The Best Part of Breaking Up, Is Making Up!

YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

Gym: What's wrong? 

You: Nothing!

Gym: Why are you so mad at me?

You: You are so judgmental, that's why! All you do is look at me and judge! I don't do enough. I do too much. Like you're so perfect!

Gym: Well, guess what? I hate being used. All YOU do is use me. Special Occasion? "Let me see if I can lose 10lbs in one workout. "

You: I do not! I use you other times too...

Gym: First date, seeing an old friend, PMS, went out last night and drank too much, & my favorite..."I want to show off this super duper cute workout outfit I just bought"

You: I hate you. 

Gym: I hate you. 

You: I think we should break up. 

Gym: I don't care. Do whatever you want. 

You: Why are you trying to hurt me? 

Gym: Oh please! Drama queen. Just get out. 

You: No, you get out!

Gym: It's my house! 

You: Whatever. 

 Make sure this never happens again!  Read on. 

THE FOOL-PROOF GUIDE TO A LOVIE-DOVIE GYM RELATIONSHIP

1. Find a gym that you are compatible with on every level. 
1. Location, price, classes, trainers, parking, etc...
2. Don't let others pressure you into joining. Do it when you are ready. 
3. Go on a few dates first. 
1. Every gym offers a trial period.
4. Bring your gym home to your friends and family...so to speak of course! Ask your f&f what they think. 
5. Be committed. 100%! Don't go into any relationship half-assed. 
6. Treat each other with respect. 
7. Do your research!
1. Know everything you can about this gym and what they are about. 
8. Check out the gyms track record. 
1. Consumer reviews on Yelp are a great resource.
9. See what the gym is willing to give you.
1. Free sessions with a trainer. 
2. Free month of membership
3. Multi-vitamins
10. Feel comfortable at the gym. Always. 

OUT INTO THE WORLD YOU GO!

Best thing about a break up with a gym? You don't have to worry about that awkward moment when you run into each other out on the town or that drunk text you send at the end of a long night. Honestly, your gym doesn't have feelings and won't care who you date next. 

So, before you go on your next GymHarmony.com date, learn from your past relationships and go into this one knowing exactly what you want and don't want. Use my fool-proof guide and you will be in a happy, long term, symbiotic, and healthy relationship...with a gym before you know it. Happy dating! 

To Commit or Not To Commit? That is the question!

com·mit·ment

   [kuh-mit-muhnt]  Show IPA

noun

      

1. a pledge or promise; obligation.

2. A 10 letter word that instills fear into your very soul. It penetrates so deep, that some of us become frozen with anxiety and doubt! 

3. A dark cloud that settles over you and only you, preventing you from ever reaching the sunlight!

Examples:

• Your girlfriend asks you, "where is our relationship going?" 
• How do you handle it? - You freeze!
• A co-worker invites you to come to his/her birthday party. 
• How do you handle it? - Come up with some lame excuse that you can't go. Really though, you are afraid that you won't know anyone there. 
• Your good friend calls your phone? 
• How do you handle it? - Don't answer! You'd rather listen to a voicemail message than engage in a conversation for more than 1 minute. Back to Facebook! 
• A personal trainer offers you a free session. All you have to do is book it!
• How do you handle it?
• Schedule and flake at the last minute. 
• "I'm gonna wait till I am in better shape" - (insert sarcasm here) Of course, makes sense!
• "I'm not looking for a personal trainer right now" - Why would you take something for free???
• Treat them like the end of a bad MATCH.COM date and say, "Sounds good! I'll call you..."

Whatever the situation, we are all guilty of letting the fear of commitment get to us. I'm here to provide you with a foolproof plan to slay the commitment dragon!  

Daniel Saltos' Baby Steps for People Dealing with Fitness Commitment Phobias

AKA - "DSBSPDFCP"

1. Start small. 
2. If you get overwhelmed, breathe. 
3. Join a gym.
4. Be realistic. 
5. Find healthy foods YOU like. Not the ones Jennifer Aniston likes in the latest issue of Cosmo. 
6. Ask questions when you're not sure. 
7. Don't let the gym rat who lives next to you and runs 12 miles a day, intimidate you. 
8. Go at your own pace.
9. Challenge & Reward yourself. 
10. Share your experience and success with someone who needs it. 

Commit to yourself

Before you can move forward, in any aspect of your life, you have to be willing to commit to yourself. No one is going to do it for you. 

Commit to a Trainer

After committing to yourself, you decide you are ready to work with a trainer. You must choose the right one. You do not want a trainer who tries to transplant their head onto your shoulders. The right trainer should understand your needs first, and build from there. In the many years that I have been a trainer, I have never had anyone say, "this is the worst decision I ever made!". Everyone gains something; a better body, knowledge, confidence, their youth, lower cholesterol, a TV role, or just a friend.

In summary, stop being afraid of that friend's phone call - You will have a stronger relationship. Go to that birthday party where you don't know anyone - You might meet some amazing people. Get on that treadmill - You'll find it doesn't bite. Take that trainer up on his offer - It just might be the best decision you ever made. 

