“Having a personal trainer as a husband has made a huge impact on my life. I lost 27 pounds in 90 days with two training sessions per week, daily exercise and sensible food selections!” The lab results prove the value of having a trainer.

- Linda Manning-Newport

	October 2007	June 2008
Cholesterol	214	177
Triglycerides	137	47
HDL	50	59
LDL	137	119
Blood Pressure	146 / 80	118 / 66
Glucose	114	93

When I first met Paul in August 2007 I weighed about 215 pounds and achieved a weight loss of 20lbs until I began the 30 day RIP program in October 2008. During those 30 days I lost an additional 10 pounds, bringing my total weight down to 185 pounds. Not only has my body changed in size, but I can now do things that I never thought I could do. It has been a life changing experience.

Paul has been with me every step of the way and has been more of a fitness coach rather than a personal trainer. Paul’s energy and enthusiasm is not only supportive but infectious and addictive. In working with Paul I have found myself becoming increasingly hungry for more challenging and aggressive exercise routines and I am constantly looking at ways to push myself to further heights.

For those of you reading this some advice:

1. Diet is a big factor and will be the biggest contributor to your success.
2. Develop a routine that you can sustain. With Paul at your side providing the fitness strategy, he can and will take you to any fitness level.
3. Finally, have fun, enjoy the process and be prepared to throw out your wardrobe. When you engage with Paul your old clothes will be soon too big for you!

-Andrew Beeber-Portsmouth

I first met Paul at the YMCA in Newport when he approached me to be a part of the Biggest Loser Contest. His wife Linda who I had been working out with for about a month and Paul created a team of three and entered the contest. It turned out to be a great experience because I was able to learn many valuable lessons and information while training with Paul during this 3 month process. He developed a work out and diet program which ultimately enabled me to win the contest and loose a total of 60 pounds.

I have continued to work with Paul since then and have experienced valuable information in nutrition and exercise. I plan on starting another 90 day program that Paul has developed which will be curtailed to best benefit me and my goals.

- Noelle Shiland-Middletown

After trying unsuccessfully on my own to loose some weight, I decided it might be a good idea to seek out a personal trainer to help me with my efforts. This decision proved to be a good one.

I was looking for someone who would guide me with success. Most importantly, I wanted to concentrate on those extra pounds that had been “hanging” around for just a little too long…It started off as an extra 10 lbs. then 15 and before I knew it the scales showed a total of 20! They needed to go. My search was on.

That is when I found Paul and happily so. He is such an enthusiastic and inspirational trainer. Paul is extremely motivating to work with. Your goal becomes his goal and whatever it takes to achieve it, Paul is with you 100% along the way. And the best part of it all is he truly does not want to stop until your goal does get accomplished. It is a great and rewarding challenge to achieve when working with Paul. He is the absolute best.

I have been quite happy with my results. Along with successfully loosing my 20 lbs, I lost an additional 5 more.

When going through my training program, I did learn some important things. Good food choices are a must. Nutrition and exercise work very well together. And adding a mix of weight training and cardio to a program will make it a good workout plan to follow.

- Donna Elkin-Newport

I worked out with Paul two times a week from August to December 2008. I could tell I was benefiting from the exercise just by the way my clothes were fitting! I wasn’t losing weight though, and I really was concerned with the holidays coming up, that I would start to gain- not lose-weight. Paul suggested a month long- or a 2 week intensive “RIP” program to kick start the weight loss I sought. I decided to go for the 2 week cycle, quite unsure if I could meet the demanding schedule and diet.

We worked out together side-by-side for an hour a day/six days a week for 2 weeks! It was demanding and exhilarating too! I lost 10 pounds and felt terrific! Since then, I’ve lost another 7lbs, increasing my cardio workout on days I don’t meet with Paul.

I can’t say enough about the excitement and energy Paul brings to his work and his clients. After many years of “letting myself go” so to speak, I have gain the confidence I need to keep me working towards my goals of better health and weight control. I am so very grateful to Paul for all he has done for me.

