Make the Commitment :: Fitness Guru Dan Saladino Talks

Passion is defined as "a strong and barely contained emotion." If there is a more perfect description about Don Saladino feelings about fitness, I can't think of it. We spent the better part of an hour chatting about his ideas on nutrition, fitness and working out... and why so many of us don't make it past those January resolutions.

I could have asked him for his "top ten" guide for success, or his opinion on the best way to do a squat, lunge or what cardio workout is best, but, as I said to him in the beginning of the interview, "Let's just talk." Much like fitness, it's not a simple "get fit quick" blurb on another page or in another fitness magazine. It's a discussion about lifestyle, a refreshing take on what Saladino feels is necessary to be healthy, fit and happy - long term. We begin at the beginning.

Joel Martens: Let's start by having you tell me a little bit about how you got involved in the fitness industry.

Dan Saladino: I was a Foursquare athlete in high school and went on to play Division 1 college baseball and was a two-year captain there. I also had aspirations to play beyond that, but that didn't go as planned. During that time, I became a workout fanatic. I graduated and maintained this love for fitness.

The entire time I was an athlete, I just couldn't stay out of the gym. I started to develop a bit of confidence when it came to exercise and helping others. So, when I graduated and started thinking about what the hell I wanted to do next, the only thing that came to mind at the time was being a personal trainer. I wondered about the money and making a living... I remember being in the process of deciding and having a really engaging conversation with my mother. She turned it around and said, "Don't worry about the money, worry about what you love to do and the rest will fall into place."

What ended up happening next is that I moved into the city [New York City] and got a job at a big box gym. I left there after a year and went out on my own and started a little practice. I did one-on-one training at homes and in facilities. I was training 40 to 50 one-hour sessions per week and doing pretty well. My brother, around that time also, went professional in golf and I started working with him a lot on fitness while he was doing the tours.

To make a long story short, the training process we developed became very successful and we made contact with a group of people who believed that my brother and I had potential in business. We ended up getting funding and opened my club in NYC called Drive 495, a 15,000 square feet training facility with an emphasis on golf.

As time passed, we were not only working with golfers. We started taking on all athletes and in turn, we started adding celebrities. My first big break there was with Hugh Jackman, when he came to me and we got him ready for his Wolverine role in Australia.

That worked out really well! He was in stunning shape for the film.

I think Hugh picked our gym because he realized that I took my craft very seriously. We worked on every level; on his fitness, his nutrition, we scheduled his sleep and rest intervals... Everything. He got into phenomenal shape and as a result of that amazing experience, I managed to pick up many other clients in that world. Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Sebastian Stan, it really just opened up the doors.

If you had to define what your fitness philosophy entails, what would it be?

The big thing for me is understanding that not every individual is the same. I don't really call myself a personal trainer, I consider myself more of a fitness and wellness expert. What I do is way beyond personal training. When you consider each individual, it's personal and what I try to teach people, is that they must think for themselves.

If you're someone that cannot get to the gym more than three days per week, then let's make sure that your three-day workout routine is optimized. Does that mean working out six days is better? Actually, not necessarily. We have an obsession that more is always better, and that isn't always true. When people jump on the horse too fast, ride too hard and right out of the box... are going seven days a week, trying to do everything right, eat perfectly, work out constantly, things like that - it's not necessarily a good thing. When they have a bad day or two, they tend to fall off the horse and get discouraged. That's why New Year's resolutions don't always work.

Oh yeah, the dreaded New Year failure, we've all been there.

Resolutions are great, but more importantly you have to have a plan to achieve that resolution. You have to create a plan that is going to set you up for success. There are so many different ways to get from point A to point B. Whether you have 90 minutes a day or 10... it's all good. You have to find a program that fits for you. That is my philosophy. The idea that more isn't always better, and each person has to be handled individually.

Attainable, practical and very smart. I like the idea of integrating not only different styles of working out, but the functional concept of examining how your body works and finding the best solution for each individual.

That's the part that makes my training different. We work a great deal on functional movement and functional movement screening. A lot of us have bumps, bruises and injuries and you have to take all of that into consideration.

For instance, if a client says to me, "My knee hurts, when I do lunges, what should I do?" My answer is, "Stop doing lunges." (Laughs) First things first, stop doing anything if it hurts. Second, let's assess why that pain is happening. Thirdly, it doesn't mean that you can't train; it just means that you have to find a different way to get from point A to point B.

I get it. I had back issues most of my life and worked with a great trainer for a year and it worked amazingly well - that was eight years ago and I am still pain-free.

