Entering The Rod-Zone

I played the catcher in Take Me Out, the gay baseball play. Hey, hey, keep your heads out of the gutter. Well anywhoo, if you know me, you know that I'm 6' and pretty thin by nature. When I was cast in the role, I weighed a whopping 155lbs.

I put on about 20 lbs in 4 months, mostly muscle for the role. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the assistance of my personal trainer, Malfred, a former college football player and NFL hopeful who looked the part.

You can listen to my food diary about the process of gaining the weight and getting in shape on B-Side Radio "Food" episode.

I trained at 24hr fitness which makes you buy way more than you need of everything. So I still had 8-training sessions in the bank when I moved down here.

So yesterday I went to 24hr fitness in Hollywood to sign up with a new trainer. I'd never seen so many fit people in my life. Where were the flabby house-wives and guys working off their beer guts? I couldn't tell you. And the most surreal part: the straight men were in better shape than the gay men. It's like I was in bizarro land. So it was with a scuffed self-image that I approached my new trainer Rod(ney).

5 minutes into a workout, DONOVAN is sweating and RODNEY is encouraging him.

RODNEY: Ok, the fun's over. Prepare to enter the Rod-Zone!
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RODNEY: You've entered the Rod-Zone!
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RODNEY: Welcome to the Rod-Zone!
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RODNEY: You're in the Rod-Zone now Donovan. How are you liking it?
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RODNEY: Most people aren't used to working in the: ROD-ZONE!

...Best I can tell, the Rod-Zone is a place where an excess of personality gets you into astoundingly good shape. But joking aside, Rod seems like a cool guy and I trust that he'll continue to kick my ass into shape. My goal: Reach 185lbs w/ 10% body fat.