"Body Sculpting" by Denis Pedneault
#12: Protein Intake
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- Written by Denis Pedneault Denis Pedneault
- Created: 15 December 2009 15 December 2009
Q: I read a lot of conflicting information about protein intake. Mostly, how much I should eat. I find that when I eat a lot of protein, I start to get fat. However, the magazines keep saying to eat 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. What are your thoughts?
. . . Randall Wallace
A: Hi Randall,
When it comes to protein, absorption is more important than consumption. It’s not the amount you "eat" that matters but, rather, the amount you actually use. For example, people on drugs (i.e., steroids) can easily benefit from eating a lot of protein, since they’re going to use it more efficiently than the body will naturally. If you want to stay on the "natural" path, though, you must find ways to optimize your protein uptake (not intake). That "1.5 to 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight" rule can guide you in some way, but I have to say that I don’t especially rely on numbers when designing a diet plan for someone who wants to get into bodybuilding. I do calculate grams and calories, but mostly to make sure that I respect the ratio I want for carbs, fat and/or protein. I prefer to focus on strategies to improve macronutrients utilization.
Always remind yourself that the human body is a machine designed to adapt itself to its environment. If you keep eating high amounts of protein every two to three hours, your body will get used to the process and will actually desensitize itself to protein due to the overabundance of food. That means that even if you eat a lot of protein, you’ll soon realize that you don’t get what you expect from it (and might even accumulate "extra" calories). That’s why you’ll hear some people saying that eating a lot of protein doesn’t enhance anabolism, and some others will tell you that it’s "bad" for the kidneys anyway. Well, everything can be bad if taken to the extreme. I don’t know where the idea came from but there are no studies to back that "30 grams a meal" rule or the kidney stuff. You’ll see that the only reported cases are isolated ones where the person either had a pathological condition he didn’t consider, overate, wasn’t drinking enough water, was using other supplements and/or drugs (like diuretics or others), or a combination of all five! Unfortunately, in bodybuilding there are a lot of myths and you hear a lot of things, but few people really know what they’re talking about (or take the time to put things into context when analyzing a situation). Nonetheless, one should always check for the presence of any pathological condition before beginning any specific program.
One other thing you might want to check regarding protein is the actual acidity of your stomach, which could prevent you from absorbing the proteins you ingest. In that case, you might want to consider using supplements like HCL capsules to eliminate the possibility.
Protein utilization is also closely related to food allergies. You could get a test for food allergies, but it’s really expensive. I prefer to tell my clients to be more attentive to their body and try to determine which foods benefit them the most. You might even notice yourself that you react to some protein sources in a good or a bad way. For example, you could feel energized right after eating red meat (compared to chicken), or vascular after eating fish, or even bloated after eating milk products. That way you can then specifically design an individualized diet plan.
This photo was taken just three weeks before Denis placed 4th at the 2009 IFBB World Bodybuilding Championships held in Doha, Qatar.
As a bodybuilder, your goal is to take the right amount of protein, in the right form (source), and at the right time. Like the late Mike Mentzer used to say: In bodybuilding more is not better, precise is better! In fact, protein consumption can be very anabolic if you know how to apply some simple principles and techniques.
One way to enhance protein absorption is to cycle your protein intake during the day and/or the week (I explained that in my article on "bulking up"). The fact is that eating more protein will enhance anabolism as long as you carefully design a plan that optimizes protein utilization. What you want to do is keep the body in a state where it feels a need for protein and is prone to use it. To do that, you can choose specific times when you increase your protein intake and others when you voluntarily lower it. For example, protein absorption is far greater after a fast (sleep) or a strenuous activity (training). That means that in those cases you can increase your consumption to a much higher level (I could go as far as 50-60 grams) and benefit from that short but beneficial anabolic "boost." That’s why I personally think that the practice of waking up in the middle of the night to eat in order to "stop" catabolism is a BIG mistake because, apart from the fact that you’re short-circuiting your sleep (when you actually build muscle), you won’t benefit from the fast that would have sensitized your body and put it into an environment favorable to protein utilization for the next day. Catabolism takes a matter of weeks to occur if you’re training. Your muscles won’t go away overnight. This summer, I tested my body fat before and after a week on a detoxifying diet composed of only fruits and vegetables (no protein at all) and I didn’t lose any lean body mass. In fact, I now use that practice once every 3-6 months to clean the body and reset the metabolism.
