Leg, Workouts, Home Workouts, NBA and Week Five NFL Picks

Lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, I can’t get enough of it. After two weeks of staying true to my workout regimen of isolating muscle groups only six days out of the week and then dedicating one day to cardio only, I broke that promise to myself this past week, isolating chest last night when it was supposed to be a steady state cardio night. Hey, a few hours later at six this morning, I did get that cardio workout in, so no harm done, right? What am I looking to do tonight? Shoulders.

Honestly, I really just can’t wait until I do legs again. I’m guessing my return to the leg circuit is going to be Wednesday, October 15th, or at least that is in my initial plans. My ever so nagging knee will ultimately be the deciding factor in that. So, what does this ‘Return of the King’ workout going to look like? See my initial plans:

Barbell Squats: 4-5 sets/10-15 reps- Not going too heavy on these too soon.

Tactical Lunges with Kettlebells: 3 sets/12 reps per leg

super-set Single Leg Kettle Bell Squats: 3 sets/12 reps per leg plus 12 jumps per leg

Smith Machine Leg Presses (this destroys the leg press machine): 3 sets/15-20 reps

super-set Barbell Lateral Lunge (you can go really, really deep here, but stay balanced): 3 sets/Over length of gym/back)

Box Jumps: 4 sets/30 seconds

super-set: Explosive Step-Ups: 4 sets/30 seconds

When it comes to legs, I like to use all free weights while throwing in the leg extension and leg curl machines on a bi-weekly basis (when my knee is up to training). I also like to utilize the kettlebells. There are some really advanced movements here, so if you have to, substitute a few of these movements, such as the sled leg press for the smith machine leg press, lunge for tactical lunge, use lower boxes for the jumps and step-ups if needed or simply just do jump squats and standard step-ups.

Currently ten days out of my final show of the season, the NPC Natural Pennsylvania. This is by far the leanest I have looked all year, and in life. My secret is simple: consistency. Sure, I preach the importance of nutrition, but both training and nutrition go hand in hand. In this equation, these two elements equal consistency. Consistency is key. Consistency is everything.

I really cannot wait until this show has passed, so I can display progress pictures from the three previous shows of 2014 to everyone just to see what six and a half months can do for one’s physique. The secret is just to remain consistent. Now I don’t need everyone thinking that they have to mirror my own regimen, which on a typical day requires two workouts per day, a pre and post workout shake at each workout, and three solid meals on top of that. If one just does half of that, then they will be on their way to success in the fitness realm.

This brings me back to what consistency really is. Many of us can claim to not have enough time in the day to keep to a strict fitness regimen. We state that if we are parents, full time employees, college students, have additional commitments in addition to our already hectic lifestyles and so on and so forth, then it is just impossible to get into the gym to workout. We really have to look at ourselves if we do feel this way and really analyze on whether or not what is being said are excuses or not. Sure, at twenty-three years old, being single, childless, working in a gym, one would believe that I have all the time on the planet to reach my goals. Not so much. I don’t like to cram my workout in between client sessions, even if I have up to two hours. I like to make my workouts either during a long downtime stretch, or after my final client, most of the time, after my final client, at night. This is always my favorite time to get a workout in. Also, I am a full time college student in addition to training at least thirty-two hours worth of clients per week. This also limits my time. Hey, the sad thing is on Saturday and Sunday, I wish I would have seven to eight hours worth of clients to train. I wouldn’t mind putting forty-five to fifty hours in a week! That’s at any job.

