Tyler McPeak
30May/120

Questions – 5/30/2012

shoutbox7 300x18017 Questions 5/30/2012Ash
hey bro, quick question, if i decide to do an empty stomach cardio in the morning for bout 35-40min, would i need a post workout meal after that or would breakfast count as the "post workout meal"? i know you also recommended taking BCAA's before morning cardio, which i will be doing, your advice would be great
29 May 2012

Tyler - Your first meal of the day (breakfast) would be considered your post workout meal.  I would try to get that meal in as soon as you get cleaned up from cardio.

Andrew
What kind of cardio do you recommend? HIIT or low intensity?
28 May 2012

Tyler - I think they both have there place.  I love the way high intensity give me the endorphin rush afterward but it is very taxing on your central nervous system.  I'm choosing to do all low intensity right now.  If your going to do HIIT make sure to give your body plenty of rest.  I suggest doing HIIT only on the days off that your not weight training.

John
Hey Tyler, quick question about my split... would two chest days in the same week be bad? Say if I did chest on monday and then on Friday also? Thanks a ton for everything Tyler!
27 May 2012

Tyler - I wouldn't say it's a bad thing.  I gave that a try for about 6 months.  What you want to keep in mind though is that if you train it every week on monday and friday your going giving your chest 2 days break every week from friday to monday's session.  What I suggest doing is training chest every 4th day.  That will require you to move some of your days around.  Or if you insist on training every week monday and friday use one session for more of a pump workout and the other for your heavy stuff.

doug stikeleather
Hey Tyler man your an inspiration but i was looking for tips for a beginning bulk. Should i stick with a certain macro ratio or just go 1.5g of protein per pound I weigh?
26 May 2012

Tyler - Adding quality mass is more than just a protein concern.  Your going to need a good amount of carbs and fats as well.  If I were to bulk up right now I would follow a protocol like this. Protein 1.5g-2g per body lb, Carbs 2g per body lb, and Fats a little over half a gram per lb.  Also once or twice a week I would throw in some cheat meals too.

17May/120

2 weeks and feeling Strong!

protein1 225x300 2 weeks and feeling Strong!

Best tasting protein I've had...zero sugar

It's been almost 2 weeks (Saturday will make 2 weeks)  now into my strict nutrition plan to be on tract at reaching my goals.  Once I'm where I need to be I'll be setting up my photo shoots again in NYC!  My body is fully adjusted to less calories now.  I'm not gonna lie last week was rough.  I was pretty hungry all week long.  I don't think I posted but for a good 2 weeks  I was eating only about 60-70 percent clean food.  Every day I was having some sort of high calorie junk food.  Today cardio officially started back up and I was actually excited about it.  6 weeks of no cardio might have done my body some good so I'm hoping that it will respond quickly now that I'm adding it back in.  30 minutes on a slight incline is all I'll be doing for a little while.  Speed was about 3.7 and incline was 6.0-8.0.  In my opinion doing empty stomach cardio yields the best results for fat burning but make sure to take some BCAA's before you start to insure that you preserve your muscle mass.  It's a great way to get your day started and I feel a lot more awake rather than just rolling out of bed and getting my day started without it.  Stay tuned my site will be up and running full force soon with plenty of new pictures and videos.

tread 225x300 2 weeks and feeling Strong!

I'll be spending a lot of mornings on this

30Apr/120

Chest/Bicep

531442 222040147906355 163846577059046 368761 1856124207 n 225x300 Chest/BicepEach day is getting better and I'm loving it.  Since being sick and having basically a month of my life taken away I have a whole new appreciation and drive towards everything. I'm feeling almost 100 percent but not quite.  I'd say around 85 percent since my endurance still isn't there and I still have this damn cough.  Right now I am not working with anyone and I'm doing everything on my own for the time being.  There was no point to continue on with Hany when I wasn't able to go to the gym.  That being said I've started to incorporate a lot of techniques I used to use that has been a good change of pace.  I've been doing a lot of drop sets, rest- pause, and I'm throwing in some supersets too.  The amount of food I've been eating I would normally be about 230lb right now but my weight is only at 211lb this morning.  Today I cleaned everything back up and will be having 6 meals.

