With a humble, passionate approach to personal training, Nando Sirianni is helping clients throughout Toronto reach their health and fitness goals.

From the moment he wakes up, Nando Sirianni is focused on how he can use his fitness journey to inspire others. A typical day starts at 6 a.m., where he’ll train clients until midday. Following that, he’ll spend a few hours on creating content for his social media channels and working out, before going back to train more clients until the evening.

“I was always into working out when I was younger,” Sirianni says, thinking back to when his love of fitness began. “I started in high school, and fitness and health were always part of my upbringing. I was also involved in sports a lot growing up — hockey and soccer — so I was always in that atmosphere of health and fitness.”

Working with people of various ages, from those with injuries (whom he helps with rehabilitation) to athletes, Sirianni’s experience is expansive. And he approaches each client with care for not just their physical health, but also their personality. As such, every routine is carefully crafted to ensure it meets an individual’s personal milestones. “Everyone comes in at a different fitness level,” he explains. “So I gauge that first session as more trial and error, to test different exercises to see what would be more beneficial for that person. Then I get them on a training program that fits their goals.”

“I always say to start gradual. You want to be excited to work out”

Like most things during lockdown, the process of keeping fit has changed. Sirianni has both seen and experienced this change first-hand and advises that, even if you’re doing just 10 minutes of exercise, it’s better than doing nothing. “Some people think they have to train for an hour, but even doing just a 10-minute ab workout or a 15-minute hit workout is better than nothing. Set yourself up to do 10 minutes today, 15 [minutes] tomorrow, and you’ll end up getting toward that hour goal, anyway,” he says. “Just move, walk outside, go for a run. It doesn’t have to be something crazy.”



He also understands that fitness is something personal, which depends as much on your mental state as it does your physical. And so Sirianni urges those looking to begin a new routine to take their time when measuring their expectations. “Take it day by day,” Sirianni says. “I find, when people try to work out every single day, it’ll end up backfiring. You’ll end up going from five days a week to four to two to nothing. I always say to start gradual. You want to be excited to work out.”

Moving forward, Sirianni plans to continue work as a personal trainer at Inklein Fitness and Rehab in Kleinburg, Ont., working on himself (normally to the music of RÜFÜS DU SOL, Chemical Surf and Drake). And he has recently launched a YouTube channel, offering workouts such as 15-minute calorie burners and 10-minute lower ab sessions.

“If you’re starting out, there’s no right time or place,” Sirianni encourages. “As soon as the need to get fit comes into your head, you need to do it that day. You need to react to it.”

@nandosirianni

Interview by Cassandra Giammarco