- 2 hours ago
From playing Veronica Lodge in 'Riverdale' to Teela in 'Masters of the Universe,' Camila Mendes has different strength goals for different projects. Accompanied by her personal trainer LA Thoma Gustin (and her maltipoo Truffle), Cami takes us through every movement in her workout routine catered to her current goals and trust us–she's a beast! Take a look.
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00:00I can't like feel complete in my workout unless I end with sprints.
00:05And Kami has amazing form when she runs.
00:08Don't say that!
00:10Hey, I gotta tell the people. You keep hyping me up and I'm not.
00:12I gotta tell the people, okay?
00:14Hi Self, I'm Camila Mendez and you're working out with me. Come on.
00:23Hey girl. Here's girl.
00:25Here we go.
00:27Let's do this. Let's do this.
00:30This is my trainer, Ellie Tomagustin.
00:37And we met at Comic Con in San Diego like eight years ago.
00:45I go to her garage. It's a great vibe.
00:48My dog's there and your kids are there.
00:51Ellie's like holding a baby and like telling me, you know, how many push-ups to do.
00:56I love it.
00:57It's therapy.
00:58Yeah.
01:00All right, we're gonna start up with a full body warm-up, which Kami knows by heart.
01:04I don't need to tell her. She can actually lead me through it.
01:06I do this everywhere and anywhere.
01:08I think this is your favorite part of the workout.
01:10I love the warm-up.
01:11Five-minute timer.
01:12Let's go.
01:13So first we start with squats and overhead reach.
01:19And a heel raise.
01:20And a heel raise.
01:21Almost forgot.
01:23But in all seriousness, LA, like I actually am out of shape right now.
01:26I've been in Mexico City filming and I've had very early call times.
01:32So I haven't really had time to be working out every day.
01:36But I've been trying on the weekends to do my best.
01:40Switch.
01:41When I was training for Masters of the Universe, it was a very different type of training regimen.
01:48And I was obviously like really trying to get buff and strong and you know, now I'm playing a character who's very different from the character I just played.
01:58And like wouldn't be somebody who works out at the gym all the time.
02:03And so we found the balance.
02:06Back lunge rotation.
02:07Yep.
02:08This works on a lot of like hip mobility and also lumbar thoracic mobility so you get that rotation.
02:17And I think one of the coolest parts with her training for that movie was like you literally, it was a full-time job.
02:24Yeah.
02:25For a training like that.
02:26And if you're working out that hard, like you still don't get like huge, you know what I mean?
02:33Oh, totally.
02:34Yeah.
02:35That was a really valuable lesson for me to learn because I think there's this common misconception and this fear with women that we're going to get too buff.
02:44And like a lot of women are scared of strength training for that reason.
02:48Switch.
02:49But ultimately I think what really mattered is like if you're strong, you're strong.
02:52And that looks different for everybody, you know?
02:55Mm-hmm.
02:56Try to set goals that aren't based on how you look because like a strength goal, like now you can do how many push-ups?
03:05Yeah.
03:06Well, I don't know about any more.
03:07I used to be able to do like 25 to 30.
03:10Girl was repping them out.
03:11Walkouts.
03:12And I like to add a little shoulder tap.
03:14She adds a little shoulder tap where you can add in a push-up if you want to.
03:18I'll do a shoulder tap with you.
03:20Come on.
03:21We have push-ups coming later.
03:22I don't want to do.
03:23That's true.
03:24I don't want to do too many push-ups.
03:25This is also a nice little hammy stretch, hamstring stretch.
03:30Okay, cool.
03:35So Cammie's doing a serratus wall slide.
03:41Basically we do this one for her shoulder.
03:44She has a lot of like shoulder tigness and weakness on this side.
03:47We don't know what came first.
03:48The tigness or the weakness?
03:49Like what came first?
03:50Chicken or the egg?
03:51Probably the weakness.
03:52It's mainly a strengthening exercise for the muscle that's underneath your shoulder blade.
03:57But we kind of use it too as like a mobility move for her.
