Buff boy
Phil Pape
Vitamin supplements, spandex workout gear and golden muscleman trophies decorate the interior of Max Muscle, 5087 S. McCarran Blvd. It’s a store that former Nevada light-heavyweight champion bodybuilder Phil Pape hopes to own soon. Pape is the personal trainer for RN&R’s movie critic and ad salesman Bob Grimm, and Pape has many other clients at Flex Fitness, a gym on Rock Boulevard. He agreed to answer some questions about bodybuilding. For more info, call 826-3387.
So, do you work out?
No, not at all [laughs] … Yeah, of course I do. I [work] two muscles per day. I have an on-season and an off-season. When I’m getting ready for a competition, I [work out] four days in a row and take one day off. During the off-season, I just work out four days a week.
Did you have to lift a lot of weight to win your title?
[Bodybuilding competition] is not lifting. It’s all posing. You get on stage, and they have mandatory poses that you do. There are seven different poses. You come out, line up, hit the different poses, and the judges compare you with other competitors. Then you do an individual routine that’s 90 seconds. There are different weight classes, and they judge you by class. Then the winners of each class come out and are judged. I won the overall title.
Do you need a spot?
I usually have a training partner. I’ve been training with Rick Lebleu. He’s been training for the Masters—the men’s over-50 bodybuilding category. I’ve trained with him for four months.
How does a person get involved in bodybuilding?
I got started in the Marine Corps. And when I got out, I stuck with it. I kept getting bigger and better, so I started competing in 1993. I’ve taken classes in nutrition and personal training, and I have classes that I teach here. I love teaching. I have a posing class, a diet program and a workout program. I am also a single parent, and I instill good nutrition in my son, Nick. He’s very interested in what I do, but it is recommended that kids don’t train until 14. But he’s signed up for football.
Will Bob Grimm ever look like you?
Yeah, he could look like me after years of training, but he’s not looking to go there. Every person’s different. I find what individuals are looking for and try to get them there. My motto is that with motivation, self-discipline and consistency you can achieve anything. I always tell people that nutrition is more important than training, but if you put them together you get awesome results.
What’s the sexiest part of a buff body?
Uh, I can’t answer that question. I’d say that my calves are my best body part. But I keep everything evenly trained.