My name is Tony Lauto. I’m fitness coach and medical professional helping clients change their lives and bodies by bridging the gap between western medicine and preventative care.
Whether you want to achieve your dream body or fix intense lower back pain, I’ve got you covered. I certainly don’t know everything, but as a coach and cardiac surgery PA, I’m always looking to learn more and help people. And that started with helping myself.
On this site, you’ll find articles covering everything from workouts to dietary strategies to injury rehab. My goal is to provide information on all aspects of the health spectrum and give people what they need to stay healthy, fit, and build a life that excites them.
The Backstory
Like many born before iPhones and Netflix ruled the world, I’m part of the last generation of kids who spent as much time out in the sun as inside in front of a screen.
Adolescence isn’t an easy time for anyone, but I had pretty simple tastes, and spent those halcyon days playing sports and running around with my friends.
Now, that sounds like the beginning of the Sandlot; unfortunately, I was no Benny the Jet.
Because of my health, I wasn’t even Scott Smalls: from the earliest parts of my childhood, I was beset with chronic back pain so severe I sometimes had difficulty walking, let alone sprinting down the baseline.
While my classmates would effortlessly make gains in the weight room to dramatically increase their performance on the field, I struggled to stay away from the doctors office.
After years of frustration, misdiagnoses, and thousands of dollars of co-payments, I was still without answers. At times, I questioned if I’d ever overcome by chronic struggle with back pain. I wasn’t interested in feeling less physically capable. And the suggestion that—at just 20 years old—I’d need to rely on narcotics to be able to move freely just sounded crazy.
Eventually, I reached my breaking point. I realized if I wanted a solution, I’d have to find it myself. I further reasoned that learning to fix my body meant I first needed to understand it.
Thus began my study of exercise and physiology.
I started looking for answers for some of the same reasons I think you are…
- I wanted to be able to move pain free and enjoy a healthy life
- I didn’t want to feel helpless when it came to losing weight
- I wanted to build a physique I could be proud of
And I wanted to design a life I was excited about.
So I started looking for answers and I found out: “There is a TON of information about exercise.” I figured, “Any exercise must work, right?” and I started trying different routines.
Like many people, I started by reading fitness information online…and like just as many people, I wasted a lot of time testing out different fitness programs.
It didn’t take long to realize how many contradicting theories were out there, and I ultimately realized I needed to go back to basics. I wanted a real solution that worked and made sense.
The body is complex and issues are usually multifactorial, but when you understand how the body works, things start to make sense. So I started studying anatomy and physiology courses in college, followed by getting certified through the ACSM as a trainer.
One certification led to another. And another. And another. Eventually, I realized that there’s always more to know—but knowledge of exercise wasn’t enough to build a healthy and exciting life.
So I climbed the highest mountain to learn the secrets of the great nutritionist monk John Berardi. And returned home armed with new secrets to accelerate my clients’ results to burn unwanted fat while still enjoying some of life’s delicious vices.
But it didn’t take long to see there was still more to learn. It’s common knowledge exercise and a healthy diet can prevent many chronic diseases. But most fitness coaches know very little about the diseases they are trying to prevent.
Once again, I left my kingdom to explore and journey to the deep dark depths of the medical world. After several years of study, I resurfaced armed with new insights as a cardiothoracic physician assistant.
In addition to working as a trainer, I was meeting with and working with physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, acupuncturists, life coaches, and doctors—anyone with something to teach, anyone who’d help me expand my knowledge.
After years of study (with more late nights spent navigating the overlap between theory and practice than I care to admit) I took all the aspects of study that actually worked consistently and combined them together to create my own system.
Here & Now
As a fitness and lifestyle coach, my training focuses around building not only a balanced body, but a balanced life as well. Wellness entails more than just exercise, but a combination of environmental, emotional, occupational, spiritual, intellectual, and social factors.
Together we will help shape a life that inspires and brings out the best version of you.
As a gift for finding your way here let me give you access to our Free Weekend Survival Guide. The strategies & tips you’ll discover will help you overcome the obstacles that could be holding you back, improve results in less time, & design your ideal life.
All you have to do is enter your name & email in the box.
Whether you are a first time visitor or a frequent flier, I’m thrilled to have you here. The journey you’re on is not an easy one, but the juice is well worth the squeeze. Being an advocate for your health allows you to take full control of your life despite the trials and tribulations you’ll face during your journey. I’m here to help you along the way, and take like 9% of the credit when you return to slay the dragon and restore peace and justice to galaxy.