Under 7 week out UPDATE
This morning I got up knocked out my 30 minutes of cardio on the stair climber. After that I pretty much felt drained and out of it for most of the day. I took the day off from weights and in between clients and client calls I managed to get a 30 minute nap in that was a life saver. I was thinking to myself it's too early to start feeling this shitty lol considering I havn't even started my diet yet. Cutting starts next Wednesday! I will be posting my diet up on my members section. The plan is to cut hard from the start then fill out leading up to the shoot. EVERYTHING will be posted in the members blog. I'm definitely not looking forward to feeling like shit all the time but the worse you feel usually the better you look lol. It'll all be worth it though. It's been over 2 years since my last shoot and I've NEVER gave a photo shoot 100 percent effort in prep so I can't wait to see the end result. I've got a videographer that will be filming my workouts and lifestyle type of videos when I'm a couple weeks out from my shoots.
Yesterday was arm day and since I got such a ridiculous pump last week I decided to do the exact workout to see if the same pump would happen. AND IT DID! That is by far one of my favorite arm workouts so definitely give that one a try and I guarantee your arms will be ballooned up! (workout posted in members blog) Tomorrow is Back day and the plan is to add some hamstrings at the end. I'm skipping morning cardio and I'm going to run outside tomorrow afternoon. That will most likely be one of the last time I run outside since I'll be keeping everything LOW INTENSITY starting next week. I just won't have the energy to do that type of cardio with the calorie reduction. One good thing about calorie reduction is a cheaper grocery bill lol. Everyone keep it up!
Questions – 8/21/2012
Tom
Hey Tyler, my typical mornings would be up at 6.30 with a strong black tea and then i'd prob have my first meal at 8am (way it is with work etc). I'm currently on a cut, but wondering if I should get some sort of protein in before 8 or if it makes little difference? How long do you normally have between waking and your first meal?
21 August 2012
Tyler - I suggest eating your first meal as soon as you wake up with your black tea. Your body has been fasting all night and in order to keep it anabolic you should give it nutrients as soon as you get up. On days that I don't do my morning cardio I eat as soon as I get up. On days that I do my cardio I'll take 10g of BCAA before doing cardio and directly after I'll have my first meal.
Shaun
Hey Tyler, I am currently going through a workout crisis. I am currently on holiday and on my week 6 of TMT-Phase 1. Wasn't able to go to the gym on Monday and Tuesday it was closed. I might be able to hit the gym on Wednesday but then I have to skip 1 workout day for a rest day in between week 6 and 7. Should I just take a whole week off or just sacrifice 1 workout day for a rest day.
21 August 2012
Tyler - I would only take a full week off if you feel like your body needs a break. If my gym was closed Monday and Tuesday from a holiday but open for the rest of the week I would just train 5 days in a row to make sure I got all my days in still.
Eric
Vodka is a better option than beer if I want to protect my abs right? it has less carbs correct?
18 August 2012
Tyler - IMO Vodka is a better option than beer.
Henk
email
Hi Tyler, Your blog had been a true inspiration to me! I'm 34 now and untill à year ago I had real idea about training, nutrition, rest, mindsett, to be honest. Altough training for more than 10 years, being nicknamed the ' muscular nail' though, I have always been an ectomoph 'no gainer', weigthing 155 but never more... ( at 6'3 lenght and 10% bf. 6 months ago, I started to include the nutrition element and did take my fitness to another level.. Your blog and TMT Fase 1 did the rest.. Now I weigh 182 with bf 8%. Still lean but Much more mass. I have experienced it as à tough but very rewarding process! Keep up THE good work with your blog, Kind Regards, Henk, The Netherlands
18 August 2012
Tyler - Thanks for the update Henk! And congrats to all of your fitness success thus far..keep up the hard work and much more progress to come!
James
How do you do one arm t-bar rows? Between the legs or beside? Also, what are your thoughts on pwo cardio? Would you advise it after your TMT workouts? Thanks!