For those of us that still believe that in no way, shape, or form it is possible for them to get to a gym no matter what I will say, I have good news for you. It’s not that hard to stay in shape, and don’t give me the “my kids won’t eat healthy foods” excuse. You’re the parent! You should control what your six year old puts in their mouth. Oh, and when they feel great and have a bunch of energy, they won’t even care for frozen foods anyway. Not only that, why not benefit the entire family by showing them a fit lifestyle. Oh, and by the way, your kids will be capable of doing this workout too, as it’s all bodyweight cardio:

50 Jumping Jacks

40 Crunches

40 Squats

40 Leg Raises

30 Jumping Jacks

20 Bicycles

20 Squats

30 Leg Raises

10 minute run

This workout seriously only takes about twenty-five minutes per circuit and it’s killer cardio! For those of you who want a bit of a challenge, you will need some light dumbbells or bands for this next home workout that I have in mind:

First, set the amount of reps that you wish to accomplish per movement: 30, 50, 75, or 100. This is in as many sets as it takes, and it doesn’t have to be all at once.

Dips

Decline Push-ups

Biceps Curl

Lateral Raise

Full Sit-up

Bodyweight Squats (Make hands touch ground)

Lunges

Band or Dumbbell Row

Leg Raise

Burpee

Now onto some sports predictions: I love October! This is the only month of the year where the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA play their games simultaneously. That rocks!

NBA Picks

Below, I have where I think each team will finish in their division. Also, the number in the parentheses represents where each team will be seeded come playoff time.

East

Atlantic: Toronto (4), Brooklyn (7), New York (8), Boston, Philadelphia

Central: Cleveland (1), Chicago (2), Indiana, Detroit, Milwaukee

Southeast: Washington (3), Charlotte (5), Miami (6), Atlanta, Orlando

West

Northwest: Oklahoma City (3), Portland (4), Denver, Utah, Minnesota

Pacific: LA Clippers (2), Golden State (5), Phoenix, LA Lakers, Sacramento

Southwest: San Antonio (1), Dallas (6), Memphis (7), Houston (8), New Orleans

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Chicago

Western Conference Finals: San Antonio over Oklahoma City

NBA Finals: San Antonio over Cleveland

Already Played: Green Bay: 33 over Minnesota: 10- Hey, at least I got close to the right score here! This game had blowout written all over it in an Aaron Rodgers v. Christian Ponder duel.

Carolina: 24 over Chicago: 23- This might be a pretty good game featuring two equally talented teams, both sitting at 2-2. The Panther defense has had numerous problems over the last two weeks but Jay Cutler still can’t find any consistency with his receivers.

Dallas: 28 over Houston: 24- The Cowboys are on a hot streak and something tells me this isn’t the same old Cowboys. Why? Tony Romo just realized that there are ten other men on offense. The Houston defense is hot, especially with some of the best in the game, but the offense is either old, slow, or injured. Not a good combo. Cowboys take this one.

Detroit: 30 over Buffalo: 10- I can’t remember when Kyle Orton last won an NFL game. But a quarterback controversy this early in the season is not necessary. The Lions have so many weapons on offense that the Bills just won’t keep up this early in the year.

AFC Game of the Week: Indianapolis: 34 over Baltimore: 31- If you want shootouts this is the game to turn to. Andrew Luck has been red hot for the Colts as Steve Smith has for the Ravens. The difference here is that Luck has about ten other guys to throw the ball to, while Joe Flacco has one guy and a running game. Oh, and the Colts have that too with Ahmad Bradshaw.

Pittsburgh: 22 over Jacksonville: 17- Finally here! Ben Roethlisberger v. the future Ben (Blake Bortles). The only difference between Bortles and Roethlisberger in their rookies seasons is that Ben had a team and Blake has the Jaguars. I feel bad for the guy because I would put him right there with Ben, Andrew Luck, and Cam Newton if he played for someone else.

Upset of the Week: Tampa Bay: 28 over New Orleans: 24- The Saints are just struggling to make anything happen this year. After the Bucs upset last week, playing a demoralized Saints team may be the best momentum builder for the Bucs.

New York Giants: 35 over Atlanta: 21- As good as the Falcons are, and they are a great team, they just can’t get it done on the road. Meanwhile, Eli Manning has been red hot for two consecutive weeks. This is a guy on hot and cold streaks. The good news for Giants fans is that his streaks tend to last a while.

