3 Days Out Last Workout - Vancouver Open

As promised here is a workout video, now only 3 Days Out from the Vancouver Open. I do get requests to make workout videos and even though right now I am pretty tired in the gym, and the idea of having to setup a camera and make a point of recording workout videos is yet one more thing I have to add in to my day... That said I don't get this lean very often and having a video record of it is probably a good idea :)

So I did what I could, I again used my Insta360 GO2 Mini Camera as I can stick it just about anywhere as it has a magnetic mount setup. This way I did not have to mess around with a tripod and this was a lot less inconspicuous for sure.

Today was mainly an upper body focused workout and was my last scheduled workout before the show, so I did a quick 5-6 sets or so for Chest, Back, Shoulders and the added in a few extra accessory exercises for Traps, Abs and Calves, (Calves didn't get recorder). I did not go too hard as I don't want to get any inflammation before the show. Over the next couple of days I may do some exercises mainly just to get some blood flow into the muscles to help with Glycogen intake.

Love This little Guy - The BETAFPV Pavo Pico

Even with all the contest prep going on I really wanted to get a quick flight with one of my FPV Drones. It kind of relaxes me and allows me to get everything out of my mind for the 5 or so minutes of battery I have while I am flying around. An FPV Drone requires 100% concentration or it will end up in a tree or lost in some bushes somewhere.

I have a strange addiction to the smaller super compact FPV drones and now have a bit of a collection of them all well under 250 grams some even under 100 grams and most have digital Video System which allow me use them with my DJI Digital Goggles that have a 1080p screen. The difference in quality between an analog VTX and a digital VTX is very remarkable. This higher video quilty allows me to navigate the world I am flying in surprisingly well, with few surprise branches jumping out at me and shortening my already short flight times.

In this video I take out my BETAFPV Pavo Pico FPV which I installed a DJI Vista VTX in, this is the older DJI Digital Video system but what you see in this video is exactly what I see in my DJI Goggles while I am flying it.

5 Days Out Update Video - Road to Vancouver Open

We are in the home run now with only 5 days before I show my final result at the Vancouver Open Fitness Contest. In this video I go over how I am feeling physically and mentally, if I think I am ready or not for the show, what my plans are day to day and also how my resent carb load went and if it was enough carbs or maybe I need more?

I can say I am for the most part happy with this contest prep, I have stuck to the plan 100% and so far the results are exactly as I envisioned them to be. Health is on my side this time and it makes all the difference as my body is not fighting me anymore. I will try and get some more videos out this week but we will see how it all goes, for sure I will make some shorts so make sure to keep checking back on my channels for those videos to stay up to speed with how everything is going day to day.

1 Week Out Update Posing Video - Road to Vancouver Open

I always feel like the last week before a show is when it really starts to get real for me. At this point I am either ready or things have not gone as planned and I am scrambling to try and make the best of a not so ideal prep that may have gone poorly either by lack of planning or my body did not cooperate. I do have to say that most of the time when things are not the way I want them to be, it was because my body was not on my side and that has been the case the last few shows. I was not aware my heart was in such poor condition and it could only do as much as it could do, and then it just could not keep up with the demand I was putting on it.

I am happy to say, I believe I am ready for this show and my body is finally on my side again which has made this prep so much easier this time around. By easy I mean I am getting back what put in to it, and that is all I can ask for. In terms of conditioning, I am really happy with where I am and only really need to lose a pond or two in the right places to dial in the conditioning the way I wanted it to be for this show. Size wise, I am not my biggest version or even close to it, but I don't mind giving up a bit of size for much better conditioning and my expectation for this show was to not be that big as my health is the focus. I have put on some muscle and the conditioning is helping to make the best of it.

So here we are one week out from the Vancouver Open Fitness Contest and I am ready to smash this week and do what ever it is I need to do to peak for the show. I have included some posing in this video so you can take a look for yourself and see exactly where I am at 1 week out.

12 Days Out Update Video - Road to Vancouver Open

I made another walk and talk video, this time talking about what's going on 12 days out from the Vancouver Open Fitness Contest I will be entering into after over a year and a half off due to my open heart surgery to replace my bicuspid aortic valve and aneurism of the aortic root.

I go over how I am feeling in terms of energy and hunger. Where I am at body composition wise (what my body fat percentage is, what my skeletal muscle tissue is and what my weight is currently). I also talk about a resent carb refeed I had and how that effected me in the gym and with water weight.

For the most part I a feel I am right on track and so will keep things as they are since they still seem to be working. If anything changes, I will make whatever adjustments I need to and that could even be adding in more food or potentially reducing some of the activity I am doing depending on how I feel and look.