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Coaching Interviews:
Phil Rinaudo

Phil Rinaudo is a 31 year old concrete contractor who is relatively new to exercise. After 9 months of doing it on his own, he sought out our program and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dr Berardi:
Before starting with the program, how long had you been lifting weights consistently?

Phil:
9 months, 3 sessions weekly, no cardio though.

Dr Berardi:
How much progress had you made during this time?

Phil:
When I started resistance training, I was 70kg with 14% bodyfat. 9 months later I was 70kg but 10% bodyfat. I looked leaner but I wasn't any bigger. People thought I had actually lost weight, which was the opposite of what I wanted to happen.

Dr Berardi:
What made you start the program? What was your motivation?

Phil:
I started the program as I really wanted to get bigger not just leaner. Being a relatively thin guy, I was kinda fed up with the jokes about me being so skinny. Even though the jokes weren't cruel or anything I just wanted to get more muscular in my appearance. The problem was that I started on the wrong foot and started on a fat loss program rather than muscle building one.

Dr Berardi:
What were your physical stats before starting the program?

Phil:
Height = 1.78m
Weight = 70 kg
Bodyfat = 10%

Dr Berardi: How about after the program ended?

Phil:
Height = 1.78m
Weight = 78kg
Bodyfat = 10%

Dr Berardi: Wow – 17lbs of weight gained and the same body fat %. Impressive! Did you get stronger during the program? If so, give me some examples of how much stronger.

Phil:
This is the one aspect of the program that showed serious, fast increases. In 6 months I have nearly doubled my bench press (from sets of 40kg to sets of 75kg) my squats have increased from 40 kg to 80kg and my deadlifts have increased from 60kg to 90 kg.

Dr Berardi:
How did others respond as your body changed? What kind of things did they say?

Phil:
Even though I was getting jokes about being skinny, I really did this program for myself, however it was nice to hear all the comments about me.

If you saw me for the 1st time, you wouldn't think I was a "big" in the traditional sense, however the people who knew me as "skinny Phil" cant quite believe how much I have grown in size!!

I used to get comments on the construction sites about "how the wind would blow me over in a storm". The same guys now think I must be on steroids!!! (Which I’m not!)

My brother, who was posted overseas for work, came back to Australia not long ago and didn't think I was even the same guy!!

Dr Berardi:
What are the top things you learned while following the program?

Phil:
1/ No matter how hard you lift weights, if you don't have the right nutrition plan to back it up you wont go anywhere. This was the biggest lesson I learnt. Knowing when to eat the correct amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats helped me out enormously.

2/ How to calculate my RMR. I never had even heard about that before!!

3/ That Low reps with heavier weights will produce the best results. Higher reps with less weight aren't the right approach for ectomorphs.

4/ That most resistance training requires "bulking" phases and "leaning" phases. I only ever knew about the leaning phase, as that was all I could get information on. (Until I found your webpage!!)

5/ I learnt the correct technique on how to do squats.

6/ When you increase your lean body mass you have to eat more to ensure your body continues to grow in size.

Dr Berardi:
Describe your total experience.

Phil:
It was an eye opening experience that enabled me to put on a good amount of lean muscle mass when all other avenues had sort of failed. The nutrition aspect of the experience was for me the catalyst I needed to get bigger. Even though it seemed complex at first, and maybe I was a bit skeptical if the program would work, the results did come.

Dr Berardi:
If someone were hesitant about getting started on the program, what advice would you give them?

Phil:
Be patient and it will all come together. It may seem daunting at first and it will be tough but the rewards far outweigh all the negatives.

Dr Berardi:
What's the next step for you with your physique progress?

Phil:
Its summer here in Australia, so I am concentrating on getting a bit more definition for when I hit the beach, so my size will most likely stay the same during the summer months. Then in winter ill get back to a muscle building phase. By Christmas 2006 my aim is to be 85kg with about 8% bodyfat. That is the goal I wish to achieve and most likely I'll stay at that.