GMA Artist Center talent Alden Richards is considered one of the hottest young actor of his generation. Proof to this was his latest stint as one of the male celebrities who joined 68 others in the recently concluded Cosmopolitan Bachelor Bash. I had the chance to be one of the bloggers who attended an intimate gathering where he shared his fitness routine in preparation for this particular stint. He shared that though it was an honor to be invited, he felt he was not yet ready for it. But with the support of the Kapuso family, he accepted the offer but not without preparing for it. The guy has good looks, there’s no doubt about that. But being part of the Cosmo gig requires him to go beyond his pretty face. His fitness training was entrusted to Gold’s Gym fitness instructor James de Leon.

Mr. de Leon pointed out that although Alden is physically fit, he still has to lose excess fat, improve the physique of his upper body and maintain good posture. With this fitness goal in mind, Alden went through a rigorous daily routine of between 15-20 minutes of jumping rope as often as possible. During the preparation, the young actor was still taping for his soap opera, One True Love, and he would do his exercise in between takes. The routine requires 300 counts, and counting would start from 1 if he stumble along the way.

Alden also incorporated 20-30 minutes of running for additional cardio. He would also turn to abdominal exercises to develop strength and fitness. He’d do 20-30 reps of hanging leg raises, abdominal rollers, ball crunches, planks, pikes and side bends. The Gold’s Gym fitness instructor shared that he has to take into consideration that Alden has to maintain a certain physique, thus, the routines are carefully selected. At that point I know the trainer is an expert and he knows what he’s talking about. Indeed, working with somebody who cannot afford to be too bulky or muscular so as not to lose the boy-next-door image is a challenge. He can’t just make Alden do just about anything. During the intimate gathering, I had a peek of some of the routines as Alden demoed some of them before us.

The training took 3 months where Alden’s dietary requirements were limited to a calorie intake of only 3,100 kCal per day. He had to eat 5-6 small meals per day, spread out over 2-3 hour intervals. The diet was not only about losing weight but also being healthy. Mr. de Leon also shared that eating more frequently helps in avoiding binging which usually happens when one goes hungry. Alden went for a complete balance of protein, carbohydrates, fruits and fiber was recommended, while at the same time avoiding soda, ice tea, and salty chips.