Phil Rubin, Fitness Trainer, Certified NSCA-PT

Today we’d like to introduce Phil Rubin, an expert fitness trainer from Fusion One.

Let’s talk a bit more about Fusion One. What should your potential clients know about it?

First of all, I need to know about you. When it comes to working with new clients, I need to find out what they are looking for. I need to pin down what’s going on in their lives, what will work for them, and then pinpoint a program that will work for their needs and lifestyle. It’s all about the client’s needs. 

For an individual starting out in their fitness journey to improve their health, what would be your most essential advice for them?

It’s always the basics. Diet and exercise. Don’t go nuts with every little thing that shows up on the internet or the next person that shows up on Dr. Oz. You gotta find out what works for you and your lifestyle because everyone is different. I always ask new clients “What kind of work do you do? Are you active or sedentary? How much time do you have? What’s your goal?” I need to find out about you. 

For an individual looking to build their overall physique and add more muscle, what are your top pieces of advice for success?

Moderation. Don’t go to extremes. One thing that will really shut you down is injury. You need to do things properly. When I work with clients, I stress proper form. I used to compete in powerlifting and one of the things that we learn in powerlifting is if your form isn’t correct, either the bar isn’t going to move or you’re going to get hurt. If you get hurt, then you’re starting over and that’s the last thing you want to do. You can push things as you need to, but don’t go too extreme. Don’t take a look at the next guy and think that you need to beat him or to look better. Remember that in the gym, no one is looking at you and no one cares what you’re doing. 

The 3 basic moves are squat, bench, and deadlift. Squats are a basic move that builds half of your body. Deadlifts work almost your whole body. The advantage of these is that they have such a great effect on your body so you don’t have to do a whole lot. You don’t have to go nuts over everything else when you use the basic moves. For guys especially, there’s nothing else that puts mass on you as much as the deadlift.  

Do you have any words of wisdom for people looking to lose weight?

Calorie restriction is important to a degree. If you do it too much, it will slow you down your metabolism and make it worse. Everyone has a certain thing called a ‘set point’ and that is what your body is used to. If you’re overweight, your body tends to want to be there. If you force your body quickly to drop below your set point, it will respond negatively. We need to do it gently to nudge that set point down and then your body doesn’t rebel. 

So my words of wisdom are to do it gently. Give it time. Your body wasn’t built in a day. You didn’t get where you were overnight; it took a long time. You’re not going to look the way you want to in two weeks.