Every few months someone asks me for my "shoot prep secrets" and looks disappointed by the answer. There is no secret. There's a routine, and the routine is deliberately boring.
Shoot weeks don't change what I eat - they change how carefully I time it. Breakfast is always the same: eggs, oats, fruit, water. It's not exciting, but I've learned the hard way that experimenting with food two days before a campaign is how you end up bloated under studio lights wearing fitted knitwear.
The biggest myth in this industry is that male models starve before shoots. Some do, and you can tell - they're flat, tired, and irritable by noon. I eat more on shoot days, not less. A ten-hour day of holding tension through your whole body burns more energy than most people's training sessions.
Hydration is the one thing I'm genuinely strict about. Two litres minimum the day before, sipped, not chugged. Skin, energy, and definition all follow water. Coffee stays at two cups because a jittery model can't hold a slow pose.
The honest summary: sleep eight hours, eat real food, train consistently all year so shoot week requires no heroics. Boring wins. It always has.