A look into my current program
For the past 4 weeks I've been hitting it hard and I'm very close to being where I want to be (body fat wise..new pics and youtube vids soon) I've been using a new approach to nutrition,workouts and supplementation. So far the results have been the best yet. The program is designed to build strength, maximize fullness, and burn fat. A little about my current nutrition is that I have 3 different meal plans for the week. Once a week I've been having my cheat meals 
For one meal out of the 42 I have in a week I eat whatever I want. If you follow me on Facebook or twitter you have prob seen a couple pics. Cheat meals can be very beneficial to your diet as long as you have discipline and are able to control it. A couple of guidelines I follow is that I make sure to be done with my meal within 45-1hr. I used to not follow that in the past and it would turn into a all night event of munching... Not good. Secondly I always have it as a replacement for meal 6. If you choose to have it early in the day your most likely going to miss meals and end up cheating again. Lastly I make it carbohydrate rich. Some of my go to cheats are pizza,homemade burgers and fries, baked ziti, Mexican and sushi. My desert the past couple of weekends has been a red velvet cupcake on top of 2 slices of cheesecake. Ok enough about food! As for my workout routines they have switched up too and I'm using a periodization protocol with higher volume. Very intense! Cardio has been low intensity empty stomach as soon as I wake up. Incline treadmill with the incline set on 15 the whole time. Give it a try you won't be able to go as fast but it's challenging. I keep my heart rate around 130-145. I'm gearing up to resume filming for my members section and once it's launched you will have full details everyday of my diet and the new workout program I've been doing.
Up until last week my cough had still been lingering but it is now officially done! I have not yet rescheduled my shoot for silver models in NYC because right now my priority is getting my members section launched. Everyone keep training your ass off!
Questions – 5/10/2012
Jack
Hey Tyler, i've recently bulked up to my goal and im looking to cut roughly 5-10lbs of pure body fat in the next 6 weeks. I was wondering if it's possible to do "too much" cardio and lose muscle, assuming i am taking adequate protein? Im afraid of doing more then 40 minutes of cardio on non-training days and more then 20 minutes of cardio on training days. Im also confused on the intensity i should be doing during these cardio sessions, is it possible to go too intense for too long to hinder my recent gains?
8 May 2012
Tyler - For sure you can start to eat away at your hard earned muscle. So be careful! Start off with 25-30 minute sessions 5 times a week for the first couple of weeks to see how your body responds. I suggest doing it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and start off with low intensity. Keep heart rate around 130-140. After two week your not dropping fat quick enough add on 5-10 minutes. If this method still doesn't work after 3.5-4 weeks then your diet could be off or you might need to add another session in after your weight training. But for now I would keep it at low intensity to make sure you don't burn up your muscle mass.
Eric
Need a recommendation of snacks to eat at work. I always hit my egg whites and oats in the morning before work and have brown rice with chicken for lunch but was curious as to what you would recommend for snacks throughout the day (around 9:30am and 3:30pm).
6 May 2012
Tyler - I would do a protein shake or bar with some nuts or a piece of fruit
Mark
A few months ago you mentioned a program by Hany called"Get Jacked for 2012". Anyway, you can post it or do you know where you could find that issue of Muscular Development. Thanks
5 May 2012
Get Jacked Meal Plan
Week 1-4 Get Jacked Program
Week 5-8 Get Jacked Program
DMAA (Geranium) being Banned
DMAA is an ingredient in several pre-workout supplements and fat burners. It's a stimulant and soon will be pulled of the shelves by the FDA. For more info about the ban click here
Article from Muscular Development June 2012 Issue
"DMAA Does Not Increase Resting Heart Rate
Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a stimulant found in many athletic supplements such as Jack3d, OxyElite Pro, and M5 Extreme. It was developed by Eli Lilly as a nasal decongestant, but is widely used in athletic supplements as a stimulant and weight-loss agent. Reports of severe side effects in soldiers and athletes have led health experts to question its safety. A study from the University of Memphis, led by Paul Whitehead, showed that supplementing DMAA had no effect on resting heart rate, blood pressure or liver and kidney function. Human trials showed very few adverse side effects of consumption of these supplements. (Nutrition Metabolic Insights, published online 1212:6)"
First leg workout after 4 weeks
Today I got in there and did my first leg workout in over 4 weeks. It was ridiculously tough and I'm going to be hurting for the rest of the week. Not looking forward to the pain of walking down steps, standing and sitting, and getting in and out of my car lol. Having the intra shake along with not pushing any blood in them for over a month I got a very painful pump today. It especially hit me on leg press. I didn't do any advance techniques today just because doing legs already takes enough out of you and my lungs still feel like I've never worked out a day of my life. It took me 2-3 minutes in between each sets just for me to catch my breathe back and my heart rate to come back down. All in all extremely happy that I was able to get back to leg training and this is a clear sign to me that I'll be able to be on my regular training schedule. Minus the cardio of coarse...I'm enjoying not doing any right now. I was thinking about that last night and for the past 2 years I've consistently done cardio every week so maybe giving my body this long of a break from cardio will do me some good.
