Road to the Vancouver Open Regionals - 6 Weeks Out Posing

Officially we are now 6 weeks out at the time I recorded this video, which was on Saturday May 31st. The Show (Vancouver Open Regionals) is being held on July 12th in Abbotsford BC Canada which is nice and close to me. I am feeling really good and I am very happy with how everything is going. I would even go so far as to say this may be the best conditioned I am at 6 weeks out I have ever been. I have been bigger before in terms of muscle but that did not always work out for me as even at my biggest I generally get outsized by most of the guys on stage, so I my strategy has always been to try and at least out condition most of the guys to enhance what I have as much as possible.

The goal for this show was not to be super big as I just can't do that anymore. What it takes is just too hard on my body with a heart that has already been through a lot, and needs to be taken care of. My goal is to come into this years show with about 5 more pounds of muscle and with similar conditioning to last years same show, as I feel I was really well conditioned but last year I just did have enough time to get that added muscle I needed to be more competitive.

As I said, I feel really good, I still have lots of energy and no real hunger issues. I even raised my calories from around 2000 per day up to 2500 per day as I was losing a bit too much fat a bit too quickly. I want to kind of stay in the area I am right now till perhaps 4 weeks out, and then reassess my calorie intake to slowly lose the last 5-6 pounds of fat or so I need to trim, to get into the 5-6% body fat range I need to be in. The Body Composition Scale (Evolt Active) at my local gym says I am in the mid 6% body fat ranges, but I think it is being generous to me. I would say I am closer to a high 7% or low to mid 8% body fat currently. I am also holding really close to 190 pounds which is great. Over the next 3 to 4 weeks I hope to add a couple more pounds of muscle and maybe lose about the same in fat and then it will be time to get shredded :)

Vancouver Open Regionals 6 Plus Weeks Out Update

Getting closer by the day and here we are now at almost 6 weeks out from the Vancouver Open Regionals, where I plan to compete in Men's Physique and also Classic Physique. Im' still sitting right around 190 pounds, maybe a bit under in the morning, and according to the Evolt Active Body Composition machine at my gym, I am 6.3% body fat, but I think that is a bit on the low side. I feel more like around 7-8% which is a good place to be right now. At a month out, being between 6-7% would be ideal before I start the harder dieting adn cutting.

More importantly I am feeling really good, I have good energy most days, and I am not really all that hungry so far. I did increase my calorie intake a bit to around 2500 per day a few weeks back, as I felt I was dropping weight a little bit too quickly. I would like to have more muscle but that is always on the list, and I should be able to add a couple more pounds of it as I am not dieting very hard right now, and my workouts are still very productive.

Life has been busy as always with some projects I am working on, one being the new 2011 Zero XU Electric Motorcycle I am partially rebuilding, at least the electrical aspects of it. But I do like having projects on the go, they keep my excited and busy, maybe even a little bit distracted from some of the more negative things in life I don't want to be focusing on. In a few days on Saturday when it is officially 6 weeks out, I plan to make a Physique Update Video so watch for that one coming up.

Vancouver Open Regionals 2 Months Out Physique Update

I made this video 1 day after I was officially 2 month out from the Vancouver Open Regionals, where my plan is to compete in Men's Physique and more than likely also Classic Physique. At this point I am not sure what age categories I will be competing in as I can compete with younger athletes if I choose to be in an age class that is more competitive. Generally speaking the younger classes have higher caliber athletes in them.

I am very happy with where I am right now 2 months out. I have a lot of work to do but I also have a good amount of time to do it, and my weight and body fat are I would say perhaps better then past shows, even well before my heart surgery. I weigh about 190 pounds give or take a pound or two and my body fat is sitting at close to 8%, again give or take a little bit one way or the other.

My plan is over the next month to actually increase my calories a little bit to 2500 per day and see if I can gain a couple more pounds of muscle, 1 month out I will go into cutting mode, and shred the 2-3% of body fat I will need to get really shredded.

I am feeling really good and in no way am I low on energy or feeling any real hunger. Fingers crossed, I have no injuries or pains that are holding me back and if anything I am in the my best form 2 months out going into a show I have ever been. Again the goal is not be super big as I simply can not do what it would take in terms of performance enhancing options to get there.

I always strive to come in as conditioned as I can, so I can at least out condition most other competitors. Compared to last years show I feel I will be coming in with at least an additional 5 pounds more muscle, which if I am as conditioned will help out a lot as I was out sized buy pretty much everyone at the last show.

Vancouver Open Regional May Update Video

It's been about a month since I posted any updates about the Vancouver Open Regional Fitness Show I am preparing for. There is usually not a lot to really cover at the beginning since this is going to be a longer prep than last year, about 3.5 months in total. A lot has happened in the last month which has surprised me. My body like last year is really responding to the changes I make getting ready for a show. Better eating, more consistent training and training intensity, and I am trying to get a bit more sleep to help with recovery. Well it is all paying off as I have for sure trimmed up a lot and I am putting on muscle as planned.

At two months out (This coming up Saturday) I will be looking at where I am making some food changes, more than likely I will be increasing my food intake as I have dropped weight a bit too much and at the time I write this post I am sitting around 7-8% body fat, I really do not want to drop much lower than 7% as I still need to add some muscle and getting too lean could slow down muscle growth.

This is a great problem to have and being 2 months out and already within a few percentage points of being show conditioned means the last month when I generally have to cut hard and diet down will be much less stressful on my mind and body.

It Begins - 2025 Vancouver Open - 56 Years Old - Post Open Heart Surgery

So it begins yet at least one more time! Last year I did a show called the 2024 Vancouver Open Regionals and competed in the regionals which is "Open" to everyone, no qualifications required. I competed in Classic Physique 45+ along with Physique 40+ and Physique Open.

The goal of this show for me was to see how my body would respond now after the open heart surgery and to see if I could get anywhere near being somewhat competitive on stage. I did end up placing 3rd in Classic Physique 45+ and 3rd place in Physique Open, which I was happy with but more importantly I was very happy with how my body responded to the contest prep as it is very stressful on the body and I have to say this contest prep was probably one of the easiest and most comfortable I have ever done.

That brings us to this year and I have decided to compete again at this years Regional Vancouver Open which is on July 12th, so that gives me over 3 month to contest prep which is perfect. Last year I only had around 5-6 weeks to prep and my starting weight was 185 pounds with a body fat percentage in the high 9%. Right now I weigh 195 pounds with a body fat percentage in the mid to high 8% so I am in a much better starting place with an extra 10 pounds yet around the same body fat percentage.

With all that in mind my expectations for this years Regional Vancouver Open will be much the same as last year. Which is first and foremost to not stress my body out too much and to come in highly conditioned and with as much muscle as is healthy and realistic to expect, knowing that I can not rely on drugs to do much of the work for me. I am just not willing or prepared to jeopardise my health for a plastic trophy a the end of the day. This means I will more than likely not be holding as much muscle as some of the guys that have less to risk, so I will have to focus a lot more on conditioning to make the muscle I do have look as good as possible.

Hopefully at this years show the judges will be awarding conditioning a bit more than last year as in my opinion they were looking more for size over conditioning based on what I saw in the judging and placing of those on stage.

If at any point I do not feel good or have any health concerns I will be shutting down contest prep, but I am confident that it will go well this time around as I do have more time and can take things slow and adjust along the way.