Staying Active During Coronavirus

Gym closed!

How are people going to stay healthy?

www.everybodylosangeles.com

The gym closure was huge for me. My goal this year was to decrease my waist size by 2 inches: 36 to 34. It may not seem like much, but it had been at least a decade since I was that slim. Also, cosmetic and health benefits aside, many roles for male background actors often wanted men with a 34-inch waist or smaller.

Over the course of the last two and half months of regular gym workouts and watching my caloric intake, I dropped 15 pounds and at my last fitting measured 35 inches.

El Molino Viejo, San Marino

But now the gyms are closed now. What to do?

Here are the three things I have done to keep the body moving:

First, I walk at least one hour every day. As the Los Angeles mayor said, the new stay-at-home rules still allow you to go outside on walks and take hikes. My wife and I have discovered new stores, interesting homes, and historical points of interests throughout our neighborhood.

Gymenist, photo Amazon.com

Second, I created a mini home gym for $100. I already had a yoga mat, but needed a workout bench and weights. In my case, I needed lightweights due to a repetitive stress disorder in my hands. I found this colorful set on Amazon ($28) from BalanceFrom. Also living in an apartment, I needed a workout bench that I could fold up and move out of the way when I was done. I ordered the Gymenist on Amazon ($90). I find the construction to be sturdy and the cushions comfortable.

Finally, I learned that my YMCA was conducting live-streaming, instructor-led classes through Facebook. When I told my mother, she said the Silver Sneakers Program for seniors was doing the same thing. Looking on YouTube, I found a slew of exercise videos. My wife and I pushed our couch back, laid out our yoga mats, logged onto Facebook and followed our favorite instructor through a sweat-inspiring workout.

I hope that my experiences provide you with some ideas on how to stay active and healthy during this coronavirus period. My new goal is to reach a 34-inch waist by the time production starts in the next few weeks or heaven forbid, months.

If you have any additional tips on staying healthy please comment.

Take care and be safe.

Posting schedule: Monday, Thursday, Saturday

Coronavirus Invades Los Angeles

"Production is shut down due to Corona Virus!" said the assistant director. "Everyone head back to base camp to sign out and then go home."

That was my last day of work as a background actor before Hollywood shutdown on March 13.

March 12 was the last time I saw my mom; the last time I ate out.

March 13 my son's school notified me they would be closed for 3 weeks.

March 14 my gym closed.

March 15 my jobs on the 16, 17, and 18 were cancelled.

My 401k collapsed.

That was the bad news.

The good:

• not having to fight with my son over homework
• taking walks with my wife daily through our empty neighborhood streets
• having something to discuss with my teenagers that they are actually interested in
• I finally have enough emergency supplies for the next big earthquake
• amazing signs of community
• learning to adapt to a new reality

I will post every two days what interesting (and hopefully uplifting) things I have heard or seen regarding the new reality of Covid-19, and how it affects me, my family, and my fellow background actors, and how I and/or we have adapted.

I hope that you find it interesting and look forward to your comments and questions.

Take care everyone.

My New Book! From Lions to Pharaohs

Now Available! 

From Lions to Pharaohs is now available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon.com!  Click here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JLVRLNN

Description:

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Two exotic destinations swirl in John’s mind. Destination #1: Embark upon an African safari to watch herds of elephants moving unhindered across wide open plains, to photograph lions chasing zebras, and to float in a hot air balloon over sweeping savannahs. Destination #2: Explore Egypt, land of the pharaohs. As a history buff, John imagines climbing the great pyramids, descending into the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and cruising down the Nile like an Indiana Jones adventure.

Which experience to choose?

Fortunately, his wife likes both ideas and wisely suggests, “If we are going all that way to explore one country, we should go to both! We don’t know when we will have this opportunity again.”

With that answer began the planning of a 20-day exploration of these two fascinating countries. The two books in this series detail their exciting adventure filled with amazing wildlife, awe-inspiring monuments of Egypt, and insights into modern life.

He hopes that after reading these books, you will be inspired and entertained as well as have a deeper understanding of the people, their history, and the daily life in these countries, which are both similar and very different from our own.

From Lions to Pharaohs is a two-book series. Book 1, available now, is based on Kenya while book 2 is based on Egypt and will be released in 2019.

To order paperback or Kindle version:  Click Here