- Leg ext - 3 warm up 15-20, 3x10-12
- Leg Press - 5x8-12 (shoulder width foot stance)
- DB Lunges - 4x20 total steps each set
- Squats - 3x8-10
- Lying leg curl - 4x12-15
My strength was pretty much the same on everything except leg press and squats. Once I made it to squats my legs were literally trembling during my sets and I only had 185lb on the bar. Right now my Members Section is ready to roll but it's all up to me when to get it started. I will most likely start it up in the next few weeks I've just been holding off till I'm healthy....don't want to be huffing and puffing on videos lol....sorry for the delays but it is coming soon and I guarantee you will be able to learn and gain tons of knowledge.
Questions – 3/4/2012
Screenshot from members section video filmed 3/3/2012
John
Tyler, I read that article on Description of Heart Rate Zones. What zone do you train in? Healthy Heart zone, Fitness zone, or Aerobic Zone? Thanks, John
5 March 2012
Tyler - The only time I monitor my heart rate is on cardio and I do the Aerobic Zone.
Kyle
Hey Tyler, two questions related to Cell K.E.M. 1. Why do you take it post cardio, why not just take a protein shake, or have your breakfast right after? Do you wait to to have breakfast after cardio? 2. How is Cell K.E.M. superior to just protein? I feel like i should be taking a 40g of protein right after my work rather then 1.5 scoops of cell K.E.M. which is essentially just BCAA i believe (but protein has BCAA). Thanks!
4 March 2012
Tyler - I have it directly after cardio to get the bcaa,gluamine,creatine in my system immediately about 20 or so minutes after that once I'm showered etc I'll have my first meal. IMO Cell Kem is superior to just plain whey protein because it has pharmaceutical grade glutamine,creatine,bcaa and there is zero cals also it's designed for mass and recovery plain whey protein is just protein. If you feel you should take 40g of protein instead of the cell kem then you should be doing that. I did just straight protein for years but since I'm working with Hany now he's a firm believer in getting the majority of your nutrients from whole food. Directly after my weight training I'll have 1 scoop of cell kem then 30-45 min after that I'll have a whole food meal. Branch chain amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
Lichi
120 grs RAW brown rice, (60g pre and 60g post work), 60g oat RAW, and the others carbs, are saldas, vegetables, etc
4 March 2012
Tyler - Sorry man but I have no idea if that would be a good amount for your body..I'd say give it a try and see if it works that's the only way to find out.
Jason
Is it possible to grow without getting stronger every workout (i.e. heavier weight or more reps)? I change up my exercises pretty often but i dont record what i lift really, i just make sure im working to failure... i want to grow though.
4 March 2012
Tyler - Of coarse remember your not growing when your in the gym. Your growing when your resting and recovering. BUT a stronger muscle is a bigger muscle. That being said though you shouldn't switch your exercises around too much just because you won't know what's working or not. I suggest keeping some of the same exercise in your routines weekly so you will be able to gage if your getting stronger.
Keith
Whats your opinion on tanning? Do u go tanning in beds or natual sunlight? Do u think its worth it? Or do you get a spray tan before a shoot? Great website and youtube videos, keep it 100 bro!
4 March 2012
Tyler - I stay away from tanning beds and when I get sun in the summer I always wear sunblock. Tanning causes wrinkles and can cause skin cancer so those two reasons are enough for me to keep precaution to my skin. I use spray tans or the cheap tanning lotions you can get from target or walmart.
Mark
Tyler, Could you explain why you are suppose to cycle on and off preworkout supplements? Is it because of the stimulants? How long would you suggest taking a preworkout before cycling off? Thanks
4 March 2012
Tyler - There is a couple of reasons if your taking a stimulant based pre workout then I would go 8-12 weeks on and 4 weeks off just to give your adrenal glands a break and keep them fresh. The other reason is just like anything else our bodies get accustomed to supplements and build up a tolerance and won't responds the same anymore so giving your body a break from them will actually make them work freshly again once you reintroduce them to your system.
Angel
hey tyler...not gna lie, but i seldom ever work on legs. and if i ever do, its usually towards the end of my work out. some leg extensions and calf raises. i never attempted a single squat with BB, all i ever done was squats with DB. can u recommend a beginner leg workout for me please? thanks.
2 March 2012
Tyler - Gotta work those legs man! You will thank yourself later on if you start trashing them every week. Here is a basic routine that will be good for you
- Barbell Squats
- Leg Press
- Leg Ext
- Lunges
- Leg Curls
Sebastian
Hey, I wanna get rid of my lower ab body fat , is biking a good option?. Your website is cool as hell, it keeps me really motivated. Thanks dude
2 March 2012
Tyler - Biking is going to be fine but getting rid of that last little bit of fat is going to come from your nutrition.
