About
It's not about building muscle or burning fat or looking good. Those are just means to an end.
It's about being STRONG so you can do all of the things you love for decades PAIN FREE.
It's about having the ENERGY to perform at your best all day long - at school, work, home, and beyond.
It's about having CONFIDENCE that you are in control of your life in a world where everything seems out of control.
It's about having LONGEVITY so you're thriving for your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.
It's about learning from the mistakes of those who didn't adapt to the stresses and comforts of the modern world and suffered needlessly because of it.
Paul Sarantos
Founder & Head Coach
Paul with his family in September 2021
With over 25 years of experience in weightlifting and competitive athletics, Paul Sarantos knows a thing or two about how to optimize fitness around a busy schedule to get into the best possible shape - mentally, physically, and emotionally - with the least amount of time & effort.
Sarantos Fitness was launched in September 2021 to help busy men REACH THEIR PRIME in the simplest way possible - one that fits their preferences, abilities, resources, schedules, and goals.
In addition to running Sarantos Fitness, Paul is a full-time sales engineer, providing custom robotic automation systems to manufacturers.
Paul graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering while also lettering on the varsity football (defensive line) and track & field teams (shot put, discus, hammer throw).
Originally from Portage, MI, Paul now lives in Franklin, TN with his wife, Mercedes, and two young children.
He enjoys hiking, beach volleyball, weightlifting, woodworking, reading, hot sauces, and spending time with his family & friends.
Paul's Fitness Story
My transformation from September 2020 to October 2021
I was destined to be obese. My grandpa and dad both were. I looked just like them, and as a kid I was already chunky.
My older brothers were naturally ripped. Like 6-pack abs on an 8-year old ripped. My mom said I was just husky. My brothers called me fat.
I was raised on what my dad called a SeeFood Diet, as in, “I see food, I eat it.” It’s hilarious in hindsight, but it’s why my dad tipped the scales at 275 lbs standing 6 ft tall when he should have been under 200 lbs. My brothers - with their insane metabolisms - only grew taller and stronger no matter what or how much they ate. Not me… I was just getting huskier. They told me I was going to be fat like dad and grandpa.
I was not going to let that happen.
High School
1998-2002
At age 12 I started working out. All I had was a 5 lb dumbbell, but I spent nights in my room doing one-arm bicep curls, shoulder presses, push-ups, and weighted sit-ups. I plastered my walls with shirtless photos of my hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger. My friends made fun of me for it. I didn’t care. I was going to be big and strong, and I was willing to put in the work.
At 13 I was allowed to start lifting in the high school weight room. Around this time, I hit puberty, and finally got some of that genetic magic that my brothers had since birth. It was a killer combination.
With a top-notch strength program, a teen's raging hormones, and the SeeFood Diet, I grew by leaps and bounds. By 17, I was 6’3” and 230 lbs, smashing high school lifting records that my brother had set the prior year. Like my brother, I was a stand-out on the football team and state champ in the discus throw. I was big, strong, lean, and fast.
Getting big at 16 (right) - with my older brother, Joey, at high school track meet in 2000
Claiming top place in most meets during senior high school season (April 2002)
Midwest Tri-State High School Champion in discus
Runner-Up in shot put (May 2002)
Top lifts at this time (weighing 230 lb):
Squat 475 lb, Deadlift 540 lb, Bench Press 310 lb
Olympic Snatch 235 lb, Clean & Jerk 310 lb
University of Michigan
2002-2007
August 2002 - media day with my brother, Joey (59, played linebacker), and dad, who also wore number 59 when he played long snapper for U of M in the late 60's.
At this time I already weighed almost 260 lb per coach's orders.
I followed my brother to the University of Michigan to play defensive line for the football team and throw on the track team.
I weighed 275 lbs at 20 years old thanks to the football training table SeeFood diet and insane amounts of heavy lifting.
It wasn't my choice. I was told to weigh that much and they would weight us every day.
I was big and strong, but slow. I couldn’t run worth a damn.
I lost my athleticism. I rode the bench.
We won the Big Ten Championship in 2003 and 2004.
Michigan didn't win Big Tens again until 2021.
May 2004 with dad and Joey in front of
Big Ten Championship trophy from '03 season
Weighing 275 lb in July 2004
Big, strong, and unathletic
Nov. '05 Pre-game vs Ohio State w/mom
Dad died from cancer 2 weeks earlier
Hammer throw April 2007
Done with football
More athletic at 250 lbs
Post College
2007-2017
After college I stopped lifting weights and ditched the SeeFood diet for the Ramen Noodles diet. I was broke, it was cheap. My muscles and fat withered away. I dropped down to a skinny, weak 215 lbs.
Throughout my 20’s and 30’s I went through periods with and without lifting or other forms of exercise: running, beach volleyball, body-weight training, etc. My size and strength would yo-yo accordingly.
My diet was consistently inconsistent. I never bothered learning proper nutrition. I either ate more or ate less depending on whether I wanted to get bigger or smaller. Any weight gain meant strength gain; weight loss meant strength loss. Losing weight while maintaining muscle just didn’t happen.
