1 Day Out - Almost There - Vancouver Open

The time has gone by so fast in this contest prep to get to the stage foe the Vancouver Open and the work is done other than just trying to fine tune my water and fullness for show day by ramping up the carbs and filling in from a very depleted state.

No matter what happens tomorrow I will be OK with it as a little over a year ago I was not sure if I would even be a part of this world anymore. The idea of doing a show was the furthest thing from my mind, I just wanted to survive and be around for my family and be able to be a somewhat productive person for myself and the people in my life.

Well my excitations have been surpassed beyond belief, and this contest prep has solidified that in my mind, I am not only back to a state of good health but I feel better than I have can remember going back even into my teens and early 20's. Nothing short of a miracle had been bestowed upon me and I am thankful.

So what does this video compose of mainly? Some eating, some exercise, some grooming and preening, some contemplation about life and this journey in particular, Some self doubt but not too much...

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.

One Year Later - Open Heart Surgery

One year ago today I was lying on an operating table with my chest open on bypass surgery with a surgeon stitching a new mechanical Aortic Valve and root onto my heart. I did not know at the time if the operation would be successful or not. The team of doctors had informed me that there was a possibility that I may need a heart transplant if my heart did not start working again on it's own after the bypass surgery. I was also told there was no way to know for sure as to what extent my heart would recover after the new valve and root where replaced.

Before the operation my heart was double the normal size and my Bicuspid Aortic valve was barely working, resulting in an injection fraction of 18% combined with an aneurism above the valve that made it double the normal diameter to 6cm. All very bad and if untreated, I may have only had weeks to live.

Jump ahead now one year and I would have to say I can only explain my recovery as a miracle. My Cardiologist has reassured me that my heart is in perfect working condition now, and I can expect a long healthy life. My heart has now returned to normal size and my injection fraction tested a few months ago was 58%.

I am officially back to regular life and doing everything and then some that I was doing before, but now feeling so much better doing it all. God is good, life is good, and friends and family mean so much. Thank you to everyone that have been supporting me along the way with words of encouragement and positive thoughts. It has meant so much to me and I will never forget it.

Finally Starting TRT - 8 Months Post Operation

It's been a real journey in terms of how I feel. There have been ups and downs for sure and I know I am very blessed to have what I have, even if I am not optimal at this moment. There is nothing wrong with trying to feel and be better, to optimise ones health not just for the body but also the mind.

I was fortunate enough to have my appointment with my endocrinologist moved up a couple of weeks and the appointment went well. My doctor was concerned with my low Testosterone and enlightened me that some of the heart drugs I am taking can also affect Testosterone production making it low. This was news to me! I am not sure if this was a big contributor but it is worth mentioning...

As my Testosterone has been fluctuating between 1 and 1.2 nmol/L I have been put on a TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) to get me to a target range of 20 nmol/L which will hopefully allow me to feel a lot better and get my life back.

I am not looking for huge muscle gains from the TRT as a level like this is right about in the middle of what is natural and normal. Rather I just want to feel good and have more motivation and energy so I can do the work it takes to achieve the fitness level I aspire to.

So here we are at the beginning of my TRT! in this video I talk  more about the specifics and also show you what I am looking at these days, could be a lot worse for sure but hoping to make some improvements over time...

 

7 Months Post Operation - Short Term TRT

Here we are just over 7 month post Open Heart Valve replacement back in January of this year. If you have been following my journey then you will know I am doing pretty good overall considering I almost died. My Testosterone levels on the other hand are almost non existent as I have been completely off of TRT since early January. My last bloodwork results came in at 1 nmol/L which is lower than some women.

In my last video I talked about hoping on a quick round of Testosterone to get some of my life back as I was really struggling in many areas but my main concern is how that will affect my upcoming bloodwork right before seeing an endocrinologist. My plan was to get on something fast acting that is in my system in and out quickly so I can come off of it about two weeks before and hopefully not affect my bloodwork too much but it will no matter what.

In this video I talk about all of this and go into more detail about what I am doing and how it has affected me.