Before heading to the gym I read an old article by Milos Sarcev online about intra workout shakes and years ago when I used to follow him I had given them a try.  It's been several years since I've done a intra shake so today decided to give it a try again.  I did 1 scoop of scivation xtend,2.5g creatine,1/2 scoop karbolyne.  I got a crazy almost painful pump today so definitely give this a try.

  1. Incline DB Press - 2 warm ups, 3x6-8 one drop set for 10 then after a minute break did another light set for 10 and just squeezed
  2. Flat DB Fly - 3x12
  3. Flat Smith Machine Press - 3x8-10, 1 set of rest pause then 2 drop sets
  4. Cable Fly superset Flat machine press - 3x10-12
  5. DB Hammer Curls - 4x8-12

I was going to continue on another 1-2 bicep exercises but I had slight irritation in my right forearm when I went to one arm db preacher curls so I called it a day.

24Apr/120

Chest/Tricep

204 225x300 Chest/Tricep

took this on Saturday after my second workout back

I decided to kick my week off with hitting chest again even though I just did it on Friday.  My endurance is still very weak but it is improving each workout.  My weight is still not going anywhere but my muscles are filling back out from the workouts so I'm not feeling so skinny anymore.  I was able to go back to work yesterday and train my in person clients.  It felt great to finally be able to get out of the house and do something.

I did the pre-exhaust technique yesterday since my strength is down anyways my goal with each workout is just to pump as much blood as I can into the muscle.  I'm still finding it difficult to get strong contractions but yesterday was a lot better than this weekend.

  1. Flat DB Flys - 2 warm ups x15, 3x10-12 1 drop set on last set for 12
  2. Incline barbell press - 1x15,3x8-10 1 drop set on last set for 10
  3. Flat DB Press - 3x10
  4. Straight bar skullcrushers - 4x12
  5. Rope pressdowns - 3x12
  6. cambered bar seated overhead ext - 3x12

Despite the very low volume of this workout I woke up today and my chest and triceps are SORE.  My diet right now is all clean food but I'm having carbs with all 6 meals.  I've been adding a 7th meal as a protein shake directly before bed.  A good mass building meal that I suggest for anyone trying to put on size cleanly add into their nutrition plan is what I had for meal 6 last night. 7oz chicken,1 cup black beans,1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese...of coarse you should tone the measurements down accordingly to your body weight but all of that mixed together is pretty tasty.drago2 300x300 Chest/Tricep

2Mar/120

Questions – 3/2/2012

shoutbox7 300x1808 Questions 3/2/2012TJ
Do you drink? Ever since I started my mission of packing on lean muscle and getting ripped I haven't been able to bring myself to do it.
2 March 2012

Tyler - In the past I would drink almost every weekend..hell I even drank before some of my shoots in NYC...I would party at the clubs all night then shoot the next day..very ignorant.  It wasn't until I linked up with Hany that I changed my whole perspective of training and nutrition.  I've only drank maybe 4-5 times in the past 6  months.  That being said I think you can still let loose at least once a month and still make all the gains you want.  You have to remember you only live once and take it from me you will go crazy if you just live like a hermit and don't go out and enjoy yourself every once in a while.

Jason
Tyler, im a bit concerned, i feel like sometimes my lower chest gets bloated or soft, but then other times my chest looks flat and toned... does this have to do with sodium manipulation or bloating of some sort? It's as if my i've gained fat in my lower chest nipple area temporarily. Im not sure if it's a sign of gaining fat. Im currently 15%bf, 175, 5,9, eating failry clean, but trying to put on mass. My diet has consited of alot of whole wheat pasta lately.
2 March 2012

Tyler - It sounds like water retention.  At this point you shouldn't worry about sodium but maybe try switching out your carb source from the pasta to something else...rice or potato.  Maybe add in some cardio to a few times a week. Even though your putting on size right now it's still important to do some cardio because ideally you should stay around 10-12% when trying to add mass.

