55 Years Old Post Open Heart Surgery 2 Weeks Out

Here we are two weeks out form the Vancouver Open, the time is really flying by fast and we are getting really close now. Only two more weeks to get in peak shape and right now I feel I am on track and where I want to be. I know being the biggest version of me is not going to happen but I do feel like I will come in perhaps as conditioned if not maybe even more conditioned than I have ever been and that is not an easy task as there have been a few shows where I nailed my conditioning so that is a hard bar to beat but I will try nonetheless.

Any way, you be the judge as it gets harder and harder to be objective the closer I get to the contest, as the cutting game does begin to play with ones mind and skew reality just a bit. I still have some work to do and I am looking forward to the final results.

Getting it Done in the Gym - Vancouver Open / Pro Am 2024

I often get requests to make more Workout Videos or at least some video of me in the gym doing my thing. Usually when I am at the gym I just want to focus on the workout and so setting up and recording video can be a distraction so I rarely record my workouts.

I do have a very convenient camera for the task. My Insta360 GO2 and with its magnet case and built in mini tripod, I can fairly easily set it up almost anywhere which is what I did for this workout video. It actually was not too much of a distraction, so I will make the effort moving forward with this contest prep to get some more workout videos recorded for everyone. Not too many as they do get kind of repetitive after a while...

In this workout I recorded one set of the main exercises I performed starting with chest using the bench machine (also hit my lagging calf with it), then I moved on to back with some cable rows, followed by a mix of shoulder accessory work, I then finished up with some barbell shrugs and cable ab work.

Is There a Show in Store For Me Coming Up?

So here we go again... I know I was saying that I was pretty sure there where not going to be anymore shows in my future. My goal for the last year and a bit has been first of all to survive, once that was accomplished I wanted to get back to a somewhat normal life and that too was achieved, then I proceeded to for the most part do everything I was doing before with my doctors AOK and I am doing almost all of it with the exception of competing in a Fitness Show. So why not check that one off the list?

My Cardiologist has given me the green light to get back to normal life and do whatever it is I want to do with no limitations (obviously don't do anything stupid that would be harmful to ones heart). I feel great and I am in pretty decent shape to proceed the prep portion of getting ready to do a show and since I am fairly lean and have an OK base of muscle I should not have to push myself too hard and stress my body out too much. If I feel at any point that I am overloading myself I will either shut it down or back off as needed.

My goal is to get to the stage and be as competitive as I can be but I have no aspirations of winning or even placing that well as I know I will be out gunned so to speak by most of the other competitors as I will not be supplementing what is required to be competitive in an open show like the ones I hope to enter. For me that would not be a good idea and my health is the most important objective going into this event.

Watch my full video where I do go into more details about the shows I plan to attend: (the Vancouver Open and the Vancouver International Pro Qualifier). I also talk about my TRT and my plans with my TRT for the contest prep as there will be some changes made during my contest prep and I want to be fully transparent with everyone about this.

Vancouver Fall Classic 2022 Post Show Thoughts and Future Plans

So now that the Vancouver Fall Classic has come and gone, what are my final thoughts and what is next for this 53 year old body bodybuilder wannabe. Was I happy with how I looked for the show and in the show? Was I happy with how I placed in the show? Did I do everything I wanted to do? Could I have done more or made any changes in my contest prep? How is everything going now after the show, is my body bouncing back OK since post show stress can be even worse then pre show body stress? And what are my future plans moving forward now that the show is over and I have to go back to my regular mundane life ;)

I answer all of these questions and more for you in this video so grab a drink and bag of popcorn and sit back and watch the video...

53 Year Old Vancouver Fall Classic 2022 Show Day

So we made it to the Vancouver Fall Classic stage and for the most part everything went as planned. I stuck to my program and came in what I thought would be very close to my best condition in several years. If I am honest I don't think I was in my best condition? I have my doubts but really need to see my stage photos to know for sure. They really tell the truth, not that friend and family don't but they will always be rooting for you and have a bias that may not give you 100% accurate feedback.

As I have been talking about leading into this show I struggled with a bit of water retention in my face and to some degree that also showed up a little bit with stomach bloat, not so much in my skin but more under my skin and in my abdomen. I managed this fairly well in the morning show by using an over the counter diabetic called Watertight along with very limited water intake the night before and day of the show. I know I was not holding a lot of water for the morning show because I weight pretty much the same as I had weighed leading up to the show, in my weigh in and in the morning and right up to the day show which was right around 193 to 194 pounds.

Between the mornign Prejudging Show and the evening Awards Show I did have a reasonable sized lunch and I took a bit of fluids, this increased my weight from 193 to around 198 pounds so I went up a good 5 pounds but it was all water and it went a bit into my mid section and face, not really anywhere else and not too much into the skin but maybe a little bit. So I did feel. Little bit bloated on stage which was not exactly what I wanted for the evening show.

It could of been worse for sure but I feel I could have been tighter on stage if I did not have this water retentions issue going on, that said I did OK and placed 1st in Master's Classic Physique which was not a surprise as I was the only one in that class. I placed 1st in Masters Physique out of three competitors one of which I felt was a strong contender for sure so happy with that placing. In the open categories I placed 3rd in Tall Physique out of 5 guys all of which where half my age so again very happy with that placing and in Tall Classic Physique which is probably my weakest category I placed 7th out of 11 guys all of which where young other than me and another Master competitor.

So am I happy with the results? Yes and no, I feel like things fell apart the last week or two of my prep. It's like I strolled a bit, my body fat seemed to drop but I didn't see changes in my body as much as I should of and I believe it was a water retention problem because my weight did not change much even though my body fat did and I was having problem with my face holding onto water any time I changed my diet even a little bit when adding any carbs in.

I am posting this on the Monday after the show and right now I am 205 pounds so 12 pounds overweight in and stage weight and I did not go crazy with the food. I had to shut down the eating and drinking a lot because it was literally putting me into a coma every time I ate anything significant. The interesting things is I am not holding virtually any water anywhere other than my face and abdomen, my ankles and feet are fine, my skin in general is fairly thin everywhere other than my face. I do have a lot of bloat in my stomach which puts pressure on the organs and makes you feel lethargic.

So I guess it is in my best interest and health to go back to a much cleaner and low carb eating style which I am more use to but I was hoping to be able to enjoy a few meals and treats before getting back to more regulated eating. Maybe this is good in a way since I am less likely to put on unwanted weight and can stay leaner this time post show. I will keep you all updated on my health and how my post show recovery goes...