Soap Hub’s Wellness Wednesday With GH Star Nicholas Alexander Chavez

Nicholas Alexander Chavez has been wowing General Hospital fans with his portrayal of Spencer Cassadine. Right now, “Spence” is in the doghouse as his role in Ava Jeromes Cassadine’s stalking has come to light but the actor isn’t! Chavez took some time to chat with Soap Hub for this week’s Wellness Wednesday.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez Talks Wellness Wednesday

The actor has to stay in top shape to handle a busy work schedule. How does he accomplish this? Soap Hub spoke to Chavez to find out.

How do you schedule fitness into your life?
Nicholas Alexander Chavez: I’m an early morning kind of guy. I go to bed early and wake up early. I try to hit the gym in the early hours if possible. There are simply some days when it’s not practical — life happens. The important thing is the next time you do have the choice of either going to the gym or staying home and opening a bag of chips is that you choose the gym. That’s where the discipline comes in because life is definitely going to disrupt your routine.

What’s a typical workout week like for you and what resources do you use?
I’m on Facebook forums where we talk and trade notes. I do an ‘upper body and arms’ day and also, a ‘back and legs’ day. I try to throw some yoga in there, once a week just to stay flexible. When you exercise and lift weights, it can add some tension to your body which can be counter-productive to what I’m doing on set. You want to have a pretty loose and free instrument in order to receive what’s happening. That tension [from lifting weights] can be counter-productive. I find yoga helps with that.

Playing Mind Games — With Himself

Cynthia Watros (Nina) is big into yoga. Do you have “cheat” days?
Nicholas Alexander Chavez: I don’t hold myself to a strict diet. It may be because I’m 22 and my metabolism hasn’t slowed down yet. As of now, I don’t have any real dietary restrictions. I recently had mac and cheese. I believe in eating whatever [I] want — as long as I work out.

What advice do you have for people who may be looking to get started?
The hardest part is starting. I have a ‘trick’ where I sometimes do some ‘actor voodoo’ on my brain. I’ll tell myself, ‘Just drive to the gym and walk inside. If you don’t want to stay, you don’t have to.’ If I can ‘trick’ myself to get there, then I’ll say, ‘Hey, you’re here. You can stay and work out.’

State Of Mind

Jeff Kober (Cyrus) is big into meditation. Do you do any mediation?
I don’t. I’ve been really meaning to get into that. I’ve read a lot of the philosophy that surrounds it. I’m totally sold on it. I guess I’d want someone to coach me through it for a few sessions just to make sure I’d be doing it properly. I haven’t found the right construct to get started but I definitely can see the benefits of it and I think it’d be really useful. It’s something I’m open to and would like to start at some point.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.