16 August 2012
Tyler - It's going to be beside your legs. I'll make a demo video of the exercise. Make sure to position yourself where you can get a full stretch of the lats. My thoughts on post workout cardio is depending on how long the session will be. If your only going to be doing 10-15 minutes then I would say that is fine. But if your going longer then that I would keep them done apart. Your main focus once getting done with weight training should be to start the rebuild process with flushing your body with the proper nutrients right away.
80 Days Out & Feeling Good!
A couple shots of vodka in me before heading out to an Italian feast!
Let the count down begin! I'm now at 80 days till my shoots and I'm starting to slowly change a few things. One change is that I'm downsizing my cheats. Reason for this is that I want to make this process on myself of getting super shredded as easy as possible. I'm back to my 45 minute rule where I have to be done with everything within 45 minutes and be done for the night.. The past couple weekends I kinda threw that rule out the window lol. My Wednesday clean cheat will now take place during the day and it will be the same every week. 2 homemade hamburgers on whole wheat bread. I picked up a pack of frozen sirloin patties and a big bag of whole wheat buns from Costco yesterday. So the change there is that Wednesday won't be a huge feast anymore either. The more I think about these upcoming shoots the more excited I get! I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've been in front of the camera. I think another thing that is really exciting me is that I'm taking matters into my own hands and controlling my own destiny by doing the type of pictures I WANT and feel that I NEED to help reach my goals within the fitness industry. These pictures are going to be just FITNESS pictures. The possibility of me going to South Africa to shoot is still on the table but that will take place in 2013. So for right now my sole focus is on my upcoming November shoots.
Cheat meal last night was at Savarino's which was featured on Food Network's show Triple D..(one of my favorite food porn shows lol)
TMT-PHASE Two has been great thus far! I have one more week of cycle 1 then I switch over to the final 4 weeks for Cycle 2! I have consistently gotten DOMS after every workout so that is a clear sign that these workouts are just as good as Phase 1 despite being set up totally different. My strength is definitely increasing and for one example my first week I did 105lb for my last set of standing straight bar curls, the second week I did 115lb and yesterday I cranked out 125lb! As the book release gets closer I will start to reveal more information and go into further detail of what TMT-PHASE TWO has to offer. But like I said in a previous post be ready to beat the shit out of your body with heavier weights and get ready to increase your STRENGTH!
This upcoming weekend is my PHILLY TRIP! I'm very excited to get up there and hang out with my boy Anthony! I texted him earlier this week and asked if it was cool that we stay on my training schedule and he was up for it so we will be training Shoulders Friday and Arms Saturday. This will be my last weekend of partying/drinking until I'm done with my shoots. I'm finally able to update my facebook page through my iPhone again. The new facebook app doesn't allow it so I researched some about it yesterday and realized you have to dload a page manager app to be able to update it. So there will be plenty of pictures of my traveling this upcoming weekend!
Great cardio session.. 30 min incline treadmill on 15% and speed at 3.4 keeping heart rate at 135-140 today's cardio music was
Afrojack - funk with me
Kaskade - only you
Afrojack - replica
Bingo players - mode
Swedish house mafia - you (vocal mix)
A typical Sunday for me
Enjoyed my lazy Sunday but I'm ready to get back to work tomorrow!
Every Sunday is pretty much the same for me. It's the only day of the week that my body allows me to sleep in and the reason being is because of the huge cheat meals I have every Saturday. Today my day got started at 9:45am and as soon as I got up I did the treadmill for 30 minutes of low intensity cardio. I kept the speed on 3.8 and incline on 10.0-12.0 the whole time keeping my heart rate at 130. I used to take Sunday completely off from everything but for the past 2 weeks I've switched my morning cardio schedule around to always do a session after my cheat from the previous night. By the time I finished cardio, took a shower, and ate my first meal it was around 10:45am. After that I got online and checked emails and all of the sites I go to every day for updates and downed a couple cups of black coffee. Occasionally on Sunday's I'll have 1 or 2 clients that want to train with me but today I didn't have any. I laid out on the back deck for about 20 minutes then around 12:15pm took the dogs for a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood. We have a route that we do that is basically a big square and since my schedule during the week hardly ever allows them to get walked they get there walks during the weekends. Once we got back it was time for meal number 2 then had to make a grocery trip. After that I went to the farmers market to pick up a couple things then it was back to the house for food prep time. Besides all of that I do some reading/studying and I ended up getting a 30 min nap in as well. So that is a typical rundown of a lazy Sunday for me.
