Danny Salik – Male Fitness Model Interview and Photos

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Danny Salik – Male Fitness Model Statistics

Name: Danny Salik
Date of Birth: 11/04/1976
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 165 pounds
Hair Color: Black with highlights
Eye Color: Brown
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania


Danny Salik – Male Fitness Model Interview

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I was born in Pakistan and left when I was 5 years. I moved to Saudi Arabia with my mom and two older brothers to be close to my dad. My dad worked there for the government, but since we were Catholic, it obviously didn’t work out well in that country. We finally moved to the United States to a town called Upper Darby in Pennsylvania when I was 11 years old so we could be closer to our extended family and also for religious freedom. I went to grade school and graduated from Upper Darby high school. After graduating, I went to college, but never finished.

My love for fitness started when I was 7 or 8 years old while watching the movie Commando with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I fell in love with his body and I thought that maybe one day I would look like him and that was the start of it. Over time, I worked in different restaurants and bars and then I had a job opportunity to become a certified fitness trainer at Bally Total Fitness in May of 2002, when I was 24 years old. I was trainer at Bally’s for 10 years and during those 10 years I also had my own in-home personal training business for a while. Since then, I have been working out consistently for 16 years. I was never 100% satisfied with my body! When I turned 38, I competed in my first boxing match and won! Then I set a personal goal to be in the best physical shape possible for my 40th birthday and do a professional fitness photo shoot. I worked on my body with a strict regimen for 2 years and the pictures in this interview are from my photo shoot on my 40th birthday!

How and why did you get started in fitness?
I was always a small, skinny kid with abs and I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else that I could pack on muscle and get into top shape.

What is the best thing about being fit and living a healthy lifestyle?
The feeling of being fit is great! Rarely getting sick due to a very strong immune system is also a huge benefit. The best thing is being an inspiration to everyone that is younger or older. If I can be this fit at the age of 40 then anyone can do it.

Tell us about your biggest fitness influence?
My biggest fitness influence is Arnold Schwarzenegger because I always watched his movies growing up and he inspired me to start lifting weights.

What is your greatest achievement so far?
Setting a goal for being in the best shape of my life and doing a fitness photo shoot.

What is your favorite body part on yourself and on the opposite sex?
My favorite body part is my shoulders. On the opposite sex, it would be the abdomen.

What kind of cardio do you like best and why?
I really like the stepper machine (StairMaster) because you can build your leg muscles at the same you are doing cardio. I also tend to sweat a lot on the stepper which tells me that I am working hard.

What type of nutritional supplements do you use?
I use creatine, Universal Nutrition Animal MStak for muscle building, and Universal Nutrition Animal Cuts for fat burning.

What do you think of the latest fitness trends like P90X, Insanity and CrossFit?
Honestly, I am just not a big fan of all the latest fitness trends as I am old school and I like to stick to those types of exercises.

What type of food or supplements do you consume pre-workout and post-workout?
I eat 4 hard-boiled egg whites upon awaking at 3am then right before my workout I take a pre-workout called B-Nox with the Animal M-Stak and my post-workout drink is creatine. This is the supplement regimen I am taking currently.

How do you deal with cravings for junk foods, sweets and salty food?
I do not have a lot of cravings, especially when I’m in my on-season program, but when I’m in off-season, I will cheat a little but avoid going overboard so it doesn’t mess up my meal routine.

What are the contents of your refrigerator?
Lots of cooked steak, chicken, steamed veggies, hummus, Vitamin Water, regular water, fresh raw veggies and almond milk.

What are your top 3 favorite exercises and why?

  1. Cardio – I sweat a lot, therefore, I know I am burning fat.
  2. T-Bar Rows – I can lift very heavy on this exercise and I can feel all my back muscles working.
  3. Push-Ups – They can be performed anywhere, especially when I am traveling.

What tips do you recommend for eating out at restaurants to stay on a clean diet?
Stay away from the bread! Choose freshly cooked protein (red meat, chicken, turkey, fish) with a salad or steamed veggies and drink water. If you want something carbonated or fizzy, drink some club soda.

What does your gym playlist look like and what’s your favorite song to listen to when training?
My gym playlist consists of fast-paced dance music. I don’t have a particular favorite song, but just anything fast-paced with a lot of dance beats.

What is the most challenging thing you deal with about consistently staying in top shape?
That would be events and parties because I am a realtor by profession. In my business, I get invited constantly to all kinds of social events.

Please describe your normal diet. What do you eat in a typical day to stay in shape?

  • Meal #1: 32 ounce protein shake with frozen berries, half of a banana and 1-2 scoops of protein powder. I also have Ezekiel bread with almond butter.
  • Meal #2: 6-8 ounces of steak with steamed mixed veggies.
  • Meal #3: 4-6 ounces of chicken with brown rice and spinach, or a chicken salad.
  • Meal #4: 2 ounces of almonds with a protein shake (11 ounces).
  • Meal #5: Usually something lean like chicken or steak (chili, tacos) or a chicken salad.
  • Snacks: 100 calorie popcorn, almonds, apple or a tangerine.

If you could share only one fitness tip that has really helped you succeed, what would it be?
Stay away from simple carbohydrates!

