Not a lot to say in this 5 Weeks Out from the 2019 GNC / ALLMAX Canadian National Pro Qualifier. Everything is going as planned which is perfect! It's when you get hit with a surprise that it's time to get concerned... But for now the plan is to train hard, stay on point with my cutting diet and get a little bit tighter every week right up till show day. As promised this video also has some Tanning Booth Conditioning Update Video at the end!
We are now about 5.5 weeks out from the GNC / ALLMAX Canadian National Pro Qualifier where I am competing as a Master and Grand Master in Men's Physique attempting to earn my IFFB Pro Card! My goal is to post at least two videos per week where I talk about contest pre topics and give you updates on my progress and physique. Physique updates will happen towards the end of the week and other topics while be covered at the beginning of each week, at least that's the plan...
This week I am going over what I'm eating at this point in my contest prep and cover my daily calorie intake along with my macros. Right now I am sitting right around 2500 calories per day of food with my macros all fairly even, so 150 grams of protein, 150 grams of fat and 150 grams of carbs. Of course this is not exact but it is close. I know some people feel you need to cut back on the fats to lower calories but for me I just feel better with more fats and less carbs, I get way less bloat and feel more satiated with less cravings throughout the day on a higher fat diet.
I have been eating this way for a few months now eating about 2500 calories Monday to Friday with more flexible weekends but over the past month I have been getting a lot stricter on my weekends which is making a big difference in losing the fat. My weight has not dramatically changed as I am still right around 195 pounds but I am noticeably leaner and my strength has been slowly going up. All signs I am also building muscle not just losing fat.
Watch my video for some examples of what a typical day looks like in terms of how I eat. You may be a bit surprised as it is not what most people do during a contest prep ;)
We are officially 6 weeks out from the GNC / ALLMAX Canadian National Pro Qualifier, well tomorrow we will be and this is when it really starts to hit home. It's time to get super serious, no more bad food days, not that there have been many but it all comes down to these last 6 weeks. The last thing I want to do is not feel ready the last two weeks to show day. By then I should be almost in contest condition with only a little bit of fat left to shred off my body. It's way better to be over ready then be in a position where I am scrambling to lose more weight than I should have to.
Right now I obviously need to lose a fair amount more fat but this is OK since I am still adding more muscle and being too lean would make me way too tired, not to mention my body would not be in a state for building muscle. Watch my 6 Weeks Out YouTube Video where I share a lot of info about how I am going to manage this contest prep. There is some posing at the end for reference.
I wasn't even 100% sure if I was going to do a Fitness Show this year and was trying to decide between having to travel to some shows that offered a Pro Card or staying close to home and competing in a Regional Show for the fun of it. After much debate I had decided to keep the costs down and stay close to home and was going to do the Popeye's Fall Classic as I felt it was one of the best regional Show offerings in my area.
And then I did some more research taking a look at what it would actually cost me to travel to Toronto and compete at this years Canadian Nationals and it wasn't as much as I was expecting it to be. This may in fact be my last real chance at a Pro Card, after all I am 50 years old now and even as a Master I will be competing against some of the guys being 10 years younger than me.
I really don't mind competing against younger guys since I have competed in the Open Category a bunch of times but it does get a bit harder every year. Since I am 50 now I will be competing at the Canadian Nationals in Men's Masters Physique and Men's Grand Masters Physique which will give me two shots at being in the Overalls. At right around 8 weeks out I have a lot of work to do to bring my best package to stage ever! I feel I am right on track holding a good amount of muscle with not a lot of body fat and I am injury free for now, let's hope it stays that way right to show day.
The question I have been getting asked and that has been on my mind the most lately is "Will I Compete in a Fitness Show this Year?" To be honest I am not really sure and would like to get some feedback from you folks to see what you think I should do in 2019.
I've been keeping my options open by making sure I am training consistently and chipping away at gaining a little bit of size while staying relatively lean. Considering I am in what I call my off season (which is anytime I am not actually contest prepping), I'm about as big and lean as I have ever been so that means I wouldn't need a ton of time to contest prep but the more heads up the better of course.
There where a couple of shows I was considering that I will not be able to attend due to family commitments. The first show I was not able to attend was the Vancouver Island Showdown held this past June 15th. Dean Brandt had asked me to come as a part of TeamOldSchool which would have been a lot of fun!
The next show which is coming up that again I have family obligations at the same time is the Vancouver Pro Am which is a qualified show offering Pro Cards for Open Categories. The Vancouver Pro Am has classes for Master and Grand Master but no Pro Cards for Masters as far as I know, it still would have been a lot of fun competing with top level guys in my age category.
So that brings us to the shows that I am considering now and that as far as I know I do not have family obligations at least at this time ;) The first show coming up is the Amateur Olympia in Las Vegas being held mid September. Again there are no Pro Cards in the over 35 Masters Classes but they do offer multiple Pro Cards to the Open Classes. The downside to this show is cost since just to enter each class is $250 US, not to mention, flights, hotel, tanning, meal prep food to name a few.
I could also do this years Popeye's Fall Classic being held October 26th which is a well organized local show with amazing prizes and guest posing by none other than Big Ramy. I did Popeye's Fall Classic back in November of 2017 and not only had a great time but placed first in Open Physique Tall and third in Open Classic Physique. The advantage here is this show is right in my own back yard so costs are much lower and there is less pressure since it is a qualifying show with no Pro Cards to be had.
So first of all I want to ask everyone which show they think I should do? Secondly, and I am not even really sure how to go about this but I was hoping to find some sponsorship if I do decide to attend this years Amateur Olympia in Las Vegas since it will be rather costly (Around $1500-$2000 US). Sponsor or Sponsors will be mentioned in my all my Contest Prep Videos. Sponsor product or services should be related to the market I appeal to for best return on investment.
Friday, September 13, 2019 at 4:23PM ;)
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