VERY TRUE
Week 1 of TMT-Phase 2 complete! & News Update
Screen shot from upcoming shoulder video for TMT-PHASE 2!
That was one hell of a week! The workouts are crazy intense and so far so good as for being just as good as they look on paper. There was only a couple minor tweaks that I made to perfect it. Today my friend Brian joined up with me and we got after some arms! I've already started filming my workouts and I've done 2 videos this week which I'll be putting out once the book is released in September. This morning I didn't do any cardio except take the dogs for a 30 minutes walk a couple hours after my first meal. I did my second session of HIIT cardio for the week after trashing arms and today I did 5 minutes on the spin bike by doing 1 min at a decent pace then a 30 second sprint (extremely painful leg pumps). After the 5 grueling minutes were done I went on to the stair climber and did 2 minutes level 7.0 then 1 minute 8.0 and that wrapped up my workout for today. Tonight I was completely ravenous and for my cheat meal Suzanne and I went to my favorite burger spot here in East Nashville called The Pharmacy. I had the Farm Burger which has egg,ham and bacon on it and the cheeseburger which has 3 different types of cheese on it along with sweet potato fries and tots. I washed it all down with a German beer that was 12% alcohol content (that one beer gave me a nice buzz). After we finished that up I just wasn't feeling full or satisfied so I stopped by Burger King and tried the Texas BBQ Whopper and finished everything off with some ice cream when I got home 
Favorite Burger spot in Nashville!
So after A LOT of thinking I've decided against going to South Africa or NYC in the near future to shoot. I know I'm a very indecisive person sometimes lol but I just want to make sure I'm making the correct moves in order to further my progress towards my goals. That being said the reasoning behind this is that I've really only been doing the correct nutrition,training, and supplementation for about 13 weeks now. Yeah I built up my body for the first 6 years by training correctly and taking supplements but my nutrition was always horrible. Then I had the 1.5 years away from my passion where I completely threw everything away to try to be a fashion model. Then after I got over that I was still in a confused state of mind of what exactly I wanted to do with my career and body. Fast forward till recently it wasn't until I got very sick with pneumonia that it was a life changing experience for me. If you've been following my site for a while then you will remember my ups and downs...my downs being where I wouldn't post ANYTHING for weeks on end...during those times I was very down on myself for the fact that I was always stressing out about my nutrition and could never accomplish the type of shape that I'm in now. I was continuously spinning my wheels and the thought of quitting and giving everything up was constantly on my mind. I was thinking of just getting a different job and going back to school for who knows what. So the gist of the story is that I want to give my body more time to improve. I've never seen it change weekly like it is and I've never done an "off season" style of nutrition and training correctly. I feel this is the best time for me to do this since my head is on straight and my priorities are in the right place. My plan now is to take the next 5 months and really focus on making solid improvements to my physique before I get back in front of the camera. This will allow me to maintain where my body fat is now and make solid gains where I need to and not have to diet hard to get down to 3-3.5% body fat for a shoot (which is the percent I want to be for my next shoot) There is one photographer in particular that I am going to set a shoot up with that is famous for just FITNESS shots. I plan on doing this at the beginning of 2013! Until then I will continue putting out plenty of content on here and my youtube channel! Thanks again for the continuous support! Everyone keep training hard and stay focused on your goals!
8/4/2012 - Progress "Suffer the PAIN of Discipline, or Suffer the PAIN of REGRET"
Questions – 7/28/2012
Mark
When you do a rest pause after a set, how long do you usually rest for?
