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Contents

Why Did I Write This Book? ............................................................................................................ 4

How Does This Book Work? ............................................................................................................ 5

Chapter 1: Goal Setting and Experimentation ................................................................................ 6

Chapter 2: Nutrition Lv.1 ................................................................................................................ 8

Chapter 3: Weight Training Lv.1 ................................................................................................... 10

Chapter 4: The Extras .................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter 5: Nutrition Lv.2 .............................................................................................................. 15

Chapter 6: Weight Training Lv.2 ................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 7: Closing Disclaimer and Advice .................................................................................... 22

About Your Author ........................................................................................................................ 23

What is Lil’s Gym? ......................................................................................................................... 24

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Disclaimer Copyright 2015, all rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise

without the prior permission of the publisher.

Notice: This program is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illness, disease or disorder.

It is always highly recommended that you consult a doctor to ensure that you are healthy

enough to start this program. Lil’s Gym, it’s owners, sponsors, subsidiaries, etc, are to be held

harmless for any and all claims of injuries, illness, soreness, etc. that occurs while using this

training method. The Lil’s Gym Complete Beginner Program is sold for informational purposes

only. Follow at your own risk and listen to your body at all times! The complete beginner

training program is never to be copied, duplicated or posted on any web site or forum (in part

or in whole). Copyright pending.

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Why Did I Write This

Book? I wrote this book with one goal in mind: to help you.

Yes, you.

The next question gets a bit trickier, why do I want to help you?

When I was about 16 years old a high school teacher (and now good friend of mine) took me a

major highland games event to get the mandatory volunteer hours I needed to graduate, and

that weekend changed the course of my life. At this event I met a man named Jamie Barr –

Scotland’s Strongest Man, he was 6’2, 270 lbs, covered in tattoos and… very, very nice to me! I

was in awe, I asked him about competing, training, generally how to turn myself into what I

perceived as a near mythical being standing before me.

The next day I quit boxing (I was competing at about 150lbs at this point in time), started

reading everything I could about training, eating as much as I could and following all the advice

I’d received.

Six years later I was 6’2, 315 lbs, covered in tattoos, competing at the world amateur

championships for strongmen and training professional athletes as a career.

I owe all of that not only to the inspiration of seeing the strongmen at the highland games but

more so to the time and advice Jamie gave me when he had nothing to gain by doing so. I had

nothing to offer him in return, we’ve never seen each other or spoken since, and to be honest I

would be stunned if he even remembered what had happened.

But - a small amount of his time and advice completely changed the course of my life, it’s the

only reason I’m in a position to be writing this for you today.

It’s also the why. I’m hoping that this can serve you even a tiny bit as well as the advice and

inspiration I received served me.

Good luck!

Craig

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How Does This Book

Work? This book is meant to serve as your guide, as a mentor.

I put this together by imaging the steps I would take if I were going to be with you every step of

the way: the first conversations I would have with you about your goals, the first plans I would

make and then how I would modify them as you improved.

This is everything I would want to have if I was starting over and had to figure it all out again.

All you’re going to need is a pen, some paper and a calculator. Work through the book chapter

by chapter; by the end of chapter 4 you will have a complete diet and workout plan to start

with. By the end of 6 you’ll have a completely customized routine and diet that will be able to

take you deep down the fitness rabbit hole, but more importantly you’re going to have a

system.

Programs and diets are great, but the system to make new programs and new diets whenever

your goals or situations change is invaluable.

Here we go…

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Chapter 1: Goal Setting

and Experimentation

Let’s start with the million dollar question, what’s your

goal?

Think about this for a few minutes if you need to and try to make it as specific as possible.

Write this goal down.

Now, why? What does this goal mean to you? What does achieving this goal change for you, for

your life? This is just a thought experiment so you don’t need to write this down but definitely

enjoy the fantasy of what has changed for you when you’ve achieved your vision.

Next we’re going to get specific. How do we measure this goal? We want to identify the

tangible, or measurable aspects of your goal so we can keep track of your movement towards

it. When you’ve got this, write it down too.