Sept. 2007 - 215 lb
Out of college, unemployed
No weightlifting
Surviving on Ramen Noodles
August 2012 - 230 lb
Celebrating Joey's 30th bday
Lots of heavy lifting & beach vball
Lifting weights 2x per day,
mostly upper body
May 2010 - 230 lb
Rocking a classic mullet
Lots of drinking & beach vball
Not much into lifting weights
June 2013 - 235 lb
5 months in Europe playing football
Lots of drinking, football, and travel
Lifting weights 3-4x per week
July 2011 - 215 lb
New haircut & toned body
Lots of beach vball, bodyweight lifting & jogging
September 2014 - 230 lb
Moved back to LA to rejoin society
Lifting weights and back into vball
About to cut hair and take sales job
Dad Life
2017-Present
When Covid hit and gyms closed, I took it as an opportunity to stop exercising and eat whatever I wanted. My nightly snack was a hefty bowl of Cheerios with peanut butter and jelly. I gained plenty of fat. I slept poorly at night. I napped on the couch during evenings when I should’ve been playing with my kids. At a lazy 255 lbs, I was on the path to obesity like my dad and grandpa.
When gyms re-opened in September 2020, I begrudgingly started lifting again. It was a rough return. My joints ached. My back stiff and weak. My muscles sore after every workout. My energy levels tanked as my body struggled to recover from workouts.
January 2019 - 245 lb
Drinking less, eating whatever, tired often
Lifting 3x per week
“This must be old age,” I thought. “This was bound to happen eventually.”
I stuck with it and my strength came back, but I was still “husky”. It was time to lean out, which for me had always meant “just eat less than you have been."
This time I tried something different after reading a few books. I increased my protein and decreased my carbs & fats. I cut back on breads, pastas, rice, snacks, and my peanut butter & jelly cheerios bedtime snack. I ate more eggs, meats, fruits, and veggies. I continued lifting 3-4 times per week. I did not count calories or macros, and it was never very challenging. I was in no hurry.
Slowly but surely, my weight began to drop, and my strength continued to increase. I was setting PR’s daily in the gym – something I had never accomplished without first packing on 10+ lbs of mostly fat and a little muscle.
Fast forward a year, and I’ve dropped over 35 lbs of fat and continue to regularly hit PR’s. As of mid-November 2021, I’m under 220 lbs for the first time in over 10 years, the leanest and most shredded I’ve ever been. My joints and back feel better than I ever remember. I have no muscle soreness even after lifting 12+ days in a row. I sleep better at night and wake up feeling rested before 6am without an alarm. I no longer fall asleep on the couch in the evenings. I have energy to play with my kids. I feel a stronger sense of control in my life.
I didn’t think this was possible at my age. To feel, perform, and look better at 38 than at any other point in my life?! Yet that’s exactly where I find myself. All it took was consistent strength training while applying a little bit of nutrition common sense. Why didn’t I try this sooner?
And this is despite having a full-time job, two young kids, a working wife, an active social life, and a genetic disposition for obesity.
That is what inspired me to start Sarantos Fitness. I want to help busy folks realize that they can get in the best shape of their lives despite crazy schedules, over-energetic kids, advancing age, and "bad genetics".
Reach Your Prime
Live to your fullest potential
All too often, people end up forming unhealthy habits. They spend most of their time doing sedentary activites: working on the computer, commuting for work, watching the kids, throwing on Netflix to chill on the couch most evenings.
They're too exhausted after a long day of work or taking care of the kids to exercise let alone put any thought into what they're eating. They pack on the weight. They tell themselves, "I'm no spring chicken anymore. This is what happens when you get older. Who has the time to work out anyways?! I'll get in shape next year."
Well, next year turns into "some day" and some day never comes.
This is what happened to my dad & grandpa. Both were lean young men,
but blew up once they hit 40. They didn't drink. They became sedentary and they overate. Year after year. For decades.
I remember my dad was always laying around either reading or watching TV. He had low energy, suffered from sleep apnea, and battled depression.
He dealt with his depression by eating even more.
Both died young from cancer aged 57 (dad) and 65 (grandpa).
I contribute their unhealthy lifestyles to their premature deaths.
I was 4 when my grandpa died - I barely remember him. Dad died when I was 21, three years before his first grandchild was born. He would've been putty in the hands of his 11 grandkids if he were still with us today.
It doesn't have to be that way.
They could have taken actions to improve the quality & quantity of their lives.
Grandpa was morbidly obese
Dad didn't live long enough to reach that level, but he was well on his way
Parents: take control of your fitness habits. TRANSFORM your body so you can LOOK, FEEL, and PERFORM your best!
Do it for your kids. Do it for your spouse. Do it for yourself.
I can teach you how. I will help you find a fitness routine that fits in your life, that you enjoy, and that you'll do consistently.
Get started today. Click the button below to apply for custom coaching.