BC Championships - 18 Days Out - Update Video

Only 18 more days to go till I compete in the BCABBA BC Championships at the Vancouver Pro Am in both Masters and Open Men's Physique classes.

This is really my last week of going hard in the gym and trying to overload my previous weeks workouts, next week the carb cutting begins so expectations in terms of energy and strength will not be as high. More or less I will be shooting to get as much volume as my energy will allow for! I will only have to perform low carb workouts for about a week and a half since the week leading up to my contest is really only a half week of workouts since I will stop all weight training about 3 days out from competition day.

In terms of my weight and body fat, I am perhaps even a bit ahead of schedule, I weigh about 190 pounds give or take a pound and my body fat is very close to 6%. I will drop a good point or more during my low carb low calorie eating plan since I will most likely be at a calorie deficit of close to 2000 calories per day for a good 10 days or more.

I really feel like I will be bringing my best conditioning to date to the the stage this time around!

DIY - Do it Yourself Competition Tan

At my last fitness competition where I competed at the Victoria Cup In Men's Physiques Masters and Open, I decided to go with a (DIY) Do it Yourself Tan to save some money and also have a little more flexibility in when and where to "get my tan on" so to speak!

I did a fair amount of research and after reading lots of reviews online I decided to go with a product from Jan Tana called Jan Tana Competition Tan Bronzer. I ordered it online and when I tested it out on my leg, I found that even after several coats it was going to be too light.

After some more research I decided to incorporate a Spray On Tan called Color Perfecting Complex California Tan to pre-darken my skin initially before applying the Jan Tana Competition Tan Bronzer.

This system proved to work really well, I also recommend you get a base tan by either getting some sun or using a tanning bed, the darker you natrually get the better!

This is how I apply my (DIY) Do it Yourself Tanning System:

• Get a base tan naturally or via a tanning bed. The darker the better!
• Make sure to exfoliate before applying the tanning products, I start a week before and exfoliate my entire body several times during the week and right before applying the tanning products.
• Make sure to shave the day before or day of when you apply your tanning products.
• Start with the Color Perfecting Complex California Spray on Tan. It will go on pretty even but more than likely you will get some splattering from the spray nozzle. Do not worry about this, simply rub the splatter drops into your skin with your hand, it will all even out in the end. I recommend you apply your spray on tan about mid day the day before your competition.
• Once the appropriate dry time has been achieve you can then apply the Jan Tana Competition Tan rub on Bronzer. I used large facial pads to do this and had my wife get some of the area I could not reach on my back. I would recommend you apply your rub on tan in the evening before your competition or the morning of. Some touch ups can be done as required and will blend well.
• That's pretty much it, you can also apply an additional glaze right before you go on stage, I recommend Jan Tana Hi-Def Glaze.

Some things to keep in mind... 

• Your spray on tan will stay with you much longer than the airbrush styled spray on tans since the Color Perfecting Complex California Tan actually reacts with the top layer of the skin to darken your skin. It can take about a week or so to slowly fade away.
• I also found that the Color Perfecting Complex California Tan died my toe nails pretty much permanently so cover up your feet if you do not want this to happen.

BC Championships - 22 Days Out - Update Posing

Here is a quick Update Posing Video of me 22 days out from the Vancouver Pro Am BC Championships where I will be competing in Men's Physique Masters and Open Divisions, depending on how I do, I am even get a shot in the Canadian Nationals later on in August :)

BC Championships - 3 Weeks Out - Mindset And Progressive Overload

A little over three weeks to go till my BC Championships being held at the Vancouver Pro Am Fitness Show. For the most part I feel pretty good both physically and mentally but at this point in the cut ones mindset can play games with them a little. In this video I talk about how I am feeling and how important it is to continue to progressively overload each workout and what is required to do so. I also show you some video clips of me doing Box Squats and Dumbbell Flies from today's workout. Enjoy the video!

Lunatik Epik Polycarbonate Apple Watch Case and Strap Review

This is not going to be a super in depth review, after all the Lunatik Epik Polycarbonate Apple Watch Case and Strap is a pretty basic product after all and at the end of the day if it does a good job of protecting my Apple Watch, Looks and fits good and holds up over time then what more can you ask for? That said, the Lunatik Epik Polycarbonate Apple Watch Case and Strap gets a clean check mark in all categories so I guess this review is pretty much done ;)

So really quickly, let's go over some of the stuff I like about the Lunatik Epik Polycarbonate Apple Watch Case and Strap... 

• I like the way the Lunatik Epik looks and how it gives my Apple Watch a more utilitarian rugged look.
• I like the quality of the Polycarbonate material used, they are holding up well and seem to be somewhat scratch and ding resistant.
• I like that the Polycarbonate material is light weight so my Apple Watch does not feel intrusive or heavy on my wrist.
• All of the mechanical aspects of my Apple Watch work perfectly including the digital crown, side button and speaker clarity.
• The Lunatik Epik strap is easy to put on and is made of a comfortable material. 

A couple of things I am not fond of with the Lunatik Epik Polycarbonate Apple Watch Case and Strap.

• The strap hold down does sometimes come lose which does not allow the watch to come off but will free the end of the strap to flail around which can get annoying, it is simple to place the end of the strap back in its clip so not a big deal.
• Getting your Apple Watch in and out of the Lunatik Epik is a bit of a chore so if you plan on changing back to your Apple Watch straps at any point you will have to go through this process each time. For me this is not an issue since I keep my Apple Watch in the Lunatik Epik Apple Watch Case all the time.
• Lastly, I was not impressed with Lunatik's support, I initially reached out to them to let them know that I was planning on doing a review and sent emails to several of their key contact emails and did not get a single response back from Lunatik. I was not asking for any freebies or implying that I expected compensation, just a simple courtesy email. 

For anyone who is using their Apple Watch during high levels of activity and would like to have additional protection for their Apple Watch while still looking fashionable, I would have to say the Lunatik Epik line of Apple Watch Cases is a great option. Lunatik also sells the Epik in an Aluminum version and also a fully waterproof version called the H2O.