Scott Yonehiro
Personal Trainer & Gym Owner
Scott Yonehiro is a personal trainer and gym owner based in Los Angeles, CA. With over 26 years of experience, he is the founder of SY Performance and creator of his proprietary 90 Day Body Transformation Program. SY Performance brings a unique hybrid fitness and business coaching model, focusing on fitness, nutrition, and mindset exercises to help their clients improve performance in their personal and professional lives. Scott has worked with a variety of clients, including celebrities, actors, CEOs, and executives. Looking ahead, Scott has partnered with Dr. Amir Larian to co-found the Advanced Longevity Center in Burbank, CA, supporting men and women 50 years or older with longevity treatments, IV vitamin blends, peptides, TRT, and more. He has been sharing fitness content on YouTube since 2008 and has contributed to various publications in fitness and health magazines including NewsBreak.
Professional Achievements
- Best Personal Trainer in Burbank on Yelp 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- 2025 Daily News Reader's Choice Award for Best Personal Trainer
- Featured Fitness Columnist for MyBurbank News
- Co-Founder and Program Director for The Advanced Longevity Center
Favorite Piece of Advice
Learn to love the exercises you hate, because those are the ones you need the most. The exercises you naturally enjoy and excel at play to your strengths, and if you focus only on those, you’ll never reach your full potential.
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Forum Comments (11)
What etiquette should you know when going to a gym?
Number one thing, don't sit on a machine or use up a bunch of weights, and just be sitting on your smartphone texting. That is one of the absolute rudest things you can do. Get your workout done, get in and out. One of the things I love about the gym that I'm at is that cell phones aren't allowed on the floor. So if you want to talk, you can go out to the lobby, that's fine, but no cell phones on the floor because you're on the floor to work out.
Two, wipe down everything you use. There are wipes at every gym. Make sure that you're wiping down all the sweat, and use those sanitation wipes because nobody wants your germs.
Three, nobody wants your advice unless they ask for it. So, while there are a lot of guys that want to approach girls and tell them what they should be doing in order to get a better exercise or lift, if they didn't ask for it, leave them alone unless they're doing an exercise that looks like it's going to hurt them. If it's a safety issue, then I'll go and I'll talk to the person, but if it's not, leave the person alone, let them work out.
And then last, share equipment. That's a huge one. Just because you're using the lat pull-down machine or the assisted pull-up machine and you're on it, doesn't mean another person can't jump on the machine with you while you're resting in between sets. So always be prepared to share your exercise equipment.
Two, wipe down everything you use. There are wipes at every gym. Make sure that you're wiping down all the sweat, and use those sanitation wipes because nobody wants your germs.
Three, nobody wants your advice unless they ask for it. So, while there are a lot of guys that want to approach girls and tell them what they should be doing in order to get a better exercise or lift, if they didn't ask for it, leave them alone unless they're doing an exercise that looks like it's going to hurt them. If it's a safety issue, then I'll go and I'll talk to the person, but if it's not, leave the person alone, let them work out.
And then last, share equipment. That's a huge one. Just because you're using the lat pull-down machine or the assisted pull-up machine and you're on it, doesn't mean another person can't jump on the machine with you while you're resting in between sets. So always be prepared to share your exercise equipment.
How do you increase your bench press?
My game plan for a client who wants to increase the amount that they can bench press would be hitting chest twice a week
. On that first day, you're going to be hitting the chest for just overall pressing. If you want to increase your bench press on a flat bench, we're just pressing that day, doing that sagittal movement straight up and down. You're going to do anywhere from 5-8 sets, and arrange your reps in a pyramid fashion. So let's say we did seven sets. We'd start off with 15 reps, then move down to 12 reps, then down to 5 reps, then 3 reps, and then back up to 12. That pyramid fashion will allow the body to adapt to fewer reps while putting on heavier weight, adapt to that change, and then take it off. And on the last one, we increase the reps and lighten the weight so that you're able to put some endurance and blood pumping back in there. So one workout session a week would be just on that pressing type movement to help increase that strength.