Jamie
Are you doing morning cardio now cuz your trying to lean out even more, i.e. cut? You'll burn fat faster by doing morning cardio, right?
2 March 2012

Tyler - Yep your correct

Nolan
Me and some friends are arguing about the benefit of doing 'half reps' or partials like you do in some of your workouts. They're all hardcore oldschool lifters and think that if someone doesn't getting a full ROM then they're not trying hard enough. I think they're good to do at the end of sets or even a full set because it keeps constant tension on the muscle and saves joints as aposed to locking out on every rep. thoughts?
1 March 2012

Tyler - I believe they serve a purpose as an advanced technique to further muscle failure.  I don't ever do a full set of partials but towards the end of something like a hammer strength press once I can't get full reps anymore I'll add in 3-4 partials.  That being said I never lockout..always keep a slight bend in all of my joints.  check out my chest/bicep video I did in FEB I did partials in that along with my Back video from FEB

Baker
I see in your nutrition log you always take took scoops of protein, why is that?
29 February 2012

Tyler - Take took? not sure what your trying to say but whey protein is one of the fastest digesting proteins and I've consistently taken it every since I started working out when I was 18

Luke
hey tyler, Im 6'2" and 205 and trying to lose the spair tire, around 8 pounds. I was wondering how much cardio do you do, when do you perform it, and what type of cardio?
29 February 2012

Tyler - Right now I'm doing 4 days on one day off of empty stomach cardio for 45 minutes on an incline treadmill walk. steady state low intensity is the type.

Vic
Hi Tyler, i am starting to see results just like you said, But i am still Skinny ( 6"2 and i weigh 76Kg (Age 27)) i do drink whey Protein and eat very healthy, My goal is to get a 6pack and i can see it in correct lighting, but i need it to grow bigger so it stands out much more, i do crunches on a ball, heel taps, plank, side crunches, and the Ab wheel every other day. i see my muscles taking shape, but i stay skinny.
29 February 2012

Tyler - I sent over your questions to fill out yesterday. looking forward to working with you!

Dan
I trained solidly for a year then had to take a year and a half off from training. Do you have any advice for starting back training after so long out
28 February 2012

Tyler - Start off slow and progressively up the intensity.  Don't get discouraged and take each day as a day to improve.  Stay dedicated and you will get where you want to be.

Randall
I have a couple questions. In your post about pre and post workout nutrition you say that you cycle your carbs post workout. What influences whether its going to be a carb day or no carb day, what muscle group you work that day? Also whats ur current body fat percent?
28 February 2012

Tyler - On muscle groups I'm trying to bring up is when I'll have more carbs.  Not sure what my current body fat is I never get it checked.

 

24Feb/120

Questions – 2/24/2012

shoutbox7 300x1806 Questions 2/24/2012James
How do you properly warm up for heavy squats? I can do 10 reps of 315lbs, but i feel like my warm up to get there isn't at its best. Should i be doing a few sets with short rest periods? or start my weight low and go up and increments of 50lbs with 10 reps of each set until i get to the 315? Im trying to warm up enough to get my joing and blood pumping in my legs but not so much that im too tired to lift the heavy weight!
24 February 2012

Tyler - That is some good weight your moving right there! keep up the hard work! I always start my leg session off with 5-10 minutes on the recumbent bike. I'll do 3-5 warm up sets before I get into my working sets keeping the reps low though so I don't fatigue resting about a minute in between warm ups.  Depending how heavy i'm going that day I'll only do 5 reps or so on each warm up set.  Hope this helps...all that being said I usually hit squats now at the end of my quad workout because the mechanics feel better and my knees don't ache.

Chris
Hey Tyler, i've been following Hany's "GET JACKED" program and so far my chest and back days are phenomenal, im getting great workouts from it. My Shouler day however, feels like its not being stimulated enough. It might be becasue of all the isolation exercises that im not used to, im not sure. One exercise involves doing front raises on an incline bench, face down; this is an FST-7 technique as well. I feel like i cant quote get a proper pump in my front delt from this exercise, im not sure what angle the bench should be at and if it should be bringing my arms parallel to my body or parallel to the floor. When i have workouts where my pumps are just "okay", i tend to second guess my postworkout shake consisting of 50g carbs... im on th evogen stack as well. Let me know if you can offer any advice about the Incline bench exercise and taking in postworkout carbs for moderate workout days. Thanks!
24 February 2012

Tyler - First off don't second guess yourself on the post workout drinks.  We all have those days where you don't get a good full pump and it kinda just puts a damper on the rest of your day.  Happened to me yesterday.  As for the incline front raises put the bench on a 45 degree angle or so..most incline are numbered and i usually put it on 4 or 5.  It's a great exercise maybe just drop the weight a little and really focus on the feeling going slower with your reps until you get the mind muscle connection down.  If that doesn't help I would just substitute that exercise for another front raise exercise and hit the fst with a rope front raise.

andy
Do you do a protien shake after your Cell Kem? What do you put in it?
23 February 2012

Tyler - No..30 minutes after I take Cell Kem and glycoject I have a whole food meal

Yaseen
Hey Tyler can you tell me some examples of your favorite clean meals? like chicken and sweet potato, or what are your favorite sources of carbs and such?
23 February 2012

Tyler - I'll be posting my daily food logs in the members section so you will see exactly what I'm eating every day.

