Shaping Up For Summer
Actors share their best tips for getting in shape.
bold & beautiful diet
“With this pandemic and this whole lockdown life, I’ve been more flexible than usual. But I intermittently fast, so usually I eat for 8 hours and then fast for the next 16 hours. It varies because I try to get my workout in when [son] Christian is taking a nap, so I don’t like to eat before my workout. I have a protein shake after, and I’ll eat eggs, turkey sausage or oatmeal for breakfast. For lunch, I’ll have some tuna, an orange and some wheatgrass. For dinner, I’ll have a chicken breast and some broccoli, and for a snack at night, I’ll have yogurt with some Reddi Wip on top, because it has nextto-no calories and no carbohydrates. I’ll also have a couple of peanut butter pretzels, the bite-size, and that’s my day. I’m being healthy but it’s not like I’m training because I have a shirtless scene coming up. It’s more about being healthy and fit, not necessarily camera-ready. Even though
I’ve been flexible, I’ve still kept myself in a place where it won’t be incredibly challenging to get back [in shape]. I’m going over the line, but I’m trying not to go too far over it.”
fitness
“I have some dumbbells, so I do a weighted workout routine with those: chest, arms and back. There are many different variations of things you can do with dumbbells. I do that Monday through Friday, and then do some type of calisthenics — jumping jacks, push-ups — in timed intervals. I do that for, like, 45 minutes, and weekends are off. It’s not just about staying healthy, but it helps me track time in this kind of Groundhog Day that we’re going through. Monday is chest, triceps, shoulder workout, and then the next day it’s something else, and by Saturday, rest. It’s my cheat day. Enjoy! No workout. Sunday is a little less lenient but it’s still a rest day, too.”
diet
“I like to cook healthy foods and make interesting meals, and I post those recipes on my blog. You can also see what I eat in a particular day. One of my biggest rules is if you don’t buy it and you don’t have it in the house, you’re not going to eat it. I like to snack and if I’m craving something that’s ‘not good for me’, I’ve learned to have a little bit and not go overboard, because if we spend our entire lives avoiding every single delicious temptation, that’s going to be absolutely no fun. There has to be a balance. For those times I have to be in a bathing suit or my underwear on camera, I cut back. I try not to drink wine, which is one of my favorite indulgences. I try to limit carbs and eat really high protein and just rein in my diet. I’m not eating that chocolate at the end of the day that I feel is a treat. It’s nothing too crazy.”
fitness
“I prefer to work out in the morning and since I have no real schedule right now [due to the pandemic], I can do that. I usually work out at 9 a.m. and strength training is what I’m doing, strength training and Pilates-inspired workouts. Then, I go on long walks with the dogs almost every day in the neighborhood, so that’s a nice, calm, relaxing cardio. When I was in my early 20s, all I did was cardio. I didn’t do any strength training at all, which if I could go back in time and change, I would. So, I like to find ways to do cardio where it doesn’t feel like you’re actually working out. Sometimes it’s running, and sometimes I don’t want to run, but sometimes I get into a groove and it’s great. Hiking is wonderful, too. I’ll listen to a podcast. I get my heart rate up and I’m outside. I have also been loving dance classes online. I’ve been doing follow-alongs, where you mimic what the instructor is doing on-screen, so you’re just dancing around in your living room. It’s fun.”
days of our lives diet
“In terms of quarantine, my daily movement has not been as high as it used to be, so I’m trying to monitor my caloric intake. For breakfast, I usually start off with a protein shake with various health elixirs added in, just to make sure I have energy and all the vitamins and minerals that I need for the morning. For lunch, I’ll make some avocado toast, something simple. For dinner, I’ll usually take a protein like turkey or chicken and add various vegetables. Sometimes it’s Brussels sprouts, sometimes it’s broccoli. Last night, it was bok choy. I do eat a lot of salads, but I find that they are easier for me when I order out, because you need a ton of ingredients to make a good one. I’m trying to social distance and stay at home as much as possible, so, right now, it’s rice, plain pasta, and any leftover veggies I have. For snacking, I love popcorn, if it’s made with olive oil instead of butter. It’s high in fiber and iron, very filling and very low in calories. I have an air popper, so I make my own. I also eat fruit. It tastes like candy to me.”
fitness
“I work out at least five to six days a week. I give myself one day of rest, because that’s been clinically proven to be better on your muscles. [When not in quarantine] I take different fitness classes, whether it’s hot yoga or spinning or training with my kickboxing instructor. On top of classes, I go to the gym every day for at least an hour. I hate cardio, so my go-to for that is the Stairmaster, because it gets my cardio done very quickly. It also works out my quads and my glutes, so it’s two birds with one stone. When I get to the gym, I head to that machine first. Then I play around with free weights. It also depends on what I’m focusing on that day, whether it’s a leg day or arm day or ab day. I switch up the routine. For leg day, I do variations of squats and dead lifts. For arms,
I’ll do kickboxing — that’s always good, or the rowing machine or pull-ups and push-ups. For abs, I do the Ab Ripper X, which is an online video for abs, specifically. It’s 15 minutes and over 300 different ab movements. That’s something I’m able to do at home, which has been great now that we’re in quarantine. I also have a Classpass account, which I can use for various workout videos across L.A. They’re offering free online classes with some of their trainers, so that’s something I’ve been doing, too. It’s been yoga and Pilates mostly.”
