Road to Canadian Nationals - 8 Days Out Update Video

Closing in on a week from the time I get to step on stage at the Canadian Nationals and defend my 1st place title. I have been hard low carb dieting since Monday so 5 days now and so far I have been a good boy and sticking with my 2000 calorie deficit each day, the weekend will be a bit tougher since I won't be doing any weight training workouts but hopefully I can get some other activity in to make up for some of it. I'm still pretty sure I will be down about 4-5 pounds of fat by Wednesday which is exactly where I feel I need to be to be sage ready shredded. It will be interesting what the Bod Pod says my fat percentage is when I get tested Wednesday morning?

Next week will be a short workout week, Monday to Wednesday and then it's carb back up time, looking forward to that!

Road to Canadian Nationals - 10 Days Out Update Video

I am now on my third day of low calorie and low carb eating as I get closer to the CBBF Canadian Nationals where I am hoping to defend my 1st place title in Men's Masters Physique Tall Division.

I am only taking in about 1500-1600 calories per day while I am expending closer to 3500-3600 calories per day so this puts me at a deficit of around 2000 calories per day. This will shed the remaining fat very quickly, about a pound every two days. My protein intake still remains high (over 200 grams) while my carbs and fats are very low, about 100 grams of carbs and around 30 grams of fats.

So far so good, it took a couple days for my body to adjust to the low carbs but my energy felt good today so I am pretty sure I am in ketosis (burning fat as fuel).

I also made arrangements to get some body composition testing done next Wednesday which will be 3 days before contest day so I will be in pretty much peak shape and about as lean as I will be getting. The two composition tests I am doing are the "FIT3D" Body Scanner and the "Bod Pod" Body Composition Pod.

Last year three days out from the Canadian Nationals I also had the "FIT3D" Body Scan which creates a 3D avatar with all of your body dimensions. So this time around it will be really cool to see what has changes since then, hopefully for the better!

The "Bod Pod" is something new that I have never done before but is claimed to be the gold standard in body composition testing to find out lean body mass and overall body fat percentage. It does this by figuring out how much volume of air your body displaces to figure out your mass and only takes about 5 minutes.

In past shows I have guesstimated that I'm right around 5% or just a hair under, I guess we'll see what the "Bod Pod" says?

Road to Canadian Nationals - 12 Days Out Update Video

I can see the finish line now, the last two weeks prior to a contest like the Canadian Nationals fly by quickly but can be two of the most important prep weeks going into a body building competition. For me it's my lowest calorie intake time (About 1600 per day) and I reduce carbs to a bare minimum (Under 100 grams) to depleted my body so it is ready to absorb all those precious carbs on contest day and fill in while still staying shredded.

Today was my first low carb day, I eat pretty moderate carbs anyway so it's not too bad but over the next few days I will be craving carbs big time :) I just have to remember my end game plan and put up with feeling low energy and my body being depleted for a little while.

Road to Canadian Nationals 4 Weeks Out Update Video

It's getting down to crunch time as we are now 4 weeks out from the CBBF Canadian Nationals where I am competing in Men's Masters Physique and hoping to have a shot at the IFBB Pro Card.

I mentioned in an earlier video that was planning on also entering the Muscle Insider Male Muscle Model Search that will be held at the Vancouver Pro Am. I am for sure on board to attend this Model Search and it is happening this weekend.

I need to tighten up just a little for this show, I am not really sure what the judges are looking for but I am hoping it is not National level conditioning since I'm not there yet but I am not far off and hope that I will hit the sweet spot they are looking for. Who really knows and are they looking for a younger or older look? Maybe a pretty boy or perhaps a more weathered look like what I bring :)

Anyway it will be great fun, some extra practice up on stage posing, extra exposure and you never know where it could lead to. Heck I may even win and take home some money and other prizes!

Road to Canadian Nationals 6 Weeks Out Update Video

In terms of my current condition I have to say all is going well, around 7 weeks ago I started out my contest prep for the CBBF Canadian Nationals where I am competing in Men's Masters Physique hoping to keep my 1st place title in tall division and perhaps even get my IFBB Pro Card this year?

So far contest pre has consisted of trying to maintain weight while putting on muscle and losing fat, as expected form previous contest preps that is exactly what has happened so far, I was 195 pounds seven weeks ago and I am still 195 pounds today, except I am stronger and leaner so it's pretty obvious that I am carrying more muscle and less fat then when I began.

With 6 weeks to go I still have another 2 weeks where I can make some more gains in the muscle department, I do plan on changing my calorie form a maintenance program to a very slight deficit of 500 per day which should help me lose about a pound per week, this is very conservative as I do not need to lose a lot more fat and should allow me to still perform at 100% in the gym. Once I get down to my last 4 weeks I will reassess my condition and see what I need to do and if I need to drop more calories or not.

I recently decided that I will be entering in the Muscle Insider Muscle Model Search which is being held at this years Vancouver Pro Am BC Championships in early June. I figure I will be 3 weeks out for this event and should be in pretty decent condition so why not, I could even win $1000 and get featured in the Muscle Insider Magazine! Let's hope they're looking for an older esthetic looking guy :) Well that's it for now, feeling good and looking forward to competing soon!