12 Week progression for Western Canadians Kelowna

Since my first show that I competed in Men's Physique at the Western Canadians in Kelowna is done, I think it is a good time to show my progression through the 12 weeks of preparation for this event.  I have included some of the weekly progress pictures through this time (although I have to say, the final week out I just got so caught up that taking pictures was missed).  Wow, as you will see through the weeks, it was obvious that I didn't really get my posing down until I was in the last week.  I was kind of surprised that most of my posing on stage, was presented quite well.

12 weeks out

11 weeks out

10 weeks out

 9 weeks out

8 weeks out

7 weeks out

6 weeks out

5 weeks out

4 weeks out

3 weeks out

2 weeks out

On stage - evening show!





Something I find interesting to see when I look back on these progress pictures, as well as thinking about my mind-set during this process, is how there is not really drastic changes in my physique until the last few weeks before competition.  The main reason for this, is that I have stayed strict with a healthy lifestyle and consistent training for the past 9 months leading up to this event.  This made the impact on my meal planning for preparation much less of a shock to my system, especially compared to last October, when I was initially starting to lose weight and began cutting to prepare for a photo shoot with Pink Elephant Photography.  While the impact on meal planning was minimal, the effect mentally was just as difficult, but in a much different way.  What I mean by this, is that since I was already maintaining a consistent body weight at 155Lbs and a body fat below 10%, I really didn't need the usual 12 weeks of prep to "cut" for the show.  The part that I feel was most difficult, was that I couldn't get it out of my head, that I needed to cut.  Last year I found myself to be very self-conscious about my weight and overall health and condition.  When I was approaching this competition so seriously (as I really wanted to do well), my mind kept telling me I needed to trim down and come in "lean".  While the results of this show were very favourable, seeing as I placed 3rd, I may never know if I could have placed better, if I didn't allow my head to mess with my progress.  My trainer Dean had set out a meal plan for me, that I was dedicated to sticking to 100%.  I was seeing excellent results and was in great shape, but I started adjusting my meal plan without reviewing the changes with Dean.  Even though I was recommended to step on stage a bit "fuller", I let the prep get into my head.  I convinced myself that I wanted to come in as lean as possible.  I did accomplish this leanness, as when I measured my body fat the morning of the competition, I measured in at just below 5% body fat.  Without trying to sound boastful, I feel I did come in leaner than the other competitors and presented the best abs on the stage, I feel my leanness hurt my upper body presentation and came in a bit flat in my chest.

Top 3 final results.

Top 5 finalists.

While the first few hours waiting for my time to step on stage seemed to drag on forever, before I knew it, I was being called to the "pump up room" and get ready to go on stage.  I was able to stay pretty calm and loose and even was able to have some fun in our waiting room.  What a great team of people we had competing with our Body by Brandt team!  I enjoyed every moment of this experience and can't wait to do it again (hopefully many more times).  Here are just a few pictures that show some of the light and fun times I was able to have while waiting.

  



The day before competition, Grace and I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot with Gus Mctavish of Proshot Photo.  This was such a fun and relaxed experience, which resulted in some great photos.  Here are just a couple of the photos from this shoot.  Stayed tuned as I will share more photos from this shoot soon.

 

At this stage, I am now less than 5 weeks out from competing in the BCABBA - 2012 BC Championships, June 30th, 2012. My goal is to fill out my upper body a bit more (not much time to see major gains). I still want to present myself lean, but a bit fuller in the upper body. I have committed to pushing hard in my training, plus sticking to my meal plan as Dean and I have prepared. Lesson learned, I will not make changes to my plan, unless I discuss this in detail with my trainer.

As always, I want to say thank you for taking the time to read about my thoughts and experiences.  I really do appreciate all of the support I receive from my family and friends, both close and afar!  Your support and encouragement goes a long way to helping me push harder to achieve my goals and dreams. 

Take care and I look forward to sharing with you again soon.