I also cycle my proteins during the week, increasing my intake on weekdays (training days) and lowering it to very small amounts on the weekends (days off), again to sensitize my body to protein. I immediately notice a significant difference every time I start a client on that kind of program. Cycling must also be applied to the protein sources, as your body will get used to those too. This means that it’s as important to alternate between "meals" of chicken, red meat, eggs, or fish as it is regarding "species" of either meat or fish.
Another way to make protein more anabolic is to increase the concentration of anabolic amino acids in your shakes. For example, instead of doubling your portions of whey to increase amino acids uptake, I suggest you add one scoop of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and glutamine into the shake to make it more anabolic. High concentrations of fast-acting proteins increase oxidation (waste) anyway, so you’re better off using small but more concentrated amounts. At that point, you could also use protein pulsing and have this little mixture between meals or whenever you feel the need to feel energized.
As you can see, food can be very anabolic if you know how to use it effectively, but anabolism is also a very complex topic. Whatever the problem might be, the best way to overcome it is always to look for strategies to work on the cause instead of trying to find the "magic" drug or supplement.
Keep training hard!
Sincerely,
. . . Denis Pedneault, Canadian Champion 2005, 2006, 2009
#13: On Split Routines
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- Written by Denis Pedneault Denis Pedneault
- Created: 15 March 2010 15 March 2010
Q: Denis,
In your "Body Sculpting" articles, you recommend either push-pull or upper-lower splits.
I think I will try the push-pull split training five days a week. Do you think it would be better to do five days straight with the weekends off, or three days on then one off, then two on followed by one off? For example:
Monday = push
Tuesday = pull
Wednesday = push
Thursday = pull
Friday = push
Saturday/Sunday = off
or
Monday = push
Tuesday = pull
Wednesday = push
Thursday = off
Friday = pull
Saturday = push
Sunday = off
And is there any way I can specialize in the arms/shoulders area? I am small
everywhere, I guess, but especially in these parts.
. . . John Boatner
A: Hi John,
I don’t know exactly which routine you are referring to, but, basically, the push-pull routine is more suitable for a three-to-four days a week schedule, since working the entire body through several days would lead to overtraining in the long term. Dividing the antagonist muscles will only allow an athlete to train for four days in a week if he has to work out two days in a row. To make gains from a more frequent training regime, he will definitely need to take a day off in the middle of the schedule to recuperate.
I also always give my clients the weekend off and even encourage them to double their calorie intake to further shock the system and promote muscle growth. That’s great too, as you can manage to make gains and still "have a life" and go out on the weekends, something some extremists often forget to do! Taking two consecutive days "off" makes a BIG difference, because it has been shown to reduce cortisol by as much as 35 percent.
The basic push-pull would go this way:
3 days/week routine
Monday = push
Tuesday = off
Wednesday = pull
Thursday = off
Friday = push
Saturday = off
Sunday = off (begin next week with "pull")
4 days/week routine
Monday = push
Tuesday = pull
Wednesday = off
Thursday = push
Friday = pull
Saturday = off
Sunday = off
When I prescribe a five-day routine, I usually work with the antagonist muscles and always incorporate two days of leg training to make sure the upper body has time to recover between workouts. So the actual plan would look like this:
5-days/week routine
Monday = chest/midback
Tuesday = hamstrings/calves
Wednesday = delts/lats
Thursday = quadriceps/calves
Friday = triceps/biceps
Saturday = off
Sunday = off
As for your special requirements, if you look at the five-day routine, you can see that it allows you to focus an entire day each on shoulders (Wednesday) and arms (Friday). I never really make "specialization" programs. All my programs are individualized to my clients' needs, so each program is designed to work on the weaknesses we establish in the first place (although you could call that "specialization").
Careful exercise selection will do most of the job. When people say they want to "specialize" on something, they kind of need to "put away," at least for a while, the other body parts, and they always end up running after something new – needing more "this" now and more of "that" later.
Denis trains
You really have to envision this as a long-term project. If you look at how an artist makes a sculpture, you will notice that he will shape the rough base right from the beginning and then slowly work on the details. Only at the end will all the pieces be put together and a real "work of art" will arise.
I find it amusing that people constantly recall my shape, proportions, symmetry and posing when talking about my performances. To me, it’s just logic that I don’t seem to display any flaws, since my goal as a bodybuilder is, essentially, to present the most complete package every time I go on the stage. I continuously strive to come at my best and be better each time. Maybe my approach is different from that of most trainers out there, maybe it’s because I studied fine arts before shifting to kinesiology, but to me it’s clear that bodybuilding IS an art – the art of sculpting your own body. It’s up to you to either just "lift weights" or be an "artist." Keep that image in mind when you workout!
Stay focused, be patient, train hard!
