‎Josh Guvi

What does a typical day in your life look like - from food, to personal care, to fitness, to time with friends and family?

During the week, I push to get up around 6-7am give my face a quick rinse and head straight to the gym. Every day I’m going to train at some point in some fashion; thus, I find it always makes the day run a lot smoother if I can get that out of the way first thing in the morning. From there my day can change a lot whether I’m on set, shooting, or working from home. After the gym I’ll clean myself up and hop into a more in-depth skin care routine (wash, toner, moisturize, sunscreen, and sometimes a little bit frankincense oil). From here on out its critical to me that I’m eating consistent balanced meals which usually involve a large amount of greens, protein, and healthy carbs. I find my blood sugar levels can crash when I’m training heavily because I’m burning through carbs so fast so it’s important to me that I’m on top of this. This helps fuel my drive for the day and keep my energy levels consistent. Understanding how important these factors are to maintaining my focus when I’m working at my personal goals helps me maintain this routine consistently. I see training and health as a necessary piece of what it going to keep me motivated in life, rather than an added task. When things get busy it can be tough to get a chance to see friends; that’s why I always take the time at some point in my day, whether I’m driving home or whatever, to give a good friend a call. It’s easy to forget how simple it is just to pick up the phone and talk to a friend, keeps me balanced, happy, and gives me a base. End of the day, I’ll wash up and go through a nightly face routine then I’ll try and do some deep stretches and back rolls before heading off to bed. I find this piece ends up being meditation in itself as you’re just taking the time to focus on yourself and clear your head.

When did you start training? What kept you motivated and committed?

I started training young, probably around 15. I always was self-conscious about being skinny when I was a kid so the second I had a chance to get in the gym I was eager to lift. I still always felt behind as a lot of guys I knew were going under-the-counter with their supplement routine and gaining fast. I’m forever grateful that my teenage self somehow managed to stay out of all that and stayed natural with my training - > that has paid off tenfold; in physical and mental health, hormones, and just overall happiness. Surely enough, as it does for a lot of guys at that age, training became my only form of stress relief. No matter what was going on in my life, I could still get a sweat, and feel grounded again. In this way it became something I relied on when I was young to keep my head in the right place. As I got older, training and maintaining my health just became something that felt like a part of my character. Anytime I took even a week or two off I began to not feel like myself. The idea of training feeling like a chore really disappears the longer you do it, and eventually, it just becomes part of who you are and what makes you happy.

Describe what nutrition means to you? How do make sure it’s a priority without allowing it to impact LIVIN?

This is a great question, no doubt, there’s definitely an important balance to all this. For me, I never wanted nutrition to completely dictate my life. When I was younger, I definitely took a lot of freedoms on this topic because I was training so hard that my diet was almost irrelevant; however, the more I’ve aged and have had to be more focused in other aspects of life I’ve found how I treat nutrition makes a notable difference in my ability to hold onto my desired mentality. Now it’s more important to me that what I’m putting in my body is not complete trash. I take my liberties here and there but there are some categories (like fast food) that I’m just physically and mentally better off completely without.

What is your weekly routine? How do you break up your training? What do you prioritize? What does your current split look like? 

For the most part, my routine has a lot of flexibility, but it runs off some basic pillars. It’s critical to my routine that I’m doing powerlifts – specifically, squats, deadlifts, and bench press. I can observe my entire routine going up and down specifically with what I’m feeling comfortable deadlifting or squatting in a given week; if my squats are up, all of my other lifts are too. Sure, there is a lot of volume training squeezed in there too but I keep my powerlifts ranging from 12-reps all the way down to 3-reps on big weeks. This gives me a measure of where I’m at and drives the rest of my workout. Having a routine based so heavily on powerlifts comes with its price. You have to listen to your body. If I pick up that deadlift bar and my back isn’t feeling so great or if my knees are feeling a bit weak when I’m standing under the squat bar, I put it down. Yes, training is about pushing yourself, but not your joints. I was lucky enough to have some minor injuries growing up that taught me how to be cautious in these areas. My number one priority in training is avoiding injury.

What is your favorite total body workout?

As much as I love weightlifting, I do not think there is anything better than a full body body-weight workout. If I’m feeling up for it, I’ll hop between supersets of muscle ups, clap pushups, jump-squats, and sprints. Workouts like this push me physically and mentally and leave me feeling completely refreshed after.