04:01So this is our first circuit.
04:12It is a tri-set.
04:13So it's three exercises we're going to be doing all one after another.
04:16It keeps the ball rolling.
04:18You don't need a ton of rest in between each exercise because you're working a different muscle group.
04:23Like the way she was training for masters, you're really hammering out a muscle group.
04:28So you need a longer of a break between sets usually.
04:31Exactly.
04:32Because you have to fully recover to be ready to go hard on that next set.
04:35So it's definitely a different type of training with a different goal.
04:38Yeah.
04:39Cammie's doing a half kneel shoulder press.
04:43This is going to be too hard.
04:46I don't think I can do the fifteens anymore.
04:48So she's working on shoulder but also core and hip stability being in this half kneel position.
04:54We really started working on shoulders especially when she was doing masters.
04:58She did a lot of shoulder work and now she's super strong even though you don't think you are.
05:03This is really hard.
05:04This is hard.
05:05Is it?
05:06Yes.
05:07And we'll go through usually three to four times.
05:10You're trying to hit close to failure like three to four reps shy of failure.
05:14Because that's how you build muscle.
05:16You got to take your muscles to that point.
05:19Yeah.
05:20That's perfect.
05:21That last rep, it should feel exactly like that.
05:23It should be like, oh, like you should be making a face on the last rep.
05:27This is a tall plank rotation.
05:29This is one of my favorite full body moves because she's getting a ton, a ton and ton of shoulder stability on this side.
05:36While she's working back, shoulder, tricep, bicep.
05:41And then obviously core because she's in this tall side plank position.
05:44So I love this as like a good combo move.
05:47And Cammie just crushes this.
05:49I love these.
05:50I don't know why.
05:51They just, they feel good.
05:52It's like you're getting arm and core at the same time.
05:54Mm-hmm.
05:55The bottom arm is the sneaky hard one.
05:58Yeah.
05:59For sure.
06:00Especially with like, she has a little bit of that tight, weak shoulder.
06:03This is really great for that.
06:05This is really hard to stay like in this position and do this is super hard.
06:10And she just crushes it.
06:12Glute thrust is also a fave.
06:17Give it a one, two beat at the top.
06:20People kind of hit the top and come down really fast.
06:22So really challenge yourself to pause a little bit longer at the top.
06:26You're going to feel it makes like a really big difference.
06:29You're so much better at these than me.
06:42No, I'm not.
06:43I'm like trying to keep up with yourself.
06:45Why are you going so fast?
06:51During masters I was like, I can't, I need to get stronger and stronger.
06:55Yeah.
06:56What you now know is that to really get bulky, it literally is a full time job.
07:03It really is.
07:04It is really hard.
07:05We had like a performance chef who was like making our meals specifically for the goal of putting on muscle.
07:13I was like having to force myself to finish meals because I was just not used to eating that much.
07:17And I started to notice I had like cellulite in my shoulders.
07:22I was like, whoa, like I've never noticed.
07:25I have fat in my shoulders now.
07:27But in my mind, like I was like really excited about it because I'm like, oh, that means like.
07:31Your muscles are.
07:32It's working.
07:33Yeah, exactly.
07:34All of a sudden it went from being like, oh, like I want to be super lean to being like, I want to be strong.
07:39Yeah.
07:40And that was a really cool, empowering feeling to be like chasing muscle.
07:45It's kind of addicting.
07:46Yeah.
07:47Like when you start to see those muscle lines, you start to really love being strong.
07:54Trying to get heated.
07:55It's getting hot in here.
07:56It's getting spicy.
07:57You ready for circuit two?
07:58Yes.
07:59All right.
08:00Circuit two.
08:01We still have upper body, lower body and a core upper body combo.
08:05So we're doing straight up push ups.
08:08You have always had the most perfect push up form.
08:12Stop it.
08:13Take one.
08:14That is one thing with Cammie.
08:16I've barely ever have to correct her form.
08:18If I do, it's like a little tweak here or there.