Lock of the Week: Philadelphia: 38 over St. Louis: 13- The Eagles are back in business after that debacle against the 49ers. Chip Kelly won’t likely lose like that two times over. Meanwhile, the Rams defense is usually on the field for an eternity. This won’t bode well.

Cleveland:27 over Tennessee: 24- The Browns are the most exciting team to watch in 2014. Not because they do anything flashy, more so because they like to keep the game close until the end. The Titans on the other hand are struggling to find a quarterback and if Charlie Whitehurst has to go again, Jesus himself will declare Whitehurst a false prophet because he’s not saving any franchise with his numbers.

NFL Inter-Conference Game of the Week: Denver: 31 over Arizona: 28- Wow, the Drew Stanton led Cardinals take their undefeated record into Denver to play Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Guess what? Stanton is going to give Manning and the Broncos defense a run for their money. In the end, the Broncos seal the deal with the home crowd. It took everything I had not to jump on the Cardinals (and Drew Stanton) bandwagon.

San Diego:33 over New York Jets: 16- The Chargers had a revival last season and it carried over into 2014. This team is legit, their only loss being by only a one point margin earlier in the year to Arizona. The Jets might have more problems than this after this game.

San Francisco: 24 over Kansas City: 14- The 49ers stopped one of the hottest offenses in the NFL last Sunday. Being at home against Kansas City shouldn’t provide too much of a task at hand. Be warned though, as Alex Smith finally gets his revenge shot on Sunday. Ultimately, he comes up a couple of scores short.

Cincinnati: 30 over New England: 24- As bad as the Patriots have looked, and as much as many would like to write this team off, they aren’t done by any means. While they don’t get the win here, they keep it close in Foxboro until the final drive, when Tom Brady either throws a crucial pick or turns the ball over on downs. Hey, still short term satisfaction among all non-Patriot fans, right?

Seattle: 28 over Washington: 17- The Seahawks steam past the Redskins in this one. Though I do believe the Redskins have a good core of players, and that last week was just one of those games, we have to remember the firepower shown in the Seahawks defense and running game, which, by the way, is still as powerful as ever.

NFL Picks for Week 4 and Fitness News

Week four of the NFL season is upon us! Let’s see what I have in store this week:

Already Played: Washington: 38; New York: 31- As you can see, I failed with this pick right here. Kirk Cousins had a rough outing, which at this point in his career, is a rarity. For Eli, it’s a rarity to see him rush for a touchdown.

Baltimore over Carolina: 24-17- Carolina struggled at home last week. It appears that their lack of talent on offense maybe catching up with them. This one may be even lower scoring here, with two very talented defenses taking the field.

NFL Rivalry of the Week: Chicago over Green Bay: 27-19- The Packers may very well be on their last chance at the division already, barring a complete meltdown by both Chicago and Detroit. If they lose here, then they sit at 0-2 in NFC North play. Not a good hole to be in.

Houston over Buffalo: 20-17- Houston has to take advantage of this situation. Buffalo is not as good as their record but Houston has the edge in talent, and the home crowd.

Indianapolis over Tennessee: 23-14- Just in, Charlie Whitehurst will get the gig in Tennessee. Like Houston, the Colts have to take advantage of this situation against the Titans. If they do that, they stand at 2-0 in the division. The problem? They’re already 0-2 against playoff teams.

Detroit over New York Jets: 21-16- The Lions Matt Stafford should have a field day here. Detroit’s offense hasn’t looked like what it should be, so look for a closer game. The Jets can score at any time but the offense is very inconsistent at times.

NFL Snoozer of the Week: Oakland over Miami: 13-9- Wow. Fans in London may see a touchdown scored in this one. Two teams with very laughable talent on the offensive side.

Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay: 31-10- The Steelers look to take their momentum in an upset win over Carolina over a struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Lock of the Week: San Diego over Jacksonville: 42-13- Blake Bortles era begins. Can he get a win this week? Not until he has more talent around him. He’s playing in real time now.