Andrew

Western Canadians Kelowna

May 19th, 2012 will be a day I don't think I will ever forget!  I have to say that stepping on stage to compete in the Men's Physique category was such an amazing experience.  Being a part of the Body by Brandt team was such a great time!  We had so many members of our team place in the top 5 and several taking home trophies for top 3 placings!

To be honest, I am very surprised that I was not affected by nerves nearly as much as I expected to be.  Don't get me wrong, I did have my moments of nervous energy, but I was able to keep it together and remember to hit my posing for the most part as I practiced.  Thank you to Muscle Insider Magazine for their coverage and thank you to Gus Mctavish of ProShotPhoto for their coverage of this event and the photos of on stage.  They were able to capture some great images that showcase many competitors best.  I have included some of the photos from the stage.  To see more, you can check out my Facebook page to see many of these photos, or the galeries on Muscle-Insider.

I am very happy with what I brought to the stage, but it appears as though I may have come in too lean.  I'm already making some adjustments to my physique to be ready for the BC's June 30th.

This photo is of the top 3 winners in Men's Physique.  Winner is in the middle, with second place to the left and I am on the right.

It was a tough group of guys to compete against, as you can see from the line-up of the top 5 in the final call-out in the evening show.  I want to say congratulations to all of the other competitors I had the opportunity to share the stage with and thank you for the positive energy that all of the competitors displayed towards one another.

I would be doing an injustice, if I failed to mention the fact that my wife Grace competed in the same show as I did.  Some people said we were crazy to be prepping and competing in the same show, as we would drive each other crazy.  We found completely the opposite was the case.  We were able to push each other to achieve some amazing results, as well as support each other through our challenges.  I think Grace presented an incredible physique, although it was not quite what the judges were looking for.  I don't think Grace is too disappointed with what looks like 6th place, mainly due to being too lean for what the judges were looking for.

Grace on stage with 3 of the top 5. 1st place winner is the far right.

  

I feel very fortunate to have had so many people offering support and encouragement along this journey.  A special thanks goes to our daughter Veronica and our friends Marie and Matt for making the trip to Kelowna with us.  The three of them were such a big help with all of the extras that we needed during our final preparations.

Seeing as the BC's are closer to home (Massey Theater in New Westminster), I hope we will be able to have even more family and friends come to cheer us on, as we continue our journey of competing on stage.  Keep posted for further updates on progress and more cool information and even some recipes coming soon. 

Take care, and keep working on transforming your own wellness.  Thank you for reading and please make sure to share your thoughts and comments.

Andrew

#TeamRippedFreak

Day before Kelowna Western Canadians Competition! - Thank you!

Thank you all, for the support you have given me!

After so many months of training hard, dedication to a solid meal plan and preparing for stepping on stage for the first time, waking up today in Kelowna is pretty surreal!  It is really hard to believe that the big day is tomorrow.  I can honestly say, that I feel I am in the best condition of my life.  I am healthier and more fit than I ever could have thought possible.  This past week has been a bit more difficult with the final stages of preparation, especially with my final week's meal plan and keeping training hard and focused.  One thing I find funny, is how much I enjoyed waking up this morning to flavoured rice cakes (caramel never tasted so good)!

When I look back over these past several months of my wellness transformation, I feel it is so important to take a moment to say thank you to the many people that helped support, motivate and inspire me along the way.  There are so many of you, that it would be difficult to thank all of you, so if I miss your name, please forgive me.  The biggest thanks of all must first go to my best friend and the love of my life Grace!  Without your support, I don't think I could have come close to achieving the results I did.  Some thought we were crazy to be prepping for the same show, but I feel we're stronger together than before we started.  Our daughter Veronica has also been such a huge support through this process.  She has really been a positive force behind us, be it through helping with chores around the house, looking for ways she can do extra to help, or simply to offer words of encouragement and even making me feel proud by being serious about living a healthier and more active lifestyle and pushing to excel in her studies at school.

