Obi Obadike Articles

I would like to introduce to the CB.com readers an incredible woman
who has accomplished so many things in her life and is an inspiration
to so many people across the country. This amazing woman is a mother of
six children, owner of two spa salons, CEO of her own online fitness
consulting business, a National Figure Competitor and a super-fitness
model who has been on the cover of Oxgyen four times in less than a two
year period. This amazing superwoman woman is none other than Francisca
Dennis.

OBI: First of all Fran, is it a pleasure and honor to interview
someone who I have so much respect for and someone who has been tearing
up the fitness scene the last couple of years. So Fran tell me how did
you get started in modeling?

Fran: I did a bit of modelling when i was in my teens, but hadn’t
done anything in the area of fitness (I was a skinny kid)... so it was
some runway and more glamour stuff. I started fitness modelling when a
popular publication heard my story about having so many kids and
managing to stay in shape. The editors contacted me and I did my first
shoot when my daughter was only 4 months old…When I began competing in
shows, I was approached frequently to do shoots/features.

OBI: Was "Fitness Modeling" what you intended on when you started or did you see yourself doing "mainstream"?.

Fran: I didn’t really intend on doing this..it kind of just happened with my success in the fitness industry. My mixed racial background offered a  different look from what was traditionally out there. I like fitness modelling because it does inspire others, but I think I would like doing more mainstream in the future and time willing, some film work.

OBI: Fran, how did you feel about being part of the first black couple cover on a Canadian Fitness magazine for Inside Fitness?

Fran: It was a great experience and I was honoured to be a part of it

OBI: How many covers have you done?

Fran: I’ve had 6 magazine covers so far.

OBI: What has been your best experience so far in your career? And your worst?

Fran: Winning the Provincial title this past summer was incredible for me... and would have to be a career high...  Worst would have to be travelling to California (across the country) for a figure comp , and missing the registration. I was unable to compete because of this. I was very upset.

We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well did you know that missing breakfast can lead to fat gain. The results of skipping breakfast are the following: Your levels of protein hormone leptin will change; The protein hormone leptin is what regulates your metabolism and what happens is it allows the body to hold on to more fat. If you skip breakfast your metabolism will slow down tremendously, this is called a catabolic muscle wasting state. The first thing you do when you wake up is make sure you are attaining proper protein and carbs by eating a healthy breakfast.

Drinking water is so important in every day life but did you know that drinking water can help you burn bodyfat. People that are dehydrated generally experience a significant drop in their metabolic rate which basically means they experience a decrease in how much fat they burn in a day. If you’re completely hydrated your optimum fat burning rate is at its highest.

These are some great tips that I'd give anyone who is trying to get work as a fitness model. Check out the first half of this article here: How to Get Work As a Fitness Model - Part 1

Tips To Get Work

1. You got to have great pictures in your portfolio to make editors take notice of you and give you a chance for a shoot.
2. Network with some of the top fitness cover people at the Expos and find out what they did to get on the cover of a magazine.
3. Make friends with as many fitness people as you can because someone always knows somebody in this business that may want to hire you.
4. Always be in shape. The difference between a working fitness model and fitness model that works once a year is the fact that the fitness model that is always working is the person that is ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Editors and photographers don't have time to wait for a month for you to be in shape. Sometimes you'll be lucky if you get a 48 hour notice. When I first shot for Maximum Fitness back in April of 2008, photographer Robert Reif called me and said he had a two issue spread for me and he needed to shoot me in 2 days. Fortunately for me I was ripped up and in shape to shoot for him.

I am writing this article because I've had many people send me emails on facebook on how can they attain fitness modeling opportunities. The best thing I can do is use my experience and tell you what I did to attain work and the people that were influential in my success.



When I started this year, I told myself that there was no amount of money that I wasn't willing to spend to promote myself as a fitness model. This may not be the route for you. I was very impatient and I wanted the success right away and I always felt in my mind that I was cover material. I just felt I had to produce great pictures that would allow editors to give me that chance.



Not to give a numerical figure, but I've spent over 2,000 dollars shooting with one of the best fitness/physique photographers in the country. Was it worth it? It was definitely worth it because now I have pictures that

continuosly get me work and have created a buzz about who I am in this fitness industry. This fitness photographer rarely did TFP's and so I had no problem spending my money to get the best pictures. I felt that if I shot with him, I could get great pictures that would get me work.


I take fitness shoots very seriously and I pride myself on always being prepared for them and I am incredibly meticulous when it comes to being at my best in front of a camera. So what should you do to come prepared for a fitness shoot? There are so many things but here are the basics.

Bringing many different colors of shorts, preferably dark-colored shorts, is a must. Also make sure you have practiced some poses you want to implement in your shoot. Great examples are picking up poses from the cover of previous fitness magazines. Don’t rely on the photographer always trying to direct you. You can really impress him if you know what poses you want to try. Also make sure you are shaved and I mean armpits, face, legs, forearms, etc. When you have seen a cover model with hairy legs or hairy arms?

We’ve all heard positive and negative things about coffee. Well I am here to tell you that coffee is a great catalyst to improve your performance while exercising. Just a few cups of coffee after a tough workout can help improve your muscles recover more quickly. A recent Australian study showed that for both recreational and advanced runners, those that took an eight ounce cup of coffee improved their 5K by an average of 10 to 12 seconds. The caffeine in the coffee causes an increase spike in blood glucose which results in an incredible spike in insulin that the drives the post-workout nutrients such as carbs, protein, and fats into those muscle cells.

Jump-roping is one of the best cardio vascular workouts you could ever do. It focuses on so many different part of your body. It helps to increase your agility, balance, coordination, and muscular endurance. It is also great for strengthening your upper body. One of the best things about jump-roping is that it can done anywhere. It can be done in a gym or outside a gym. Jump-roping may be the best calorie burning exercise ever. If you jump rope for an hour, depending on your metabolism, you can burn up to 1000 calories. Imagine that: being able to burn up to a 1000 calories in one workout.

We all know that doing cardio is great for burning calories and is great for working the heart. But it is important to know that there is such a thing as doing too much cardio. In excess, it can become counterproductive. Any cardio that is performed for more than an hour will work against you, as you will start to dip into your lean muscle and start to burn that muscle. Unfortunately there are many women that fall to this trap. Some think they can burn off all their fat by just doing as much cardio as they can. Yes cardio is very important, but it is all within moderation.

I’ve been fortunate as a former athlete to have competed and trained with some of the best athletes in the world and what I’ve found through my experiences is that these athletes never shied away from pain. That is a part of what made these athletes so great. I come from an athletic and training background where it was instilled in my head that with no pain there is no gain. I absolutely believe that this concept is very true.

Too many people (and I am talking about both men and women) stop their set right when they start to feel the burn in the muscle they are exercising. Your workout doesn’t start at rep 1, it starts once you feel that burn. I had a coach that used to tell me when I was fatigued and in pain in practice, “this is when the workout starts”. I’ve never forgotten those words and I take those words with me every time I train. Remember pain is just a temporary thing and it is not going to kill you. In fact, you will experience greater muscle growth and burn more calories throughout the day if you can work through that burn and pain and execute that set properly.