Gražuolė Jolanta Leonavičiūtė has taken on a new challenge: she has joined the „Fit model Lietuva“ project and is preparing for fitness competitions. Since mid-August, she has been hitting the gym almost every day, dedicating her time to preparing for the competition where she will showcase her results in October.
Joining the „Fit model Lietuva“ project, where 18 girls are guided by trainers to prepare for the „Fit model“ category competitions in 9 weeks, J. Leonavičiūtė joined in mid-August after passing a special selection process.
Speaking to Žmonės.lt, J. Leonavičiūtė shares that the idea to try her hand at this project came almost spontaneously. „When I was in Nida, a friend who is a fitness trainer told me about this project. She suggested that we try participating together – after all, support is important, we would motivate each other. We decided it was worth a try: we filled out the application and sent it. We had to fill in our details, attach photos. After a few days, I received a response that I passed the selection and will participate,“ J. Leonavičiūtė smiles.
And participate she does. Now, almost every day, she rushes to the gym where she trains under the supervision of trainers to improve her body.
„The workouts take place on Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesday is a rest day, and then we train again on Thursdays and Fridays. One day is dedicated to arm training, the next to legs, and so on after rest. The workload is really intense. In addition, each participating girl has different goals: some, like me, need to increase muscle mass, while others need to eliminate fat with the help of sports and diet,“ she explains.
Although J. Leonavičiūtė, seemingly, can boast a perfect figure, the trainers still found things to improve: „My physical fitness is good, but I used to focus on endurance sports, which is a completely different area. My muscles are strong, but they need to be toned. Look at athletes: runners, swimmers… There are certain muscle groups that will never grow with that kind of training. In this case, everything is different: with this kind of training and following a diet, I need to ‚lift‘ my glutes a bit, highlight the existing muscles, slightly increase them, emphasize the shoulder line, strengthen the back. ‚Fit model‘ is a lower category competition than, for example, bikini. Here, the most important thing is a healthy body. Too many muscles would be a disadvantage.“
Of course, alongside sports training, J. Leonavičiūtė had to change several eating habits. „In this case, I need to eat a lot to make my body look good. Of course, eating responsibly: no fat, only very healthy food. And the ‚doses‘ of food are much larger because of that. To tell the truth, this kind of diet costs a lot: eating healthy requires spending several times more money. Speaking of fats, I get them from fish, nuts, avocados. No oil can be added to salads, no sauces can be eaten at all, if you want chicken, it’s only grilled or steamed. I had to give up fruits – only grapefruits can be eaten. I am a big fruit lover myself, so it’s hard for me. Of course, there’s no talk of sweets anymore,“ she smiles.
Speaking with Žmonės.lt, J. Leonavičiūtė doesn’t hide: preparing for competitions is hard. „The workouts are really tough, preparing for competitions is not easy. Of course, it’s a bit easier for those who have extra fat. They lose that weight faster. But building muscle is harder. I’m curious about my body’s capabilities. The trainers push us to the limit, until our arms can’t lift anymore, until we can’t stand on our feet. After leaving the workout, I feel like I can barely walk,“ she says.
But Jolanta trains with 13 other girls. What about the competition? „Each girl in the project has her own goals. Some want to learn to regulate their diet, others work sedentary jobs, so they are happy to have the opportunity to move. We all aim to improve ourselves here. We understand that there will be only one winner. The posing coach said it right: don’t focus on winning. It’s better to just focus on yourself,“ J. Leonavičiūtė says.
She will participate in the competition on October 22nd in Tauragė.