Sunny
Hey Ty, i feel like i cant get proper posture/footing when doing one arm rows on a flat bench, i feel like my lower back gets involved or my back doesnt get stimulated enough, im not sure if maybe my foot is to close to the bench or if i should be bending my knee. Any advice on one arm rows? I'[ve tried to lighted the weight and i make sure im always looking forward.
23 February 2012

Tyler - This will be something you will have to play around with to get the best feeling for you.   Whenever I do them I have a bend in my knee is its close to the bench.  Part of my members section videos I describe how to properly preform each exercise and where you should feel it.

Randall
When you say supplement hiatus, does that include whey and casein? Or is it just eliminating pre workout, creatine, etc? Great page by the way, looking forward to the members section.
23 February 2012

Tyler - It's just eliminating pre workout,creatine, and the pre and post carbohydrate drink.

Simon
How much water do you drink during your workout? If I am smaller I should drink less right?
22 February 2012

Tyler - I drink about a half gallon during my workout and a half gallon leading up to my workout.  I would say a liter pre workout and a liter during workout would be sufficient.

Sam
Have you ever heard of or used "Animal" products i.e. Animal Stak, Animal Cuts, etc.? Do you know anything anout this supplement
22 February 2012

Tyler - I've used the mutli vitamin and the animal cuts before.  I used the cuts when I was going through my eating disorder in nyc so i can't give a valid review on them since i wasn't on a proper exercise and nutrition plan.  I will say one thing I didn't like about the product was that it had a diuretic in it.  I don't think it's safe to take diuretics daily.

Daniel
...a 27 minute-long workout on video? O.K., Tyler, you got me. I going to become a member. Glad to see you decided to create a members only section of your site. You deserve it for all the inspiration and advice you give.give inspiration
22 February 2012

Tyler - Thanks You!

Ash
Hey Ty. ive got such a passion and drive for health and fitness, and really want to get into the field and study it more in depth. wanted to know how you got into personal training, and if you have any advice for the likes of myself wanting to get more involved and persue a career in fitness and nutrition? you're a huge inspiration to me, and get alot of motivation from your videos and articles. thnx.
22 February 2012

Tyler - First off thanks for the compliments...I got into personal training when I was 20 years old.  I had gotten a job at a gym being the "house keeping" staff.  I cleaned toilets and did laundry etc.  I became friends with one of the personal trainers there and after speaking with him this seemed like something I wanted to try out.  It took me about 4 months to get my first certification (ISSA) and every two years you have to get continued education courses. 

12Feb/120

Questions – 2/12/2012

feb11 225x300 Questions 2/12/2012

2/11/2012 - Nashville Athletic Club

Lichi
Tyler!! would be interesting to do videos like "how to do deadlifts, squats, etc." showing the right technique!! thanks!
12 February 2012

Tyler - I will be launching a members section for my site in the next month or so which will include lots of these types of videos.

peter john
tyler send me a chest ...shoulder,,,,.biscep excersies throught which i can quickly grow up my body and look big throught your recommended excercise...send me routine of these excersie...i have 3 months to join the gym
11 February 2012

Tyler - I will be launching a members section for my site in the next month or so which will have lots of information including different programs and routines for specific goals

Brandon
Tyler, great site. Working out is the easy part. How do you simplify all the various information about nutrition? There is so much info out there I don't know where to start. Thanks
11 February 2012

Tyler - I agree with you on that one..there is so much information and so much bullshit fad diets out there.  I stick with the basic clean healthy foods.  I do a 1.5g per body pound of protein a day but my fats and carbs change up.  The carb and fat intake is something you will have to play around with.  My advice is experiment with different amounts and see how you respond.  If you do to little of them your workouts will suffer and you will feel bad.  One more thing is don't over complicate it..keep it simple and basic.  Stay consistent and dedicated!

clifford
hi ~ do u recommend to workout shoulders and back on the same day or chest and back on the same day? thx~
10 February 2012

Tyler - I would do neither.  But if it's because of your schedule and you can only make it to the gym limited days and are forced to choose one or the other i would do chest with front and side delt and the other day do back with rear delt and traps.

