What makes Piolo Pascual passionate about fitness

Piolo Pascual has always been on top of any game he plays. Full of grit and steel determination, he excels in anything he puts his heart into. He recently had a photo shoot as one of Under Armour’s brand ambassadors. We quickly grabbed the opportunity to probe his fitness regimen.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: You just finished two movies on top of your regular show, how do you remain fit for a shoot like this?

PIOLO PASCUAL: I guess the good part of what I do is that I don’t have any off-season. So whenever I need to probably take my shirt off, or do something like a photo shoot such as this, I just work out more. I try to differentiate my program because I’ve been working out ever since I grew up. I got into HIIT through my best friend. We try to look small, look lean. Nowadays kasi, hindi na uso yung really getting buffed or bulked up. So I try to diversify in terms of the exercises so for this shoot, I also included cardio of course. I do a lot of triathlon, swim, bike, and run. And then, I also play badminton aside from the daily workout.

How did you get into fitness?

Ready for his closeup: “I try to diversify in terms of the exercises that I do. I guess it’s all about wanting to look good for the camera... You have to take care of yourself, your body, your appearance... They will require you to, of course, take off your shirt. You always have to be ready, to be prepared for your scene.”

Well, I guess it’s all about wanting to look good for the camera and, of course, if you want to look good for the camera, you have to present yourself the best way possible. You have to take care of yourself, your body, and your appearance. When you’re in this business of acting and entertaining, you have to look good. So, that’s why I got into it.

What is your fitness regimen?

HIIT! For me, it works so well because it’s like being in a sauna and there’s a time element, but you don’t have to lift heavy and the more exercises you do, it’s better for agility especially when you’re getting old. If you’ve been working out a lot, you have to listen to your body as much as it would listen to you; you have to listen to what your body needs. Of course, it’s case to case. So, whatever a person needs. Every couple of months, I change my program so I won’t get used to doing the same thing over and over.

Why is fitness a big part of your life?

Because you won’t be able to present yourself in the best way possible if you don’t take care of your system and your health. Of course, you have to sleep. You have to look good.  You have to look a part and there are certain requirements. They will require you to, of course, take off your shirt. To always be ready. It’s an unspoken rule. It’s not just coming to the set, prepared for your scene. You also have to physically be prepared, as well as mentally and emotionally. So, it all comes together. It’s not just about being vain. It is knowing your responsibilities as a person, as an actor, and as a celebrity because you wanna be able to present yourself, you know, the best way possible. So, if you don’t look good, if you don’t feel energized, or if your head is not in the right place, then sooner or later it’ll affect your work and it’ll affect your life. So, I try to be positive by working out every day, by doing all these things aside from what I have to do at work.

Do you follow a certain diet? 

I don’t have a diet. I eat a lot. I eat everything. That’s the reason why I work out more.  I try to sweat a lot so I could get rid of toxins.  You don’t want to deprive yourself. I guess the bottom line is balance.  You need to have a balanced diet.  You have to know what your body can take and what time you can take it during the day. Of course, you know the common sense stuff, you don’t need to eat as much at night, you don’t eat a lot of carbs, focus on food that has nutrients, vitamins, you know those things. Sometimes I splurge on sweets. I have a sweet tooth so it’s harder for me. So, I just try to balance it by working out longer.

Two days ago, I was out of town, we went by a bake shop. I bought a lot of cakes, sweets, and I was preparing for this so I said I could just work out an hour more the next day so you know, those cases. It’s common sense.

I’ve come to a point where I have started to listen to what my body needs, what my body would ask for in terms of how I wanna look, how I wanna feel. So, it goes vice versa; your body tells you to also rest and sleep because you don’t want to overwork your body because your mind gets affected so all these things, you have to stay still and try to think of the things that would be beneficial to your health and the things that you have to avoid such as vices, of course. But of course, I’m not a saint.  I go out, I drink, I stay up late but that’s the thing; as long as I am able to sleep six hours a night, then  I can work out the next day. Otherwise, I don’t work out, I sleep more. In terms of diet, in terms of food, I don’t cut down on things; I just eat whatever I wanna eat so in that case, I don’t feel deprived.

One of my trade secrets is pre-workout. I’m so dependent on it. Even if I’m puyat, a chug of two-scoop pre-workout, okay ka na! I work out every day and your body tells you, it’s sore, so you gotta rest. And what you have to do is to condition your mind and take a pre-workout, then head to the gym. Sweat it all out!  ‘Cause that’s how you should start your day. What I do is, I try to get it out of the way. First thing in the morning, so automatically, I hit the gym. The first thing I do is pray, shower, then I go to the gym. So it’s out of the way. Whatever you have to do throughout the day, you just adjust your workout hours and do what you have to do. Eat what you wanna eat. But of course, I wouldn’t deny the fact that I try to cut down on food if I have to prepare for something, but I still eat. Because I don’t wanna feel that just because I’m preparing for something, then I’m not allowed to eat certain foods. I don’t want that kind of feeling. I wanna treat myself. For me, it’s a reward to eat. So, after I work out, I really eat.

What sports are you into?

Triathlon, badminton, and biking. Biking is my favorite! I love riding bikes! I can ride all day! As long as it’s flat (laughs). Like running, I’ve been running since I was a kid when there were still no races. It does your body good and your mind so it’s mental conditioning. So, for me, as long as you have cardio, as long as you’re able to do those things, you sweat off toxins or whatever waste you have in your body, then you live a balanced life.

What is your favorite exercise?

My favorite would have to be pull-ups, push-ups, body weight, but now with the HIIT workout, you do less weights and more floor exercises. So, you’re more mobile and agility-wise, you’re able to move better with other muscle parts because in the gym you do bars and dumbbells and you’re not able to tap on the muscles, the internal and the external muscles or the small ones. With HIIT, you get to isolate certain muscle parts so it’s endless. You can always diversify. When you do a fly, you can twist it with HIIT. With the traditional way, you just do pulling and pushing. With HIIT, you can diversify by twisting it and moving your body. Nowadays, you just have to really focus on what you need to work on and then when you work on that, you wont need to lift heavy. You should just do more reps. Whatever you need, you don’t just work on a certain muscle part; it has to be the whole body. So, when you work out like me who works out every day, you get to modify and do other things and you see the results. For me, I prefer doing the HIIT Program aside from the sports that I do because it’s never enough. You do your body some favor if you do something else, like when you do the sauna, or you work out, do sport, run, or badminton, basketball. So, those things, they work hand in hand, and you get to feel better. Even boxing! There are so many things that you can do just to really look your best. You just have to make sure that it’s part of your lifestyle; that you wanna do it, not only because you have to do it.

What’s your motto in life?

I have a lot of life verses but for me, I live by James 1:12: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that God has promised him.” So, being positive and just knowing you have an end goal, which is to get to heaven. So, those things affect me. I guess you just have to be positive at all times in any given situation.

There is also Romans 12:1: ”Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Siguro that could apply as a motto. If you wanna know the will of God, then you would know what to do because I could remember I would always question the Lord, “What do you want from me? What should I do?” but I’m reminded by certain verses in the bible so I go beyond mottos. I guess those things remind me of how I should live my life. It’s not just about being holy, but knowing God’s will and then it makes all the difference.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.