It would be a shame if I were to not offer my very sincere thank you to our trainers Dean and Leigh of Body by Brandt.  You both have been such a positive influence in my life!  I remember a conversation we were having after knowing each other for only a short time, when Dean said, "I think it's more than coincidence that the four of us have met."  At the time, I did feel the same way, but now I truly believe this more than ever.  I can say for myself, that your support and training has absolutely changed my life.  I have seen such changes in my health, wellness, fitness level and personal self confidence, that I truly feel blessed for the opportunity to have had our paths cross.  I look forward to many more good times and positive influences and opportunities that we call all share in the future!

Friends are also so important to me, with the support they have constantly offered.  I must say though, through this process, you really do realize who are your true friends and supporters.  Not all of those "friends" have been a positive influence and may not have remained on my list of people I would turn to for support.  A big thing I have found key to progress, is to surround yourself with not only positive thoughts, but to remove those negative influences from your life.  Our friends Marie and Matt have always been such a support for us along the way.  Understanding our strict meal plans and being supportive of that and even more important, the patience they have shown in understanding our hectic schedules that make it difficult to spend as much time together as we would like. 

One amazing thing about social media, is the amount of friends I have made literally around the world.  Some of these friends and supporters like Tim, I have got to know very well and we have never even met in person, yet (looking forward to getting the chance to meet in Vancouver next month).  There are so many others as well, through the ever growing families of #TeamRippedFreak and #TeamB3 that it amazes me how supportive people can be towards each other when you are working towards a common goal.

Work has been supportive and understanding also, as it has shown to be difficult at times to stay on track with a strict meal plan, while being surrounded with so much incredible food and options running a restaurant every day.  Whether it is the support and encouragement from the staff, or our culinary teams that have learned my strict meal plan to help with customizing my meals (when I don't pack my own food), or knowing that I have helped to be an inspiration to others to begin their own journey to improve their own health and wellness, it has been such an uplifting experience to have been able to share.

Opportunities that I have had the ability to experience in these past few months have been so amazing. Having my transformation to be featured in Inside Fitness Magazine this year was such a surprise and a real honour! The people from Pharma Freak impress me more than I can say. I have been a huge fan of their line of products, especially Ripped Freak hybrid fat burner and pre-workout drink. This line of products have really helped me to achieve results beyond my original imagination.

Please check out the video below, to see my quick thank you message during our drive from home to Kelowna. 

Once again, if I didn't thank you specifically, but I should have, please forgive me. There are just so many people to thank, that I could go on for days.  If you have read this post, please take a moment to share your thoughts and/or comments.  Let me say thank you one more time, just because I am so greatful for all of the love and support from everyone that has been an influence in my life.  Wish me luck, for when I step on stage tomorrow.  Looking forward to sharing thoughts and results of this very soon.

Take care and live well!

Andrew Bukowsky
#Ripped365

18 days and counting! Changes are key...

  It is crazy to think that it's less than 3 weeks until stepping on stage for my first ever Men's Physique competition at the Western Canadians in Kelowna!  When you are able to look at the time remaining in days rather than weeks, it really starts to get real.  This past week for me has been a lot about staying focused on training hard, eating clean and remembering to change things up a little where I can.  I'll explain what I mean by this as I continue.

  I have been very good at keeping my training focused and fresh, mostly due to training with Dean Brandt, as he definitely likes to change up his training sessions.  I have maintained this mind-set when I train with Grace on the other 4 days of the week we are not with Dean and Leigh.  One area of my training I found I was neglecting to make adjustments with, was in regard to my morning cardio sessions.  I realized that I was getting into a routine of hitting the gym at 6:00am and heading straight to the same treadmill and did basically the same cardio workout every morning.  While I was good at pushing myself with these cardio sessions, I found even though it was at a good intensity, it was becoming too routine.  Grace suggested I switch things up one morning and I made the move to the "Stepper".  Wow, was that ever a good idea!  I found I was targeting very different muscles and allowed myself to see a change of scenery.  Now, while I am still doing 6:00am cardio sessions every morning with Grace, I am very conscious to ensure I am keeping these from becoming routine and I am looking for different ways of hitting cardio, to maximize the benefits to my body.