The next one would then be doing all the supportive chest exercises. And I would schedule that no sooner than at least two to three days after that first pressing chest day. That would be exercises like flies, scoops, and incline presses so that you're hitting the pectoralis minor and the pectoralis medius and not just the bigger pectoralis muscles. So then you're doing the smaller supportive muscles, and they're not exhausted on the first day, and you're able to help them build up so that they can support the bigger muscle. That's going to be classic. I have cousins who have been world record holders in the Guinness Book of World Records for bench pressing in Hawaii for years, and we grew up with my uncle training them out of our gym in Hawaii.
The next one would then be doing all the supportive chest exercises. And I would schedule that no sooner than at least two to three days after that first pressing chest day. That would be exercises like flies, scoops, and incline presses so that you're hitting the pectoralis minor and the pectoralis medius and not just the bigger pectoralis muscles. So then you're doing the smaller supportive muscles, and they're not exhausted on the first day, and you're able to help them build up so that they can support the bigger muscle. That's going to be classic. I have cousins who have been world record holders in the Guinness Book of World Records for bench pressing in Hawaii for years, and we grew up with my uncle training them out of our gym in Hawaii.
What exercises burn the most calories?
Here are some of the exercises that I think will burn the most calories. First is going to be back squats
. That's going to be barbell-loaded weight on your upper back and going into the squatting position, then coming straight back up. This is because it challenges pretty much everything in your body – your core, transverse abdominus, your chest, your back, your legs, everything. That's going to be hugely calorie-burning. Next would be deadlifts
for the same reason. And then if you want something that isn't weight-burning and something that somebody can do at home, then good old-fashioned burpees
are wonderful, and they will truly exhaust you.
Do squats make your butt bigger?
That's a great question, and the answer is yes and no. It depends on what kind of squats. The traditional squat, which is either going to be a bodyweight squat, back squat, or even a frontal squat, traditionally targets your quads more. It's going to target the muscles above your knee and in front of your thigh. It can target a little bit of your hamstrings and your glutes, but traditionally it doesn't because if you were to stick your glute back far enough to really engage the glutes, you'd fall over.
So, one of the squats that really does help to engage the glutes and upper hamstrings better is a Smith machine squat . And that's a barbell that is in a fixed position on a roller, a hydraulic system, so that you're able to actually lean up against it and stick your butt back farther. You can really get that stretch into the glutes when you come down into a position where your butt is parallel to the ground or lower, and then you’re able to push off the glutes and come up. But as far as squats go, that's the only real squat that you're able to get deep into the glutes. Regular squats do not build your butt up.
To really build your butt up, you're going to want to focus on exercises like hip thrusts, glute bridges, abduction lifts, and banded abduction marches . There's a whole bunch of other things that are way better for your butt than squats, which are primarily going to hit those quads.
So, one of the squats that really does help to engage the glutes and upper hamstrings better is a Smith machine squat . And that's a barbell that is in a fixed position on a roller, a hydraulic system, so that you're able to actually lean up against it and stick your butt back farther. You can really get that stretch into the glutes when you come down into a position where your butt is parallel to the ground or lower, and then you’re able to push off the glutes and come up. But as far as squats go, that's the only real squat that you're able to get deep into the glutes. Regular squats do not build your butt up.
To really build your butt up, you're going to want to focus on exercises like hip thrusts, glute bridges, abduction lifts, and banded abduction marches . There's a whole bunch of other things that are way better for your butt than squats, which are primarily going to hit those quads.
How can I flatten my stomach naturally?
You know, funny enough, you don't even need to do abs, crunches, sit-ups, or anything like that. All you have to do when it comes to flattening your abs naturally is literally work out every other part of your body, and your abs are going to start to flatten as long as you're making sure that you have a caloric deficit
. Because even if you're doing squats and using dumbbells, you're using your core and your abs to protect your spine. Your transverse abdominus, which is a girdle that wraps around your organs and your spine to protect them, is activated.
I've had clients who have beautiful abs after they were able to get rid of the fat without doing one sit-up. First, genetically, they had great abs that were underneath all that fat. And then, they made sure that they were hitting all their other workouts. And their abs may not be as strong as somebody who works abs more, but they look great, and they're going to be flat.
I've had clients who have beautiful abs after they were able to get rid of the fat without doing one sit-up. First, genetically, they had great abs that were underneath all that fat. And then, they made sure that they were hitting all their other workouts. And their abs may not be as strong as somebody who works abs more, but they look great, and they're going to be flat.
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