Sincerely,
. . . Denis Pedneault, Canadian Champion 2005, 2006, 2009
#15: The Vacuum!
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- Written by Denis Pedneault Denis Pedneault
- Created: 15 September 2010 15 September 2010
Q: Hi Denis,
You seem like a bit of an old-school bodybuilder. I mean that as a compliment. What I’d like to know is if you can do a “vacuum” pose the way guys like Frank Zane did, and if you have any tips on how to do it? I look, and most of the guys competing today can’t do the pose at all even though it was quite common in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and even ‘80s.
. . . Richard Foster
A: Hi Richard,
That’s quite an unusual question, but an interesting one! And you’re not wrong when you say that I’m some sort of an old-school bodybuilder. Being compared to guys like Frank Zane (one of my idols, by the way) is always an honour for me, and I really miss what people refer to as the “golden age” of bodybuilding. And you’re right: I embrace the ideals those guys had back at that time, the way they pictured bodybuilding as an art of sculpting your physique and being able to present it onstage. I particularly share many thoughts perpetuated by Vince Gironda, as those of you who read my articles should even have already noticed.
Most athletes today (if you can call them that, since most of them can’t even climb up stairs without being exhausted) don’t even know how to train or pose properly. And with all the drugs and the ugly stuff going around, you’re not about to see that many “vacuum” poses on stage. One thing I realize a lot these days is that people simply think that training consists of merely “lifting” weights. They just think about numbers and focus more on their “weight” than on their actual “shape.” They try to find complicated ways to calculate everything, thinking that the more sophisticated the program looks, the better the results. Bodybuilders didn’t do that in Gironda’s day, and their physiques were much more pleasing to the eye than those you see onstage nowadays. What is the main difference then? It can be summed up into one sentence: A real bodybuilder doesn’t “lift” weights but “works” with weights.
Focusing on a lifting performance is all right if you’re a weightlifter, a powerlifter, or an athlete trying to improve your performance, because your training goal will (and should) be different. A bodybuilder uses the weights only as a means to attain his goal: better shape, better symmetry, etc. In order to do that, he will need to target specific muscle groups, he will focus on his “mind muscle” connection to make sure he feels the right muscle working, he will take his time to perform each rep with control to ensure that the muscle fibres targeted are under stress at all times during the set, and he will seek to improve and be better at what he is supposed to do: sculpt his body. That’s why exercise selection and technique is such an important part of the process, and where Vince Gironda and I both share the same philosophy.
I think that a lot of that inner search to a better awareness of your body has been lost over the years and has been replaced by some sort of blind impulse to use any kind of products and just enter the gym with one goal in mind: bust your guts! Well, that is literally what will happen if you do that for some time: you plainly bust your gut and you sure won’t be able to perform anything close to a stomach vacuum!
I’d like to take a step back now to tell you something I think is interesting; bear with me -- you’ll see where I’m heading. The last time I attended an IDFA show (Canada’s top natural organization), I was just returning from a “non-tested” provincial show in another federation. As usual, I was quite disappointed by the quality of what was presented onstage at the non-tested show, and I didn’t even stay for the whole thing; I was so shocked after the middleweight class that I just took off and didn’t even want to see the heavyweight class! A lot of people think that you have to be big to attract the eye and draw attention. That’s nonsense and surely not the way you inspire admiration. People aren’t that dumb, they can tell the difference between quality and quantity. If that were not the case, I wouldn’t get the attention I get at a mere 150 pounds (but still under 6 percent body fat, even in the off-season) when I take my shirt off in the summer, and I sure wouldn’t get all those complimentary comments people feel the need to share with me. Do you think they do that when they see a 225-pound, over-12-percent-body-fat giant with a belly the size of a nine-month pregnant woman? No! Right from the start, people just think it’s too much; their reaction is, “What the hell! Look at that!” and ultimately use the world “freak” to describe what they see.
So there I was in the audience at the IDFA show, surprised by what I was witnessing. Despite the obvious difference in size that the athletes presented onstage, the crowd really seemed to enjoy it and participated a lot more in the show than they had done in that other show I saw the week before. More important, you would see a bodybuilder coming on stage and you would just be astonished by his condition, his attitude, his posing, the lines of his physique, his muscle density. I have seen many, many shows in my life and at very high levels, but there I was at a local show with nobody over 200 pounds and I was more than pleased and amazed by what I was seeing onstage. Why? Because just like everybody in the audience that day, that was the bodybuilding I love, respect and want to see. Even backstage, the atmosphere was a lot different; at that IDFA show, I really had the feeling I was back in the days when bodybuilding wasn’t just a freak show.
