Unless you’re one of the lucky ones with a fully-stocked home gym, it’s probably been a while since you’ve lifted any heavy iron.
But, there’s a bright side to this forced change in your fitness plan, says celebrity trainer Don Saladino, the guy who’s trained superheroes like Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
There are plenty of opportunities to keep strong and stay creative during these stressful times. “I think you can lose weight easier right now and you’ve got access to a gym because we can get more sleep and we can train multiple times during the day.”
Saladino has been doing Instagram live workouts on his and M&F’s pages, breaking a sweat four of five days a week despite the sweeping changes of the pandemic. He’s noticed he’s feeling good — and even looking a little leaner.
It’s frustrating to not be in your typical workout space, but Saladino says you can reframe this as an opportunity.
“I’m challenging my body in different planes,” he says. You can incorporate jumping workouts in different spots, or move laterally or vertically by modifying your typical routine.
“I’m getting my cardio in this little room here,” Saladino adds. “You don’t need to be outside running and we don’t need to be on the elliptical … the step mill, it works, it gets the heart rate up.”
Because we don’t have the same gym access, it’s also a time to get creative or do something new. “Start doing things that are a little outside the box. I just got off the phone with a really good buddy of mine and he just bought a rower,” Saladino says. “He’s like, I’m going to do the rower every day for this amount of time.”
Saladino says that right now is the perfect time to find a solid bodyweight program. It’s not the worst thing to get off the leg presses and explore using our own body mechanics. It’s also a chance to develop stability and flexibility through body-weight routines. Body-weight routines can help improve mobility and increase tension in the body.
Saladino put together a lower body weight workout, which incorporates a lower body mobility warmup before a series of supersets. “Jump on it and be religious to it,” he says. Saladino has been engaging with fans about his workouts on social media, to a huge response. “I’ve never in my life posted as much bodyweight work. And it’s become more well-received than anything I’ve ever put up on my social media. And, it’s offering value to people. And that’s all I can do right now. It’s just at a time where people don’t have access to their gym.”
Saladino adds it’s vital to challenge yourself differently. “What I mean is, if you’re a powerlifter and you’re used to going in there doing fives, threes and singles, then do a little bit more of the repetition methods. Start focusing on more of your muscular endurance, start focusing more on stability, tell yourself that you’re going to give your body a month to two months to really kind of grease the groove and allow yourself to feel things differently. Allow your body to heal and recover and improve in more of an endurance aspect.”
With bodyweight workouts, Saladino says, the real challenge is finding out a way to create tension. Sometimes, this means that bodyweight routines bring in movements that feel a little weird. Saladino’s recent workouts brought in hip airplanes and lateral bounds — moves that can throw some athletes for a loop. “Sometimes that has forced them to move in a way that they may not have moved since they were a kid.”
They might be moves you’re even inspired to continue in the future. “I think it’s definitely going to open their eyes to the fact that they may actually need more of this,” Saladino says. “They might even notice that they’re recovering a little bit better.”
If you want to embrace bodyweight training to keep off fat, consider if you need to increase the volume and frequency of your workouts.
Ask yourself: “Maybe now, rather than training something once or twice a week, I’m going to train full bodyweight programs five, six days a week and I’m going to split it up into two sessions,” Saladino says.
Saladino says the biggest problem he sees is people fall into routines, thinking they know what works for them. “They never actually step out onto that ledge and they never challenged themselves differently.” This is an opportunity to get creative and try new programs.
“To this day, I’m reading articles or research that some doctor friends of mine are putting out, or going back and looking at old programs. Why am I looking at old programs? Because it’s a reminder of different techniques and different things that I might’ve used 10 years ago that are still valid,” he says.
Maybe you’re not eating as cleanly as you normally do in your usual work routine. “We have to watch things like alcohol and we have to watch things like eating too poorly,” Saladino advises.
He brings up how with people sheltering in place, there’s a golden opportunity to cook your meals at home, controlling every ingredient. In restaurants or when going out to business dinners, it’s also easy to indulge more, for instance with drinking. Now, this is the time to meal prep.
“This is the time where you’re finally in a controlled environment. I believe it should be easier,” Saladino says.
“I think the goal for each individual is different. For one person it might be to lose 10 pounds. The goal for another person might be to drop body fat. The goal for the third person just might be to get off the couch and finally start moving,” Saladino says. “And I think right now, all those can be achieved very easily if they just focus on what needs to be done today. Stay motivated.”
Saladino suggests finding that one thing and knowing that if you show up, you’ll be more satisfied than if you didn’t try.
“I’ve never met anyone that has showed up and put in an effort and said, ‘Oh, you know, I should have stayed at home.’”
