Shadowhunters are warriors, rigorously trained since childhood to defend the mundane and Shadow worlds. Downworlders possess superhuman strength and abilities that defy the laws of physics. Therefore, the actors who play them must be physically fit, able to combat demons and perform stunts, often in form-fitting black leather.
Enter personal trainer Nuno de Salles. Nuno has trained a number of feature-film and television actors including Kit Harington, Jim Caviezel, Kiefer Sutherland and The Mortal Instruments cast. He currently works with the main cast of Shadowhunters, helping them become fight-ready; and also prepared for when their character requires the occasional shirtless scene (swoon).
The eating plans and intense workouts prescribed by Nuno have helped each cast member achieve their own personal goals and character-based requirements. From Kat increasing the height of Plyo Box Jumps from 18” to 36” in a year to Dom and Alberto putting on pounds of lean muscle, the Shadowhunters cast members who train with Nuno continue to transform their already impressive physiques.
FitnessHunters, the fitness-related branch of Basic Shadowhunters Stuff, recently had the chance to ask Nuno some of our exercise and nutrition questions.
Can you give us some guidelines a person should follow when choosing a personal trainer?
Check their education. Make sure they are certified and/or university educated.
Also verify that they are insured. You need to ensure they have the knowledge to take you on this journey. Make sure they specialize in achieving the goals you are interested in, weight loss or strength, and conditioning or body transformation, etc.
And chemistry! You have to have chemistry with your personal trainer if you want this relationship to work.
What do you find is the biggest obstacle to people adhering to an exercise program long term?
People need to be ready to take that step. Motivation is not something your trainer can sell you or give you. It comes from within you. Now, if you have a time frame and a goal in mind, you can work towards achieving it. Athletes have personal bests; actors have a particular project. Some of my clients want to improve their fitness level for health reasons. Yet, for it to be a lifetime habit, you need to constantly change those goals, so you are always striving to reach them.
On Shadowhunters, there are a good number of scenes where the guys don’t have their shirts on. Do they come in and say, “Shirtless scene in three weeks!” and you step up the upper body workouts?
On movies, I initially meet with the producers and director so we discuss what our goal is, muscular/big and muscular/lean, and athletic, etc. Then we have the date in which the actor needs to be on target and I have to decide on the training/diet approach. TV series are very similar.
How do you help motivate the actors you train?
Actors are all very focused because it is part of their profession to look a certain way. If you know that you will be shirtless on screen in three months, you make sure to be “camera ready,” you don’t want to look unprepared!
Full disclosure: can any member of the Shadowhunters cast beat you in a push-up contest?
All of them, I am old (laughs).
You’ve served as “miscellaneous crew and stunts” on a variety of movies. Can you expand on this?
“Miscellaneous crew” just means that they don’t have a department for my title, which in this case is Cast Personal Trainer. [Although,] once I was used as a stunt performer on a movie called Outlander, not to be confused with the TV show that came many years later.
If someone can’t afford a gym membership, are there some pieces of equipment you’d recommend purchasing for working out at home?
The TRX Suspension Trainer (www.trxtraining.com). You can do everything with it!
Can you share with us some nutrition advice you give to clients looking to lose fat and gain muscle?
Diet is 80% of the battle when it comes to the way you are going to look, so no matter how hard you workout, and unless you are a “genetic freak,” you will have to adjust your diet to achieve the physique you want. As with the exercise program, your diet should be highly individualized to your goals and genetics.
This is a great answer! I think most people expect exercise to be the magic bullet alone.
I agree. It really becomes a lifestyle choice more so than a bandage.
There is an emotional component to eating for a lot of people, so you really need someone to be “ready.”
Yes, and the concept of ”ready” is very complicated to define. I have met a lot of clients that said they wanted to change their lives, however were nowhere near being “ready.”
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Nuno! Our mission is to motivate Shadowhunters fans to have a more active lifestyle by showcasing how their cast favorites get and stay fit.
My pleasure!
FitnessHunters is a branch of Basic Shadowhunters Stuff dedicated to promoting health and wellness to Shadowhunters fans. Follow us on Twitter for daily tips, challenges and motivation. You can follow Nuno De Salles on Twitter and Instagram. Also be sure to check out his website!
