"Every day I go to war against my shadow!", says Antoine Vaillant!

Every day I go to war against my shadow. It wants to drag me back down, but I wake up, and I choose violence. I'm my own worst enemy, but I'm also my own hero... the war started long ago... let's attack aggressively! You slow down, and he'll catch up with you.
Don't let complacency be your undoing. . .

These exact words accompany one of the most recent Instagram posts by Canadian professional bodybuilder Antoine Vaillant.

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A post shared by IFBB PRO Antoine Vaillant (@antoinev87)

Why did Antoine choose those words? As we know, in the past, this promising bodybuilder struggled with drug addiction, which made him very strong several times.

His first big drug "misstep" came shortly after his move to the elite in 2013, when he missed 5 years of his sporting career. He didn't return to the competition stage until 2020, when he had the season of his life, scoring his first professional win at the California Pro 2020 event, securing his qualification for Mr. Olympia 2020, where he placed 14th.

No wonder, when not only he himself, but also many others started to believe that he had finally found himself, and he will only continue to improve.

As it turned out later, however, this was a mistake. Antoine began to struggle with many other problems, be it various injuries or even a renewed addiction to drugs!

However, he was able to fight this addiction thanks to further rehab and is now, at least for a while, "out of it". Even so, he is not without problems. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with a relatively high calcium score, which can mean an increased risk of cardiovascular events.

This is what the uLékaře.cz website says about calcium scores:

Modern computed tomography (CT) methods can detect, measure and assess the degree of calcification in the arteries supplying the heart (coronary arteries). The examination is similar to a conventional CT scan and does not require the administration of a contrast agent. In addition, electrodes are attached to the patient's chest to read the ECG. This allows the recording to be made in synchrony with the heart action without motion artefacts. During the examination, the subject is asked several times to hold his/her breath for a short time. The whole procedure usually takes no more than 10 minutes.

The result of the examination is the so-called calcium score, which determines the likelihood of a cardiac event. Patients with a score below 100 have a low probability of having a cardiac event, while a score above 400 predicts a high risk of an event in the next 2 to 5 years.

However, Antoine did not let his heart break and despite his poor health, he set about preparing for this year's competition season. During that time, he took second place at the Vancouver Pro 2022, then stood on the podium at the Wings of Strength Chicago 2022 competition, where he was undefeated, scored his second professional victory, and also secured his second participation at Mr. Olympia.

It is from the preparation for this year's edition of this spectacular competition, which is currently 12 weeks away, that the photos we attach to this article come from, which document Antoine's current form at 128 kilograms.

Source:
www.instagram.com