  Another way I am keeping an eye on changing things up, is with my meal plan (I am not a fan of the reference to "diet", as this is my lifestyle choice for eating and not just a short-term plan to eat better).  Grace and I are staying true to our meal plan with the kinds of food we are eating, based on a strict competition meal plan.  We don't believe though, that following this type of meal plan needs to be boring, or lacking in flavour.  We are constantly looking for ways to make small adjustments to recipes, to keep our eating totally clean, but adding taste and enjoyment to our meals.  With some of the no/low sodium and no sugar seasonings we've found, we have been able to create some amazing food, that feels almost as if we are "cheating" on our meal plan, but we're not!  Thanks to Leigh for the recommendation for a great new way to enjoy egg whites (nobody believes that it tastes good, until they actually try it).  We have started making our egg whites into a shake once a day, blended with ice, spinach, cinnamon and no sugar caramel syrup (not sure this is exactly Leigh's recipe, but it works).  As we are getting closer to the competition, we are cutting sweeteners from our meal plan.  Since I am still having half a banana pre and post workout, I blended this into my egg whites shake yesterday and it was amazing, plus it gave me a good boost for a heavy leg workout.

  Yet again, this is where I made a change.  As you can see from the next picture below, I usually have a standard plan for my pre-workout nutrition (which I do plan to stick with for the most part).  It has a good balance of carbs and protein my body needs to prepare for a workout.  I like to have a protein shake of PVL Iso Gold, half a banana and 2-3 plain rice cakes.  Of course right before my workout, I have a Ripped Freak (or Super Freak) pre-workout drink.  One thing you don't see in the picture is that in my water bottle during my weight training, I add a scoop of Amino Freak to help get the Amino Acids back into my muscles.  

 

  Now, I am a person that has worked in restaurants all my life, so I truly understand the importance food plays in the lives of so many people.  I find the amount of comments and/or questions about what I eat are more and more all the time.  Some people don't understand how I could give up all of the "good" food that I am missing out on, while others admire that I am able to stay so strict to a clean eating lifestyle, but feel they could not have the will-power to stick with it.  I honestly don't feel that I am missing out on any food really.  Don't get me wrong, I still do have cravings now and then, but I find I am able to handle it and steer myself in the right direction.  One thing I do find is able to keep me on the right path, is allowing myself one meal each week that is not in my normal meal plan (of course this is cut out when I am this close to competition).  I call this a "reward meal" as apposed to the common referred to term of a "cheat meal".  This just has a much more positive tone to it and I really don't over do it when I have this meal.  Please note one key element to this pattern though, is I say "one meal" and I mean it.  Many times people will over do it and then turn it into a "cheat day" or even a "cheat weekend".  This is definitely a way to fall off track easily.

  One thing I do look forward to, once competitions (yes, I did mean that to be plural) are finished, is to work with Grace on reinventing some of the traditionally unhealthy treats into healthier versions.  We are excited to share some new recipes and ideas to help others to stay on track, or even to get started, with living a lifestyle that involves healthier eating.
  As for the rest of this week, things are looking busier than ever.  With a busy work week ahead, paired up with heavy training and tightening up my meal planning, I can foresee some hectic days ahead.  I am so fortunate that I have Grace to be my support through not only this competition prep, but every day of my life.  She really does keep me focused and allows me to keep my eyes on the prize!  Thank you Grace!  I also want to say thank you to all of my family, friends and co-workers, especially Dean and Leigh of Body by Brandt that support me through all of this as well.  I have to send a thanks out to fellow TeamRippedFreak member Tim Roberts, as even though he is in California, still helps me with questions and motivation during this first prep process.

  Until next time, have great week and keep looking for ways to improve your overall wellness in all you do!

Take care,

Andrew Bukowsky
#Ripped365
#TeamRippedFreak