We are officially less than a week away, just five days out from the 2026 Vancouver Fall Classic!

This final week is arguably the most exciting (and complex) part of the entire competition prep. A lot happens to the body in these last few days, so I want to break down exactly where I’m at, my strategy for "peak week," the actual science behind carb loading, and a slightly scary mishap I had over the weekend.

Current Stats: Where I’m At

Right now, I'm weighing in around 185 to 186 lbs.

According to my body fat scale, I’ve been sitting right around 5% for the last two weeks, and it’s even ticked up slightly. But here's the catch: I am incredibly dry right now. When your body is depleted of water and glycogen, body fat scales get confused. They read the lack of water as a lack of muscle, which artificially inflates your body fat percentage.

Realistically, I’m sitting somewhere close to the very low 5% range. Once I start carbing up and rehydrating later this week, that scale reading is going to plummet as my muscles fill back out.

The Final Cut (Monday – Wednesday)

For the first half of this week, the goal is to scrub off that absolute last 1 to 2 pounds of stubborn fat.

• Calories: Dropped to about 1,500 – 2,000 max per day (a near 2,000-calorie deficit).

• Macros: Very low carb (under 100g per day), keeping it mostly protein with a little bit of fat.

• Training: Taking it easy. Monday through Wednesday is all about getting a light pump. I’m just pushing blood into the muscles without risking any injury or inflammation. By Thursday, I’ll drop weight training entirely. I'll also be cutting way back on my walking to conserve energy for the carb load.

The Science of Carb Loading (Wednesday Evening – Friday)

Starting Wednesday evening, the real magic happens: the carb reload. I’ll start with about 300g of carbs on Wednesday night, bump it to 500-600g on Thursday, and push 600 to 700g on Friday depending on how my muscles are filling out.

The Biggest Carb Loading Mistake: A lot of competitors are so terrified of gaining fat during peak week that they eat their carbs while staying in a calorie deficit. If you do this, your body just burns those carbs for energy! To force those carbs (glycogen) into the muscle, you must be in a calorie surplus. I’ll be eating at least 1,000 calories over maintenance to ensure those carbs go exactly where they need to. Over these two days, I won't lose fat, but I won't gain any either.

The Thinner Skin Effect: It’s a crazy science. Every one part of glycogen brings three parts of water into the muscle. By staying properly hydrated and keeping my electrolytes (sodium, potassium) balanced, that glycogen will literally pull the water out from under my skin and into the muscle tissue. This is what gives you that full, dry, "paper-thin skin" look on stage. You can't cut your water and sodium, or this process just won't work!

Show Logistics & The Cost of Competing

I've decided to book a hotel right near the venue for Friday night. My first tan is at 6:00 AM on Saturday, so staying close saves me from a super early morning commute and gives me a comfortable home base to relax and prep my meals on show day.

Speaking of the hotel, I wanted to touch on the reality of what a show like this costs. Between the $150 membership, $150 per category (and I might do up to four!), a $150 tan, my wife's tickets, and the hotel... we are easily looking at over $1,000+ just to step on stage, not including food or media packages. We don't get paid for this; we pay to be the entertainment! But to me, it's worth every penny. It's a journey. I love pushing this old body to the limit. I feel like I've been given a second chance at life, and I'm not going to waste it sitting on the couch eating potato chips.

A Quick Halloween Mishap...

Finally, I have to share a quick story. I was at a Halloween murder mystery party this weekend. I was playing the murder victim, and when the lights went out, I was supposed to drop to the floor and play dead.

Well, in the pitch black, I went down and smashed the side of my head directly into a solid metal table. I cut my ear up pretty good and bruised my jaw so badly it was hard to chew my food for a couple of days! Thankfully, I didn't hit my temple or my face. Given that I'm on blood thinners, a facial bruise could have been a disaster for the stage. I was completely sober, just a victim of committing a little too hard to my acting role in the dark!

Could have been worse, but we survived, and we are ready to go.

Thanks for following along on this journey, everyone. Make sure to subscribe, and I'll be posting more videos and updates as the week unfolds, straight through to show day.

Time to go hit a quick pose—see you in the next one!