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So In todays podcast I had the honor to interview one of the best coaches out there, Paul revilia.
Paul Revelia is the owner of Pro Physique INC. He started competing in 2008 and won first place in the 2008 NPC Mid Florida Muscle Classic novice division
Paul is also a physique coach and the owner of www.prophysique.com
He is also one of the most respectful prep coaches in the nation!
So I wrote down some of the main topics I discussed with paul:
Lidor: How did you got into fitness?
Paul: Actually I started with fitness since I was young. I played baseball and when I got older I started to get very fascinated about building better physique. So for me it was really naturally because I was very active all of my life.
Lidor: when did you decide to make a career out of it?
Paul: about 4-5 years ago. Back then there was no online coaching so basically my current career would not been existed back then. What really got me into it was the people around me in the industry that at that time suggested me doing it, people like my coach Layne Norton which is one of the pioneer coaches out there.
Lidor: what would you say to those people who think online coaching is not working?
Paul: It all comes down to the individual and what he really wants. For one it will be personal 1-1 training and for the other one it will be online coaching. I just find I get more enjoyment by online coaching. Back then you would have to convince people to do online coaching. Now all you have to do is just show them that you can get the job done.
Lidor: obviously you are in a great shape yourself. I see many older people say ” wait until you get married, when you have kids” or ” my metabolism is slower now than when I was at your age”. What would you suggest to those people that have a lot of other stuff to deal with and they just get “cought up”?
Paul: so I’m married and I have a son, and that’s definitely a challenge, I agree. But it ultimately comes down to priorities. I’ve always been obsessed with that part of my life, anyone who knows me, knows that my passion is the gym before work, after work, while I was in college. When people get older their priorities changes, yes it can be a bit tuff but if it’s your priority, you will just make it happen.
As far as for metabolic rate, yes that’s a fact that our metabolism slow down over time, however it is not slow down to a point you are gonna add body fat just because you eat the same and train the same. As long as you are committed to being fit- you’ll fit it into your life. It’s just an excuse in my opinion to use your age as for why you can’t train. Yes there are obstacles and challenges along the way but if it is important to you, you’ll find a way.
Lidor: what would you say is the simple way for people who just get into fitness to do so they can have better momentum along the way?
Paul: Because of technology, we can use so many apps and plugin in what we eat every day. Being aware is very important so once you get people to be aware of what they eat it becomes easier to follow.
Once you start tracking and being aware, even if you eat a pizza 5 times a day, the moment you are aware for your calorie intake and your macro ratio, you can start to alter the way you eat your food.
Lidor: how many calories wll it take to screw up your progress for a week?
Paul: for someone who eats 1000 calories per day is gonna be a lot lower than someone who needs 4000 calories a day. You have to have a plan ahead, a clear goal, but if you are gonna go off plan, then do something else. As a flexible diet coach I will say this: I don’t expect my clients to hit their exact macros every day. What I like is that they know how to adjust according to each day.
So for someone who eats 2-3 times more than what he should during one weekend, yes it can mess up the process for the next week. But if they just go a lil bit more they can still lose the fat.
If they can plan for it, they can do what I call ” banking calories”, where if you knew you are going to a wedding, you can reduce your calories, Like reducing 5 grams of carbs each day, till you get 30 grams of carbs to this event. So either banking calories or being flexible for the days following.
Lidor: How can you get into very low body fat percentage ( under 5-6%) and doing it naturally?
Paul: You just grind and work hard for it. Yes it is hard, yes it is not so good place to be in, but you have to have that visual look you want to look like. as long as you know what the end results you want to have it will make you follow through.
Lidor: How can you prevent a binge after a show or a very low cutting phase?
Paul: Once you are in that point your metabolism adapts and get slower, even a couple of days can get you gain body fat really quickly. I like to educate the person and let him/her understand what can happen if he/she go too high in calories. If a guy has a photoshoots then reverse diet can help, if it’s a bodybuilder and he is not gonna compete for 3 more years, so eating more and gaining a lil body fat won’t be a problem. You always need to psychologically prepare yourself for the next phase because when you have no goals and you are not planning ahead, you are planning to fail.
Lidor: How can you increase testosterone naturally?
Paul: Through good nutrition habits and training hard. Also a lot of research been show that heavy lower body training can help. It also tend to be really related to your body fat levels, once your body fat get closer to your set point, You are going to see all hormones levels including testosterone start to turn to normal levels. I would recommend to take some time between each competition Because it can impact your personal life and social life and you can have lower energy levels.
Lidor: slow and steady muscle growth or cut-bulk approach?
Paul: It depends where you are and what your starting point is, what your goals are.
I’ve done both, to put as much body fat as possible so I can get as strong as possible, but at this point of my life im not interested being 20% body fat, so I rather have the slower approach of staying lean and gaining slow muscle overtime.
Lidor: Can you gain muscle while you are in 15% body fat or above?
Paul: Absolutely, your recovery and your training can be better. 15-20% will probably won’t makeyour belly pops out but above 25% you will. Yes it is harder to see muscle growth while you are 15-20% body fat, but if you can still progress it can get you good results. Some people will want to hit a number of body weight when they bulk, as long as they understand natural muscle growth takes years to develop there is nothing bad going into bulk-cut phases.
Lidor: what do you think about the approach that you have to kill it in the gym, sweat, feel the burn and the pump? Are those an indicators for a good workout?
Paul: There is a psychological aspects in training, so you want to feel you are getting a benefit out of it. Feel the burn, lactic acid, being out of breath, those are indicators that you put a lot of effort in the gym but as we start to learn as an intermediate and advanced lifter what actually really important ( training volume, quality of training and consistency).
So yes some times there is value by pushing yourself. It depends on each one goals, if your goal is to be a body builder, power lifter, crossfitfer and so on, the training need to be specific for those goals.
Lidor: What would be the legacy you will leave long after you will no longer be here?
Paul: first and for most is to be a great father, son and husband. That I was good for those around me. Second that I would be able to take my passion and help others that their passion is similar to me. I would love to know that people benefit from being associated with me, working with me, being around me. I take that very seriously and I try to give more than I take and I would just want to be remember as someone who did that.
you can also find Paul Revelia at:
site: http://prophysique.com/
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulrevelia
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theprophysique
youtube: http://www.youtube.com/fltallpaul
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