Joseph Marco admitted he had a hard time preparing for his three runway shows this September.

On September 13 and 14, he joined fellow endorsers for the Bench Universe underwear and denim show; and tonight, September 18, he will strut at the annual Cosmo Bachelor Bash 2012.

Last August, the Kapamilya actor was reported to have contracted Dengue fever, which forced him to stall his work in the upcoming series Against All Odds.

Of course, it also affected his scheduled training and workout sessions in preparation for his shows.

In an interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at the presscon for Cosmo on September 11, he said, “I think [nakuha ko] sa bahay, e, kasi sabay kami ng sister ko na nagkaroon.

“Kasi after noong nagkabaha,” referring to the floods caused by the heavy monsoon rains last August, “so baka may mga tumambay na lamok pa diyan.”

Thankfully enough, Joseph’s condition did not worsen and he was able to go home after six days of confinement in a hospital.

Worried that he might not have enough time to prep his body for the runway shows—where he would be required to show his abs—Joseph immediately got back to gym training.

He said, “Actually, sa buong career ko, even noong nagmo-model pa ako, feeling ko ito iyong pinakamahirap talagang pinaghandaan ko.

“Kasi parang three weeks ago, kakagaling ko lang sa Dengue, so talagang nahirapan akong mag-recover.

“At first week nung recovery ko… Kasi ano nga parang malapit na nga iyong Bench, ‘di ba? Nag-gym kaagad ako, nabinat ako.

“E, iyon nga, sabi huwag raw kasi nga kapag galing ka daw sa Dengue talagang iyong energy mo mabagal pa.

“Parang it will take two weeks to one month bago bumalik iyong energy mo, so ang hirap.

“Tapos nagkapilay pa ako, so iyon nga, I just did diet tapos light workout, pang-abs lang. Upper body hindi muna.”

Joseph had to settle with just doing crunches daily. But after about a week or so since recovering from his relapse, he slowly went back to his original workout routine.