28 July 2012
Tyler - It depends on the type of rest pause I'm doing and for which exercise. For example if I'm doing heavy rowing movements by the end of the set I'll still hold the weight but rest for only a couple seconds to complete the set. If I'm using it on something like squats rack the weight and rest 10-15 seconds between. I've also done that method with other body parts like chest for heavy presses with racking the weight and resting 15 seconds then trying to get a couple more reps.
Daniel
Tyler, why don;t update your physical stats on Bodyspace? You've made great progress since over the last two to three years.
28 July 2012
Tyler - thanks! I barely get on bodyspace anymore..I need to hop over there and update all of that.
Sam
Tyler you seem to always be very updated on new hip hop music or mixtapes that have just leaked. Do you have a site that you constantly check that keeps you updated?
28 July 2012
Tyler - Yeah..I love music..and the amount of working out that I do I need A LOT OF IT. For all of the new hiphop and rap I go to atrilli.net and hiphopearly.com lots of good stuff has came out in the past couple weeks so definitely check it out.
MIke
My gym doesn't carry a few machines that are required to carry out certain exercises can I do a similar one to that or just skip it entirely?
26 July 2012
Tyler - Substitute them for similar exercises
Anthony
email
In TMT-Phase One, about how long should it take to complete a daily workout?
24 July 2012
Tyler - anywhere from 1hr to 1hr in a half at the most. most of the workouts take me about an hour and 15 minutes including my warmups
Consistency of doing the right shit is key!
7/26/2012 - I got to get 20 minutes of Sun today out back on my deck
"You string a bunch of days of quality, efficient action together, and you can be successful." - Kai Greene
That quote was taken from an article that I just read tonight and to me it couldn't have been said any better. This is the number one reason I'm able to continuously make progress. As I've said before consistency is key but it's consistency of doing the right shit that is key. I had a discussion with one of my clients last night during our session and she is the type of person that always tells me that she wants this or wants that. For example she wants a firmer and more shapely ass, better hamstrings, tighter midsection but her biggest obstacle is not being able to put the amount of work, sacrifice, and dedication to obtain these goals. Nutrition and social drinking is her set back and I told her last night that she would be surprised at what she would look like if she just dedicated herself to burning the fat off. Her response was that her nutrition was better and that during the week she eats healthy but on the weekends she eats whatever. That's takeing one step forward but two steps back. YOU CANNOT OUTWORK A POOR DIET. I'm going to stop rambling on about this because I think you get the point that there are no shortcuts, no magic supplements you can take, and no other substitute for being consistent with doing the right shit day in and day out.
Some other news is that I'm in the process of setting up to shoot in South Africa! Photographer Louis Botha and I have been in contact pretty much ever since I got started and we are finally going to make this happen! I'm very excited and I'll be skyping with him this weekend to start the planning process but we are most likely going for the first week of November!
TMT-Phase 2 is coming together nicely! What I've designed thus far looks great on paper but I won't actually know if it's worth a damn until I start to apply it to myself next week. I will give random updates of how that is going. It will be a 12 week program again but like I said before it's TOTALLY DIFFERENT than phase one. An update about my members section is that my webmaster is on vacation right now visiting family in Cali and he will be back to work on Monday so I'll know more and hopefully I can have a date by next week of when it will get started. This weekend for my big cheat feast my girlfriend and I are going to Nashville's number 1 BBQ place. It's called Jack's BBQ and if you know anything about TN we are known for BBQ. I havn't had some BBQ in a while so I'm definitely looking forward to that after I trash my final cycle 3 ARM workout on Saturday. Some new music that I've been listening to at the gym is the new Lloyd Banks mixtape called A6, new Mike Will singles from his latest mixtape, and new Rick Ross album God Forgives I Don't. For today's workout though it was all of the band called Blindside..I was in a rock mood and it was getting me pretty hyped up. Everyone have a great weekend!
Questions – 6/27/2012
Craig
Tyler, is the goal to get stronger every time you go back to cycle 1? How do you gauge your strength with a workout like this?
