2 Days Out - Bring on the Carbs - Vancouver Open

Over the next couple of days before the Vancouver Open I will try my best to vlog as much of each day as I can, or at least the more interesting stuff. At 2 days out I get to start carbing up, and so for me that is super exciting since I have been eating almost nothing but protein and veggies with very little carbs now for several months...

Today's video really focuses on me eating a bunch of carbs but I also have some walk and talk and a bit of posing which I think is really looking good now. I mean I still need to keep working on the posing but I am lean enough now that I am able to make what I have (Down sized a bit for this show) look pretty good.

I didn't talk a lot about how I am feeling in this video, that will be more for tomorrow in my 1 Day Out Video but I can say I feel really good, hunger has been very manageable and energy has stayed high even during peak week. It is amazing what a healthy heart can do for a fellow :)

3 Days Out Last Workout - Vancouver Open

As promised here is a workout video, now only 3 Days Out from the Vancouver Open. I do get requests to make workout videos and even though right now I am pretty tired in the gym, and the idea of having to setup a camera and make a point of recording workout videos is yet one more thing I have to add in to my day... That said I don't get this lean very often and having a video record of it is probably a good idea :)

So I did what I could, I again used my Insta360 GO2 Mini Camera as I can stick it just about anywhere as it has a magnetic mount setup. This way I did not have to mess around with a tripod and this was a lot less inconspicuous for sure.

Today was mainly an upper body focused workout and was my last scheduled workout before the show, so I did a quick 5-6 sets or so for Chest, Back, Shoulders and the added in a few extra accessory exercises for Traps, Abs and Calves, (Calves didn't get recorder). I did not go too hard as I don't want to get any inflammation before the show. Over the next couple of days I may do some exercises mainly just to get some blood flow into the muscles to help with Glycogen intake.

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.

55 Years Old Post Open Heart Surgery 3.5 Weeks Out Posing Update

This video was made 3.5 weeks out from my first show since my Open Heart Surgery back in January of 2023. I plan to compete first at the Vancouver Open on July 6th, and then if everything is still going well, I will also compete at the Vancouver International Pro Qualifier July 13th. I am not sure if I will be competing in both Physique and Classic Physique or just Physique this time around, and what categories I will register for? Open? Masters? Grand Masters? We will see closer to the day and how I look...

Right now I feel on track with a body fat percentage in the single digits, I need to get it down at least 3-4 more points to be stage ready. This should not be a problem as I will be losing about 2 pounds of fat per week which will drop my body fat 6-8 pounds. For around every 2 pounds or so of fat, I will drop 1% body fat so this should get me where I want to be come show day.

Now I need to start my posing practice as I am a little rusty with not a lot of time to get the rust out. I feel really good and so far I am not having any food cravings or hunger issues and I still feel I have a good level of energy. As I get closer my diet will become more and more strict so that will change near the end but I should not have to suffer too much!

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.