You've never heard of Don Saladino?
Who got Hugh Jackman jacked?
Who gave life to Deadpool’s ripped body?
“I never set out to be a celebrity trainer,” says Don Saladino, “I’m a problem solver. I've been a fitness coach for 26 years. I dove into fitness young because I had a massive stuttering problem and a hearing surgery. Fitness gave me significance.”
And it’s solved more than a few problems for him. After a shot at pro baseball didn’t pan out, he became a fitness coach, opened up several gyms, built a digital media company, and sold it.
Watch Don Saladino at METAL
“Celebrities are not the core of my training life. People think it’s all fun and heavy weights, but the thing is that they have struggles too, sometimes more exaggerated than you can imagine. Take Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake. They have pressures and they get very dialed in for a role. They have four children. They have businesses. They are dealing with stresses, with media, with getting sick, with [a] bad night's sleep. They are changing time zones consistently. It can play havoc on your health.”
Saladino says he elicits success by focusing on mental state first and foremost.
“That’s why I always work with clients in increments. I want to show them success, and I want to do this by building their confidence and showing them that they don't have to dedicate hours a day to get results. Get them off the couch for another hour a day. Cut back on the sugars. One step at a time. That means sleep… even the company you keep. Are they toxic or do they support your greatness?”
This holistic approach allows Saladino’s clients to scale their success.
But incrementalism does not mean randomness or slacking off.
“If you want greatness in fitness, it's like building a business. If you want to be a billionaire, you're not just thinking about how much money you have in your bank account. You’re thinking ‘What’s today’s game plan? How can I develop a winning team?’ Your focus has to be on how to make today great.”
Part of achieving greatness in fitness, as anywhere, is a devotion to professional-level discipline.
“You can’t pull workouts off the Internet and just frivolously do them. I’ll learn what’s worked for you and what hasn’t. I’ll give you six things over the next six months. One thing a month; let's say month one: hydration. Getting your steps in during month two. Aim for three workouts a week in month three.”
According to Saladino, it’s never about getting huge.
“Muscle is important because it’s body armor. It's going to protect me when I fall for the first time, when I'm 80 or 90. It’s important for your metabolism. It's important for resiliency. Put it on, and keep putting it on, because you’re going to lose it. But just make sure that you're focusing on the correct things. Movement and energy comes first. Flexibility plus stability creates mobility – and those are the things that matter most for your overall fitness, not popping biceps.”
To learn more about about Saladino’s thoughts on peptides, supplements, performance enhancing drugs, how to increase your pushups and pullups, how to encourage your (resistant) kids’ fitness, watch his METAL talk here. To get a free month in his November workout challenge, click here and use promo code Metal100.
Written by Adam Gilad
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