Time to talk about time! What are we thinking for timeline on this goal? I want to stress that

this needs to be reasonable, you want to take into account all the different factors that are

going to affect this. Don’t necessarily go for the fastest time possible, we need to find a timeline

that not only makes you happy but one that corresponds with how much energy and sacrifice

you can put into this part of your life. I want to stress this: part of your life. Don’t forget that

you have a whole life to keep living while you do this!

Establishing time and considering how much you’re willing to put into this goal is not meant to

be an exercise in guilt, being “hardcore” about your goals is crazy if it means that you’ll lose the

enjoyment in everything else you do day to day.

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When you think you have a time line I would make 3 notes: a timeline for everything going

perfectly, the timeline you found generally reasonable and a timeline where there are some

interruptions and unforeseen detours.

The idea is to make sure that you wont sacrifice your happiness with the process in an attempt

to race to your goal. You’ll always be able to make small adjustments but this is more about

setting the course. Once we get out in the water we can adjust the sails based on the wind but

this is more about leaving from the right port!

Next we’re going to talk about experimentation.

What are we experimenting with?

Everything! Foods, exercises, gyms, running, swimming, rec sports, protein powders, yoga, kale

chips, whatever!

I want you to hear me: YOU have permission to experiment, mess around, enjoy, hate, love or

just not really care about everything health and fitness wise right now with absolutely no right

or wrong judgement. Take as long as you need with this step but focus on finding the things you

truly enjoy in all aspects of dieting, exercising, etc!

Why is this important? I want you to think about kids; how fast they learn, evolve and adapt.

Part of the reason they do these things at such a blistering pace is that they never work, just

play. The more you can find foods, exercises, training routine, etc that feel like play the faster

you’ll adapt and evolve as well – without even noticing how much effort you’re pouring into

things.

The idea is to find what you enjoy, once you’ve got a handle on that I’ll meet you on chapter 2

where we can start putting some of these ideas into ‘play’!

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Chapter 2: Nutrition Lv.1 Time to get into the bread and butter (get it… for the nutrition section…) we’re going to start

with some basic rules:

1. 10% of the time you don’t have to follow the rules

2. You will eat 4 meals per day

3. You will eat veggies at every meal, the meal you eat after exercise can have fruit in

place of veggies

4. You will not drink anything with calories in it

5. You will have protein at each meal

These 5 simple rules are the base layer of any good nutritional plan, which is what we’re

building! Similar to buying a new car there are a variety of options and packages you can

choose from. You can choose the vegetarian package, you can choose the package with the grill

(good for the diet and the car example!) you can change the paint – or spice, you have a lot of

options!

You’ve got to keep the 5 rules in place to allow your car to run, they’re all the parts under the

hood that guarantee you’ll get where you want to go. With those in place you can pick the

options that will allow you to arrive in style!

So what about a treat, cheat, off the rails bad food type

of meal?

First of all, it’s going to happen – and that’s ok! You’re not expected to be a soldier with your

diet plan, which in reality feels more like being a zombie, you just have to do your best as often

as you can. So what does try mean? It means that 90% of your meals should be following those

4 rules and outside of that, don’t worry too much.

FYI: 90% is 25 out of 28 meals per week (with 4 meals per day as per rule 2)

That means 3 meals per week can be “off plan” - not too bad right?

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That’s all you need to get started! The goal is to build these habits for the next week or two

until you feel ready to step things up a notch. And don’t rush this! Taking at least a week to

build and practice these habits is a minimum, after that you’ll have plenty of time to get into

the meal plan we develop specifically for you in chapter 5.

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Chapter 3: Weight Training

Lv.1 Things are going to start getting a bit more interesting as we start planning your weight routine.

You’re going to have 2 decisions to make right out of the gate. The first is easy, are you looking

to put on muscle or lose fat? Hopefully both will happen at different points in your program but

keep in mind your #1 objective as we go forward. The second decision is going to be how many

days per week you would like to train. If you chose fat loss that’s done for you, you’re weight

training 2x per week, if you’re looking to put on muscle you’re going to choose between 2, 3 or

4 days based on your schedule.

Once you have that sorted lets move on! You’re going to be training whole body every time you

go to the gym. Why whole body?

