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!

Road to Canadian Nationals 2017 - What Are My Goals?

A year later and another go at the Canadian Nationals competing in Men's Masters Physique. So why do it again since last year I got 1st place in my tall division? Well last year I did not win the overall category which is where the winner of each height category go head to head to see who the overall class winner is in Men's Masters Physique.

Last year it was a close one but long story short I didn't win the overalls. This year my goal is to take first in Men's tall again and then go after the overall win which would award me with the elusive IFBB Pro Card! What's so good about an IFBB Pro Card? It really would be more of an achievement thing then something that would be of practical use for me since an IFBB Pro Card would allow me to compete with other IFBB Professions throughout North America. Keep in mind this is an Open category so I would be competing against all ages, young and old like me :)

After last year going head to head with the young bucks in the Open category at the Nationals, I realised that I am just too small to be competitive since that is the way the class is going at least for now. Either way I would still be totally honored to win an IFBB Pro Card and may even compete in an IFBB Pro show or two to show those young bucks that us older fellows still got it!

Road to Canadian Nationals 2017 - It Begins!

It has officially begun! Today was the first day of my contest preparation for the 2017 Canadian Nationals where I will be competing in Men's Masters Physique and defending my first place title :) I have more to prove this year, my hope is to not only take first place in the tall division but also win the overall 1st place and get my IFBB Pro Card. I was super close last year but it was not meant to be...

I feel I am in my best starting shape ever sitting around 195 pounds at around 8% body fat. Overall I am healthy with no serious injuries. I feel stronger than ever and I have around 14 weeks to lose about 3% body fat and put on about 5 or so pounds of muscle. Since my weight cut will be almost non existent as I hope to walk on stage at 195 pounds, what I need to focus on is hitting my nutrition and working harder than ever in the gym. My goal this year is to be in my best shape ever and leave no question to the judges when I walk on stage and stand with all the other top athletes.

BCABBA Sanctioned Posing Seminar

As I mentioned in my previous video, I had planned to attend a BCABBA Sanctioned Posing Seminar, this was for last Saturday. Well I made it, did it, and even took some photos and shot some video to share with everyone :)

Keep in mind I am not at all in contest shape, more like hibernation mode ;) I have lost a few pounds since Christmas and I have a feeling I will lean up even more now that I am incorporating come Bootcamp / CrossFit type workouts into my training...

You may notice not too many of the other guys are really all that shredded, most like me also don't have shows till later on this year and this BCABBA Sanctioned Posing Seminar is really to pickup some pointers and make those small improvements that make all the difference in your posing routine.

I want to thank both Men's Physique - CBBF National Competitor Jeffery De Jesus and Men's Physique - IFBB Pro Nathaniel Werner for their help and tips at the BCABBA Sanctioned Posing Seminar!

2016 CBBF Canadian Nationals - Men's Masters Contest Photos

It took a while for me to get my official professional 2016 CBBF Canadian Nationals Contest photos this time but I finally got them :) I'm still waiting for my DVD Video that I paid for from both the 2016 Vancouver Pro Am and of course my recent Canadian Nationals but at least I can now share with you some high quality stage shots.

I did find it very interesting looking at the photos from the Men's Masters Top 3 Overall which I was a part of, when you are up on stage you can only guess how you look compared to the other competitors. Seeing if from the perspective of the camera lens I kind of feel like perhaps I had the Overall but in the end I did not win nor did I get the IFBB Pro Card that went with it. It was not meant to be this time around, I will try again another day. Congratulations to the winner, I am sure he is overjoyed and was well deserving.

Down the road I may share some of my photos from the Open Division where I went up against some absolute giants of men, some of them looked like full on body builders in board shorts! I ended up placing 10th in a group of around 20 or so competitors, not bad for a 47 year old a this extremely high level of competition.