Hams/Calf
Paul Reitz - NYC December 5 2010
Yesterday was by far the most intense hamstring session I think I've ever had. I told myself once I got home that I need to be training my hamstrings that hard every single week. For the past 6 months I've consistently done stiff leg deadlifts but after reading and watching several different videos I decided to just do traditional deadlifts for high reps because in the higher reps is when your hamstrings and glutes get recruited the most. So after I did my leg curls I made it over to the deadlift area and my friend Dion from the gym was training back so he linked up with me on deads. So my whole concept of doing high reps got thrown out the window for 2 sets lol. This guy is a monster he's around 260 my height and ripped. It was definitely motivational for me to train with him. My first set with 315lb for 20 reps shot my heart rate up through the roof and my whole body was feeling crazy at that point. He knocked his set out no straps for 12 reps. I rested for 2 minutes then asked him if he wanted to do another plate. At 405lb I got 10 reps. Then another set for 8. After that he moved on and I dropped it back down to 315lb for 15 reps. Needless to say my hams and lower back are trashed today along with my rear traps. Here is my complete day of workouts
- 8am - 45 minutes cardio
- 2:30pm - Hams/Calf
- 4:30pm - 25 min dog walk..very slow
- Lying leg curls - 4x8-12
- Seated leg curls - 4x8-12
- Deadlifts - 135x10,225lbx10,315lbx20,405lbx10,405lbx8,315lbx15
- Standing One leg curl - 4x12-15 superset standing calf raise
- one leg leg press calf raise - 4x12
In my members section there will be posts like this with even more detail every day of my workouts.
Questions – 2/9/2012
Sam
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.
Descriptions of Heart Rate Zones
Healthy Heart Zone
The first zone is called the Healthy Heart Zone. This is 50-60% of your max heart rate. This is the easiest and most comfortable zone within which to train and is the one that is best for people who are just starting an exercise program or have low functional capacity. Those of you who are walkers most likely train at this zone. Although this zone has been criticized for not burning enough total calories, and for not being intense enough to get great cardio respiratory benefits, it has been shown to help decrease body fat, blood pressure, and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. In this zone, 10% of carbohydrates are “burned” (used as energy), 5% of protein is burned and a whopping 85% of fat is burned.
Fitness Zone
The next zone is the Fitness Zone, which is 60-70% of your max HR. Once again, 85% of your calories burned in this zone are fats, 5% are protiens and 10% are carbohydrates. Studies have shown that in this zone you can condition your fat mobilization (getting fat out of your cells) while conditioning your fat transportation (getting fat to muscles). Thus, in this zone, you are training your fat cells to increase the rate of fat release and training your muscles to burn fat. Therefore, the benefits of this zone are not only the same as the healthy heart zone training at 50-60% but you are now slightly increasing the total number of calories burned and provide a little more cardio respiratory benefits. You burn more total calories at this zone simply because it is more intense
Aerobic Zone
The third zone, the Aerobic Zone, requires that you train at 70-80% of your max HR. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. In this zone, your functional capacity will greatly improve and you can expect to increase the number and size of blood vessels, increase vital capacity and respiratory rate and achieve increases in pulmonary ventilation, as well as increases in arterial venous oxygen. Moreover, stroke volume (amount of blood pumped per heart beat) will increase, and your resting heart rate will decrease. What does all this mean? It means that your cardio vascular and respiratory system will improve and you will increase the size and strength of your heart. In this zone 50% of calories burned are from carbohydrates, 50% are from fat and less then 1% is from protein. And, because there is an increase in intensity, there is also an increase in total number of calories burned.
Categories
Shoutbox
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- will
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wonder if a three day rotation works in exercising giving muscles more time to recover
- 2 June 2012
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- Jack
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What is your cutting ratio like? Protein:Carb:Fat?
- 1 June 2012
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- Mike
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Any suggestions on how I can get my chest to really pop? Thanks Tyler! Huge inspiration!!!
- 31 May 2012
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- Ash
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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
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- Andrew
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What kind of cardio do you recommend? HIIT or low intensity?
- 28 May 2012
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- John
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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
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- doug stikeleather
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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
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- Shaun
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Hey Tyler, I am currently on a cut and seem to have good progress, however it is kinda slow. I don't do cardio and all because I don't want it to go to muscle waste but I do control my caloric intake. I need to try to cut about 6-12lbs of body fat or well just look more defined. Is there anything you could recommend?
- 25 May 2012
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- will
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Congrat on Dylan's big day, and you being there is the bottom line that counts
- 25 May 2012
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- rod
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ty, been a fan for a while, having grown up near you in blacksburg. most people recommend doing cardio after lifting but i'm wondering if this makes the workout too long? people say don't work out for more than an hour but if you lift for an hour then how can you do cardio after, especially if you need protein ASAP after lifting? thanks.
- 20 May 2012
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- Heat needs this one tonight http://twitter.com/tylermcpeak615
- @Kelanor cool let me know if u need a gym to go to here I work at one in east Nash close to dtown http://twitter.com/tylermcpeak615
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