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Created: 01 November 2013 01 November 2013

History was made on October 19 at the 2013 Physique Canada Canadian Championships when Denis Pedneault won the Tier 1 Elite men’s bodybuilding category and took home the nation’s top bodybuilding title. Prior to that win, Denis had won four national titles with the CBBF, so with this Physique Canada win he’s now a five-time Canadian champion. No bodybuilder that I know of in recent memory has won that many national-level titles.

Denis Pedneault, Rob DeLuca, Pablo Gonzalez and Charles Duffy

But while Denis’ latest win helped to make bodybuilding history, it wasn’t only winning that made that day truly special; instead, the high caliber of his physique and presentation combined with the energy he and the other competitors had on the stage that day resulted in a competition that was nothing short of extraordinary, something everyone in the audience knew as they witnessed it.

First on the stage in the men’s Tier 1 Elite category were Pablo Gonzalez and Charles Duffy, who had earned Tier 1 Elite status in Physique Canada’s 2013 June and September shows respectively. Then came Rob DeLuca, who was Physique Canada’s first ever Tier 1 Elite men’s winner at the 2012 National Classic, and the first ever Tier 1 Elite champ in the 2012 Canadian Championships. So, on October 19 he was the defending champ, and what he brought to the stage was proof that he had every intention of defending his title.

Rob DeLuca

Rob possesses one of the the thickest and densest physiques in the country, and his proportions and symmetry are outstanding. Overall, he presents a complete, formidable package, and some of his poses – side triceps and side chest most notably – are extremely difficult for anyone to beat. When Rob approached the center stage that evening, he did so with such intensity that everyone in the audience could tell he meant business. He was also in better shape than in the previous year, so all in all he put on an awesome display of muscularity befitting his stature in the sport, and had this been 2012, he would’ve easily won all over again.

Denis Pedneault

But it’s now 2013 and Denis Pedneault, who was the first to jump on the Physique Canada bandwagon when it was formed in 2011, made good on the promise he made back then to compete for the first time with the organization in 2013. Furthermore, he wasn’t simply planning to come back to the stage this year, but to come back in better shape than he’d ever been in, which is saying a lot because he’d not only won four times with the CBBF before, he’d also competed three times at the IFBB’s world championships, placing as high as fourth with them.

Denis Pedneault

Suffice it to say that Denis made good on all his promises – he looked as thick as he’d ever been, his definition was better, and his proportions and symmetry were beyond reproach, reminding me of a cross between Frank Zane and Lee Labrada at their best. Finally, his posing was in a class of its own and will be remembered by those there as one of the greatest routines ever – it was beautifully choreographed to classical music, and it was rich with classic bodybuilding poses, many of them inspired by Zane. When he finished his routine, one competitive bodybuilder in the audience came up to me and said, “That was world-class.” Indeed.

But the contest wasn’t over yet. DeLuca, the reigning champ and always the fighter, didn’t back down to Denis in the comparisons that came right afterwards, and then all four men went at it for nearly five minutes in an impromptu posedown, which whipped the audience into a frenzy the likes of which I’ve never seen before at a contest in this country. Frankly, it was a good idea that DeLuca fought it out like that because it showed how good he and Denis were that night.

Denis and Rob

DeLuca, who’s got to be 8” taller and 50 pounds heavier than Denis, looked every bit as dense and ripped as Denis. Rob, too, has proportions that are nearly flawless, and he has no real weak points, which was why he was such a strong winner before. What sets Denis apart from his peers is that he has the size and definition to go head to head against bigger competitors such as DeLuca, as well as shape and symmetry that aren’t just very good, but flawless.

At the end of it all, Denis obviously deserved the first-place trophy, but DeLuca could also be considered a champion that night. Rob congratulated Denis wholeheartedly onstage when he was announced as the winner, and when I talked to Rob backstage immediately after he was energetic, invigorated, and thinking about his next shows. He is an amazing competitor – nearing 50 and showing no signs of slowing down.

Serge Moreault awards Denis the first-place medal

As for Denis, he was of course thrilled by the win, but what he said to me afterwards really surprised me, particularly since he had won all those titles before. “Doug,” he said, “this was the best contest for me yet.” Obviously, that bodes extremely well for Physique Canada and for Canadian bodybuilding because Denis Pedneault’s win set the bar at an all-time high for the sport in Canada.

Doug Schneider
SeriousAboutMuscle.com Founder and Publisher

Denis Pedneault, 2013 Canadian Bodybuilding Champion