Mens Fitness – JESSE METCALFE
Age: 32
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 180 lbs
Body of Work: Chase, John Tucker Must Die, Desperate Housewives

Most guys (and women) know him as the shirtless pool boy from Desperate Housewives. But Jesse Metcalfe has moved on—literally and physically. “My body has developed quite a bit since then,” he says. In the NBC drama Chase, the 32-year-old actor plays a government agent. “These U.S. Marshals, they’re pretty thick,” he says. “They have a swagger about them that only a person with a certain amount of muscle is going to have.” To stay buff , Metcalfe now works out five or six days a week. Three of those workouts are heavy lifts, split by body part: chest and triceps, back and biceps, and shoulders with legs. “I love lifting weights,” he says. “It anchors me in everything that I do.”

But what really gives Metcalfe his edge is MMA training. He works with Freddie Poole at his academy in Dallas, where the show is filmed. “He loves training on all levels,” says Poole, who is also Metcalfe’s stunt double, “but MMA has really helped him to prepare for the show’s hand-to-hand combat scenes.”

“I do a lot of striking and jiu-jitsu . It’s a different form of conditioning.” Metcalfe has added five to seven pounds of muscle since he began sparring. “I start nearly every day with a workout,” he says. “It sets my day in a positive direction, and when you release those endorphins, you just feel good.”

JESSE’S WORKOUT

WARM-UP
Jump Rope
Time: Three minutes
Sets: 3

STRETCH
Time: 10-15 minutes

PAD ROUNDS
Have a partner holding pads call out punches, combos, and movement instructions for you to follow.
Sets: 5-6
Time: Four minutes
Rest: One minute

CONDITIONING ROUNDS
Throw punches as fast as you can for 15 seconds, then as hard as you can for 15 more seconds before resting.
Sets: 3
Time: Two minutes
Rest: 15 seconds