TV's most befitting men: the body wise secrets of today's scene stealers - Ian Ziering, Drake Hogestyn, Darren E. Burrows

American Fitness, July-August, 1993 by Bonnie Siegler

They come in all shapes and forms. They're each strong and lean. They have to be--their very livelihood depends upon being fit, vital and athletic. Ian Ziering, Darren E. Burrows and Drake Hogestyn are some of television's men of fitness.

Ian Ziering

Portraying Steve Sanders, the son of a rich Hollywood actress on Fox TV's "Beverly Hills 90210," Ian (pronounced eye-in, "I was named after my grandfather Irving") Ziering brings to life a character who possesses tall, blonde good looks, an outgoing personality and money. While offering a triple dose of strength, vitality and handsomeness, he wears his designer clothing as if it was custom made--much like his coveted 1991 convertible Corvette.

Acting since the age of 12, Ziering is aware his healthy look is important to the fans' fascination with his "90210" character. "When I put my sneakers on and play ball, I'm competitive and enjoy winning," says the New Jersey native. "I feel if I am doing the best I can, then I'm going to win. So why not give it your all?" Is he a gracious loser? "Mostly, but I can't help being disappointed once in a while."

The six-foot, 175-pound, twentysomething actor loves mixing it up not only on the basketball courts, but in outdoor activities such as swimming, diving, baseball, soccer, snow skiing and horseback riding. Although he works up an appetite, Ziering credits his nutritional habits to physical fitness. "You have to eat right," he says. "I ride my LifeCycle for a half-hour every morning before breakfast--at 90 rpms. And my breakfast consists of egg whites and a baked potato or Special K and skim milk. Lunch is usually a salad with turkey or skinless chicken. I snack on a couple of Power Bars between meals, and I cap off the day with dinner--usually some type of grilled fish. I try to be health conscious."

Unable to find time for regular gym visits, Ziering has a trainer come to his San Fernando Valley home four days a week. He usually works out for 90 minutes a day. Starting with bench presses for the chest muscles, he never participates in more than five sets for any one exercise. "My workout weight is around 175 and, I max out at 225 pounds," says Ziering. "Then I go to the incline machine and use less weights there because it's a controlled bar--dumbell flies and cables--and mix all those up. That's all for the chest muscles, which I focus on during my workouts.

"For the biceps, we do preacher curls with arms out, arms in," he adds. "I use machines occasionally. I don't work my abs as much as I should. But when I do, it consists of leg lifts, crunches and sit-ups--all for about one-half hour. I don't count how many, but I go until I can't go anymore. For the legs, I do the sled, squats, leg curls, lunges and reverse lunges with a 125-pound barbell."

Drake Hogestyn

Back in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Drake Hogestyn was going to be a dentist. But the 6'2" actor's first love was baseball. After attending the University of South Florida in Tampa on a baseball scholarship, the bigtime called and he was drafted by the New York Yankees. The gifted athlete played the glamorous position of third base for the farm in Upstate New York.

Today, Hogestyn throws curves as one of daytime's most talented and certainly best looking actors. Being a rough, rugged sex symbol on NBC's "Days of Our Lives" is a tough job, yet the 180-pound star rises to the task with ease. In fact, he keeps his well toned body in tip top shape at the Malibu Health and Rehabilitation Spa--a gym he built with two partners. "I'm not involved with day-to-day decision making, but things are run past me--like the types of equipment," he says. "It's not a sweatshop like most gyms. There are physical therapists, nutritionists and medical doctors on staff."

How does Hogestyn keep his own body practically perfect? "Plan on following me around for about three hours." He laughs, but somehow you just know he's serious. "My routine starts out with about 15 minutes of cardiovascular (bicycle, Stairmaster or skating simulator) and stretching just to get the body warmed up.

"After my warm-up, it's on to abdominal work," he adds. "I start with curls on the floor which work the rectus abdominis, then obliques and intercostals. I finish that set with incline leg lifts, which are real killers. Then I take a one-minute recovery and start that whole set again--a total of 30 minutes."

With such physical expertise, Hogestyn's workout is a combination of various routines. "Some is from Arnold (Schwarzenegger), some is from the ol' workout encyclopedia and the fibergenics program," he says. "The supersets are from Arnold."

Darren E. Burrows

Darren E. Burrows, who portrays quirky Ed Chigliak, a young Native American on CBS' "Northern Exposure," is quick to point out he doesn't like indoor exercise. "I really don't do much of a workout when it comes to a gym routine," says the Kansas native.

Burrows, who has naturally light blonde hair in real life, prefers outdoor sports like hiking in the local mountains, motorcycling and horseback riding. "Actually I'm an avid outdoorsperson and enjoy being with nature outside camping or taking off on my motorcycle to breathe some fresh air," says the lanky six-foot actor. "I also do that for stress management, which I think is important to your overall health."