How does your family, friends and significant other react to and deal with your strict fitness lifestyle?
My wife sometimes gets annoyed, but in the end, my family is very supportive.

What are your top 5 tips for losing body fat and getting shredded?

  1. Having the motivation and right mindset!
  2. 90% is having a strict meal plan and keeping a low-fat, low-carb diet.
  3. Cardio 4-6 times a week for 30-45 minutes per session.
  4. Weight training 4-6 times a week with lower weight and higher reps. I also recommend doing cardio before weight training to keep your heart up so you continue to burn fat throughout the workout.
  5. Not eating dinner too late at night. If you go to bed at 10pm, then eat dinner no later than 7pm.

What are your top 5 tips for building muscle and packing on size?

  1. Don’t do too much cardio.
  2. Higher weights and lower reps (8-10 reps per set). Train your largest muscles very hard (glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, chest and back).
  3. Diet! Focus on lean beef, skinless chicken breast, cottage cheese, eggs, whey protein, fish, oatmeal, whole grains.
  4. Get enough rest! Your muscles need adequate rest in order to grow.
  5. Eat carbs immediately after your workout.

What do your workouts and overall training routine consist of?

Monday: I start with 45 minutes of cardio (combination of StairMaster and elliptical) then I train chest followed by biceps. I perform 6 exercises for chest with 3-4 sets and 8-12 reps. I pyramid my sets:

My chest exercises include:

  • Flat bench
  • Incline flyes
  • Incline dumbbell press
  • Cable flyes (upper and lower)
  • Weighted dips

I usually do 3 different exercises for biceps:

  • Standing e-z curls (8-12 reps)
  • Standing straight bar cable curls (10-12 reps)
  • Standing one-arm cable curls (8-12 reps)

Abs (4 exercises with 10-15 reps per set):

  • Incline leg raises
  • Decline sit-ups on the bench
  • Cable crunches
  • Jack knives

Tuesday: Cardio for 30 minutes on the elliptical then I train back and triceps:

  • Pull ups (4 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • T-bar rows or bent over barbell rows (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Wide or narrow grip lat pulldowns to the front (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Seated cable rows with a wide or narrow grip (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Wide grip lat pulldowns to my the neck (3 sets of 8-10 reps)
  • Straight bar cable lat pulldowns (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Straight bar cable tricep press downs (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Cable with rope 2-arm overhead extensions (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Close grip “diamond” push ups (120-200 reps)

Wednesday: Leg day! Cardio 30 minutes (elliptical machine)”:

  • Diamond bar deadlifts (4 sets of 6-10 reps)
  • Leg press (3-4 sets of 6-10 reps)
  • Hack squats (4 sets of 8-10 reps)
  • Leg curls (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Leg extensions (4 sets of 8-12 reps). I finish with stretching! When I have extra time, I will finish with some lunges with 40 pound dumbbells in each hand.

Thursday: 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and then I train shoulders:

  • Dumbbell shoulder press (4-5 sets of 6-12 reps)
  • Shrugs (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Dumbbell front lateral raises (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Side lateral raises (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Rear deltoids (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Upright rows (3 sets of 6-10 reps)
  • Finish with V-shaped shoulder push ups

Friday: Cardio for 45 minutes on the StairMaster and then I train biceps and triceps:

Biceps:

  • Standing straight barbell curls (4 sets of 6-12 reps)
  • Seated dumbbell curls (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • Dumbbell concentration curls (3 sets of 8-10 reps)
  • Seated preacher curls (3 sets of 8-10 reps)
  • Chin-ups for biceps (3 sets of 10-15 reps)

Triceps:

  • Seated dumbbell 2-arm overhead tricep extensions (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
  • V-bar cable press downs (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Rope press downs (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Cable kickbacks (3 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Close grip flat bench presses (3 sets of 6-10 reps)

Obliques:

  • Cable side bends (3-4 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Medicine ball twists (3-4 sets of 10-15 reps)
  • Side plank (2-3 sets: hold each for 30-60 seconds)
  • Bicycle crunches (3 sets of 25 reps)

Saturday: My workout includes 45 minutes of cardio with 200 push-ups and abs:

  • 20 minutes on the StairMaster followed by 25 minutes on the elliptical machine
  • Various abs exercises for about 45 minutes
  • 200 push-ups

Sunday: Rest

What is your favorite healthy food and your favorite cheat food?
My favorite healthy food is steak! My favorite cheat food is a “Big Philly” cheesesteak from Subway.

How do you stay motivated?
Seeing results keep me motivated and feeling so good every day after my workouts also keeps me motivated.

What does the future hold for you?
I entered my first bodybuilding and physique competition on April 8th, 2017 and took 1st place in the “40 and Above” category! I want to continue to rise high in every aspect of my life by setting higher goals whether it is in business, fitness, personal or socials relations, and just knocking them down as they come. I would also like to continue to inspire others through health, fitness and personal development!

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4 Comments

  1. Wow! Amazing article! Great questions and even better answers! Very detailed. It’s one of the best fitness interviews I’ve ever read. Danny truly knows what he’s doing, obviously. He looks amazing! Very inspiring!

  2. Danny – You look great! Your life story is amazing and at the same time very inspiring, almost unreal. Thanks for sharing it with us and keep up the great work. My fingers are crossed for your next challenge.

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