Thierry Pastel – Complete Profile: Height, Workout, Diet

Thierry Pastel is a retired professional bodybuilder from France. At 5’2” tall, Pastel was one of the shorter bodybuilders during his competitive days. However, he made up for excellent musculature, great shoulder-to-waist ratio, and most importantly, great arms. Pastel competed in NABBA, WABBA, and IFBB Pro League during his bodybuilding career and produced some memorable performances. This article explores his life story, competition history, workout routine, diet, and statistics.

Thierry Pastel (Bodybuilder)

Born: June 6, 1959
Birthplace: Riviere Pilote, Martinique, FRANCE
Residence: Ozoir-la-Ferrière, Ile de France, FRANCE
Nickname: Abzilla
Height: 5′ 2″ (160 cm)
Competition Weight: 178 lbs (81 kg)

Thierry Pastel Biography

Thierry Pastel was born on June 6, 1959. He was a NABBA, WABBA, and IFBB Pro bodybuilder from France.

When the name Thierry Pastel comes up in bodybuilding conversations, talk inevitably turns toward his jaw-dropping set of abs and impossibly full arms. Indeed, the French pro’s abs can be ranked up there with the best of all time he sported a crisp eight-pack with ridges so deep you could lose a quarter in them.

He stood only 5’2″, yet his arms were the size of a man’s a half-foot taller and better shaped than many.

Yet even his outstanding body parts couldn’t detract from Pastel’s overall aesthetic excellence. An exceptional poser, he would rarely hit a shot conventionally, instead opting to add the kind of artistic flourishes to his stance, his hand placement, or the angle of his torso that bespeaks an artist more than an athlete. Not surprisingly, Pastel was a protege of fellow Frenchman Serge Nubret, himself a master poser and paragon of aesthetic distinction.

Although the likes of Pastel and Nubret are seldom seen on bodybuilding stages these days, their photos continue to inspire generations of up-and-coming muscle artisans.

As for best results in Bodybuilding competitions, we can remember 3 WABBA World Championships, the European WABBA title in 1987, and 3 participation in the IFBB Mr. Olympia with his best placement as 8th in 1991.

Today Thierry owns the Pastel Fitness Club C.C Béatrice, Rue Auguste HUDIER 77330 Ozoir-La-Ferriere, France. Make him a visit.

Competition History

1984

• WABBA World Championships – 1st place

1985

• WABBA World Championships, Professional – 4th place

1986

• NABBA Pro Mr. Universe – 4th place
• WABBA World Championships, Professional – 1st place

1987

• WABBA European Championships, Professional – 1st place
• NABBA Pro Mr. Universe – 9th place
• WABBA World Championships, Professional – 1st place

1989

• IFBB Grand Prix England – 5th place
• IFBB Grand Prix France – 5th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Germany – 7th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Holland – 8th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Spain (2) – 7th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Spain – 7th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Sweden – 6th place

1990

• IFBB Grand Prix France – 3rd place
• IFBB Grand Prix Holland – 1st place
• IFBB Night of Champions – 9th place

1991

• IFBB Arnold Classic – 5th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Denmark – 4th place
• IFBB Grand Prix England – 6th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Finland – 3rd place
• IFBB Grand Prix Italy – 4th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Spain – 4th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Switzerland – 3rd place
• IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational – 4th place
• IFBB Musclefest Grand Prix – 2nd place
• IFBB Night of Champions – 4th place
• IFBB Olympia – 8th place
• IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – 3rd place

1992

• IFBB Arnold Classic – 6th place
• IFBB Chicago Pro Championships – 2nd place
• IFBB Grand Prix Enlgand – 6th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Germany – 6th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Holland – 3rd place
• IFBB Grand Prix Italy – 6th place
• IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational – 4th place
• IFBB Night of Champions – 4th place
• IFBB Mr. Olympia – 10th place
• IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – 3rd place

1993

• IFBB Arnold Classic – 13th place
• IFBB Chicago Pro Championships – 11th place
• IFBB Grand Prix France (2) – 2nd place
• IFBB Grand Prix France – 6th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Germany – 11th place
• IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational – 12th place
• IFBB Night of Champions – Did not place
• IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Invitational – 10th place

1994

• IFBB Arnold Classic – 11th place
• IFBB Grand Prix France (2) – 4th place
• IFBB Grand Prix France – 6th place
• IFBB Night of Champions – 11th place
• IFBB  Mr. Olympia – 14th place

1995

• IFBB Grand Prix France – 6th place
• IFBB Grand Prix Ukraine – 6th place

Thierry Pastel Workout

Being an old-school bodybuilder, Thierry Pastel emphasized intense training, heavy weights, and an arduous bodybuilding lifestyle to build a great physique. Pastel’s training routine primarily consisted of weight training as he did not indulge too much in other forms of exercise.