The more frequently you do the most important movements the quicker you’ll learn

them

Whole body allows you to do a ton of work each day without having to wait until each

individual body part builds up the work capacity to do that amount of work with fewer

muscle groups

Not only does it allow for a lot of work per session but it allows for a TON of work over

the course of a week as well.

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Here is the program:

What is the RPE?

Video explanation here: http://youtu.be/eqGLqOyd040

Essentially with the RPEs listed here it’s going to work like this:

7 RPE: You have 3 to 4 reps left in the tank when you’re done your set

8 RPE: You have 2 reps in the tank when you’re done

9 RPE: You only have 1 rep left in the tank at the end of each set

With the movements listed you’re still welcome to experiment! If there is a movement you’re

not a big fan of feel free to switch it to a different movement as long as it’s a movement that

achieves a similar effect. For example a squat could be switched for a leg press or a deadlift

however switching it for a bicep curl would not be such a good idea.

As for frequency if you’re training for fat loss you already know you’re only doing this routine

twice. For those looking to add muscle you’re picking between 2 and 4 times per week and as a

broad recommendation the more the better between those numbers.

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Here is an example day including the warm up, workout and cool down:

Warm up: 10 minutes stationary bike

Goblet squat, 10 reps at 20lb, 10 reps at 25lb, 3x5 reps at 40

Seated DB Press, 10 reps at 12.5lb, 3x6 at 20lb

Pull ups: set #1 9 reps, #2 8 reps, #3 6 reps

Curls: 2x12 @ 20lb

Tricep extensions: 2x12@20lb

Plank: set #1 48 seconds, #2 37 seconds

Full body stretching: 10 minutes

If you’ve never lifted weights with a program and a regular schedule before you want to follow

this plan for 4 to 8 weeks before you move on to the more advanced program we create in

chapter 6.

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Chapter 4: The Extras Before we get rolling lets do a little recap: Currently you should have your goals, a timeline for

achieving them, a solid idea of the foods and exercises you enjoy most, a nutritional routine

you’re going to use to build some momentum and a full weight training program.

So what are we missing? We’ve got the main course, we’re just looking to add an appetizer and

dessert. This means we’re looking for cardio, recovery methods, flexibility and of course, fun!

We’re going to break these down one by one to start layering them into your program.

Cardio is up first!

For those who picked a goal centered around fat loss you’re going to be looking at 2 to 4 days

per week of cardio, depending on the intensity of the weight loss goal. For those looking for

lean muscle gain you’re looking at 1 to 2 days per week – again depending on how intense the

muscle gain pace is.

How are we going to define a cardio session? Typically we’re looking at a run outside or we’re

talking some sort of machine like a bike, treadmill, etc (More cardio options to come when we

get to fun stuff) Here is how I define a standard cardio session:

A - Intervals/Intense Cardio: we’re talking 8 to 9 RPE. These are 15-20 minutes

B - Steady Cardio: talking an RPE of 6 to 7. These are 25-40 minutes

Are these set in stone? No.

Is this the only way to do things? No.

Will you go wrong if you follow these guidelines? Definitely no.

So now that we’ve established our cardio work what does our recovery layer look like?

Recovery work is very light, hopefully enjoyable exercise that is mentally and physically

rejuvenating. Mentally it always feels good to loosen up and get moving. Physically light

exercise flushes your body with oxygen and nutrient rich blood which allows you to heal and

recover quicker.

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What are some recovery “workout” options:

Easy swimming

A light 10 to 15 minute workout going over the same muscle groups that are sore with

about 30% of the usual weight you would lift

A massage of self-myofascial release with a foam roller

A long walk

Yoga or stretching

These are just a few ideas but the point is that you’re choosing exercise that when done lightly

gives you a bit of an extra boost to get through the rest of your routine.

After cardio, stretching and recovery what do we have left? I saved the best for last… the fun

stuff! Before we get into the details I’m going to explain where it fits into the rest of your

program. The fun stuff can replace either a cardio or recovery session in your program. The

deciding factor between what it counts as is not the activity itself but the intensity with which

you do it.