9Feb/120

Questions – 2/9/2012

shoutbox7 300x1803 Questions 2/9/2012Sam
Ty, just reffering back to my previous post but just curious as to why you said that running "burns off more muscle" than doing a stair climber? if you are working in a similar heart rate zone for the same amount of time what is the difference?
9 February 2012

Tyler - If you keep your heart rate in the same zone then there isn't a difference.   I just personally prefer to do low impact because when I used to run and sprint a lot last year my hips,knees,calfs would give me problems all the time and it made my leg strength WEAK for my workouts.

Eric
Tyler - I am getting ready to start my cut in a few days and was wondering if I should be taking creatine while I cut and if so what kind? I have gotten mixed opinions when talking to people in the gym about this. I am just about ready to order some supplements and would like to know if I should add this to the list.
9 February 2012

Tyler - I would for sure keep the creatine in.  It will help keep your strength while cutting down.  The only thing creatine might cause is a little water retention and you don't have to worry about that until a week before you were to say go  on vacation,photo shoot,competition, etc. and then at that point a week before you would stop taking it and the little bit of water will come off.

John
Hey Tyler, hope your doing well. I have a quick question regarding diet. I'm 18, 5'10, and 160 lbs. and have a pretty fast metabolism, and I'm trying to gain lean mass. With that said, do I need to focus on clean diet (chicken, fish, sweet potato, oats, egg white, brown rice, etc.) 100% of the time or should I allow cheat meals? If I should, how often? Thanks for the inspiration Tyler, it truly makes a difference to many!
8 February 2012

Tyler - You should still get in the habit of eating several clean meals a day but don't be afraid to have 2-3 cheat meals a week.  If you see that your gaining fat quickly then back it down to just 2 and if your body can't handle that back it down to 1.  But seeing that your 160lb and have a cranking metabolism I think you'll be good with 3.  Just spread them out over the week. 1 at the start one at the middle and another towards the end.  Also another thing to keep in mind when you have your cheats is make sure your still getting a lot of protein with it.  Don't just cheat on deserts and chips and junk like that.  ENJOY THE GOOD EATING! 

clifford
do u recommend to take a multivitamin or single vitamin? because i had read some articles that multivitamin sometimes cannot completely absorb into the body and a waste of money .. so what's your comment on it? thx~
7 February 2012

Tyler - I don't use a multi vitamin anymore or take single vitamins.  Everything you need for recovery is in Cell K.E.M.  That being said before I started working with Hany I was taking Optimum nutrition multi once a day with my first meal.

MW3
Hey i added you to PSN, do you still go on?
6 February 2012

Tyler - Yeah I get on everyday.  I added all my new friend req on there hit me up

Yaseen
Hey Tyler- thanks for the response. so after research I've determined that my body needs anywhere from 200-350 grams of carbs a day. Rice is my favorite carb and a cup of rice seems to be 45-50 grams of carbs. Does this mean I can be eating 5-6 cups of rice a day and still be getting results. I feel as if I am eating that much rice gains in bodyfat will be sure to come. When I see many nutrition logs like yours and other fitness models they are not taking nowhere near 5-6 cups of rice. Thoughts?
5 February 2012

Tyler - It depends on what your goals are right now.  If your trying to build then 5-6 cups of rice will be fine however if your trying to cut down then that would be a bit much in my opinion.  I suggest giving it a try for a couple of weeks and see how you respond.

Daniel
Excluding your daily 40 minutes of cardio, how many minutes or hours long is your daily workout? One trainer told me that more than an hour, counting rest periods, is too long.
5 February 2012

Tyler - 45 minutes to 1 hr.  the longest would be 1 hour and 15-20 minutes of so on a long leg day.

