Mr Natural Universe? My life? The mindset that it takes to achieve what I have achieved? Hey, its no secret – it’s merely how I live my life. But none the less I am still more than happy to share that with you!
I have been competing as a natural bodybuilder since 1991 and over the years have won several under 21 Junior titles including the Junior Mr Britain and Junior Mr Europe. And more recently, my achievement extended to snatching the title of INBF World Heavyweight Champion in 2005 and following that, the overall INBA Natural Mr Universe where I earned my natural professional status. A moment I shall always remember!
Getting yourself into the mind set to train for a competition and go through the rigid diet, lack of social life and intense training just takes dedication and a well planned journey ahead. For me, apart from being scared of losing ;-) I see it as a challenge and don’t really think of winning as my incentive; I just like to see how much I can put the body through and make my physique better than it has ever been, and if it all goes to plan I know I will be hard to beat!
My training pre-contest doesn’t alter too much compared to the off season, all that changes is the cardio side of things. As the show approaches my cardio increases depending on where I am condition wise. My weight training, which is the same off season, is 6 days a week, each body part twice per week. To some of you this may seem a lot but has worked so well for me, resulting in increased muscle growth and a better overall look. This helps pre contest too as it helps burn a lot of calories so helps with my condition. Also what I do is the first half of the week I go heavy, rep range between 6 and 10 reps, the second half of the week I go lighter aiming for a rep range of between 15 to 20 reps.
My training split is as follows –
Monday - Chest/Arms (heavy)
Tuesday - Back/Shoulders (heavy)
Wednesday- Legs (heavy)
Thursday - Chest/Arms (light)
Friday - Back/Shoulders (light)
Saturday - Legs (light)
Nutrition wise, pre-contest is very strict. I start my pre-contest diet 18 weeks out, dividing my protein, carbs and fats into thirds. So a third of my calories will be protein, a third carbs and third fats. Over the first few weeks I lower my carbs gradually then when the fat loss slows down I turn to carb cycling, for example two days low carbs and then one day high carbs. This keeps the metabolism revved up so helping with the fat loss. I keep to simple clean foods like chicken or turkey and brown rice and sweet potatoes, eating this day in and day out. Yes it sounds boring (coz it is!) but it makes it easier to prepare food and work out my calories etc. rather than have a large variety of food. I also keep cheat meals to a minimum, maybe 2 or 3 throughout the whole diet. The reason is, when I used to have cheat meals once a week it just reminded how nice all the good food tasted and made me crave food a lot more! So by not having cheat meals I don’t think of the bad food. Also when I had cheat meals I ended up eating non stop for about 2 hours, after all if I don’t stop eating in that time it still counts as one meal right? Not a good thing believe me!
Off season I keep to eating clean but a lot more variety and I don’t count calories either. I allow more treats into my diet. Hey, I am human you know and have to have my fix of Ben and Jerry’s from time to time! I try and stay pretty strict with my diet Monday to Friday and then relax at weekends, leaving Saturday night as a little binge night if I want it. This helps me to stay lean even during the off season, which not only makes me feel healthier and fitter but also helps me with photo shoots and media work as I can be photo shoot ready at a moments notice which has happened on quite a few occasions. Supplements play a massive part in my pre-contest and off season training. I am lucky enough to be able to endorse the Garnell Nutrition brand and use their full range of supplements.
Pre-contest I use a massive amount of Garnells’ glutamine, up to 120 grams a day spread out throughout the day with large amounts post training. I use Garnell Platinum Protein which is a pure whey isolate exclusively pre-contest for my additional protein. And then creatine and Lean Force which is Garnells fat burning product. I also love NO products, using Garnells Power Storm pre-contest and for my off season training. This product gives the most unbelievable pump in the gym and also keeps me focused during my workout which is essential before a show when you become tired from the dieting.
Off season my supplements stay the same but adding in a whey concentrate/isolate protein powder from Garnell, then my glutamine, creatine and pre-workout drinks including another Garnell product Enrage! I mix this with my Power Storm for a crazy pre-workout drink! Be careful with this though as it is very potent.
One thing that some of you MAY see as my secret is the fact that I do not let the gym and diet rule my life. I love my bodybuilding lifestyle and have enjoyed the success, but I have made sure I have kept a balance. I train hard eat well but also I enjoy myself, have fun with friends, go out, and generally try and be as normal as possible – if that is possible! When I stick to this balance it enables me to be a more successful bodybuilder as the gains come quicker not to mention I am a lot happier too, and I’m probably a hell of a nicer guy to be around as a result!
Keep well
Peter Chown
Natural Mr Universe
Natural Mr World
www.naturalphysique.co.uk |