08:20But your like body awareness and her form has always been like, she's so easy to train.
08:24Like sometimes I'll forego doing something really quick and powerful because I'm like, no, but I need to do it perfectly.
08:29It also has to be very even on both sides.
08:31Yeah.
08:32I'm all about being even.
08:33I make like tiny little adjustments to be like, oh, I'm not perfectly aligned.
08:36Yeah.
08:37I mean, solid as a board.
08:39Stop it.
08:40Don't make me lie.
08:41Textbook push up video is right there.
08:42I don't think so.
08:43It's right there.
08:44Okay.
08:45B stands R.D.L.
08:46But we're adding a little bit of rotation.
08:47So we add, we kind of aim towards the outside of the foot because it gets deeper.
09:04I love this one.
09:05This is a cami fave.
09:07This is also my favorite exercise because anybody can do it wherever you are.
09:12Like it's a single leg exercise.
09:13If you have lighter weights at home, you can still get enough resistance.
09:16I was at a bachelorette party this past weekend and I was doing these with a wine bottle because
09:21that's all that I had nearby.
09:23And I was just going like this.
09:24I love that.
09:25Still wasn't heavy enough, but it was something, you know?
09:27Yeah.
09:28You make do.
09:29You got to do what you got to do.
09:32Try it with a little less knee bend.
09:33Let's see if you feel it different.
09:34Less knee bend?
09:35Yeah.
09:36Yeah.
09:37There you go.
09:38Yeah.
09:39Cammie's very intuitive with how her body feels, which is really helpful because you
09:44can really tweak the exercise to have her feel it in the right spots.
09:49How's that weight feel?
09:50That's good.
09:51If you're doing less reps, you want the weight to be a little bit heavier.
09:54Right.
09:55If you're doing more reps, you can go a little lighter with weight, but I always try
09:59to keep the weight heavy enough so they're not doing more than 15.
10:02Honestly, it's just because it's so many reps.
10:05No one wants me to do more than 15 reps.
10:06Yeah.
10:07It gets boring after a while.
10:08Yeah.
10:09So if you want to be efficient with your time, lift heavier weights.
10:12Yeah.
10:13And then we have bird dog row.
10:15So this is our core upper combo, a upper back row, but you're still getting bicep, tricep,
10:21always with that row.
10:22And then core and hip stability as well.
10:24Good.
10:25Again, this one hits so many points.
10:28Stability arm, stability shoulder, stability back of this side, stability of this side.
10:34Obviously her core is having to engage to not let her fall either direction.
10:40And then we're getting bicep, tricep as well.
10:43We need some bar art, OG music.
10:53I know.
10:54Cammy's on the DJ.
10:56She's always teaching me new songs that I've never heard of.
11:01I feel like she keeps me young, showing me TikTok dances.
11:06Sometimes that's our warmup, you know?
11:08Mm-hmm.
11:09Except Cammy's extremely good at dancing.
11:12And I'm like...
11:13I would not say extremely good.
11:14Girl, Cammy busts out.
11:19I'm very like psychological when it comes to fitness.
11:22Like a lot of it has to do with how I feel.
11:24And if I haven't worked out in a week, I'll like really feel like, oh, I feel like stagnant.
11:29And like, I don't feel like my blood's flowing.
11:32If I get into a good rhythm and a good routine, I'm like, oh, I'm already feeling better.
11:37I can see definition.
11:38And I just like feel firm and strong.
11:41And I think that's the feeling I strive for more than aesthetics or anything like that.
11:48So after we do our circuits, we do a little bit of core work.
11:52Usually it's a direct core.
11:53So like when I say direct core, I mean we're actually doing like a crunch motion,
11:58which is actually working that big muscle, that rectus in the middle, right?
12:01It's actually crunching it up.
12:03So this is some of the hardest core work you'll do.
12:05It's actually make the muscle expand and contract.
12:08We call this one extension to neutral.
12:10So it's just a crunch, but we're going from extended position to a neutral position of the core.
12:15So we're really lengthening that rectus muscle here.
