Can you handle a male model's circuit training class?

Sun Sentinel (MCT) - He has been the cover model for Men's Health magazine a record 18 times. And his book, "Muscle Chow," is a bible for trainers and fitness fanatics.

But Gregg Avedon is ready to turn his focus elsewhere, which explains why he walks around a dim Sunrise, Fla., gym in a deserted industrial park at 8 on a Friday night, mapping out a training routine so strenuous that clients sometimes weigh this option: quit or vomit.

Avedon, 44, of Weston, Fla., has designed what he calls the G-Force Circuit Club, a high-intensity group workout with an entry requirement of eight pull-ups and 30 push-ups.

"I want to take everything I've learned and pass it on to people," he says.

To many, Avedon is the face of fitness. The Miami native started as a bodybuilder at age 17, moved into modeling and acting, and now is a trainer at Billy Beck III Personal Training and Performance Center in Sunrise, Fla.

"I kept reading and learning, and when it came to studying nutrition, I was like a sponge," he says. "But modeling is no longer a priority. If work comes to me, fine."

Around 8:15 p.m., Avedon sets up 40 stations, mostly weights and resistance training, but also kettlebells, a sledgehammer, medicine ball, core workout area and challenges such as pushing a wheelbarrow full of cinder blocks and flipping a tractor tire.

The rest-and-recovery station is the treadmill.

About 30 men show up, and Avedon blows a whistle to start the first station. The men work as hard as they can for 30 seconds, then have 20 seconds to recover and move to the next exercise.

"Keep your movements clean!" he shouts. "Think about the muscle you're working.

"DO NOT STOP!"

After the first circuit, Avedon declares a six-minute break. Weston, Fla., attorney Andrew Yaffa gulps water.

"He walks into a room and jaws drop," Yaffa says. "Everybody aspires to have that type of definition. I may never get there, but at least he's got me moving in the right direction."

As they repeat the 40-stop circuit, the men start to drop the weights rather than placing them with control. Some shake their heads. Others groan.

"Keep the energy up!" Avedon exhorts, between whistles. "Niiiice!"

Avedon, who moved to Weston from Miami in 1991, says training people is much different than modeling, a business "where you can fall into the sinkhole of ego very easily."

"Training is about being functionally sound, yet looking your best. It's not a sale," he says.

The class rotates to its final station and Avedon leads a cool-down stretch. Conversation is muted. Everyone's just too tired.

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Avedon picks up the plastic buckets he placed around the circuit. No one threw up this session.

He makes a mental note: Next time, push them harder.

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© 2009, Sun Sentinel.