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Training Split:
Day 1. Lower Body
Day 2. Vertical Push & Pull
Day 3. Hellboy Day
Day 4. Horizontal Push & Pull
Day 5. Arm Day
Day 6: Optional Hellboy Day
What’s Included:
App Access, Desktop Dashboard, & eBook
Hellboy, Dumbbell Program
Exercise Demonstration Videos
Weight Logging & Tracking
Nutrition, Supplement, & Macro Guides
Private Group Access
No subscription or reoccurring fees for the Don Saladino app. The app is FREE. Your purchased programs will be stored & accessed within your app account.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The official training program that transformed David Harbour into the beastly, battle-ready Hellboy. Designed for those who want to develop brute strength, resilient muscle, and unrelenting power. Now adapted for anyone with just a set of dumbbells and the will to grind. This program isn’t just about looking strong. It’s about moving like a beast. Expect explosive jumps, heavy carries, bear crawls, slams, and grueling circuits that demand grit and build real-world power.
“David brought me a photo of an Olympic shot putter and said, ‘Make me this.’”
– Don Saladino
When I started training David during Stranger Things, he wasn't looking for six-pack abs—he wanted to move like a monster and hit like a tank. At the beginning of preparing for the role, David was struggling to pull 24 kilo kettlebells off the ground due to a back injury. 9 weeks later, David pulled 400lbs off the ground for a crisp single!
🛠️ PROGRAM STRUCTURE
Day 1: Lower Body
Kick off the week with a lower-body strength and explosive power day. Focus on dumbbell squats, deadlifts, and split squats to build foundational strength, while dynamic moves like broad jumps and bear crawls activate the posterior chain and improve coordination.
Day 2: Vertical Push & Pull
Develop overhead pressing and vertical pulling power with a mix of dumbbell shoulder presses, pullovers, and Ys. Start with dynamic movements like lateral bounds and side bear crawls to prep your body for heavy pressing and pulling without compromising mobility.
Day 3: Hellboy Day
The ultimate functional conditioning day focused on grip strength, core stability, and full-body resilience. Use dumbbell carries (overhead, rack, suitcase, and farmer's) to build mental toughness, coordination, and raw power.
Day 4: Horizontal Push & Pull
Combine heavy dumbbell chest presses and deadlifts with accessory rows and reverse flyes to target the upper body and posterior chain. Finish with core stability and rotational movements to maintain athleticism and strength.
Day 5: Arm Day
Go beast mode with biceps and triceps exercises, including curls, tricep extensions, and high-intensity supersets. Focus on volume with dumbbells and finish with a cardio finisher to pump up the arms and enhance endurance.
Optional Day 6: Hellboy Day (Reloaded)
Repeat the Hellboy conditioning circuit for an added challenge, testing your endurance and grip strength through intense dumbbell carries. Push your limits with a cardio finish to cap off the week’s chaos.
🚀PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
+ Built for Brute Strength – Inspired by Hellboy’s physique: dense, powerful, and unapologetically strong.
+ Verified – The exact style used by David Harbour to transform for his role as Hellboy.
+ Power & Hypertrophy Blend – Combines explosive movements with traditional lifts and carries for maximum output and muscle density.
+ Progressive 9-Week Structure – Each phase increases intensity, volume, and complexity to keep you progressing every week.
Build unbreakable strength, power, & resilience. Start the Hellboy Dumbbell Program today.
DAY 1 BREAKDOWN:
🔍 LOWER BODY – Strength, Power & Posterior Chain Resilience
🧨 A BLOCK: Athletic Activation & Mobility
A1: Broad Jumps – Explode through the hips to prime for power output
A2: Plyo Push-Ups – Activate upper body and core to fire up the nervous system
A3: Bear Crawls – Activate the full kinetic chain and improve trunk stability
🟢 Purpose: Fire up the nervous system, build mobility, and prep for heavy, explosive lifts.
🏋️ B BLOCK: Strength – Front-Loaded Squats
B1: Double Rack Dumbbell Squat – Front-loaded squats to target quads, core, and glutes
🟢 Purpose: Build strength and stability through loaded, full-depth squatting.
🦵 C BLOCK: Strength – Posterior Chain
C1: Kickstand RDL – Emphasize hamstring and glute development with unilateral stability
🟢 Purpose: Develop single-leg posterior strength and reinforce hinge mechanics.
🔥 D BLOCK: Unilateral Strength Work
D1: DB Split Squat – Increase unilateral leg strength and hip stability
🟢 Purpose: Correct imbalances and enhance single-leg coordination and strength.
🦵 E BLOCK: Isolation – Hamstrings
E1: DB Leg Curl (Modify: Towel Hamstring Curl if needed) – Controlled tempo isolation for hamstring hypertrophy
🟢 Purpose: Add volume and resilience to the back of the legs.
🏁 F BLOCK: Finisher – Conditioning & Grit
F1: Pick Your Poison Cardio – Choose between sprints, high knees, mountain climbers, jump rope, or fast feet
🟢 Purpose: End with heart-pumping intensity to challenge mental grit and metabolic conditioning.
Build unbreakable strength, power, & resilience. Start the Hellboy Dumbbell Program today.
To get familiar with the app, check out the How to Use the App video in the sidebar and the How to Use the App guide in the Resources section, located in the footer.
While logging your workout, tap the History Button ↺ (second icon in the footer), a pop-up screen will appear with your logging history for the exercise, tap Close in the upper left corner to return to logging.
You can change from pounds to kilograms by tapping Settings in the lower right of the footer, toggling the slider on for Metric, and tapping Save in the upper right corner.
Don’s Interview with David Harbour at Drive 495
Muscle & Fitness Interview with Don Saladino
Hellboy FAQs
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Don started training David Harbour back in 2015, during the filming of Stranger Things Season 1. Funny enough, it wasn’t a role that required him to look ripped. He was playing a small-town police chief who lived on doughnuts and coffee, not protein shakes and deadlifts.
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David brought Don a photo of an Olympic shot putter. Someone big, fierce, and powerful-looking. The goal was to build a physique that looked like it could pick up a house. Strong, imposing, and absolutely ferocious.
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The three main goals are:
1. Resiliency
2. Strength
3. Power
When Don started training David Harbour for Hellboy, David was recovering from a back injury and struggled to pull 24kg kettlebells off the ground. Just 9 weeks later, he pulled a clean 400-pound deadlift for a single. That transformation says it all.