12:19But one of the biggest keys here is connecting your breath.
12:22So she's really exhaling and tucking in her ribs at the end as she kind of pulls everything together.
12:28Your core is your back, your pelvic floor.
12:31It wraps all around.
12:32It's like a canister.
12:33So it's a muscle like any other muscle.
12:35So you also want to take it close to failure if you want to see growth.
12:38People just don't really think about your core as a muscle like that, but it's the same idea.
12:43Nice.
12:45These are hard.
12:46There's a lot of hip flexor involved, less so being on your side than if you're just lifting from the back.
12:52Okay, well, God, I'm already tired.
12:55Do you really want to do ball slams?
12:57Do you want to?
12:58Do you want to do it?
12:59Ball slams are your therapy.
13:02That's true.
13:03A lot of people, when they do this, they'll like not bend their knees and do a back throw like this,
13:10versus coming down with your legs.
13:13The strength is really going to come from your legs as well.
13:16This is where I express my feminine rage.
13:18Is this the one that bounces back at me?
13:20This shouldn't.
13:22Oh.
13:23Yeah.
13:24All right, we're going to do some interval sprints now.
13:39Four rounds.
13:40I think we start at 75%, slowly go up until your last one is your fastest.
13:46Okay.
13:47This is the big finale.
13:48I can't like feel complete in my workout unless I end with sprints.
13:53And Cammy has amazing form when she runs.
13:56Don't say that.
13:57Hey, I got to tell the people.
13:59You keep hyping me up.
14:00I got to tell the people.
14:01Okay.
14:02L.A. taught me how to do good runner hands.
14:04The hairs.
14:05Uh-huh.
14:06You don't want to have a really firm grip because then you're really tense.
14:08You want to be loose in the upper arms.
14:10But you also don't want to be like this.
14:11Yeah.
14:12So actually my dad taught me this.
14:13He was an elite track coach.
14:15He always told me to pinch thumb and forefinger so that if you need to clench, you can push
14:20those two together.
14:21But then the rest is relaxed.
14:27How are my hands?
14:29They look good.
14:30Just whatever feels good.
14:32You got it.
14:33So this treadmill, I call it the hamster wheel treadmill because it goes by your own pace.
14:39So that's why it's sloped up like this.
14:41If you go faster, the treadmill goes faster.
14:43So there's no set speed.
14:45Get it, Cammie.
14:46Nice job.
14:48So now we're going to do our cool down.
15:03Cool down.
15:04Which is L.A.'s signature cool down.
15:06It's my signature.
15:07Honestly, it's your signature now.
15:08It's mine now.
15:09It's the Cammie version of the cool down.
15:11Yeah.
15:12I added a few twists and turns.
15:13I added some things that my body literally cannot do.
15:16I'm going to let you leave this cool down.
15:18Okay.
15:19Do a little ankle crack.
15:21A little pedal of the feet.
15:22A little pedaling of the feet.
15:27Bring that up.
15:28Move that hip around.
15:30This is a Cammie flare that you don't get in my video.
15:34And then I do this, which L.A. does not do.
15:36I'm not even going to like attempt to do that.
15:38Like what?
15:39It feels so good.
15:42My back could never.
15:43I mean, that's insane.
15:50How?
15:51How?
16:00That's good though.
16:01I feel like you're not, you're like the same as me.
16:04Mine's a Y, yours is the T.
16:07So tight.
16:09I got you.
16:12I have to end with a slow roll up.
16:15A little hang.
16:23Ah!
16:24A new woman.
16:29Stronger.
16:30Yeah.
16:31Yesterday.
16:33They can't use this in the edit.
16:38It's not a workout unless a dog is there.
16:40She loves L.A.
16:41Hi, Truffle.
16:42Thanks for working out with me, Self Magazine.
16:45I'm Camila Mendez.
16:47And I'm Ellie Toma.
16:49And we're signing off.
16:51And this is Truffle.
16:52Bye.
16:53Bye.
17:01You have to use that.
17:02There you go.
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