25 June 2012
Tyler - The goal is to definitely get stronger each workout. I'm not saying that you will get stronger on every single lift and every single time you step in the gym you will be because some days are better than others but what you will notice is once you go through all three cycles and start back at 1 the weights are going to feel lighter that you previously used. The simplest way to track this is to keep a notebook and record your numbers if you want to make sure that your improving.
Oz
Hey Tyler keep up the solid work on your new approach. After seeing your updated pics I think your physique looks a lot better now that you have taken control of it. You look like you are gaining lean mass and staying pretty ripped at the same time. When will your nutrition ebook come out to compliment the Workouts?? How fast can we get our hands on it? And will the nutrition program work with people who are sensitive to grains, oatmeal?? My previous nutrition had a lot of grains which killed my immune system and circulation as well as losing elasticity in my skin and drying it out., still doing damage repair.Keep up the solid work.
Tyler - Appreciate it Oz! The nutrition ebook will be my meal plan that I'm following right now with options for each meal. It will expain why I'm eating what at certain times etc. So yeah if you are sensitive to grains there will be other options for you. I don't have a set date yet when it will be released but some time in the near future. Thanks again!
25 June 2012
Ebook Reviews – 6/24/2012
A couple more Reviews I received via Email. [email protected] THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK GUYS!
Michael B
I've got to admit, I've always loved your physique and have been following your site and progress for the last year.
I've read through TMT Phase 1 and am totally PUMPED to get this going. Just wanted to say thanks for all the time you've spent on the shoutbox and site helping us grow and challenge ourselves.
Thanks for dedicating your time into make TMT Phase 1 and am really excited to get my hands on the nutrition program once it's out.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal- a commitment to excellence- that will enable you to attain the success you seek.
Tyler - Thank you! I can't wait for you to get started... I put my heart into this program and it really does work... I'm happy that you are geared up and ready! And awesome quote I'm gonna use that!
Agel
Hey Tyler,
Questions – 6/17/2012
Jon
how much will the ebook cost?
17 June 2012
Tyler - TMT-PHASE 1 EBook will be available for $14.95US dollars
will
great new video. What music do you listen to.. that what was playing? Also, notice you move about in bursts.. is that free style based on the muscle feel of the moment or following a planned routine. great video all the way
17 June 2012
Tyler - Thanks Will! I listen to all kinds of music. I'm a music lover so my taste is very eclectic. I mostly listen to Rap,House,and Hard Rock when I train. As for as the different movements of the exercises they are all planned out and in the ebook I explain in detail of how I want everyone to perform each rep.
Jimmy
Can you explain perioidization training?
15 June 2012
Tyler - Periodization, is a method that involves changing up your training at specific times to maximize results. My new training program TMT-PHASE 1 is a periodization training protocol. Some workouts are high reps, some workouts are low reps. The main goal is to maximize muscle stimulation by targeting both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers.
Jake
If there is a muscle (say chest) that you don't wish to grow any larger but wish to shape and/or hardened it, how do suggest to train it? I still would like my other muscles to continue to grow for uniformity (my chest is larger), but i am happy with my chest size... i just dont know how to train it differently so that it's shaping rather then just growing in mass... i always aim to get stronger.
15 June 2012
Tyler - I have a couple of suggestions for you. First would be if your going to stick with a traditional workout program doing the same style of workouts every week then I would place chest training at the end of the week. Since you already have the mass that you want focus on pre-exhausting method where you will start your workout off with a couple of fly movements rather than pressing. The fly movements are more for shaping and detaling where pressing movements are more for chest mass and development. My other suggestion would be to check out my 12 week TMT-PHASE 1 training program. These workouts are designed to burn fat,shape and detail the muscle all while keeping it to the maximum fullness. It will be available June 22!
Sunny
Hey Tyler, 2 questions for you. 1. What are the current carbs food types that you are taking? Sweet Potato? Oatmeal? Just Veggies all the time? Are you limiting these carbs to the morning and afternoon only? and 2. What supplements are you currently taking pre, during, post? Any multi's or omega's? Thanks in advance! I tend to follow your supplement regimen and it has done wonders. P.S. come on PSN some time will ya!
