Patrick Bernard: Three Times a Charm?

For the past few years now, I have attended the Canadian Championships. I have been working with a few guys in preparation for the Championships and have been impressed with the level of talent that I’ve seen. However, for some reason, it seems that when a Canadian finally gets that elusive pro card, they disappear.

The first two Canadians I ever worked with were Dave Fischer and Bruce Patterson. Dave Fischer really shocked the crowd at the first North American he did way back in what I believe was 1991. He was truly striated from head to toe. I mean, totally! The other Canadian, Bruce Patterson, got his pro card at around 21 years old. I was working with him around the same time I began working with a very young Jay Cutler. In comparison, Bruce had the mental focus to train hard and achieve great conditioning but Jay had the added feature of sheer determination- something you can't train for but just comes from an internal desire to compete. If there was a way to put Jay’s rock solid determination into Bruce’s psyche, there is no doubt in my mind that he would be fighting for IFBB pro wins today.

Patrick Bernard, of Quebec City, is another bodybuilder with that rock solid determination like Jay’s. I met him through a mutual friend, Sam Zebib, who has one of the freakiest physiques ever. Sam, who knows I love to work with workaholics and intensely disciplined athletes, told me that Patrick was exactly that type and that I should work with him. .Shortly afterwards, I started devising a nutrition plan for Patrick for the 2007 Canada show. After prejudging that year, I told Patrick, “You are either going to win the class and the overall or there will be someone who will beat you in the class and he will win the overall." The outcome: Patrick got second in his class and the class winner took the overall.

In 2008, Patrick came back to take the class but not the overall. This year going into the 2009 show, he’s more determined than ever with better balance and ability to retain his rock hard quality that should give him a very strong edge. I work with Patrick year round, so to say that I have a pulse on where his body is at, is an understatement. One thing that I demand of all of my clients is that they 1) Follow the exact plan that I provide with no deviation 2) Don’t pay attention to the pre and post contest peanut gallery 3) Always trust that everything I do for them is sound and 4) Always strive to elevate the sport. Patrick does all of these. I have no doubt from the level of sheer determination and discipline that he has shown that he will accomplish exactly what he’s set out for.

The Pics: The pic in the top left corner is Patrick in off season condition. The second and third pics were taken a month out from the show, so there is still a considerable amount of time for improvement. He looks denser than ever. His weight here is just 189 pounds so he is only two pounds away from the class limit. I’d like to be a servant and say “Patrick this year you can take the overall.” However, as I mentioned there are a lot of great bodybuilders in Canada and I am sure, from seeing how hard many of them train, anything can happen and the show is totally wide open.

George Asmus Chases USA

Give me someone with drive, determination and an overall strong desire to succeed and I'll give you ripped-to-the-bone conditioning. I get to work with a lot of talented bodybuilders and have brought them into their lifetime best shape; Jay Cutler at the 2001 Mr. Olympia and Victor Martinez at the 2003 Night of Champions come to mind. However, what I really enjoy is helping the "good" bodybuilder take his physique to the next level. One such guy is George Assmus from Illinois. The Illinois State Champion and GNC Champion recently cracked the top ten at the USA in Vegas but by all accounts he sported all the trademark highlights that make you sit back and say "wow!" Striated pecs, a super detailed back, glutes and hams you'd expect on a seasoned pro.

How did George do it? He used the diet system that I commonly use with many clients; one that is moderate in carbs, low in fat, but most important uses technical analysis to break through sticking points where the body tries to "fight back" against a calorie controlled diet by lowering its metabolic rate. While dieting works, after a while the body tries to fight you by slowing the metabolism into a lower gear. In short, over time diets no longer work and its at that point where your body fails to continue to change.

The critical edge is knowing at what point to adjust the diet to make sure the body does not slow its metabolic rate. One way around a slow down is to "let up" on calorie expenditure. When I saw George was no longer getting leaner (even though he was dieting and hitting the cardio) I would have him drop out the cardio. Yes, drop it out. The results; his body started getting leaner! Why? When you push the body and try to continue to force fat off the body the internal hormones that help burn fat in the body either can't lock up with their target area (body fat) or their activity in the body plummets. When you pull the cardio out, the hormones that help burn body fat when calories are low can more readily do their intended job -melting off the fat.

This is where proper spplementation is critical. Nordrenalean HSL, a supplement I developed with this potential roadblock in mind, interferes with the metabolic adpatation seen with dieting. In George's case, he was able to continue to stay on a diet much longer than typically one would expect without hitting the dreaded plateaus. He was able to move right thru those stubborn and frustating barriers using a powerful combination of nutrients that allow the fat burning hormones to remain high even when calories are low.

Throughout George's preparation for the 2009 USA, several adjustments were made to ensure his physique was fine tuned at the critical moment. On occasion, I instructed him to take a break from his diet for a day or two to allow his calories to increase and avoid the loss of muscle mass. At other times protein intake was increased when it appeared that he was starting to lose muscle in his upper pecs or shoulders.

As a testament to his determination, George tore his tricep badly 14 days from the show and was still able to achieve the level of conditioning that is allusive to a typical national competitor. His discipline, determination, and the ability to work through intense pain was (he is set for surgery only three days after the show that will immobolize his arm for two months) is indeed a sign of a love and passion for the sport. Despite the urging of his doctor to pull out from the show, he didn't. His very long, hard and well planned prep period was so well tuned that despite this setback and his virtual immobility, he never complained. He took it one day at a time and hit the stage in his best shape ever due to the contest prep he endured.