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!
About a month ago I was asking everyone what show I should go into, there where a few options for me... The Amateur Olympia in Las Vegas and even the Canadian Nationals in Toronto, all my option are within about a month of each other so timing wise they work out. But when it came down to it I decided to go with Popeye's Fall Classic 2019 since it is a local show which means a lot less cost for me to attend and a lot easier on my family not having me away traveling on my own.
The only real downside is there is no opportunity for a Pro Card at the Popeye's Fall Classic since it is an unqualified show. That said Popeye's Fall Classic is one of the best local events with a big turnout and lots of top level athletes to compete against. At least that's what I found last time I went two years ago. Popeye's Fall Classic also gives out some really nice prizes to the overall winners including a really nice 4EverFit mountain bike, photo and video shoots, I believe some sort of $1000 gift card and of course a bunch of supplements! And this year Big Ramy is the guest poser! Wow!
My plan is to compete as a Grand Master in Physique along with the Open class to rub shoulders with the kids! I am not sure about Classic Physique even though last time I placed 3rd in Open, some room for improvement here... So I am looking at a timeline for this show to contest prep of about 3 months. I only have one more short holiday to factor in coming up in about 2 weeks so this will not get in the way, after that it will be go time in terms of cutting down, until then I will do my best to put on some size. Let's see what this old 50 year old can do representing the Grand Masters this year!
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.
Well I'm back from holidays, the family and I had a great time vacationing in sunny California where we stayed at the WorldMark Resort over at Oceanside. The best part for me was I just ate what I wanted to and took a break from everything training related for the most part.
I actually ended up losing about 5 pounds but I am sure some of it was water, some was glycogens and perhaps a little bit of fat since I was not stuffing my face with food like I was while on my bulk leading up to this vacation. Right now I am back up to around 213 even though I started a slight calorie deficit this week, most likely added glycogens from my workouts and some water getting back into my system.
When I got back I did a full body Sculpt Aim Body composition scan on myself and was surprised to see that I was under 10% even after the long bulk and holiday I snuck in at 9.8% body fat and a 99.3 Muscle Quality.
I am about 11.5 weeks out for the Vancouver Pro Am, sorry no posing just yet, really not much has changed since my birthday posing video as I was away for a week and a half on holiday and only recently started training again. Once I feel I have made at least a bit of a body composition change I will make a quick posing video for everyone.
The next 11 weeks or so it's go time, nothing but hard trying and structured eating. My plan is to scrub a little bit of fat till I get down to a percentage I'm more comfortable with but that still lets me to train hard and then the last month I will start cutting hard again. I hope to step on stage right around 205 to 210 at around 5% body fat or lower if I can add some more muscle over my last show which was the 2017 Popeye's Fall Classic where I competed in Classic Physique and Open Men's Physique.
I know I should have made this video a little bit sooner but I needed to relax a bit and take a few days off after all the work that went into competing at this years Popeye's Fall Classic.
So how did I do? I feel I did pretty good considering I competed in the "Open" class for both Men's Physique and Classic Physique. In my tall height divisions for both categories there where 13 very competitive athletes that I went up against and most of them where about half my age at least!
In the end I won 1st place in Physique and I got 3rd place in Classic Physique which I am very proud of since I really didn't know what to expect competing in a new class that features legs and a lot of posing.
I always hope to get an overall but it did not happen yet again, there seems to be a course on me when it comes to overalls, this one was my third attempt at an overall award and it slipped by me yet again. The fellow that won the overall in Open Physique also won the overall in Classic Physique so he got double of everything when it came to the prizes - lucky guy! He for sure looked good but then so did I and I kind of felt I had a little more size in the right places and as good if not better conditioning to take the overall but it's always up to the judges at the end of the day and you have to accept what they decide.
Speaking about conditioning, I did get called out on stage to accept the "Ripped Freak Award" for being the most notably shredded competitor that day!
Enjoy my YouTube video and watch it till the end as I have some high quality stage photos of the event included.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 11:42PM 
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