Make Page Six a Preferred Source David Charvet put himself through the “toughest test” before “Special Forces” even started shooting — and it was his own son who whipped him into shape.
As soon as he put pen to paper and joined the Fox reality show, the former “Baywatch” star had eight weeks to prepare for the daunting physical challenges ahead — so he practically lived at the Build LA gym in Studio City, California, which he co-founded.
He got help from the company’s lead instructor — who also happens to be his business partner and 18-year-old son Shaya.
“I was probably 168 pounds,” David, 54, exclusively told Page Six of his weight before he started training for his trip to Malaysia. “And then when I left, I was 180 pounds. I knew that I was going to lose weight in the first four or five days, so I put on about seven pounds of muscle.”
With just two months to spare, Shaya mapped out a plan that targeted all of David’s muscle groups in 90-minute workouts five days a week.
“It was a massive transformation,” David said of his body. “I went from probably a 50-pound [bench press] to 70 pounds.”
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“I knew what his strengths were,” Shaya, whom David shares with his ex-wife, Brooke Burke, said. “I never doubted him. He’s my dad. I believe in him, but also, I worked out with him and he’s strong.”
“We started lifting,” David said. “I was always used to lifting heavy, but always just with dumbbells. We were working on the stability muscles, so it made me a lot stronger. I started doing more legs. I couldn’t get away with just doing one leg workout a week.”
Since Shaya started taking a vested interest in going to the gym with his dad at 8 years old, he was familiar with what he could handle.
“In the gym, he was doing everything,” Shaya said. “Upper chest press, rows, anything dumbbell- and bench-focused — so legs, upper body, back, biceps and triceps. His muscular endurance and strength went up as well because his body was acclimating to the heat. The second he was in there for like three or four weeks, he acclimated and the weight started going up and we got competitive.”
Shaya also made sure his dad’s cardio was getting the love it needed.
“I was like, ‘You gotta run,’ because [of] the cardio aspect and the [impact of] running on his knees,” Shaya explained. “That was the only thing I really kind of worried about, but everything else — mentally, physically, I didn’t really have a doubt, honestly.”
Since Build wasn’t open to the public yet, the father-son duo completed their workouts of low reps with high weights and timed breaks — all while under medical-grade LED red lights in an infrared-heated room that reached temperatures of 105 degrees.
“That was truly incredible and it prepared me because of the heat in the room,” David said of the Build workout. “The high-intensity heat prepared me for Malaysia. There wasn’t a moment on the show where I felt like, ‘I can’t do this.'”
Consistency was key in the Charvet household as they both stuck to the plan.
“I met him every day because he was doing classes every day just to get better for himself,” David said, adding that he even trained in combat boots he’d eventually wear during filming. “I just trained every single day and saw this complete transformation.”
The “Melrose Place” alum said his son made him promise he wouldn’t “embarrass” the family while making his first television appearance in years.
“We’re always pushing each other,” Shaya added. “It was a mutual decision. I was like, ‘If you’re gonna go, you’re gonna go to win.'”
David admitted that doing heated Build classes as part of his training “gave me an advantage,” but he knew his diet and sleep schedule would be just as important.
“A lot of protein, a lot of carbs,” David said of his meals. “Eating before sleep. Trying to get four to five meals, because I knew in the heat I was going to lose weight.”
“In the morning, it was eggs and avocado toast,” David continued. “I’d have steak and then we would have a big lunch. Not too filling, but big enough. And then probably around 3 o’clock, another meal with some protein, and then another one at dinner.”
“Sometimes I’d have cereal with milk as I went to bed,” David continued, “or berries with yogurt, honey and granola. I was sleeping really early. I was going to bed like probably around 9 p.m.”
Now that David has returned home, he’s focused on keeping up with his pre-show workouts.
“I was 180 pounds. And then when I came back, I went back to 169 pounds,” David said. “Now I’m [around] 172 or 173 pounds.”
With the show behind them, the Build family business and its sister studio, Burn, are back to being top priorities, as their latest studio in Newport Beach, co-founded with Maria Chase, is now open.
“We have new instructors coming in there, but [we’re] kind of building that community,” David said of the brand’s current focus as it continues adding studios across Southern California and New York. “I think it’s step by step. We gotta nurture what we have right now and then we think about the future.”
David is thankful for his experience on the show — and for how it brought him even closer to his son.
Charvet is a finalist on Season 5 of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” — which airs Thursday night.
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