- Betsy Leerssen-Newport

I would like to offer some words I hope of inspiration to those of you who are reading this and considering working with Paul Manning or perhaps you’re just at the beginning of your journey with Paul. If you are like me you might have reached a point in your life where you realized that you needed to take back control of yourself and get healthy. That is how my journey back began, it is not over but my course is charted and the path is clear.

Over the Christmas break in ’08 while on vacation I decided I needed to start the New Year off right and not be one of the zillions of people who say it, join a health club and then quit using it after a few weeks. Always having been a “jock” in the past and knowing myself, I knew I would need the guidance and discipline that working out with a trainer would offer and require. Hence from 4000 miles away I contacted Paul and set up an appointment to meet when I returned.
After meeting him at the studio and talking about my goals we agreed to start working twice a week. My reclamation project officially commenced on January 6, 2009. In complete disclosure, I also began to do some cardio on my own as well as some weight training on my own. Not surprisingly when you begin a program of diet and fitness you see some initial weight loss you become motivated and want more. As Paul and I discussed goals, results and programs we agreed to “jump start” things by doing Paul’s Two Week RIP Program.

That was the beginning of February. The combination of the 6 days of week spent with Paul for an hour at a time, the additional required cardio together with a smart diet produced significant results both physically and mentally. At that point I realized that to be successful with my fitness and to get the most of my time spent working out both with Paul as well as on my own, you need to have a talk with your inner self and agree to make a “lifestyle” change. Paul is great at tailoring a program to meet your specific goals but he also offers the necessary motivation, guidance and science behind what you are doing and where you want to be.

I am pleased to say that 4.5 months after starting with Paul, I have lost 50 pounds, lost inches in some places, added inches in those places I wanted to, can once again do high intensity cardio for over an hour and most of all enjoy giving parts of my former wardrobe away. I have not reached my ultimate goal; it is well within reach though.

I still work with Paul 3 days a week in addition to my own program and have not felt this good in many many years. Almost as good as feeling good yourself, is when friends and colleagues notice your change and offer encouraging words, which is indeed priceless.

- Robert Ruilli-Newport

Fitness Weekend Testimony

I’m not sure my words will be enough to convey our thanks for all your efforts to make our weekend a success but if I had to sum it up in one word–AWESOME!!  Paul, to make Patti a fitness convert is no small feat as you now know and that alone is a testament to your training abilities and infectious passion for fitness.  You were able to design programs which met all of our fitness levels which is what I love about your training.  We really enjoyed Sunday’s instructional workout which we learned so much from you and hope to show you in our renewed attitude when we see you–I promise FOCUS and no WHINING or WINE-ING!!!
Linda, you made us feel so welcomed and comfortable in every added touch you made throughout the weekend in the meals served and felt throughout your beautiful inn.  Not only are you a creatively,
talented cook but your warm personality made us feel right at home– probably too at home, right!  Your presentation of every meal made it feel very indulgent even though it was very nutritious–that is a true talent! You gave us new inspirations for preparing healthy meals and eating nutritiously without feeling deprived.  You made us feel very pampered!! 

Hopefully we didn’t overstay our welcome but we didn’t want it to end– who can say that about a fitness weekend! I hope I can convey how wonderful the weekend was to everyone I know and inspire them to book one as well or at least  book a nice getaway and stay at your beautiful inn.  We can’t thank you enough, so hopefully our new passion to get fit will show how much you both have inspired us to be more dedicated to our goals of living a healthy life.  Thank you so much for everything you did to make this such a special weekend with my friends.

Every one of us had a wonderful time with not one complaint–not easy to do with five women!!

With eternal gratitude,
Sue White and the girls-North Kingstown

It was a typical 4th of July weekend in 2010. We had a quiet peaceful holiday and even spent Sunday on a boat in the harbor. By the end of the day, I noticed small blotches on both legs from the knees to my toes. Similar to a rash, that had started to itch. By Monday, the blotches were more prominent and at that time decided I needed to see Dr. Joe England. Tuesday morning I had an appointment with him. At this point, the spots were very large both legs were swollen and painful.

