Summer is almost here—and for many, that means the gym beckons with renewed urgency. But before you dread another grueling workout, one fitness expert has a liberating secret: just move.
Kenny Santucci—trainer, gym owner, and podcast host—doesn't sugarcoat his own exercise hates. "I hate back squatting," he admits. Yet he still trains legs every session—just with substitutes like pendulum squats, leg presses, or lunges. The point isn't the movement; it's that you move at all.
Santucci insists strict programming isn't necessary for most people. When an exercise feels like a chore, consistency crumbles. "If you're thinking, 'Oh, God, I've got to go do legs, I don't want to…' go do something else," he urges. "Swing a kettlebell, push a sled—just move."
He wants workouts to feel like something you actually look forward to. "You should never question, 'Should I go or should I not?'" he says. "You should go—and then what you do when you get there? Sky's the limit."
But not all movement builds the body you want. For real results, Santucci pushes gym-goers toward strength training—and heavier weights. "Strength training should be the basis of what you do, not cycling," he explains. "If your goal is aesthetics, and cycling is your foundation, you're not helping yourself get there any easier."
His sweet spot? Work at 60% to 80% of your capacity—pushing to fatigue with moderate intensity. "There's a science behind muscle growth," he warns. "Without external force against muscle tissue—and without fueling with protein—you're probably not building muscle."
Yet Santucci still champions doing it all. "Hard doesn't necessarily mean a better workout," he says. "If you train at levels of intensity, you reproduce good outcomes." The real key? "Understand your goal, then work backward from there. That helps you design a better program for yourself."
