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Weighty  Matters
A  l  e  x  a  n  d  r  a      P  a  u  l
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From working out to speaking out,
Alexandra Paul of TV's "Baywatch"
shows that her life is far more than just
a walk on the beach.
by Carol Slezak
December 1995
 
 
 
Here's a woman who earns her living primarily from television projects, yet doesn't own a TV, who speaks to Los Angeles schoolchildren on the topic of overpopulation, who's a vegetarian for reasons of both health and morality. If that sounds like someone who has given some serious thought to some weighty subjects, chat with actress/gym rat/activist Alexandra Paul, who plays Stephanie Holden on TV's "Baywatch", and you'll quickly find out how right you are. Paul approaches life, and all it's major issues, with intensity and focus.
      Her acting resume includes roles in the movies "Dragnet" and "Christine". She recently could have been seen in the cable film "Nightwatch", and she'll appear in the network television film "Mixed Blessings", scheduled to air in January. As for her current television gig, she's in her fourth season of life-guarding--and she loves it. "We're so lucky to be able to work on the beach," Paul says. "We call it the best office in the world."
      Paul hasn't let her acting success inhibit her social activism. She has taken a firm stance on many social issues, from registering voters in South Africa prior to that country's first multiracial election, to protesting nuclear testing, to joining the Green Party (an international organization whose agenda includes women's rights, health care reform, and environmental preservation), to recycling, to refusing to wear leather, to driving an electric car (a converted 1980 VW Rabbit that gives her 55 to 60 miles per charge).

Not surprisingly, Paul attacks exercise with the same energy and commitment she demonstrates in her other pursuits. How does she find time between her acting and her activism to work out? "Well, I do have more of an ability to be selfish than other people I know, because, for instance, I don't have childrem to take care of, " she says. "But the reality is, you just have to make time to work out. So what if you're tired after work? You're going to be working the rest of your life, you're to be tired, so find a way to work it in."
      She often works 13-hours days, but--heeding her own advice--never uses fatigue as an excuse not to exercise. "It's a given I'll be tired when I get to the gym," Paul says, "but working out perks you up. I've never felt anything but better when I leave the gym." Her tips to others is simple: "Write your workout time in a book as a date with yourself. It is so important--don't let people encroach on this time."
      Paul started her workouts back when she was about 14 years old but began her current strength program only about two years ago. "I used to left weights several years ago," she says, "but I stopped because my boyfriend said I looked too blocky." Needless to say, that boyfriend is history. Since begginning again, she likes the way she feels and the way she looks. "It's a great stress reducer," she says, "The gym is a haven for me."
      She has been a vegetarian since her teen years--Paul cheerfully admits she began vegetarianism just to antagonize her parents but says she continues for reasons both philosophical and physical. She notes that working out makes her eat more and says she often supplements her protein intake with MetRx bars.
      A one-hour stationary bike ride each day and abdominal crunches five to six times a week are staples of Paul's exercise program. Sge goes to a health club for her weight workouts, where she does a program designed for her by her friend Jim Garfield, a certified personal trainer who counts many celebrities among his clients. "Alexandra has a high level of activity and does a lot of cardiovascular work," Garfield says. "Her weightlifting routine is designed to provide strength and definition. She uses light weights and a high amount of repetitions [12 to 15] per set." He notes that prior to beginning training with him, Paul had never received intruction on proper form, but that she has learned quickly.

Paul's routine is broken up over four days: chest and back; biceps, triceps, and shoulders; legs; and butt. Although she says she prefers free weights for her upper-body work, she uses machines for some exercises. If she needs to miss a day for any reason, she picks up where she left off during her last workout.
      Garfield believes that Paul recongizes her exercising "as part of her job as well as part of her joy." He sees a special quaility in Paul: "Alexandra is so tenacious tha she follows the instruction she's given in terms of form and function to the nth degree. She's one of my better walking billboards."
      Aside from the gym and her "Baywatch" schedule, Paul devotes many hours to the Popluation Education Project which she began more than two years ago with David Abramis, a professor at Long Beach State. Her commitment to PEP's ideals is unmistakable. "I believe in the importance of population stabilization," she says firmly. "This issue actually underlies all of our environmental issues, yet it is seldom addressed."
      Yes, Paul truly practices what she preaches. She looks forward to the day when hydrogen will present a feasible alternative to powering motor vehicles, and no one wears leather--not even for a HOME GYM AND FITNESS photo shoot.
      So what does Paul do on her free time? Check that--does Paul have free time? She manages to sneak in a few minutes now and then, sometimes in the form of hiking or in-line skating. Often, though, she confesses that she uses that time to "talk on the phone incessantly," adding that she has to use the phone in order to keep in touch with her family and friends.
      Paul's drive and energy must feed off each other--how else could she successfully balance her acting career, serious fitness training, and public-interest pursuits? Garfield sums it up well: "Alexandra is reflective of someone committed to high-level intergration of the physical, mental, and spiritual."

© Copyright Home, Gym, and Fitness 1995.
Slezak, Carol. "Weighty  Matters: Alexandra Paul." Home, Gym, and Fitness. December 1995: 34-38.