Road to the Canadian Nationals - 12 Days Out - Goals and Expectations

This will be my last week of regular high intensity full workouts which is always hard at this point since I have started my heavy food and carb cut. As I progress through this week I will start to feel weaker and weaker as I get more and more depleted. My calorie cut is close to a 2000 calorie deficit per day at least for the first while till I drop a lot of the last bits of stubborn fat and water, and deplete my muscle of glycogen.

But that's not what this video is about. Like my BC Championships series I wanted to make a video where I talk about my goals and expectations for how I hope to do at the CBBF Canadian Nationals. I am presented with a huge opportunity since there will be IFBB Pro Cards being offered to the overall winners for each category and that also includes Men's Masters Physique. What this means is that if I win first place in my Men's Masters Physique tall division, I will then be compared on stage with the other Men's Masters Physique height divisions and the overall winner will get their IFBB Pro Card. I am also entered in Men's Open Physique and will have this similar opportunity but I am expecting the Open division to be even more competitive so my best chances for an IFBB Pro Card should most likely be in Men's Masters Physique.

IFBB Pro Card aside I am really hoping to place first in my Men's Masters Physique division and top 5 in the Open division at the Canadian Nationals so I can stand up on stage with all those young bucks and show them us old coots still got it. I do not expect anything but I have high hopes and I know going into this that the competition will be amazing so if I do achieve my goal it will be that much more rewarding.

In terms of how my progress has been going between the BC Championships and up until now... I feel I have added a little more size while still remaining lean and should not have any problem getting back to stage shredded condition for contest day. I will also have some improved posing, a few little corrections that will make me look even fuller and more balanced on stage.

Road to the Canadian Nationals - 15 Days Out - Update and Posing

We are almost at the two week marker and the end of my mini-bulk has arrived. I will be starting my hard cutting in the next day or two and have my work cut out for me but that was the plan all along as I really wanted to be able to train hard for at least three weeks to put on some more size for the CBBF Canadian Nationals on August 13th in New Westminster at the Massey Theatre.

I am sitting around 6 to 6.5% body fat right now and need to get down to 5% or even lower so I need to lose a good 2-3 pounds of fat which for me should be pretty easy with the low calorie high protein, low carb and low fat diet I will be on for the next couple of weeks. Keep in mind, my metabolism is pretty healthy since I have been on cruise control and for the most part getting decent amounts of food during my mini-bulk. With this in mind I should respond really quickly to the diet and cut.

As of the day this video was made (Friday July 29th) I am about 193 pounds and I feel I am not holding much water so after my cut and re-carb I should be right around 190 pounds on stage day which is where I was hoping to be as this is a few pounds heavier than I was at the Vancouver Pro Am BC Championships.

Road to the Canadian Nationals - 19 Days Out

We are almost midway point between the BC Championships I just completed in and the Canadian Nationals where I will be competing in both Men's Physique Masters and Open Classes. There was no way I was going to stick stay at sub 5% body fat for another 5 weeks so my plan was to do a mini bulk and then a soft cut for the Nationals. If everything works out the way I want it to I should be able to add a couple more pounds of muscle to my frame for the Canadian Nationals and still come in super conditioned.

I feel I am on track and at least when I look in the mirror at this midway point I feel like I have already added some muscle yet stayed pretty lean. I still have 19 days more to chip away and this week I have started my cut but even so I will progressively overload my workouts and hope to keep adding muscle at least for the next couple of weeks.

You be the judge for yourself and see what you think as I have included a short posing video at the end...

Road to the Canadian Nationals - Family Vacation

The last 5 days I spent some really nice family time on Vacation in Birch Bay Washington which is located in Blaine. We actually live just across the border only about 30 minutes away but do have to cross the border which can take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or so if you happen to get in a bad lineup.

We stayed at our WorldMark time share in a 2 bedroom fully decked out unit with a beach view and for the most part just stuck around, went down to the pool, enjoyed the apartment and went out for some walks on the beach and to the C Candy shop for the kids.

I did allocate this week as a bit of a higher calorie week but I do need to get back on a very strict program now that I am three weeks out from the Canadian Nationals. I am happy to report that I did get all my workouts in while away as this was a priority for me since I am working very hard to add some more muscle for the Canadian Nationals. Lucky for me there was an Anytime Fitness which even offers a free 7 day membership and their setup had everything I needed to get a really great workout in while I was away :)

Well now that we are back there will be no more cheat days and I will have a very strict diet and workout program to follow right up till Nationals time. I am kind of actually looking forward to more of a routine again!

Monkii Bars 2 Ultra Portable Suspension Trainer Review

First off, I want to thank David and Dan from Monkii Bars for sending me out this prototype version of their New Monkii Bar 2 portable suspension training system to try out and share my review with everyone. Monkii Bars is launching their Monkii Bars 2 System and it is available for Pre-Order on Kick Starter right now. Keep in mind there may be some slight cosmetic changes and improvements as the ones I was reviewing where one-off prototype designed for testing.

What are the Monkii Bars 2? 

• They’re a personal gym you can take anywhere.
• Classified as a Suspension trainer.
• Similar to TRX or the Human Trainer.
• TRX and Human Trainer are designed more as a dedicated static gym, would be more bulky to pack along.
• Monkii Bars 2 designed more for outside of the gym, they are ultra compact and great for travel, you can take with you anywhere.

What you get with your Monkii Bars 2.

• A Case which is also the door attachment.
• Door attachment webbing is always attached and built into the case.
• Detachable Foot straps.
• Detachable Pucks for attaching over other objects other than a door.

What’s different about the Monkii Bars 2 compared to the original Monkii Bars: 

• Original Monkii Bars use a rope rather than a strap.
• New Monkii Bars 2 have easy to adjust Cam Buckle.
• New Monkii Bars 2 comes in a case that doubles as the door stopper.

How to Use Your Monkii Bars 2.

• Hang over door and cinch towards you till the stopper is in place (Door needs to close towards you not away).
• Remove the Webbing Pucks.
• Take out Monkii Bar 2 Handles and remove end caps.
• Remove the Triangle strap from inside the Monkii Bar 2 Handles.
• Thread the webbing through the Triangle and feed back into the Cam Buckle.
• When using the Foot straps, attach through handle reconnect ends together.

Make sure to watch my YouTube video for a Demonstration of how to use the Monkii Bars 2 Ultra Portable Suspension Trainer.

Once you’re done, simply place everything back where it belongs inside the case and roll it back up. Your Monkii Bars 2 are now ready to go again whenever you are.

My top 3 reasons to get your own Monkii Bars 2 System:

1. You will always have a gym with you when you travel.
2. Inexpensive and flexible home Gym strength training system.
3. They make a great add on exercise system to compliment your traditional weights and plates gym.

Pre-Order your Monkii Bars 2 Ultra Portable Suspension Trainer on Kickstarter right now!