Short Road to Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 - Show Day!

It's all said and done and I know it always take me at least a day or tow to get my Show Day video out so one day after the fact for me is doing pretty good. I did post my results on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so if you are not following me on any of those platforms then get hooked up for more instant info.

Before I get into the details of how I did, I feel a perspective is required. In both categories that I competed in there where at least 50 guys, most of which completed in the Open Category (Any Age so most of them where in their 20's to 30's). So a good turnout of competitors.

OK so here's how I did. In Men's Open Classic Physique (Which is not the category I focus on), I placed 3rd out of around 15 of the tall division competitors that for the most part all came well prepared for the show. Keep in mind on check-in day I weighed in at 190 pounds but I am allowed to be up to 212 pounds based on my height, so a lot of the guys I went head to head against where out sizing me by a good 20 pounds. That said I feel my posing and conditioning really helped me out to get third place which I am really proud to achieve considering I could be the father to most of the guys I was standing on stage with.

My main focus category, Men's Open Physique, I placed 1st again in my tall class which had 5 guys in it, and again all the fellows looked great and worked hard to get to that stage prepared so the win was not an easy one. As a first place winner of my height category, I was then given the opportunity to be in the Overalls with the other winners of their height categories. Which meant for Men's Open Physique there was a total of 4 of us fighting to be the Overall Winner. It was a real battle but while I was on stage I felt the judges where really paying a lot of attention to me which is a good thing, after the comparisons we went back to our stage positions and waited for the announcement of who the Overall Winner was going to be and after what seemed like forever I finally heard my number and name called and I got to tell you it was a very emotional feeling that came over me, in some ways relief that I had finally won an Overall and also the felling of absolute appreciation to the judges for picking me out of everyone that worked so hard to be there that day.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of photos or video to show you but when it does become available I will post it for sure. I did pay for professional Stage photos so I can promise those will be included in a video when I get them.

Short Road to Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 - 1 Day Out

One more sleep to go, well I say that but I always have a hard time getting a good sleep the bight before a show, too much excitement and thoughts going on in my head. I usually wake up way before my alarm goes off and it's set early believe me so I usually just get up at that point and do something productive like posing practice or getting last minute stuff ready.

Today I got a lot done, stuff like shaving my entire body, getting one last tanning session in, a nice upper body pump over at BodyByBrandt where Dean Brandt also gave me some posing practice tips that really helped out a lot.

I will also be getting my spray tan done early Saturday morning by Leigh Brandt "ProEliteTan" so this time around I will be just as dark as everyone else, not taking any chances at Popeye's Fall Classic!

I also went to the Athletes check-in and meeting, well kind of. I did not get the email telling me that the venue had changed locations and I ended up traveling from Coquitlam to Richmond and back to Coquitlam again in rush hour but did make it just in time to get signed in and setup for the show.

So now it's off to bed for me and hopefully I can get at least a few hours of restful sleep before tomorrow...

Short Road to Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 - 2 Days Out

Here we are just 2 days out from the Popeye's Fall Classic at the Hard Rock Casino here in Vancouver BC. Not a crazy day but still lots to get done...

I started things out with my morning 3+ mile walk with Sammy my good boy, of course I also had to get some work done in the afternoon, then I went and did a 1.5 hour workout followed by a quick stand up tan. Then I picked up the kids from school followed by some posing practice at home. After the posing I had a quick shower and then my wife and I took Jordan our daughter along with her friend to a haunted house and corn maze in Chilliwack. This took about 3 hours in total which gave my wife and I a little bit of time to go for a second shorter walk.

Once at home I had a second exfoliating shower so I could apply my spray on tan. I then did some more posing practice for about 45 minutes followed by my late night snack. What will tomorrow bring?

Short Road to Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 - 3 Days Out

This is a bit of a surprise well at least for me! Originally I was going to enter Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 since it was a local show and right around the timeline that I felt I would be ready. I then changed my mind and decided on the GNC ALLMAX Canadian National Pro Qualifier. Since I didn't get my Pro Card that means I am still an amateur and can enter any amateur Fitness show so why not do the Popeye's Fall Classic after all I'm in contest shape even after a couple bad days of eating. I'm back on a food plan and everything is tightening up again for the upcoming weekend.

Perhaps I feel like I need a second chance to redeem myself, I felt like I brought my best version yet to the Canadian Nationals but apparently the judges did not seem to agree? So here we go again putting myself in front of the scrutiny of others to decide if I am what they are looking for. No matter what I will have fun and enjoy the show, Popeye's Fall Classic really is one of the best regional shows that I have been in with excellent prizes and guest posers. Wish me luck!

Road to the Canadian Nationals 2019 - Show Day!

Sorry for such a delay in getting this last and final Road to the Canadian Nationals 2019 Show Day Video out. If you are expecting to see show video or photos there will not be any since they did not allow any cameras to be used back stage or on the show floor. I did pay for professional stage photos so when I get those I will be making a video with them to show you what I looked like on stage with the other guys.

So what happened? Well I got 1st place in Grand Masters, there where three of us, all 50 years old that put the time and effort in to make it to that qualified stage, I'm not sure where all the other 50+ year olds where?Perhaps out for beers with their buddies, not a bad option really ;)

Unfortunately this show did not allow the winner of the Grand Master Class to go into the Overalls with the regular Masters Devision, I don't see what the harm would have been in it but not up to me? The only way for a chance at the Overalls for me is if I got first place in my Masters Tall Class but unfortunately this did not happen, I placed 4th out of 8 well deserving guys. Do I feel 4th was justified? I'm not really sure since I don’t have any real reference photos or video to look at right now, when I get my stage photos it will give me a better idea on how I compared to the rest of the guys in my class. I can say the guys that placed above me had a more bigger and blockier looking builds compared to what I consider my build to be which is Aesthetic, proportioned and conditioned.

It is what it is and I am very happy with what I brought to the GNC / ALLMAX Canadian National Pro Qualifier Stage. I brought the my most muscle ever with top level conditioning weighing close to 200 pounds on stage day at right around 5% body fat. This may have even exceeded my expectations so no regrets on my end.

What's in store for me? I'm not sure and will not be making any long term decisions any time soon, for now it's back to eating and living healthy and enjoying all aspects of life.