You got lucky, and you're right. It's amazing when it works. What can be unfortunate in the workout world, though, is what I like to call, "If you're not assessing, you're just guessing." You have to screen clients and put them through a process to analyze and assess what potential weak links are there and then train to get that weak link strong. It certainly takes time, but you have to be patient and do the work in order to reach full potential.

Why would I want you to do Olympic deadlifts if you are already injured, when I can have you do something that is safer and more effective? The goal may be to get you to the place that you can do that lift, but you have to work up to it. Unfortunately, many trainers and gyms don't take the individual's needs into consideration.

You have to balance everything. You have to give clients a little bit of what they want and yet encourage them to work towards a broader goal of functionality. Everyone wants the rippling abs, broad shoulders and big pecs. We all do, it's sexy, and it's what sells. But, as a coach, it's about looking past that singular goal and seeing those things that I have to fix, for the best overall performance - movements that are really important to make you function without injury and move well.

I love your concept of the multi-pronged approach. It just makes sense.

Most of us aren't professional athletes, so my whole thought process is, rather than being the master of one thing, I want clients to be the master of all things. I want you to be able to function well enough to do everything; to sprint, run distance, squat and bench press. I want you to be well-rounded enough to do it all. Does focusing on overall athletics take away a bit from you being able to bench press the most, or squat the most, or run the fastest mile? Yes, absolutely. But, training to me needs to be fun and broad. It needs to be switched up every couple months to be effective. Training one specific way all the time tends to develop weak spots, and I don't like to work that way.

It is not about just giving someone a program,. You have to consider everything, stress levels, sleep habits, things like if they just got off a plane from somewhere, or even if they just had a fight with their spouse... it all has an effect on hormone levels and what an individual can do. You have to adapt your program because of those factors. Throwing someone into a intense workout whose been sitting on a plane for 18 hours is not only crazy, it's dangerous and can lead to injury. That's the time to work on mobility, to activate the body and then, you can lean on it some more, after the build-up has occurred.

Pay attention to what hand you are dealt each day. At a certain point, you have to accept that the body has limits and responds differently. People who are in the best shape are the people that train smart and listen to their bodies. They adapt day by day and know how to balance their intake and output.

Start now and remember, it is a lifestyle. Wake up everyday, brush your teeth, choose your meals and your workout. These are things in life that you have to do to survive. Working out and eating well should just be one of those things.
Look at it from the 1,000 foot approach, not the one-foot approach. There are 365 days in the year, make it a goal to work out and go from there.

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU WILL AFFECT CHANGE... THAT'S FITNESS.

DON'S TOP TEN HEALTHY LIVING CHOICES

1) Start Exercising. You need a minimum of about 70 to 90 minutes per week, in my opinion. That could be three days at 30 minutes a day, or seven days at 10 minutes a day. Do something and get moving... variety is key.

2) Resistance Training. This is a necessity in order to burn body fat. It raises your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which means at rest you burn more fat calories than you would if you just do cardio.

3) Cardio Is Still Necessary. Be well-rounded; mix high-intensity interval training, with medium-intensity and steady-state cardio. Don't just do one.

4) Work On Your Mobility. This step takes a little more time, but is one of the most overlooked components in fitness. You can mix your mobility work into your workout sessions if need be. Or better yet, do it while watching TV and have some fun with it.

5) Get Rid of White Flour, Sugar and Salt. Lean toward whole grains, fruits and sea salt. This will help to improve hormone function, which helps with the aging process, along with other things like skin, health, sleep and recovery... I could go on and on.

6) Sleep More. Probably the most important of all. There are numerous benefits internally, the main one being hormone function. With better functioning hormone levels comes better skin, hair and more fat burning. This step will also assist with general well-being and your body, physically feeling better, because you will be rested and recovered.

7) Water Is Vital. You need roughly 50 ounces of water per every 100 pounds of body weight. This means a 150-pound female will need 75 ounces and a 200-pound male will need 100 ounces. Do the math!

8) Limit Alcohol Consumption. I'm not a drinker, but if you must, limit yourself to two to four drinks a week and make sure you hydrate with water in between cocktails.

9) Switch It Up Nutritionally. Try incorporating a variety of foods. I try to always go with what's in season. Different foods will contribute to a variety of vitamins and nutrients that the body will benefit from.

10) Organic All The Way. Keep those chemicals out of your system! See how your body starts to feel within a few weeks of choosing organics. Trust me, it is magic. You will look better and feel better.