Squats, deadlifts, and bench presses are considered the meat and potatoes of bodybuilding for their benefits in terms of functional strength, muscle gain, and crossover benefits for other lifts and sports. Being a bodybuilder as well as a powerlifter, Pastel put these movements at the forefront and never compromised on them. To target specific muscles and bring them to par with the more developed parts of his physique, Pastel incorporated isolation exercises as well.

Building muscle is not enough to have a world-class bodybuilder’s physique. Shedding the fat to give visibility to those muscles is equally important in the sport. Pastel included cardio exercises to improve his cardiovascular strength and burn fat.

He preferred HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) for cardio at the peak of his abilities. But instead of performing them in isolation as separate training sessions, the xx-year-old merged them with his strength training sessions.

Thierry Pastel emphasized high-volume training to build a bodybuilder’s physique. High-volume training involves doing a high number of repetitions as well as sets for every exercise. This type of training keeps the muscles under tension for a longer period and helps bring about hypertrophy more effectively, thus causing the muscles to grow.

High-volume approach isn’t necessarily the best if you’re trying to build functional strength. However, it is the best approach to build muscle and get a specific body composition.

Leg Workout

Thierry Pastel’s lower body was well-balanced in terms of size, proportions, and muscle definition. Although he emphasized more on doing squats, the French bodybuilder’s leg press routine was notorious in the bodybuilding community.

The leg press is a compound movement that works all the major muscles of the lower body similar to the barbell squat. However, it significantly reduces the amount of stress on the lower back which makes squatting a little difficult for some people. Pastel performed an arduous leg pressing routine to build lower body strength and muscles.

Chest Workout

Bench press was the staple of Thierry Pastel’s chest training routine and the most important compound pushing movement. But there was a lot more to his chest training routine than bench press alone. Pastel worked the upper body pushing muscles with several compounds pushing movements and flyes. He incorporated different variations of free weight and machine presses as well as flyes to build the pushing and adduction strength of the upper body. The results were visible on his physique as Pastel showcased his well-defined and massive chest, every time he stepped on the stage.

Back Workout

Deadlift used to be the main focus of Thierry Pastel’s back training routine. The rest of his exercises revolved around this mass and strength-building exercise. He performed several horizontal and vertical pulling movements to add thickness and width to the back.

Bodyweight and free-weight exercises like pull-ups, dumbbell rows, barbell rows, and machine exercises like lat pulldowns and seated rows formed the core of the French bodybuilder’s training routine. He also used weighted hyperextension to stimulate the lower back.

Arms Workout

Thierry Pastel’s arms were arguably the best part of his physique and historically, very few bodybuilders’ arms can come close to his. Pastel trained his arms with intensity. However, arms are a small muscle group and Pastel tackled it with high volume and moderate weights for the best results.

Thierry Pastel Diet

While training forces the muscles to grow, a healthy diet provides the necessary components for the growth to occur. As a result, training, diet, and rest have to be on point to sustainably grow as a bodybuilder.

Thierry Pastel’s dietary practices were simple. He stayed away from any extreme form of dieting that leans heavily towards specific micronutrients. Pastel ate a balanced diet rich in all the nutrients. He maintained balance in macronutrients and ate sufficient amounts of protein, fats, and carbohydrates to maintain overall health and fuel his performance as well.

Like most bodybuilders, his diet was high in protein to be able to build muscle mass. However, he did not give in to concepts of low-fat diet which were all the rage back in the day.

Maintaining a disciplined eating pattern was another crucial aspect of Pastel’s diet. He ate five to six balanced meals every day and strictly followed the meal timings. Eating small meals spaced out over the day helped him maintain his blood sugar level, keep energy levels high, and feed the muscles with nutrients.

Pastel stayed away from sugary and deep-fried foods as well as their highly processed counterparts. He kept himself hydrated with water and other natural beverages like tea and coconut water. But packaged drinks high in sugar were never a part of his diet during his bodybuilding career. Although he got most of the nutrition through whole foods, Pastel also used supplements to fuel his growth and meet the daily nutritional requirements.

Thierry Pastel Image Gallery

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