15 June 2012
Tyler - I will be putting out my diet and a nutrition guide ebook very soon so that will answer all of your questions. As far as supplementation goes in my new TMT-PHASE 1 Ebook that is coming out June 22nd it's my 12 training program that I've been following along with a supplementation guide in it with everything that I'm currently supplementing with.
Yaseen
whats the best way to recover after a binge? get back to your regular macros the next day, fast the next day? what doyou think.
14 June 2012
Tyler - First really try to avoid all out binges. They wreaked havoc on my physique for quite sometime and not only does it make you look and feel bad it also taxes your digestive system heavily. If you are having urges to binge your most likely not taking in the correct macros for your body. But to answer your question if this does happen make sure to get right back to your normal macros the next day I do not suggest starving and fasting.
Shaun
Is there such thing as too much cardio? Cardio everyday and once in the evening after every workout. I tried your high incline treadmill in the morning on an empty stomach and it worked wonders. Just curious about how much cardio I am doing. Is it too much, am I losing muscle?
14 June 2012
Tyler - There is definitely such thing as too much cardio. I've been a victim of this. It can send your body into a overtrained state and the longer your in that state you will most likely lose muscle, your body will go into survival mode and hold on to everything rather than burning off the fat. Glad you like the 15% incline treadmill. That still is my go-to cardio right now. As for if your losing muscle right now a good way to tell is if your strength is decreasing from workout to workout in the gym. With my new style of training that I'm doing I havn't had to kill myself on cardio at all and I'm continuing to lose body fat. No more 2 a day cardio sessions at all.
Kevin
Glad to see that you are back and training again. Looking forward to the youtube videos and website updates.
13 June 2012
Tyler - Thanks Kevin!
Categories
Shoutbox
-
- James
-
What's the last thing you take before going to bed (food wise and supplement wise)?
- 26 October 2012
-
- Shaun
-
Any advice on my current diet. I am consuming 300g protein,150g carbs,80g fats with a total of 2700 cals. Currently doing TMT-Phase 2 and 6 times a week LISS cardio. Is my macro plan in check?
- 25 October 2012
-
- Rick
-
How low carb is actually low? Or what is the lowest you have ever gone to try and preserve as much muscle mass as possible?
- 24 October 2012
-
- Sunny
-
Why do you do farmers walk on your arm day? Is for your ab routine?
- 21 October 2012
-
- Jesse
-
Would like your advice.. Im currnetly taking a fat burner and it says not to eat anything 30-45 mins after taking it. However i do early morning cardio... do you think it's okay to take a BCAA right after i take fat burner (within the 30-45 min window) or would that constitute as "food"?
- 20 October 2012
-
- Jake
-
I tried doing DB pullovers and i feel my triceps get tired, why is that? I really dont try to bend them, i avoid extending them out too much too. I get the same feeling in my tris when i do straight arm pull downs.
- 20 October 2012
-
- Wil
-
Tyler- I am trying to comeback from a long stretch of overtraining/undereating I think it could have been definitely been considered an eating disorder. I was wondering if you had any tips on how to raise testosterone levels back up to normal naturally. I just want to build muscle back again without ballooning up.
- 17 October 2012
-
- daniel g
-
hey tyler do testosterone supplements actually build muscle or is it B.S thanks
- 16 October 2012
-
- Rick
-
How do you determine your calories for cutting phase?
- 16 October 2012
-
- Jeremy
-
Tyler, first off let me say you are such an inspiration. over the last year or two i have turned to your blog for ideas and drive. I have come across some bad luck recently rendering my hand in bandages with multiple surgeries and a couple of months of rehab. I wanted to know what i could do to help maintain all that i worked so hard to achieve over the last 8 years. It took me a long time to get to 205 and i do not want to loose it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
- 13 October 2012
Links
Tyler's Videos
Tyler's Twitter Feed
- No public Twitter messages.