Now, think of that “golden age” of bodybuilding. For those of you who have seen Pumping Iron and all those shots from that time, do you remember how the crowds would just go wild at the shows? How these guys would automatically draw attention when they walked by? How everybody was going nuts when Arnold Schwarzenegger popped out a double-biceps pose or when Frank Zane would perform a vacuum? That’s what bodybuilding was meant to be and what has been lost over the years. There’s a reason why, at that time, most of those guys looked great, could pose properly and could do a vacuum. They knew what the essence of bodybuilding was and were respecting it.
However, let’s get back to the vacuum itself. It’s interesting that you point it out, because the last time I went to the IFBB World Championships people were just stunned at how small my waist was compared to the other competitors, and many were amazed at how much smaller I could make it with a properly performed vacuum. And, once again, although I only placed fourth in my division, you have no idea of the complimentary comments I received during those few days. When you’re at a show with that many athletes, people don’t exactly remember who placed where, but that day a lot of them remembered that “little guy” from Canada (the smallest in his division!) with the surprisingly proportioned physique, who left an impression with his “classical” posing routine and his “vacuum.” To me, this is just what I aim for as a bodybuilder. But to many out there, it was something that stood out that day and brought them a feeling of nostalgia. Even if I didn’t win, if I accomplished that I’m more than satisfied with what I did.
Before the finals at the 2009 IFBB World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
As for the technique of the vacuum itself, you first need to develop your mind-muscle connection and the control you can have on your abdominal wall. Every time you train your abdominals, focus on pulling and holding your stomach in (not pushing out), and only train the rectus abdominis (six-pack), not the obliques. The reason is that tensed obliques will apply lateral tension that will prevent you from being able to properly pull in the front abdominal wall and perform the vacuum. It can take some time to get good at it too. It was funny when I first started to practice it because my girlfriend at the time and my training partner both got it right from the start, and it took me more than two weeks to master it! You can imagine how much fun they made of me, knowing they could beat me at something. It was Serge Moreau, a former Mr. Canada and IFBB world-level competitor, who taught me how to do it. You can’t get a better person than an old-school bodybuilder to teach you forgotten techniques. That man has such an incredible control of his abdominals that he can still perform different forms of vacuum.
A lot of people confuse pulling the stomach “in” with doing a “vacuum.” The fact is that when you perform the vacuum, you don’t actually contract your abdominals. It’s hard to explain in text but I’ll try to do my best:
First, you need to exhale completely while letting your abdominals loosen themselves. Then your upper body rises as you open up the ribcage, which will have the effect of tightening the abdominal wall. Once there, you simply suck it in (still without any voluntary contraction or pull), just like you would kind of hold your breath, but with no air in. That’s what will have the effect of “sucking” the stomach in, creating that noticeable gap under the rib cage. You should feel comfortable enough to hold the pose for a while (without breathing) as the abs aren’t voluntarily tensed but, rather, sort of plated against your body. That’s the main difference between a real vacuum and a pulled-in stomach, in which you voluntarily pull the abs in from under but can’t actually make that void under the ribcage that characterises the vacuum.
There you have it. I hope it can guide you in some way. I know I went a little overboard with my explanation, as I’ve done before, but it’s something that I think needs to be pointed out and understood if we want to save the essence of the sport we love: bodybuilding. Your question was relevant, as it was related to some problems bodybuilding faces these days, and you and I aren’t the only people who have noticed them – and regret them in some way.
Stay focused, be patient . . . and train hard.
Sincerely,
. . . Denis Pedneault, Canadian Champion 2005, 2006 and 2009
#14: How Many Times?
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- Written by Denis Pedneault Denis Pedneault
- Created: 15 June 2010 15 June 2010
Q: Hi Denis,
I would like to start competing and I would like to know how often it is possible to compete each year. A guy at the gym told me that I can only maintain contest shape once or twice per year. I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject. I notice you only compete once or twice in a year.
. . . Bruce Alsten
A: Hi Bruce,
That’s a tough question, since it depends on so many factors. I did compete two to three times most of my competitive years, and even competed up to four times when I won the regional, provincial and national shows in 2005! But it is hard to be at your peak more than once a year.
Usually, if you have to compete several times in a year, you select the one contest in which you want to be at your very best and then you plan your yearly preparation according to that reference. That means that at some point you will be in contest shape but just not at your "very best." Otherwise, you will end up completely drained, and you don’t want that because the body will react to an extreme deprivation state by slowing down the metabolism, and it will pack on unnecessary weight once you resume a normal diet and training regimen. This will occur because the body uses it as a protection mechanism to resist subsequent stress exposure. Afterwards, it will be even harder to get in contest shape again (especially if you’re a drug-free athlete).