Here are examples of the fun stuff I’m talking about:

Playing in a sports league

Going surfing

Playing golf

Playing basketball

Enjoying time with your kids and joining a game of tag at the park

Obviously there are a million more options than I can list here but as the name implies this can

literally be anything you find enjoyable. The only limit to this category is your creativity.

So where do you take this from here? Take a look at the options that line up with your goals,

grab the ones you like and sprinkle them throughout your routine.

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Chapter 5: Nutrition Lv.2 Alright, hold onto your hat, it’s time to go deeper down the rabbit hole!

I’ve mentioned the idea of layers a few times so far and this is where we’re going to really add

some depth to the nutritional layer.

Integral to the layering idea is not changing habits, simply growing from them. Think along the

lines of “If I have seen further it’s because I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants” except more

like “If I’ve progressed further it’s because I’ve built on my existing good habits”!

Lets review these habits you’ve built:

You eat 4 meals per day

You eat protein at each meal

You eat veggies at nearly every meal

You don’t drink anything with calories

You only break from these habits 10% of the time

Building on these we’re going to start getting specific with how much you’re eating every day

and what amounts of protein, carbs and fats are in these meals. This definitely requires more

thought but this is going to allow you to really ramp up the progress you’re making.

Enough talking, grab your calculator and lets get

going!

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Follow me through the next few steps:

10 x your bodyweight in Kg =

6.25 x your height in Cm =

Add those together =

Then:

Your age + 5 x 5 =

Now subtract the number you just got from the one we got above

For men you’re done remember that as ‘X’

For women subtract another 160 from that number

Then remember that number as ‘X’

Now you’re going to multiply ‘X’ by 1.25, this number is ‘Y’

Example:

Lets say Cindy weighs 154 lb, is 5’5 and 30 years old

10 x 70 = 700

6.25 x 165 = 1031

= 1731

35 x 5 = 175

1731 – 175 = 1556 (if she was a man this would be ‘X’)

1556 – 160 = 1396 (her ‘X’)

1396 x 1.25 = 1745 (her ‘Y’)

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For those looking for fat loss you’re going to multiple ‘Y’ by .85 and that will be how many

calories you eat per day. (If and when your weight loss stalls you can re-do this calculation and

multiple by .8 and follow the same steps)

For those looking for muscle gain you’re going to multiply ‘Y’ by 1.05

You should now have your calorie goal for each day on your new plan!

Moving on…

You’re going to multiply your bodyweight by 0.8 to get the number of grams of protein you’re

going to shoot for each day.

Then you’ll multiply your bodyweight by 0.4 for the number of grams of fat you’ll shoot for each

day.

Now: take the number of grams of protein and multiply it by 4 and then number of grams of fat

is multiplied by 9 and then I want you to add those numbers together

Example:

If you’re eating 112 grams of protein and 86 grams of fat it would look like this:

112 x 4 = 448

86 x 9 = 774

448 + 774 = 1222

Now take the amount of calories you’re eating per day and subtract this number from it. Once

you have that divide that answer by 4 and that’s the number of carbs you eat per day!

Example:

You worked out that your calorie goal was 2000 per day and the number we just got was 1222

so:

2000 – 1222 = 778

778 / 4 = 194 grams of carbs

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You should now have numbers for how many calories you’re going to be shooting for every day

as well as how that breaks down into grams of protein, carbs and fats, cool huh?

Now that you have these you’re welcome to eat whatever you’d like at each meal

(remembering the habits we’ve built!) as long as what you’re eating adds up to those numbers

at the end of each day.

To keep track of this I recommend the “app” or website “myfitnesspal” (myfitnesspal.com)

This will take some practice but after a week of playing with portions and types of foods you

will definitely have the hang of it. While you’re learning to balance your calories, carbs, fats and

proteins I have a quick tip; start with the important stuff and work up from there. The first part

you add to your meal will be the base and then you move up level by level, like this:

I know that was a lot of work but you’re out of the woods now! Our next stop on our trip down

the rabbit hole is going to be customizing your training!

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Chapter 6: Weight Training

Lv.2

This might be my favorite section of the book, this is

where it gets pretty fun!

You’ve already got a solid training routine under your belt and you’re going to want to continue

that program for at least 4 weeks before you get into a more advanced routine so you have a

firmly established base with the main movements.

