Don Saladino’s 7-Week Plan to Get Shredded From Head to Toe

Acquire strength and maintain athleticism while you build symmetry with this taxing plan.

Don Saladino
Per Bernal

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  • Goal

    Get Shredded

  • Skill level

    Intermediate

  • Duration

    7 weeks

  • Days per week

    5

  • Type

    Strength Training

  • Goal

    Get Shredded

  • Skill level

    Intermediate

  • Duration

    7 weeks

  • Days per week

    5

  • Type

    Strength Training

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.

Weekly Routine
  • Day 1

    Monday

    30 min.

    7

    Yes

    Monday

    After benching, perform the rest of the workout (labeled A, B, C, etc.) as a circuit for 3 to 4 rounds; rest 3 minutes between rounds.

  • Day 2

    Tuesday

    40 min.

    4

    Yes

    Tuesday

  • Day 3

    Recovery

    --

    --

    No

    Recovery

  • Day 4

    Thursday

    60 min.

    13

    Yes

    Thursday

    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>

  • Day 5

    Friday

    40 min.

    4

    Yes

    Friday

    Note the instructions beside each exercise.

  • Day 6

    Recovery

    --

    --

    No

    Recovery

  • Day 7

    Recovery

    --

    --

    No

    Recovery