30Jan/120

Questions – 1/30/2012

shoutbox7 300x1801 Questions 1/30/2012Sebastian
Me again, do u have any routine to develope chest? Nf btw in the other post I tried to say,: can I eat like bars with chocolate those ones that are pretty caloric ?
30 January 2012

Tyler - check last weeks post I put up a chest workout that I've been using quite a bit

Sebastian
Hey, well first I'm sorry for my English I'm Chilean, well thing is I'm 18 Ive been all my life really skinny I weight 66 kg nd my height is about 1.83 or something, i have really fast metabolism, I'm following ur work out routines nd can eat stuff like bars with chocolate nf stuff to balance the calories I've left to eat for the day or I just eat healthy cause I never eat the calories enough, cause I eat a few things nf I'm already full. Thanks a lot for ur blog nf helping each evrery1 of us nd I'm trying ur workouts nd damn they work I'm getting abs thanks a lot again dude
30 January 2012

Tyler - Even though you have a fast metabolism you still want the majority of your calories to be clean food.  But definitely have a few cheat meals a week.

Cal
Tyler, was just curiouis how muhc cardio you do per week for how long and what types? Do you do steady state eg walkiing or interval? I always have this tiny bit of abdominal fat that I can never seem to shake! Peace!
30 January 2012

Tyler - I do all steady state cardio.  Right now I'm doing 1 session a day 6 days a week for 45minutes.  Either walking on an incline or stepmill.

Jake
When trying to put on mass, did you ever do weighted dips or weighted pull ups? Im debating on buying a dip belt to really shock my lats and tris into growth for pullups and dips.
28 January 2012

Tyler - I have done weighted pullups and dips before but prefer not to.  For the pullups I could never feel it in my back from the added weight because I felt that my arms and shoulders were doing all the work.  Give it a try though and see if you like it and how your body responds to it.

JOHN PETER
I AM TAKING 3 GLASS OF BANANA SHAKE ,..1 GLASS OF MILK IN WHICH 1 SCOOP OF WAYPROTEIN AFTER GYM...AND IN BREAKFAST I AM EATING 3 BOIL EGGS...AND IN LUNCH CHICKEN AMD WHITE MEET USE....THIS DIET IS ENOUGH FOR ME I AM MAKE NOT A BIG BODY I WANT TO MAKE A FIT BODY MEANS HEALTHY BODY
26 January 2012

Tyler - not sure what your trying to ask me?

Brad
Hey Tyler--great blog. I am 24, 5'11'' 170lbs, about 10-12%BF. I've been training for a little over 2 years, and I've added 30lbs of muscle in those 2 years. My goal now is to get to a lean 195, but over the past 4-6 months I've seen almost no progress in strength, size, or weight gain. My diet is not totally clean but I'm getting a decent quality 4000-4500 cal, 250-300g protein, 500-600g carbs per day, spread over 5-6 meals and protein shakes. By the time I leave the gym 5-6X a week, I leave with a big pump, feel like I lifted hard, and almost always have some degree of DOMS which leads me to believe that I still have effective workouts. Do you have any advice for those of us who are stuck at a plateau like this? At this point, is it just a matter of upping diet portions, or is it more of a workout problem?
26 January 2012

Tyler - From the sounds of it your still making progress.  It's just going to take more time now that you've already finished your initial growth spurt that you get from the first couple of years.  That being said I would think about trying out different food sources and experimenting around and seeing if that can help.  Also you didn't mention any fat intake.  To build lean mass you have to have healthy fats. So make sure you incorporate things like nuts,oils,avocado etc.  Adding the fat could yield some new gains.  Good luck hope this helps.

20Jan/115

Gym Etiquette the Basics…

  1. GYM1 300x120 Gym Etiquette the Basics…Smell normal - nobody wants to workout beside someone that smells like they have not showered in a few days.
  2. Wear clean clothes and shoes -  clean clothes goes hand in hand with odor.  Don't come in the gym wearing shoes that are tracking dirt all over the place.
  3. Re-Rack Weights - Don't be lazy put up what you used.
  4. Clean Equipment - After your done especially on cardio wipe down your machine.  On weight benches and machines etc put a towel down.
  5. Talking - If your going to talk make it quick and during rest period in between sets. Otherwise your holding up the piece of equipment.  I personally do not like to talk at all during my workouts.  I'm their for a purpose and I don't want to lose my focus.
  6. Leave your ego at the door! if you can't lift it correctly don't lift it at all!

Feel free to add any others that I did not list in the comments.