Thrirty days. That’s how much time celebrity trainer Don Saladino had to get cover-ready for our March 2018 issue. For that one month, he shed 10 pounds of water weight, ate clean, shunned cheat meals, and trained his ass off. Yet instead of showing up on set depleted and acting moody, he’s chipper, energetic, and pleasant. That, he says, was a product of a calculated approach.
Saladino’s workout routine (below) allowed him to acquire strength and maintain athleticism while incorporating bodybuilding moves for symmetry.
“I think there is confusion that the program is what’s going to make the individual look a certain way—there’s more than one way to get things done,” he says. “If you want abs like Ryan Reynolds’ in Deadpool, we can get you there with an old-school 8×8 with 30 seconds of rest, or a power-building program, or a kettlebell program—it doesn’t have to be the same program we gave Ryan.” The malleability in his programming hinges on factors such as diet, stress levels, sleep, and recovery efforts. Determining those creates better insight for training frequency and volume.
Saladino also stresses top-to-bottom foundational strength—including the toes, which he accomplishes by training barefoot when possible. “Think of it like putting a cast on your hand: If your hand’s healthy and it’s wrapped in a cast half the day, you’ll lose dexterity,” he says. “And if something stops working in your foot it can affect you from a joint-by-joint approach.”
One area that has no wiggle room, however, is the need for a targeted 10-minute dynamic warmup.
“Skipping, hopping, moving side to side, neck rotation, and other athletic moves work ineffciencies in the body and grease the groove so you feel athletic,” he says. “Overall, I’m looking to make sure the body is as strong and as resilient as possible 365 days a year.”
Check out Saladino’s 7-week shred below.
The Plan
Goal
Get Shredded
Skill level
Intermediate
Duration
7 weeks
Days per week
5
Type
Strength Training
Saladino's Workout
Perform this full-body routine for 7 weeks. During Week 4, cut the volume in half.
This workout opens with two different circuits (with exercises labeled A, B, C, etc.) and concludes with an arms routine.</p><p><strong>Circuit 1:</strong> Practice each move for 2 minutes. Do 3 to 5 rounds.</p><p><strong>Circuit 2:</strong> Perform as a circuit for 3 rounds; rest 2 to 3 minutes between rounds.</p>