This started what turned out to be the most painful 4 months of my life. From that point began a series of blood test and blood cultures to determine the cause. I was being tested for all types of blood, skin disorders. Ie: Meningococcal Meningitis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever just to name a few. By Thursday morning I woke up to Dr. England sitting in my yard on his day off to bring me in for additional blood tests to rule out other types of infections. After 5-7 days of testing, reviewing the results and eliminating the serious infections and diseases, I was diagnosed with a rare vascular infection called “Henoch-Schonlein Purpura”. This is a vasculitis that affects the blood vessels also causes inflammation to the extremities along with severe swelling in the joints and can affect the kidneys and other vital organs. This mostly happens in young adolescence kids with a less than a 10% adult occurrence. In some instances it can even be fatal.

“Imagine trying to live with both legs broken from the knees down, while standing in boiling hot water 24 hours a day for 4 months”. When I moved or tried to walk, it was like walking on sharp rocks.

There was no medication prescribed that would offset the pain. It was unbearable at times. I would soak dish towels with water then freeze them and wrap them around my legs for the pain. There was a trip to the emergency room one August night with a serious infection on my right calf. They gave me morphine for the pain. That was heaven :). My first good night sleep in weeks. This went on thru the end of October before the pain and swelling subsided to a manageable point. I was loaded up on prednisone and an assortment of antibiotics and pain medications. I had lost most of my muscle strength. Gained a lot of weight, and could barely walk. After the excellent care from Dr. England and the staff at Jamestown family practice, I went to Vanderbilt rehab under the expert care of a physical therapist named Jean Dolan and then the skin lesion care thru the wound care clinic with Dr. Fantes and his incredible staff. Once the rehab was complete, I was still being treated at the wound care clinic for another 2 months. During this whole ordeal I would not have survived if it wasn’t for my wife Joanne who spent countless hours coordinating my treatment, health care visits, changing dressings, cleaning my wounds with saline solution daily along with providing unconditional love and support while we went thru this incredible ordeal together.

It was then I met Paul Manning of Renaissance Fitness. I could barely walk in the door. My legs and feet were so swollen and sore; I had to wear crocs instead of shoes because the illness caused lesions that were so inflamed and draining that my legs had special bandages all over them. I was a physical mess that was mentally burned out.

Paul began a modified training program around the affected areas and results showed up very quickly. After a couple weeks, my strength and range of movement started to improve considerably along with my sanity. “There was a light at the end of the tunnel”. January 2, 2011 was a memorable day. It was the first time I had worn shoes “untied sneakers” since July. With my strength and overall condition improving, we then started to increase the intensity and type of training. We were using specialized training methods he developed and with his depth of knowledge and incredible expertise the improvement was remarkable. I was able to rebuild my muscle loss, range of motion and cardio to a level similar to days before the illness. With Paul’s specialized training methods along with the support from the entire training staff we were able to focus on the areas of muscle that were affected the most by my illness. By the beginning of march, the improvements were dramatic, I enrolled in his “wasp” contest. (Weight Assistant Support Program).I lost 22 lbs in 10 weeks and placed 9th out of 50 contestants. June 2nd will be six months since I could actually begin aggressive training and conditioning. I have lost 40 lbs to date and at 52 yrs I can honestly say that I have not felt this good in years. Still have more to go but look forward to a better summer this season and enjoying the
results from every session.

I couldn’t begin to thank all the people that were involved in my recovery, but there are a few that need to be recognized. First and foremost, my wife Joanne, my kids Erica and Alex, Dr. England and his staff, Jean Dolan and Vanderbilt Rehab, Dr. Fantes and his staff at the wound care clinic, Matt, Sue and Bethany Clarke, Vicki, Mom, brother Ted, and last but not least Paul Manning and Renaissance Fitness. Without their help and support, I would not have recovered so quickly.

See photos below

To my son Alex, this is how adults do pushups.	I should also mention my training partner Remy “My 20 lb dumbbell”

Thank you again for all your efforts,

Kevin Phillips