"If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life?" - Harvey Fierstein

 

 

The Six-Pack Mystery!

You're in the gym 9 days a week. You do 1000 sit-ups a day. You run, spin, cross train, cross fit, and most probably yoga-it as well. Yet, after all that, you still still can't seem to get that Ryan Gosling like mid-section. Those Gerard Butler - 300 - abs of steel! Well, keep reading because I'm going to demystify the secret behind great Abdominals.

The fate of your abs lies in the answers to the four questions below:

1. How frequently do you train your abs?  
2. What kind of exercises are you doing to target your abs? 
3. How much cardio are you doing each week? 
4. What is your diet like? 

1.  How often should I train my abdominals?
In order to answer this question, I must explain that your abs work the same way as your back, chest, arms, and legs. A muscle is a muscle and, just as you wouldn't work your arms everyday, you shouldn't work your abs everyday either. I hear it all too often, "I do 500 crunches a day", "I've been doing my 9minute ab video 6 times a week". Your abs need rest just like any other muscle!  

TRAINER TIP: Make sure to give your abs a day or two of rest between each training session. For more advanced clients, one day of rest between sessions will suffice.

2.  What exercises are best for getting a six pack?

We all know the crunch, the sit up, and the leg raise. These tried and true exercises are the staple of any ab routine, but as the great philosopher Abdominus Theolepus said, You wouldn't eat chicken for dinner every night! The bottom line- results require variety! Variety includes increasing your rep scheme, trying some different and new abdominal exercises, and using weights to get that pack to really pop!

TRAINER TIP: Here is a list of some of my favorite ab exercises.

• Bicycles 
• Ab strap knee raises
• Plank - standard & side planks
• Weighted sit-ups 
• Medicine ball russian twist 

3.  Cardio time...again?

Most people either spend too much time on cardio or too little. If you are one of those people that goes to the gym and jumps on the treadmill for 90 minutes...Stop it! If you are the opposite of a gym rat and do absolutely no cardio...Get to it! Truthfully, cardio is necessary but, just like you've heard me say before, moderation is key. Too much cardio burns through muscle and too little cardio packs on the fat.
TRAINER TIP: Although you should be active most days, for cardio, I recommend the following:

1. To maintain your current fitness level/weight: 2 days a week for 30 minutes
2. To lose weight: 4-6 days a week for 30 minutes. 

4.  You are what you eat!

This is going to be short and sweet! You want to be lean, you gotta eat lean. Quit the KFC. Quit the basket o' bread before dinner at Red Lobster. It's that simple. You can't expect to eat donuts and have Ryan Reynolds abs or Heidi Klum's hour glass physique. 

TRAINER TIP: Stop eating the bad foods and start eating the good foods. Lots of veggies, salads, and lean meats. Stop eating the all those foods high in fat, sodium, sugar, and carbs. 

There it is folks! If you are tired of carrying around love handles filled with anything but love and tired of pouring out buckets and buckets of sweat and getting nowhere, then re-assess, re-evaluate, and start new with the above plan that will get you that six pack you have always wanted. 

TRAINER TIP:  A good personal trainer will always increase your chances of six pack success.

I'm on a diet...AGAIN!

Since I was a young lad, I have seen commercials offering rapid solutions to your weight loss woes. Slim fast, Richard Simmons, Atkins, NutriSystem, The Cabbage diet, and Ephedra! They all promised the same thing - Weight loss faster than Captain Kirk could say "warp speed ahead" (Yes, that was a StarTrek reference) and looks that would have your neighbor's husband or wife at your doorstep asking for some sugar!

Doesn't matter who you are, we all have a similar goal - Look good in those jeans!

The problem? Here's a short list

• Not eating breakfast.
• Eating too much at dinner. 
• Not drinking enough water. 
• Snacking too much throughout the day. 
• Heavy on the starches - Rice, pasta, and breads. 
• Lite on the good stuff - Veggies, fish, and lean meats
• Forgot to take your vitamins this morning? 

The solution?

• Balance
• Balance
• Balance

What is balance? In short, it is a state of equilibrium. A state where there are no extremes and where all things are in harmony. It is my opinion that this is the real key to success when dealing with your weight. I have seen my clients try diet after diet and fad after fad in order to lose weight. Ultimately, what ends up happening? 

• Your "diet" restricts you so much that binge on the weekends.
• Eventually you come off the diet and you mysteriously put the weight back on. 
• You lose 10lbs at first but can't seem to lose any more. 
• You find yourself saying, "Oh my God, this diet sucks!", way too much.  

Im not going to mislead you by thinking that I have a pill that gives you balance because I don't. If I did, I would be writing this blog on my private island, with my private jet parked next to my bentley in front of my mansion that was handmade by a famous French architect. Point being, balance isn't easy. It takes hard work and dedication, but the reward is far greater than any pill or diet can give you. 

Here are some tips that I utilize for myself and for my clients that may help you find balance. Final bullet list, I promise. 