“I don’t believe in diets. I don’t believe in depriving yourself of anything. I’m a believer in moderation, which means I enjoy my cocktail at night, but I pay for it in the morning during my workout. When I wake up, I throw down a protein shake. I switch from plant protein to whey protein. I put some fruit in [a blender], some coconut water, and mix it up. If I don’t have a shake, I’ll have eggs. Eggs are a superfood, and I love them. Lunchtime usually consists of some kind of lunch meat. Once in a while, I’ll throw it on bread. I have a variety of mustards that I will throw my turkey or chicken breast into. For dinner, I have the luxury of having a wife who cooks incredibly and organically. Last night, we had mahi-mahi, some brown rice and the most ridiculous tasting asparagus I’ve ever had in my life. Snacking is my vice, so I’ve had to really work on that. Some of my secrets: I like string cheese, because it takes a while to peel and eat it. I also like to eat frozen berries —those big bags you can get at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s. Those are awesome. I pour them into a bowl and eat them whole. Frozen berries and string cheese are my two go-tos.”
fitness
“Things have changed a little bit since quarantine. Formerly a gym rat, I, obviously, am no longer that. Times have changed, and I’ve had to adjust. I work out about four times a week. My routine has completely changed from what it was as far as trying to maintain any health. I meet my wife in the garage promptly at 9:30 every morning, and we work out. We talk to one another, we make it fun. Now I follow the Beachbody program [beachbodyon demand.com]. You just hit play on your laptop, and you have instructors right in front of you, guiding you through everything. There are lower-body workouts, upper-body workouts, cardio workouts .... They’re all staggered so you don’t end up falling into the same routine. They’re only 20 minutes apiece. Once in awhile, when we’re feeling a little energetic, we’ll do two in a row. Another great program we do is called 10 Rounds. It’s a workout that intersperses boxing into it. The beautiful thing about boxing is whenever you throw a punch, you’re getting a core workout, as well. To me, the secret behind keeping in shape is to shock your muscles. You can’t get caught in a routine, because your muscles will get used to the routine and not respond any more.”
general hospital diet
“Keeping my body strong and energy levels good is the main importance of a healthy diet to me. I’m a huge food lover, so if a diet is too strict or boring it just makes me miserable and I can’t maintain it. I’m on a vegetarian diet, and most often it’s vegan, as well. I do that for ethical reasons, but it also has great benefits for my body. I have more energy, feel stronger and my skin is clearer and glowing. With so many great meat substitutes these days it’s so easy to cut out meat. Soy, almond, rice and oat milk are such great alternatives to milk. I like rice milk the best for cereal because it’s the sweetest. My favorite vegan food brand is Beyond Meat. Their burgers have a lot of protein and are so tasty! My absolutely favorite meal of the day is breakfast. I usually eat oatmeal with apples and cinnamon or Kashi cereal with rice milk. For lunch and dinner, some of my favorites are salads full of veggies and nuts or cranberries, avocado toast, vegetable lasagna or sweet potatoes. For snacks, I love mini carrots, apples with almond butter or just having trail mix.”
fitness
“I usually work out three to four days a week for at least one hour. I love Orangetheory Fitness. It’s a group workout where you rotate between treadmill, a rower machine and floor workouts with weights and you’re wearing a tracker that measures how hard you’re pushing yourself and how many calories you burn. I’m very competitive, so the fact that I can track myself against other people guarantees me pushing myself hard. I also love taking dance classes and playing tennis. These past few weeks of quarantine I’ve been jogging around my neighborhood, and I bought some resistance bands that I can use at home. They especially give a great butt and leg workout! A plus of working out at home is that I can watch TV while doing it!”
* “Get the app Myfitnesspal. Then for one week, be meticulous about logging in all your food and workouts, down to the ounces of cranberries you put into your oatmeal and amount of almond milk. Once you do this, you will gain an understanding of how many calories you’re consuming and burning (with workouts) and will be armed with that info no matter where and what you eat.” * “Workouts should be realistic and manageable for you. Example: I will not do burpees, get a Peloton or go jogging. If you’re not motivated to actually do it, it won’t get done and be sustainable for the long haul.” * “Plan out your workout for the day ahead of time. You should have a mental note of what you’re going to do next, instead of meandering about thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll use some dumbbells now.’ No. You want to get outta there as soon as possible. Just hit each station, do your sets, no more than a minute rest in between and move on. Workouts feel the best when they’re over and done with!”