New Experiment: The Action Hero Workout


I’m The Flash. No I’m not one overcoat and a subway shy of a police escort. It means that, according to the Superhero Quiz, I’m “fast, flirtatious and virtuous” – a.k.a. The Flash. I only have two problems with this: a) can one be both fast & flirtatious AND virtuous? They kinda seem to rule each other out. b) I am not a man.

But whatevs. In an effort to get in touch with my inner masked wonder, the Gym Buddies and I have decided to take on the Action Hero Workout for our new experiment. The idea was suggested to me by Reader Leigh Anne (thanks, girl!). When I googled it though, I found several different “action hero workouts” – most of them requiring me to buy a book or a subscription of some sort.

You all know how cheap I am. (True story: I fell in love with my husband when he showed up for our first date with a two-for-one coupon and a warm 2-liter of Coke in his trunk. Nothing says romance like a good BOGO!) So I went with Valerie Water’s Action Hero Workout. It’s free! It’s based on her book Red Carpet Ready which, sadly, is not free. And because I am a total sucker for book reviews and promos I so totally want to read it now. But I’m not buying it… yet.

The Workout
Valerie Waters is one tough chick. She’s been a personal trainer in Hollywood for over 15 years and has trained some seriously buff clients, usually for action movies. She seems to know what she’s talking about. So, if you are interested in being an honorary Gym Buddy and doing this workout with us through May, then this is where you stop skimming:

Step 1: Do your starting measurements. Whatever it is you like to track – and it better be more than just weight, foo’ – then pinch it, measure it, skinny-jean it. Just do it and WRITE THEM DOWN. Don’t trust yourself to remember them. You won’t. (If you aren’t interested in measuring your progress than this step is optional. I’m serious. It is totally okay with me if you are not as anal as I am. In fact, maybe you could give me chill lessons when this is all done.)

Step 2: Check out Action Hero Workout #1 and Action Hero Workout #2.

Step 3: Make a schedule. I’m not really sure how many days per week we’re supposed to be doing this or how much/what type of cardio Valerie recommends. All stuff I would know if I bought her book (…must resist temptation…erk..). So I’ll do what I usually do when I don’t know something – I make it up. The Gym Buddies and I will be doing the AHW, alternating #1 & #2, on M, W, F with normal (for us) cardio in between.

Step 4: Get the proper equipment. There isn’t a ton of things required for this workout. If you go to a gym you should have no problem. At home you’ll need at least a resistance band, a set of medium weights and a slick surface. A lot of her moves call for the patented “Val-slide” which appears to be a little piece of slidey plastic. I will be using old towels on the wood gym floor. Not only do I get a good workout, I’m saving the YMCA on janitorial work. Hey hey!

Step 5: Do it! Not to get too Nike up in here but this is a total Goldilocks experiment: Not too intimidating (CrossFit), not too crazy (Monkey Bar Gym), not too hard (Rangers Special Ops), not too easy (Ballerina). (Although you know I love all those workouts!!) This workout is very approachable and doable for every level. So I don’t want to hear any excuses. The only people allowed to whine are those who did the Ranger Special Ops test – and we’ll all be whining for several days at least;)

13 Comments

  1. Groovy! I’m going to go check it out!

  2. Wow, this sounds like an excellent workout! I’m totally on board to try it this month, and I’ll keep track of my stats, just for you!

    If people don’t have/want to buy the Valislides, paper plates on carpet work just as well.

    And apparently I’m Wonder Woman.

  3. I’m in (as Supergirl. Hehe)! Thank goodness there’s pictures of what each exercise looks like. This looks like loads of fun!

    Also, the next time I’m at the bookstore I’ll have to check out that book- if it seems good then I’ll read it and let you know if it’s worth buying:)

  4. Crabby McSlacker

    You go girls!

    As for me, any workout regimen that features an exercise called “the painful push-away” (let alone all that Bulgarian and Romanian stuff) is one I’m gonna be doin’ right about when hell freezes over.

    But I’m a great admirer of Female Action Heroes, so I’ll be eagerly following your progress!

  5. I’m totally in love with your blog. It’s a blog after my own fitness heart, I try something (for a week or two) then get sick of it, and try something new. I do that with diets too, which I’m sure is totally screwing up my metabolism.

    Right about now I’m on week 5 of a 13 week package of trainer sessions, and I’m so ready to chuck it, however since I prepaid, I’m stuck. I do however like the results from lifting heavier.

    Quick question, do you do CrossFit at a registered facility or do you do the workouts on your own? I’ve wanted to try it for a while now, but the closest facility is over an hour away. Thanks!

  6. Yay everyone!! I am so glad to have so much company this time around. Make sure and keep me updated on what you think of it, any thoughts, results etc. so I can include it in my final write-up!

    Nicole – Awww, thanks girl! I did CrossFit in a regular ol’ YMCA. I know people that just get an olympic weight set and a chin-up bar in the garage and go to town. You can do it anywhere:)

  7. Guess I can hardly skip out on this one LOL. I’m in starting today. 3 times a week with my running on other days. My measurement is a summer work outfit I’m trying to fit into. I’m thinking of posting a pic on my blog a la Glam but we’ll have to see how bad the before looks LOL.

  8. Oh and I’m the Hulk LOL

  9. i admire your dedication to do specific workouts. I fall into a rut sometimes and you little experiments give me new ideas.

  10. These workouts would totally kick my butt! No doubt it would get me to super hero status, though! 🙂

  11. Stephanie Quilao

    Man, you ladies are my fitness heroes. I’m still trying to recover from my Valslide soreness. Seriously, doing lunges on those things is much harder than it looks. And if I’m going to be a super hero I totally want Garner’s Elektra bod.

  12. Sheesh Char, you’re making me feel pretty lame about my 10 pushups a day, and 20 minutes of pilates every day (that I remember- which hasn’t been often lately).