Questions – 1/15/2012

Greg
Hey Tyler! I've had some issues dead lifting and looking for some advice. I'm 6ft 3 and most of my height is in my legs. I've strained my left knee and have been warned that as I'm tall this can affect my ability to dead lift. Any tips? thanks! Greg
15 January 2012

Tyler - I'm 6'3 also and deadlifts have always been one of my favorite lifts ever since my good friend Anthony T. introduced me to them.  However I havn't been currently doing them for the past few months.  Some advice on proper deadlift form is take a hip with or slightly wider than hip width food stance. from the start of the exercise make sure you keep your butt down so you wont injure your lower back. keep your back flat as possible and pick the weight up.  Watch some videos of proper technique and good luck.

Shane
Hey Tyler, 2 questions. First, what kind of multi-vitamin do you take? Brand? Is it a single pill 2-3 times a day, or stacks of pills (like animal stack which has like 11 pills)? Second, how deep do you go on Squats? Thighs paralell to the floor, or do you deep squats? Will you be posting a leg video soon as well? Thanks!
15 January 2012

Tyler - I don't take a multi vitamin right now.  The one I was taking was Optimum Nutrition Opti Men.  It's 3 pills.  As for squats I go paralell..with my height I don't feel like it's safe to go below.  I'll be posting videos for each muscle group as soon as I get my new camera in...Best Buy needs to hurry up!

clifford
just wanna to ask that which form is correct when doing incline bench press and flat bench press? i been searching on youtube but their form are different from each other .. so i wondering which form is the correct one without wrecking the shoulders .. thanks~
14 January 2012

Tyler - I keep a arch in my lower back and focus on keeping my shoulder blades shoved into the pad. for incline presses i bring the bar down to my collar bone and for flat presses i bring it down to around my nipple line.  I never raise my ass off the bench.  If your having shoulder issues you might want to consider laying off the barbell movements or a little while and stick with db's

clifford
hi tyler .. just wanna to ask you some questions .. did you injure your shoulder before? if yes how you heal it as fast as possible? and also what is the symptoms of rotator cuff tear? which part of the shoulder will pain? cause i have experienced pain on my upper side of the chest .. somewhere above the bicep .. can help to solve my problems? thanks 14 January 2012

Tyler - I have had a rear rotator cuff strain before when I was a lot younger and had to get a corizone shot.  Not sure what yours could be...I would ice it nightly and take some time off to heal it. If a week off and icing every day doesn't help then go to a doctor.

Jason
Hey Tyler, i've been on a mass/strength gain program working between the 6-10 rep scheme. I've been increasing in strength with all my exercises but lately my back workouts have been plateauing. I do about 12-15 sets per body part, back day is on its own. I've been doing Wide Grip Pull ups, BB Rows, One Arms Rows, High Lat Row, Close Grip Lat Pull Downs. 3-4 straight sets. What woud you suggest to jump start my strength gains for my back again? I have about 2 years of training.
13 January 2012

Tyler - If that workout feels like it's stale to you then it's time to switch things up.  I would stick with the pull ups to kick it off but incorporate other ones in.  Also you can start using different techniques like negatives,partials, super slow reps, super fast reps, rest-pause, drop sets, all of those techniques should shock some new growth into your back.

Scott
email
Yo Tyler.First I wanna say you're one of my favorite fitness guys on the internet and I wish you the best. So I have some things, answer what u feel like... First of all, I have moved in a little more of year from 164 lbs to fluctuating between 175 and 178 lbs. My BF is around 10% and my ideal goal would be to fluctuate between 185 and 190 by May/June with low BF. I'm happy with my transformation already but it has just made me hungrier for more. 1) My arms are still unproportional to the rest of my body and it seems i can't really give them that jump in size, any tips? (I do a 5 day split w/ a 1 day for arms). 2) The nutrition part is an up and down thing for me due to the realities of my life. With school and work it's tough to get in the kitchen and even when i have time its not my favorite thing to do, specially since I divide the kitchen with others... How do you keep up a consistent nutrition all day long? Especially out of the house? Do you eat out or just cook in mass? Or just have the time for the kitchen? Any tip for those who don't... or pragmatic meal strategy? 3) Although I've made huge improvements in my body, especially the look of it sometimes I feel I'm not actually following up with strentgh the gains.. I just did a back work out today and my pull-ups and chin-ups still can't get to 10 reps... I do around 8 reps and then less on the second and third reps. I definitely would like to throw around more reps on pullups (i do make sure I do perfect movement and and control on pull-ups though) anyways this is already lots of stuff. thanks!
12 January 2012

Tyler - Thanks for the support and congrats on your progress in a year! First questions about your lagging arms.  I was the same way and it wasn't until I started hitting them twice a week that I really started to notice some good change.  I would hit either bicep with back or chest and tricep on the other day a-t the beginning of the week.  Then at the end of the week I would give them their own day.  I'm going to be blunt and honest with you that you will not reach your goal of 185-190 if you don't start putting more effort into your nutrition.  I understand your situation as I've been in similar ones in the past but take some time twice a week and cook all of your meals.  I can't stress enough about how important nutrition is.  As for your strength it could all fall back on your nutrition.  If your not taking in enough proper nutrients your strength will not increase either.  Hope this helps and good luck.

Dylan
hey tyler, i have been doing weights for about a year and my upper body is going well yet my legs are lagging quite a bit. my current workout is 3 sets of leg press (starting with a lighter weight and doing 15 reps, then increasing the weight and doing 12 reps, then again increasing the weight and doing 10 reps) 3 x squats 15, 12, 10 then 3 x leg extensions 15, 12, 10 3x hamstring curls, 15, 12, 10 then dumbbell lunge superset with stiff leg deadlift then 3x seated calf raises 15, 12, 10 and 3x standing calf raises 15, 12 , 10. i do calves two times a week. is this overkill or should i divide legs into a couple of days so calves one day quads another and hams another? thanks
12 January 2012

Tyler - This is very close to the style of workout I've done before and my legs were not showing much progress either.  First stay away from the supersets for a little while and do all straight sets.  Second do 1-2 warm up sets for the 15 reps of your first exercise then do 4 working sets of 10-12 for each excercise.  I think your problem is that your not lifting enough heavy sets.  your only doing 1-2 heavy sets per exercise where it needs to be every set failing at 10-12.  Doing calves twice a week is fine.

Eric
email
Hey Tyler my current job situation forces me to workout first thing in the morning. I usually prefer working out later on in the day cuz I feel that those few solid meals before my workout really help me step up my performance... However, like I said I gotta work out at 5AM or not at all, and was wondering what you would recommend for a preworkout meal that early (right now its just a protein shake but I still feel a little lackluster working out without those extra cals/nutrients). Any suggestions?
11 January 2012

Tyler-  You definitely want to have a decent size breakfast.  The most important meals of the day for anyone are your first meal, pre workout meal, and post workout meal.  In your case your going to be knocking them all out very early so you should really have some good nutrients.  If I was in your situation at 4:15am (oats,banana,natural peanut butter,protein shake), directly after your workout (protein shake,liquid carbohydrate) and 30 min after the shake (egg whites with 1-2 yolks,oats).  Like I said above this is a very crucial time for your body to get the right nutrients. 

matt
email
tyler...you can pull the women. i just saw michelle levesque on simplyshredded and she is hot. your current gf is also super hot. just think if your BF % was 20% you probably would not have them..:))))
11 January 2012

Tyler - LOL thank you