Working out the kinks

{BOLD “Work Out” – Bravo
11 p.m. March 20}

Call it the curse of G.I. Joe. Underneath that flack jacket, he’s got the image every man craves: chiseled abs and biceps that would make Brad Pitt put his shirt back on. Jackie Warner, star of “Work Out,” agrees.
“Men are hyper focused on their bodies,” says Warner. “… There’s a lot of pressure on them to be good looking and to compete with each other.”
That’s why many of them turn to Warner, who owns Sky Sport & Spa in California. On the sophomore season of “Work Out,” the ab-sporting lesbian pushes her clients and, this time around, even her trainers.
“I think some of the success of last season went to their heads and I stated that,” Warner notes. “My job was to try to get them back to the values and back to the basics of, why are we here?”
Warner’s not only putting her foot down because she wants her trainers to maintain a stable workout; her business is on the line. That’s why she wasn’t going to deal with any of personal trainer Jesse’s lackadaisical behavior.
“As a business owner, it looks like I’m being tough on him and I certainly wouldn’t if he was just my friend, but he’s my employee,” Warner states. “So I have to really set those standards. I did have to whip them into shape and keep them on track. They’re pretty rebellious this season.”
Warner noticed changes in herself, too. With struggles up the wazoo – trying to resurrect a dying relationship with Mimi, renovating her house and an extensive “Work Out” shooting schedule – her body was gauntly.
“I was not working out as much,” she admits. “Then, just like everybody, I came out of it. I started feeling better. I started moving forward.”
Season two of “Work Out” dives deep into Warner’s personal battles, which she has no qualms about revealing. The previous season she admits to being overprotective, but now she wants to expose her flaws.
“The difference between being a successful person and not is a (successful) person continues to push themselves and work on themselves every day,” she says. “And I certainly do that.”
During the final weeks of the 12-week production, Warner faced another obstacle. Doug Blasdell, one of her personal trainers, died. The 44-year-old’s death was sudden and it left Warner with an empty feeling. He empowered people, she says, and it shines through this season.
“It goes to show that you really need to not take life for granted and that you really need to appreciate the people in your life and make the best of it every single day. And he truly mastered that. I learned a lot from him.”

Earlier in the season, Warner took the time to whip a Bravo chum into shape. Naturally, a personal trainer would fear training a scathing comedian. But Warner didn’t have that issue when she worked with the trash-talking Kathy Griffin on the third episode of “Work Out.”
Sure, Warner was a bit worried that working with Griffin might come back to bite her, but training the stubborn quipster isn’t something she was about to pass up. “If she’s talking about you, there’s usually a good reason,” Warner says. “You’ve made it in some way.”