Personally, I like to do shows that are close to one another because it allows me to adjust over time and come in better. To do that, however, it is best to have the contests quite close together, because you won’t be able to maintain that much muscle mass on a restricted diet over a long period of time. It’s a good strategy, though, because you can use the first contest to get in pretty good condition (without burning yourself out) and then use the rest of the time to further improve and come in better and better. A lot of people spoil their condition as they get closer to a contest by making last-minute adjustments or attempting to rush things, so this method gives you some time to test your body. For example, some people complain about loose skin when getting ready for a show. If you lose too much weight in a short amount of time you will have loose-looking skin, since it doesn’t have enough time to adapt to the smaller version of your body that you create. So you must start earlier. On the other hand, if you start your preparation too late, you will still have some visual body fat left under the skin and it will still look "thick."
I like to do more than one show, because it allows me to drop most of the body fat I want to lose and leave time for the skin to tighten up and adapt to a smaller frame, and then get back up on a mass-building program (e.g., heavy weights and lower reps), but with the same number of calories, which will have the effect of really stretching the skin. You can already picture the end result: a much fuller physique with a thinner skin (which is why some have suspected me of using growth hormones, which I’d never use). In fact, this is just one of my tricks to get that Saran Wrap-like skin onstage. I start most of my high-volume training two to three months before the show so that I’m close to my contest shape a month before, and then I decrease the volume and increase the intensity to "fill up"! That way you don’t end up looking either ripped but flat or full but fat!
When I first went to the world championships in 2006, I did just that and showed up with an even better package in the Czech Republic (fuller muscle bellies at the same body fat) and placed seventh out of 25 of the best guys from all over the world. Last year, my plan was to place higher at the world championships. In order to do that, I had to qualify first by winning my class nationally (which I did for the third time). At first, I was quite unsure of how I would manage it because the national championships were in March and the world championships in November, which makes an eight-month span! Obviously, I couldn’t stay in top condition all summer long and expect to still be that good in November. Plus, I was going to attend the Arnold Classic and decided to compete there too, since it was two weeks before the national championships, anyway.
One day before the 2009 IFBB World Bodybuilding Championships.
So, to sum it all up, my goal was to come in relatively good shape at the Arnolds, be a little better a few weeks later to ensure a win at the national level, but not be too exhausted, so that I could continue to slowly improve my physique and my condition until the end of the year. This is just what I did and although I wasn’t 100 percent happy with the physique I brought onstage at the first two shows, I managed to come to the world championships at my all-time best and eventually placed fourth!
As you can see, doing more than one show can be tricky, but it can also pay off if you select your main goal and carefully plan your preparation in advance. If you've followed my articles, you are also aware that I’m not a fan of "bulking up" in the off-season and prefer to stay in fairly good shape year-round. Sculpting a physique is a work in progress that takes time and dedication and it is much easier to improve condition that way. For example, apart from those three contests I entered last year, I did two photo shoots and two guest-posing appearances and still managed to stay in shape all the time. But that’s me, I like to be in shape and love to be on the stage. I could also say it’s easy for me, since I’ve been living a bodybuilding lifestyle for 15 years now and can manage my schedule pretty much like I want to. Nevertheless, I definitely felt a need for a break and to go into "off-season" mode after my last preparation.
Backstage at the 2009 IFBB World Bodybuilding Championships.
As I said at the beginning of this article, you have to take into account many factors such as: stress level, work, lifestyle, age, nutrition, revenues (yes, bodybuilding is costly!). If I have one piece of advice to give you after all that’s been discussed in this article, it would be this: don't forget to get a life! Don't get me wrong, I love bodybuilding, it’s my sport and one of my passions, but it’s not everything. And just as I don’t think it’s worth the risk to take drugs and ruin your health in order to compete, I don’t think it’s any healthier to poison your life with extreme behaviour for a contest that will be over in a few months. Oftentimes, people get carried away in the mindset of competing and neglect their friends and/or families and other good stuff they usually enjoy and end up with troubles that are not always easy to patch up afterwards. Competing is a rewarding experience in so many ways, as it inspires dedication and forces you to challenge yourself. That means that it should indeed come with sacrifices in order to improve and get better, but not at the cost of what makes your life healthy and enjoyable. Try to keep that in mind.
Train, eat, sleep, compete and stay clean!
Sincerely,
. . . Denis Pedneault, Canadian Champion 2005, 2006, 2009
