Vancouver Island Showdown - 5 Days Out

Peak Week is here and we are in the final stretch with only 5 days out to the Vancouver Island Showdown! This is what all the hard work has been for and now I just need to tuff out the last few days of lots of training and not so much eating. It's do or die and I don't want any regrets or to leave anything on the table. I have stayed exactly to my program and in the end I should be exactly where I need to be in 5 days.

At this point in time my mind will start playing games with me, did I do enough, am I ready, am I lean enough, big enough... Some days are better than others but at this point there is not much more I can do so I hope the magic of peak week will prevail and it will all come together.

Over the next few days right up until Thursday evening it will be low calorie, low fat and low carb eating under 2000 calories per day and trying to burn as much as 4000 calories total via workouts, walks and posing, this should result in about another 3 pounds of body fat stripped from my body, those last little bits that make all the difference on stage and could mean 1st place or 3 place.

Starting Thursday evening it's time to start carbing back up by dropping protein and eating almost entirely carbs, this will fill me in for show day adding about 5-7 pounds of glycogen and water directly in the muscle. I am still in the mid to high 190's so I expect to walk on stage right around 200 pounds, this will be the heaviest I have been so far on stage and I hope to do it in as good if not better condition than past shows. At least that is the goal!

Even though this week is mentally and physically very hard, I also find it super exciting and look forward to each day to see the changes that take place in my body over peak week, I can hardly wait to see what Saturday will bring!

Vancouver Island Showdown - 9 Days Out

I thought I would make a video that comprises at least part of my day and some of what goes into what it's like about a week before a Fitness Show, in the case the Vancouver Island Showdown. I didn't capture all of my day as my energy is getting low and to be honest I kind of forgot to get video for some of it.

Hopefully this will give you a little bit of an idea on what a typical day for me looks like a week out before one of my shows.

2 Weeks Out - Vancouver Island Showdown - New Date

Almost in the home stretch now only a couple of weeks away from the Vancouver Island Showdown where I will be competing in Open Physique sand Classic Physique classes. In terms of how I feel I am doing, I feel right on track, perhaps the heaviest I have ever been at 2 weeks out weighing in at 198 pounds this morning. This could be a concern but I feel I am right where I need to be in terms of body fat and how lean I am. This week will be fairly hard cutting as have been my last several weeks but I feel pretty good and the fat is still coming off nicely.

I have been adding in a one day weekend refeed and this past Saturday I ate at least 400 grams of carbs and did my best to match my maintenance calories for the day so around 3000 to 3500 or so. My body managed the carbs well and did not retain too much water the next day. This next week will be aggressive in terms of my calorie deficit of around 1500 calories Monday through Friday which I am hoping for another refeed day on Saturday again and then starting Sunday I will be low carbing it right up till Thursday night when I will start my carb up for the show.

My body feels pretty good overall with no real injuries other than a bit of a sore foot which makes walking a bit painful at least at the start but I am holding in there OK and if need be I will substitute some biking that will reduce the stress on my foot. This week should fly by quickly as my days are full with lots of walks, weight training, posing and of course work. I hope to make a video this week where I blog an entire day from start to finish, at least the highlights...

Contest Prep - The Not So Fun Stuff

I am sure most people will understand that Contest Prep is hard work and just because I may post lots of photos of delicious looking meals and an ever changing body that looks more and more conditioned week to week. The truth of the matter is I don't often talk a lot about the challenges I face and there are many along the way.

I am not complaining as for the most part I actually enjoy the process even with the hard parts, I like the challenge of seeing just how hard I can push myself each time and try and get in even better shape then my previous shows.

The reality is it's not always super fun and here are some of the hard parts that at least for me I find come up during contest prep...

Body aches and pains, the more I exercise the more my body starts to break down, all the walking and weight training and with a lack of food to help with repair my body really does get soar. I struggle with knee pain, foot pain and muscle and joint pain, usually it's just annoying but it can get so bad that I may have to alter what I am doing to make it to show day.

Fatigue is also a huge consequence of contest prep and cutting weight. Being in a substantial calorie deficit day to day with only a few refeeds along the way really wears down on a person and after a while the body starts sending messages to stop moving in the form of physical exhaustion. This is not an all then time feeling for me but it does come in waves and can be hard to get motivated when it hits me hard. This is when I push through even more as I find getting active helps me overcome the feeling of exhaustion.

Moodiness is another side effect of contest prep, being hungry, in pain and exhausted makes a person a bit short tempered so I really need to watch this and make sure I don't take it out on my family and the people I care about, even people I don't for that matter;)

And then there is the fact that I am self absorbed and so my family gets neglected at times. During contest prep I have a lot on my plate to juggle and I will have to say no to family and friends as there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Of course I have to give up many social functions and if I do go to them then I can not really enjoy them like normal as I am restricted in my food and drink so it can be tuff watching everyone else indulge and let loose while I eat my pre-prepared food and drink my zero calorie beverages.

There are for sure more challenges that come up but these are the main ones I can think of off the top of my head. So when you see someone that has made it to show day and you may think wow, that must feel awesome, yes it does feel awesome to obtain that goal but getting there does come at a cost. It comes down to what is most important to you in the end and for me I am willing to give up some of simple joys and pleasures in life in the short term to be able to look back and say I did my best and accomplished my most with no regrets.

3 Weeks Out - Vancouver Island Showdown - New Date

It's getting close to crunch time now with the Vancouver Island Showdown only 3 weeks away! Generally I consider 2 weeks out crunch time and if I am on track then crunch time isn't so bad but if I am behind even a bit, it can get pretty tuff! Right now I figure I am on track but I will know more next week around this time. I am up a few pounds but I did have a refeed on Sunday and the weather is super hot and humid which will make you retain water. It will cool off over the next few days and I will also dry out a bit from the weekend higher calories and more carbs.

My body weight was 201.5 midday today and should be closer to around 197-198 so I am holding a good 3-4 pounds of water... My InBody H20 home body composition scales says I am 8.2% body fat today, down over a percent from last week and generally my at home InBody scale is at least 1% higher than the gym Pro InBody scale I test myself with. So I am hoping I am in the mid 7% body fat range which makes getting to right around 5% body fat very doable.

Last week went well in terms of diet, calories and macros and is the reason I am down a solid body fat percent, making sure I was hitting my calorie deficit daily. This week will again be much like last week with 2-3 walks per day, why main weight training workout and some posing practice added in. This will yield anywhere  from 1500 to as high as 2000 calories worth of active exercise and out me in a 1000-1500 daily calorie deficit. Once I hit 2 weeks out I may have to make some change, my eating will tighten up a bit and I won't be able to get away with my weekend refeed but I am closing in on the goal and that will keep my mind off the sacrifices I have to make in exchange for being in my best shape possible.