Dan Magnuszewski

My name is Dan Magnuszewski. I have a wife, three kids, I’m 40 years old, and I live here in Buffalo, NY. Historically, growing up I have been active in sports. After going to college and getting into the workforce, I didn’t really do a lot of physical activity. I did some running here and there. I had a job as a software engineer, built some software companies over the years. So now I’m doing a lot of working with start-ups, investing in companies, also doing some racecar driving as well. So really now that I’m 40, I’ve really been trying to make sure that I am in the best shape as I kind of go into this second stage of life here. And trying to make sure that I am putting myself in the right position to not only just live longer, but live longer and have a better quality of life.

Growing up I was very active in sports whether it was just playing in the neighborhood, whether it was baseball or football. But I played baseball up through the middle of high school, ran cross country, and ran track. Very active where I was at a competitive level, working out 6 days a week, 5 hours a day. Really went through and was really serious about my athletics in high school. And did very well. As I got out of high school, I really focused more on academics. And that’s really where I went from being 2% body fat, full of muscle, to out of shape, and a little doughy. So, over the years, I’ve done some different sports. I’ve done speed skating, which I did for a few years. It got me back into shape a little bit. Sporadically, I would be running. I’d get into streaks where I’d be consistent with running. I ran the Buffalo Marathon a little over 10 years ago, but it was never really consistent. Over probably about 3 years ago was really when I realized I had to make this a priority, a concerted effort to get in shape, and to be consistent. And that was when I joined up with TrainSMART. Since then, I’ve been very consistent in terms of my ability to work out every week. I have a certain number of workouts. I’m getting my hours in. And you see the results based on that consistency. For me, that’s been great! Over the past year I’ve gotten into sports car racing and more endurance racing. That it requires core and neck and just overall strength and endurance that really you have to be consistent with your workouts to build the muscle and build all the strength you need.

I’ve been familiar with TrainSMART for a while, working in the same building. And I tried doing a lot of other workouts, whether it was P90X or the at-home online thing. The reality was it wasn’t allowing me to be consistent enough. I wasn’t sure whether I was doing workouts properly or not. And I really liked the tailored approach to a program that’s built for me, but also having really the focus on proper form, reducing injury, and really being enabled to take a more methodical approach to building strength and building endurance. And not going to a CrossFit gym where you’re just trying to stack as much weight and rip as many reps as you can. For me, it was more how do you build the core, build a solid foundation, and be able to build onto that without injuries and do it in a way that fits my personal needs. But also, any of the historical ailments or injuries that I may have had. You can custom tailor around that. So, for me it was a perfect fit. I love having, especially when COVID came around, having the option of working remote and being able to train from home. That allowed me to fit workouts into my schedule, do it early in the morning. I can roll out of bed and in 5 minutes and I’m already working out. That allows that flexibility where if your schedule gets crazy, you’re not ruined for the day and Oh I can’t drive out and make it there. With this it made it super easy. And the flexible schedule as well. It’s very nice to be able to say, “I want to go work out” and there’s a slot 10 minutes, I can go work out. Or if something comes up, I can reschedule. The flexibility of the schedule is huge with people that have a lot going on. A lot of the time the biggest excuse is they don’t have time, or something came up and now I can’t get to the gym. With this, it allows you that flexibility. It almost removes those excuses. And now it’s just “Okay well, what time are you going to work out.”

For me, it was more how do you build the core, build a solid foundation, and be able to build onto that without injuries and do it in a way that fits my personal needs.

Yeah, working out online and training online has been a game changer for me. It really comes down to consistency and flexibility. Whether it’s work schedules, it’s family schedules, it’s travel schedules, it really allows me the ability to pick and choose when I want to work out, reduce the amount of travel time or prep time in order to go do that. If I have a timeslot that opens up and there’s a class, I can within 5 minutes before the class go and sign up and register and get my workout in. A lot of times we’re traveling, and if we’re out of town and we’re on vacation, I can still go and train, continue my program, and not have to go and try to find a hotel gym or some other place like that. So, for me it really comes down to that type of flexibility and just allowing it to fit into your schedule. And when your schedule changes, TrainSMART is flexible enough as well that it allows you to change with it and find that time that you can get into the gym.

Working out online and training online has been a game changer for me... it really allows me the ability to pick and choose when I want to work out [and] reduce the amount of travel time or prep time.

For me, it’s I got back into the best shape I’ve been in since high school. I was in great shape in high school, participated in varsity sports and lifted and did a whole bunch of physical activities. I was in great shape and after that, you know, you do less sports and you get a little less active and life happens. So, with TrainSMART what I’ve been able to do is really get back to where I feel strong again. I feel great! I’m adding muscle mass, I’m losing fat. It’s all that great stuff! I have no injuries which is great. For me, TrainSMART was the tool that I needed in order to get back to really focus on my health, focus on strength, and help me get back there.