Atlanta over Minnesota: 20-19- Teddy Time begins in Minnesota. Can he hold it close? Recent history tells us that the Falcons might just be that very talented team to get upset this week, as their play on the road is meager.

Philadelphia over San Francisco: 34-21- The 49ers are struggling while the Eagles remain hot. Nick Foles and co. may not have much of a problem here.

NFC Game of the Week: Dallas over New Orleans: 34-28- The Cowboys and Saints have a little bit of animosity these days fueled by none other than Rob Ryan. In the end, the Cowboys put up just enough to upset the Saints.

AFC Game of the Week: New England over Kansas City: 21-13- The Patriots offense isn’t that hot this year but the defense is. That’s going to be big in this game.

Byes of the Week:

Seahawks- Still the number one team in the NFL according to most. I disagree (see below)

Bengals- The Bengals may be the only team in the NFL to have zero struggles on either side of the ball. Number one team.

Browns- Brian Hoyer has made it through three weeks as the starter. Don’t blame him for their 1-2 start.

Cardinals- My prediction in the pre-season was taking the NFC West. Through four weeks, they lead it.

Broncos- Still couldn’t beat the Seahawks. Maybe they just played a Super Bowl XLIX preview? Maybe one more shot.

Rams- The defense has to play up to their potential. If they do, they’re back in it.

Fitness news: Workouts

Cardio Sprint Workout:

Sprint workout coming up at six. I’ll call this upcoming workout The Go-To, since it’s becoming my recurring workout:

One Mile Run
10 Hill Sprints (jog back down the hill for rest)
10 20 yard Lunges
10 Ladder Sprints (going at least ten yards further with each set, jog back)
One Mile Run

Shoulder Centuries:

X amount of handstand push-ups (I’m on a wall, okay)
100 shoulder presses per arm
100 front plate raises
100 upright rows
100 shrugs per side (I rarely do these, but I’m in the mood)

Zero Cardio, 800 Reps, Fast As Possible:

100 Push-ups
100 Decline Push-ups
100 Two Point Rows per arm
100 Total Weighted Lunges (Weight on one side, this hits the obliques too)
100 Bicep Curls per arm
100 Suspended Dips
100 Upright Rows
100 Full Sit-ups plus about 20 straight minutes of ab work

By the way, use as little rest as possible, and get this done as fast as possible.

I sit two weeks out from the NPC Natural Pennsylvania. Time to take the carbs down just a little for these last two weeks, just a little. Still have a lot to do to get ready these days. Time to crush these final weeks.

My Next Event: Halloween Havoc! Nope, it’s not a show, it’s just Todd wanting to look good at Halloween. I’m dressing up as a Virant Knight, so I’ll def be posting some pics of that. Ordered yesterday, can’t wait to wear it.

Shoot Time: Hoping to get that last shoot of the year confirmed. If so, it’ll be around contest time too. Another event I can’t wait to get going with.

Hunt For October: In addition to the NFL and fitness, I love MLB. Prediction time, although my Rays (yes, the Rays) are missing out for the first time in a while:

Wildcard NL: Pittsburgh over San Francisco- Is anyone peaking at the right time more than the Pirates?

Wildcard AL: Kansas City over Oakland- The Royals? Yep, with the A’s faltering down the stretch, giving way to the Angels, it’s the Royals who get in.

ALCS: Los Angeles Angels over Baltimore Orioles- Hate to say it, but the O’s get eliminated here. LA is a big market but I’m a small market type. The Angels are just too good here. Hottest team in the AL.

NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers over St. Louis Cardinals- The City of Angels reps the entire MLB in 2014. 2014 belongs to Los Angeles.

World Series: Angels over Dodgers. The Angels are just way too hot to be stopped. If one team can keep it up for one more month, one team that wants it, it’s the Los Angeles Angels. For the first time since 2002, Los Angeles gets a World Series, and it’s the “other” Los Angeles team that takes it.

