As a Vocal Trainer, I’m always in “how can I learn more” mode. The idea of reading up on current fitness trends –trying to find things to help my clients and improve their effectiveness as Vocal Athletes – always seems like a good one to me.

So, there I was … prowling the magazine stand at a local bookstore … when the cover of a Men’s Journal magazine caught my eye.

The image was that of what appeared to be a young Arnold Schwarzenegger – but was definitely *not* him. Intrigued, I bought the magazine, took it home and began to read.

The picture of the young man on the cover was that of Joseph Baena, a previously unknown son of – you guessed it – The Terminator himself.

At age 18, having become aware of who his father was, Baena reached out to his dad, and, to his credit, Arnold began a relationship with the  young man – accepting him as a son.

Unknown to Arnold, the young man had already become a bodybuilder (no real surprise there) but was also a budding actor – talk about DNA!

One day as they were visiting, young Joseph swallowed hard and said: “Hey, dad, I could really use some acting advice. What can you tell me?”

Arnold looked directly at his son and did his best “Arnold” deadpan: “Do The Reps”

Not understanding, the young man pressed his father and said “Well, yeah, sure, dad, on bodybuilding – I get it. But this is acting.”

Arnold stood, looked at his son and said in a louder, more insistent voice: “Do The Reps.”

Growing frustrated at this point, the young man also stood, now almost confronting his dad and insisting that he wanted acting advice … not bodybuilding advice.

“I have to go now.” His dad said, and Arnold then turned and started to walk out of the room.

As he left, he called out over his shoulder once more “Do. The. Reps.”!

Bemused at his dad’s stubborn insistence on the silly line, the son returned home. Upon arriving home, he found an acting audition notice waiting for him.

“Do The Reps. Do The Reps,” he reflected, “I know what that means for bodybuilding, but what does it mean for acting?”

Finally, he had the idea that he should just recite his lines for the audition over and over again (doing the reps) and just see what happened.

For the next two days, he did exactly that. Washing dishes, walking the dog, making dinner … he recited his lines over and over and over again, until he knew them so well, he could not get them wrong.

The next day, he went for the audition and felt that he’d nailed it. In fact, he did so well that before he even got back home, his agent called with an offer for his first movie role. Baena says his acting career took off from that moment on.

What’s  your vision for the kind of singer and performer you want to be? How hard are  you willing to train to make that vision happen?

#dothereps
#domorereps
#majovta