Finally on the mend
Each day I'm improving and feeling more and more back to normal. Still feeling pretty weak and tired but overall I'm in a lot better place then I was just a couple days ago. I don't know if being sick cranks up your metabolism but I'm eating a massive amount of food and the scale still isn't moving. When I eat these meals I get hungry shortly after. I spoke with one of my friends Trent today that had gotten pneumonia a couple years back and he said it took him 3 weeks to gain all of his weight back and he lost the same amount as me 15lb. This weekend I plan on hitting the weights again if I'm feeling up for it. Friday I plan on doing some Chest and back, Saturday shoulders and arms and Sunday legs. All of these workouts will be extremely light and it's going to be more just to get some blood in the muscle and get a pump. This might be too ambitious but right now it's sounding good to me..I guess I'll just have to see how I'm feeling day by day. I'll be posting my workouts that I do. Here has been a typical day of eating for me.
- Protein Pancakes
- 7oz chicken, 3 cups hash brown, 1 tbsp evoo
- 7oz chicken, 1 cup rice, 1 tbsp evoo
- 7oz chicken, 8oz sweet potato
- some junk food (yesterday had 2 whoppers and 5 mini sneakers bars)
- 3/4 cup oats, 2 scoop protein, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
Questions – 4/15/2012
John
Tyler, first of all, hope that you get better. Pneumonia is terrible, but its definitely a good thing you take care of yourself. I have a quick question about sweet potatoes and carbs in general. First, should you eat complex carbs like sweet potato and brown rice, even on days that your not working out? Or should you just eat them before and immediately after your workouts? Secondly, how much sweet potato/brown rice is appropriate per meal? Finally, I shouldn't eat the skins on the sweet potato correct? I know you probably won't be getting around to questions for a while which is completely understandable. Thanks for you dedication Tyler, hopes and prayers are with you man. All the best.
14 April 2012
Tyler - My diet stays the same on days I don't' workout. Your body still needs the food for recovery purposes IMO. The amounts you have per meal really depends on a lot of different factors. my suggestion is to play around with that and see how your body responds to the different amounts. you can eat the skins if you'd like it's a great source of fiber..i choose not to eat them just because i don't like the taste. i eat my sweet potatos cold with ground cinnamon on them..been doing that for years now. thank you for your kind words and support. keep up the hard work!
will
give yourself time to recover, can have a rebound of the bug
14 April 2012
Tyler - most definitely..that is the last thing that i want to happen right now.
Daniel
Tyler, it's been a while since we've heard from you. ...hope your doing better. Daniel
14 April 2012
Tyler - thanks Daniel...it's been a rough 2 weeks..i'm just ready to feel better again.
Eric
in the supermarket i can often choose between non gluten cookies or cookies with no sugar. they can't be non gluten and no sugar. what is the better choice for getting ripped?
8 April 2012
Tyler - the best choice is to not eat cookies at all. if you can't give up cookies chances are you won't be able to achieve the leaness your striving for. if you talking that these cookies are just every once in a while..say once a month then i would just eat normal cookies.
Jake
Tyler, i read that your taking glycocarb with evp pre-workout? Do you take them together? The EVP directions say to take it on an empty stomach, does it matter if you take your carbs with it?
5 April 2012
Tyler - no you can take them together. when i was taking them i would do 1 scoop glycoject and 2 scoops evp mixed together 20 minutes before my workout.
Wil
Tyler- what does your pre-bed meal consist of?
4 April 2012
Tyler - a protein source and greens
Jason
Hey Tyler, have you always been vascular? Other then lowering your body fat, are there are ways to get your veins to appear thicker and more apparant? Does cardio help since it promotes the increase of blood flow?
1 April 2012
Tyler - Vascularity does come from having low body fat. Cardio will help burn the fat off so your veins will be visible.
Questions – 2/24/2012
James
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.
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.
Health Benefits of a Sweet Potato
Sweet potato is rich in Vitamin A (betacarotene) and Vitamin C. Both Vitamins A and C are powerful antioxidants that work in the body to remove free radicals, this free radicals are chemicals that damage cells.
Good for stomach ulcers and inflamed conditions of the colon.
It is beneficial for low blood pressure.
May be helpful for hemorrhoid because of its high fiber content.
A good food for people involved in heavy muscular work, since this food is high in vitamins and minerals.
May help prevent cancer in glands and organs with epithelial tissue due to its high Vitamin A content.
A good food for diabetics, because it helped stabilize blood sugar levels.
Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.
Vitamin A : 7,700 I.U.
Vitamin B : Thiamine .09 mg.
Riboflavin : .05 mg.
Niacin : .6 mg.
Vitamin C : 22 mg.
Calcium : 30 mg.
Iron : .7 mg.
Phosphorus : 49 mg.
Potassium : 300 mg.
Fat : .7 gm.
Carbohydrates : 27.9 gm.
Protein : 1.8 gm.
Calories : 123
I've been just cooking mine in the microwave because it's easyier and quicker then baking in the oven. Poke holes with a fork. Wrap in a paper towel and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Baked Sweet Potato – basic but i’m in love

Preheat oven to 450
wrap sweet potato's in aluminum foil.
place on baking sheet and cook for roughly 60-80 minutes this will depend how many your are baking and how big they are. check to see if they are slightly soft at 60 minutes.
after cooking these i refriderate them over night and eat them the next day with ground cinamon on top. i used to do this over a year ago and finally incorporated them back. they will be a daily addition to my nutrition plan.
Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
2 sweet potato's
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
italian seasoning
cajun spice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 400
start off by cutting the ends of the potato's then cut them length wise in half then cut the halves into preferred size, the thinner you cut the crispier they will get. put fries into a gallon bag...add as much seasoning as you like and 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. seal and shake bag. place fries on a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with pam and cook for 50minutes. cook a little longer to make crispier.
i dip mine in 100% Natural Hunts ketchup
also you can season these however you want. i've tried a few different ways.