of Lisa Fiitt (check out her Instagram if you’ve been living under a rock) is a fitness influencer sensation with over 2 million followers! Partnered up with best friend and husband IFBB Pro Romane Lanceford, this is truly one power couple. 

Lisa recently launched her new fitness and workouts app Strong & Sxy and came into the Bailey Studio in Nottingham to take some promotional images ready for the app to go live. The app was predominately designed for gym-based workouts but thanks to its huge adaptability, Lisa’s app has helped sculpt many bodies throughout lockdown. You can see some of the shots we took together in this post. 

When I was chatting with Lisa and Romane, I wanted to find out what it is exactly that made Lisa stand apart from the crowd of fitness influencers already on the market. Now, one answer from Romane was that people simply want to look like Lisa, and are therefore wanting to train like Lisa too and will follow her to try her own workouts. 

But when you unpick how Lisa even got to this influential point in the world of the online fitness industry, it’s consistency that really stood out. Let’s take a look at Lisa’s training.

How Many Times a Week does Lisa Fiitt Train?

Lisa and Romane Lanceford are an unstoppable duo, training 5-6 times a week (depending on how busy they are and if they need a rest) and at least half of those sessions together - yes, sometimes even fitness professionals that look in top shape need a little time off too.

You’ll generally find that a lot of fitness models and professionals are usually walking around at peak condition anyway, ready for whatever booking may come up. Lisa is no different in that respect, as you can see from her physique photos!

Both Lisa and Romane coach themselves, surprisingly, despite them both being so busy. I was wondering what type of training split they tend to follow and found out that every day is cardio and weights day for them! Just like me, they start every day with some fresh air (weather permitting) by having an early morning walk. You can find out more about my personal routine here.

Lisa and Romane have the exact same favourite muscle group to train - legs. Romane loves how gruelling yet rewarding a leg day can be. A good piece of advice in general leading up to a photoshoot though is to avoid training your legs as this can lead to inflammation, water retention and the muscle looking too full. 

As I mentioned early, consistency is key for this successful fitness duo. They wake up around 6am everyday and look after their bodies by ensuring a 9pm bedtime shut-off. If you’re looking for a quick fix to get in shape, you should start by setting a good foundation of a consistent bed time. If you’ve headed on over to read my daily routine blog, you’ll know how important this daily life scheduling is to me and my health. 

How Frequently Should You Do Core Training?

The definition in both Lisa and Romane’s core muscles is basically physique porn and of course looks incredible on a shoot. The pair add in core training 2-3 times a week to their workouts to keep their six-packs and obliques in top shape. 

It’s common on a Bailey photoshoot that my clients blast out a couple of hanging leg raises or knee tucks to get their ab definition more pumped. Lisa Fiitt’s favourite go-to ab exercise is a reverse crunch (as she loves training her upper core and obliques) whilst physique competitor Romane prefers a classic leg raise. 

What Type of Diet Do Lisa & Romane Lanceford Eat?

Now, despite me saying that consistency is key, Lisa and Romane like to give their body what it’s craving (within reason). That means if they’re craving McDonalds at 1am, then they’ll go for it! It’s important to give your body a good carb and salt feeding every now and then (especially after a shoot, competition, show or photoshoot is over and your body is very depleted). Find out more about nutrition for photoshoot preparation here in my free eBook. 

Prior to our photoshoot, Lisa didn’t actually need to vigorously change her training or diet as she was already in peak shape. What Lisa and Romane do recommend you do though is avoid bloat from water prior to a shoot. I can’t comment on how safe this method is, but Lisa and Romane love drinking Diet Coke when they’re feeling thirsty, instead of loading up with water. Romane recalled a time when they both ate a load of pizza and drank Diet Coke then woke up shredded the day after (he suspects it’s from the natural diuretics that are present in the drink). 

A lot of my clients LIVE for food; with food and nutrition being such a vital part of success in not only fitness training but also living a healthy lifestyle, it’s something I myself have done a lot of research into. 

I actually follow a keto diet myself and do intermittent fasting, but that’s just what suits my body, goals, training and lifestyle. Romane and Lisa tend to follow a normal varied diet, but I did seem to remember Romane rocking up with his entirely blended once. This is a trick simply for convenience that the bodybuilder uses to ensure he’s getting the calories he needs whilst on the go. 

When it comes to cheat meals - regardless of being in preparation for a photoshoot or show - Lisa and Romane love burger and chips - so much so that they even served up this as grub on their wedding day!

Will Romane Lanceford IFBB Pro Be Competing This Year?

As for everyone, the year ahead from a competitive perspective is uncertain for Romane. Him and partner Lisa are going to just continue making the inspiring content that they love and keep getting stronger. 

Find out more in a few weeks time on the blog about how Lisa Fiitt became the successful fitness influencer she is today.