Once you’re ready to move to the next step this is the process we’re going to follow… lets get

personal!

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Ok, what’s this guy doing here? You’re going to use your new (and very muscular friend) to

identify the different muscle groups on your body.

And what are you going to do with those? You’re going to rank them!

You’re going to rank body parts in order from what you feel needs the most improvement to

least improvement based on how you would like to look.

Grab your pen and fill out the following list as described in the following example:

1. Needs most improvement

2. 2nd most

3. 3rd most

4. 4th and so on…

5. 5th

6. 6th

7. 7th

8. 8th

9. 9th

*For an area you are really concerned about you’re able to put it down as a maximum of 2

points

From here I would like you to choose your favorite exercises for each body part and write them

beside the parts on your list. (If you’re not sure for some bodyparts bodybuilding.com has a

monstrous exercise directory that will help!)

At this point in the program you’re going to have the option for fat loss to weight train up to 3

days a week if you so choose. If you would like to stay with 2 that’s no problem just ignore the

3rd day in the following routine:

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This might look a little sparse but the idea is to replace these numbers with the bodyparts and

exercises you picked above. As for sets and reps you’re going to be able to start experimenting

a little bit more but I would recommend the following to start:

Lower body movements: 3 sets of 5 to 10 reps

Muscles on the front or back of your torso: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Arm muscles: 2 sets of 12 to 20 reps

For those training for muscle gain you’re going to operate the same way with the number

system but you’re going to fill in the following chart and choose between 3 and 5 days per

week:

For sets and reps with muscle gain my suggestion is to start with the following:

Lower body movements: 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps

Muscles on the front or back of your torso: 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps

Arm muscles: 2 sets of 15 to 20 reps

When it comes to your training routine nothing else needs to change, until you want it to of

course, but continue with the same warm up, stretching, cardio and “fun” stuff until you’re

either mentally ready for a change or have that “gut” feeling that you need to make an

adjustment to keep making progress.

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Chapter 7: Closing

Disclaimer and Advice I want you to pay attention to the following disclaimer, it’s important.

Is this the only way to train, diet, make progress, etc? ABSOLUTELY NOT

If you follow this advice and work hard will it work? ABSOLUTELY YES

I am not giving the same programs, diets and advice to my clients as I was 2 years ago, in some

cases if I could go back 6 months ago I would make some tweaks to my approach… you should

be the same way! I’m not a big supporter of dogma in anything but especially not when it

comes to training and diet.

One of the best lessons I ever received from a mentor was him explaining that no one will ever

be able to be as good a coach to me as I will be able to – and this applies to everyone! Any

expert, any trainer, even a guy who has written a great Ebook for you can only give you advice.

You’ve got the insider info when it comes to your body and the further you get into training and

dieting the more you want to learn to trust yourself.

The tools in this book are exactly that, tools. Take them, use the systems in here and slowly let

the Lil’s Gym method melt into YOUR method.

I can, and have, given you some of my best strategies for changing the human body - your job is

to learn from these and figure out the best way to change your body.

You’re about to start an exciting journey, there aren’t many things as amazing as changing your

body into something you built in your imagination. As you walk this path remember, stay firm

with your goals but flexible in your approach and most of all - have fun.

I wish you all the luck in the world!

Sincerely,

Craig Bongelli

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About Your Author Craig has been a professional trainer for 7 years

and opened his first private gym in 2011. Craig

opened Lil’s Gym in 2012 and has since

developed the BEST personal training programs

in the tri-cities.

Mentored by the top strength coaches in the

world Craig now trains some of the top athletes

in both Canada and the world. You can find out

more about him at www.lilsgym.com

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What is Lil’s Gym? Lil’s Gym is the premier training facility in Kitchener/Waterloo.

Lil’s is a private gym located in downtown Kitchener that caters to anyone serious about

achieving their goals. From professional athletes to clients who have lost 100+ pounds, Lil’s

expert team of trainers and staff have been there and seen it all.

Originally opened in 2012 Lil’s has been home to some of the country and world’s best athletes

including Miss Olympia competitors, Pan Am Game competitors and World Championship

fighters.

For more info please visit:

www.lilsgym.com