I feel strong again. I feel great! I’m adding muscle mass. I’m losing fat. It’s all that great stuff!

Yeah, I think some of the most important things are really understanding the hardware you’re given, understanding your genetics. Everybody is built differently. There are different mechanisms that are working or not working. So, for me, I went and worked with a company called Self Decode and did my genetic tests to understand what genetic mutations I’m going to have. And that kind of leads you into what types of either lifestyle choices you need to make, what types of dietary and supplements. So that kind of comes down to the food you’re eating as well. So how are you taking that understanding of your genetics and supplementing around that to help you. Your body may not process certain types of vitamins and minerals or have certain processes that don’t work as well. So, you need to supplement. I think it also comes down to eating whole foods that aren’t processed, without seed oils, without a lot of the stuff that are chemicals that are in food today. For me it is all about how you can eat natural foods, eating enough protein, trying to get 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. So, I’ve been doing things like that. I think it really comes up to physical activity as well. How are you adding muscle and adding strength? Because it is scientifically proven that as you age, your ability to grow muscle and retain muscle, especially when you hit the 70 year old mark, really falls off a cliff. So, it becomes hard to do that. Doing that up front will allow you to have enough muscle, help you be either flexible or have quick enough reflexes, so you aren’t falling. If you do fall, you can recover from it. There’s a lot of that stuff that goes into it, but you have to do that ahead of time. You can’t wait until you’re old and frail or have injuries or run into certain diseases. You really need to look holistically at your nutrition, at your genetics, and ensuring that you’re keeping your body strong and flexible.

For me it’s a combination of the coaches, the convenience, and really having that custom tailored plan for your goals! What are you trying to achieve? It’s not a one size fits all, here’s the workout, it’s up on the board, everybody goes and does it. It’s really trying to understand where you’re at in your progression, what your goals are, and there’s a tailored plan to get you there, right! Even on the day to day check ins, understanding soreness, injury, how you feel, how you slept the night before, how you tailor that into what you’re going to work out and what you’re going to do on that day. So, I like the holistic approach, I like the slow and steady approach to building out your core, building a solid foundation from which you then can go and do what you need. It’s not just trying to go out and lift this much weight and this heavy weight and as many reps as you can. It’s really a very methodical and scientific approach to building strength and wellness.

I like the holistic approach. I like the slow and steady approach to building out your core—building a solid foundation.

The coaches are great at TrainSMART. As I mentioned, it’s an approach where they’re looking at what are your goals, what are your needs. Focus on technique and ensuring that you are doing the exercise, you’re doing it the right way. Even down to moving a couple millimeters here or there. It’s that attention to detail that allows you to have correct form, reduce injuries, and really be able to do these exercises properly so you’re getting a maximum benefit. And that’s something that is shared by all the coaches. That’s something that's instilled into everything that goes on. So, for me, just having a team of coaches like that, that are focused on the right things, focused on you and your goals and what you’re trying to achieve, I think that’s the most important thing.

It’s that attention to detail [from the TrainSMART coaches] that allows you to have correct form, reduce injuries, and really be able to do these exercises properly so you’re getting a maximum benefit.

My advice would be to go in and try it and be consistent. I think that the approach that TrainSMART takes is not, as I said, something where you’re going to be just lifting heavy weights out of the gate and doing a ton of reps. There’s a methodical approach to how you do it. So, I feel like the key, and really with anything, but I think the key is to go in and be consistent and put in the time. You will start seeing the results week over week and start feeling better. I’ve referred and brought in friends, family, acquaintances who are looking, who are thinking about getting in shape or say, “Oh I need to start working out”. I think my advice is this is a system and a framework that you can be very successful with. And not only be successful, but that consistency and having that support system around you will help you modify if things, you know, if you evolve quicker or you still need to grow a little slower. It gives you that ability to sort of improvise on the fly. So, I think it’s key to go in, I think it’s key to be consistent. Make it a part of your routine. And if you do that, you will be successful!

I think the key really for anyone that’s thinking about exercise, nutrition, longevity, health span, the key is, a big pillar of that is strength and conditioning. So, for me, I really encourage people, especially coming out of the pandemic and all the different, you know, issues that are kind of going on from the health standpoint in the country. People need to take it into their own hands. Their health, their fitness, and I would really encourage them to examine what are they doing in order to help set their future self up for success. And a big part of that is building strength, building muscle. That will help you in the decades and decades ahead and set you up for a better quality of life.