• Don't 180 your diet. Instead of changing everything all at once, try stages and steps. 
• Cheat meals instead of cheat days. 
• Keep a log! I can't tell you how much this helps. 
• Be realistic. Don't aim to workout 9 days a week if you can only make it 2 times a week. 
• Don't restrict yourself to the point that you feel like a prisoner on death row. 
• Every time you want to cheat or over indulge, remind yourself of what your goal is. 
• Day by day. Step by step. Don't overwhelm yourself with wanting instant results. 

So instead of buying into the next infomercial or going to the health store to pick up the latest fat loss pills, do something for yourself. Go for a run in the morning. Eat a healthy breakfast. Have some almonds as a snack. Salad for lunch. Apple. Sensible and light dinner. Get 8hrs of sleep. Wake up and take it one step at a time. I promise that if you practice moderation and balance...you will go much farther than ever before. 

Don't have time in your day to workout, eh?

Infomercial Announcers Voice: Is this you? 

I'm way too busy to workout!.. I get out of work too late..I can't workout, I have kids..My dog ate my gym clothes!

Ok, ok. Maybe not that last one but I've heard it all and I have one common response to every excuse, "really!?" 

I know work is tough, kids are a handful, finding parking is never fun, and after a long day you want only to sleep. The truth is, as we all know, life is not always easy. If you can make time in your day to sit down and watch the season finale of America's Got Talent, then you can spare 30 minutes to workout. Here is a quick and easy 30 minute workout for all you desk junkies, soccer moms, and DVR hoarders. 

Strength Training - 20 Minutes

Complete this circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes before going onto the cardio portion of the workout.

1) Squats - 20 repetitions 

2) Chest Press - 12-15 repetitions

3) Deadlifts - 20 repetitions

4) Lat Pull Downs - 12-15 repetitions

5) AB Bicycles - 20 repetitions 

Cardio Training - 10 minutes

1) Elliptical 

    1 min @ high resistance 

    1 min @ low resistance

    Alternate for 10 minutes between high and low resistance  

There it is! 30 minutes to a healthier and fitter you. Get off your tukus and get going!

How much are you donating to your gym?

Your phone rings and you answer it. The voice on the other end says, "Hello! This is your gym calling. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the money you have donated to us. We are richer and you still haven't dropped those 5-10lbs. Have a great day!" That phone call doesn't happen but it probably should.

Donate? Yep, donate! Are you one of the 50 million Americans who are members of a gym? More importantly are you part of the 75% who fail to use that membership? If you answered yes to both questions then you are in fact donating your money. Wouldn't it be great if possessing a little key card was all you needed to get in shape?  Unfortunately, it's not! You have to make an effort to get into your car, drive to the gym, walk through the doors, grab your towel, and here it comes - sweat! 

I see it all too often: You join a gym with all the good intentions in the world, but something comes up and you don't go to the gym for a few days.  A few days turns into a week. A week turns into a month and, before you know it, a year has gone by and you can count on two hands the number of times you went to the gym this year. STOP WASTING YOUR MONEY! I realize that the words on this page will only go so far to motivate you to go to the gym, so instead I offer some useful strategies to keep you on track and save some dinero. 

Here they are in no particular order:

1.  Join a gym that offers a month to month payment plan. 
1. If possible do not sign up for "auto-pay". If you physically write a check once a month, you will be more inclined to go. 
2. Find a gym that offers a "pay per class" type of membership. That way you only pay when you go. 
3. If gyms are not your thing, find a Personal Trainer who will train you at home or at a nearby park. 
1. There are also plenty of private gyms that your Personal Trainer can take you that are quiet and less crowded.  
4. Google! There are plenty of gym-like alternatives in your neighborhood. I.E. Rock climbing, krav maga, boxing classes, etc. 
5. Workout with a buddy. *Just be sure to hold each other accountable. Otherwise you and your buddy are simply taking a ride on the same sinking ship.

Trust me, I know how difficult life can be and how things like work, relationships, family, and your favorite TV shows can get in the way of your health, but remember the motivating force that drove you to join your gym in the first place. Stop letting your hard earned money go to some corporation that couldn't care less if you are healthy or not. Start putting yourself first! 

Yours in fitness, 

Danny. 

I'M BACK!

Ladies and gentleman allow me to reintroduce myself - I am your Personal Trainer, Daniel Saltos! I would like to start off by saying that my absence these past few months was due to, well, life! Let me just say that planning a wedding is both  exhausting and thrilling. Much like skydiving where you don't really know if you will survive the journey but once you do and you touch the ground with your feet you feel amazing! (Note to anyone planning a wedding or know someone who is - buckle up cause it's gonna be a fun ride!)

But alas, our wedding has come and gone and now comes a new chapter in life. I apologize to my loyal followers for the delay but, fear not, the show will go on!

Stay tuned for some great entries on current fitness and nutrition trends. 

Yours in fitness, 

Danny. 

p.s. 

here are some photos from our big day!