Week 3 NFL Picks and Nifty Workouts

Brought to you by the King of Shredz:

First things first, guys, I have to take care of business. Week Three in the NFL is upon us, being played by great players who have yet to be tried or convicted for child abuse, murder, bounties, domestic violence, substance abuse, or just merely violating personal conduct. Remember the movie ‘Playmakers?’ It was a television show televised by ESPN about a decade ago that basically went over all of the problems that went on in the NFL, in a fictional league of course. There’s a reason why the show was pulled after about one season, and I’ll leave it at that.

The good news is that there are some very classy and talented NFL players who actually appreciate their opportunities. So, without further ado, here are my picks for the week:

Already Played: Atlanta over Tampa Bay: 35-7. This game was a snoozer. It was actually 56-0, Atlanta’s favor before T.J. Yates entered the game. That pretty much tells you that Tampa’s defense is overrated and Josh McCown is a backup.

AFC Game of the Week: San Diego over Buffalo: 27-24- Two weeks ago I would never have guessed that the Buffalo Bills would be in the conversation for anything except due to the fact that they gave Cleveland their first round pick. Now, they are being given a shot at 3-0. I’m still not sold on them yet.

Cincinnati over Tennessee: 28-10- If Jake Locker can be the Jake Locker of Week One and not the one we saw last week, then the Titans may just have a chance here. Why will this not happen? Because the Bengals have one of the best defensive units in the NFL. They’re just too good.

Cleveland over Baltimore: 16-9- I honestly thought Brian Hoyer would be on the bench by now, but he’s done a good enough job to keep Cleveland In contention for the AFC North. As for the Ravens, they’re on the road. The Ravens don’t play well on the road.

Green Bay over Detroit: 31-28- Here’s a shootout…..potentially. The Lions have to score more than a touchdown to beat Green Bay. They just aren’t good enough……..they’re playing the same old Packers and they’re the same old Lions.

Indianapolis over Jacksonville: 20-15- The 0-2 Colts vs. the 0-2 Jaguars. It sounds like a snoozer, but the Colts played against two of the top three teams in the NFL, and lost by a combined total of ten points. Just a tough schedule. Now, it’s smooth sailing. Why isn’t this higher than 20 points? The Colts like to play to the level of their competition.

Lock of the Week: New England over Oakland: 38-6- The Patriots are one of the best in the league at virtually everything. The Raiders are one of the worst at virtually everything. Not a good combo.

New Orleans over Minnesota: 34-17- Maybe the Saints can finally win a game without blowing it. If they can’t beat Minnesota in the Super Dome, then they aren’t beating anyone. That being said, Rob Ryan has to go if this happens. He’s the worst defensive coordinator of all time.

Houston over New York Giants: 28-17- Houston is the luckiest team in the NFL. No offensive talent, or old talent, and they still put up a lot of points, and allow very few. Why? Look at what they’ve played so far. Now they play the Giants and a washed up Eli Manning.

NFC Game of the Week: Philadelphia over Washington: 44-38- Like offense? Here’s one for all of us. Two 2012 draft picks going head to head. Kirk Cousins……yes, Kirk Cousins, vs. Nick Foles. Two high powered offenses, one shootout. If the Redskins put thirty plus points up again, they may as well trade RG3 to the Rams……that’s ironic.

Snoozer of the Week: Dallas over St. Louis: 21-16- I’m not one to bash America’s Team but I also am a fair person and the Cowboys still aren’t on my watch yet as a contender. But, Tony Romo is still way better than Austin Davis. Heck, half of Dallas’s fanbase probably has never even heard of Austin Davis. Who is Austin Davis?

Upset of the Week: Arizona over San Francisco: 23-21- No matter who plays quarterback, the Cardinals are not only the second best team in the conference, they have the second best coach in the NFL in Bruce Arians. He can make something out of nothing.

Miami over Kansas City: 17-16- Close game, but the Chiefs are 2-8 since their 9-0 start last season. Different coach, different quarterback, same sorry-ass Chiefs. But, you have to mention the Dolphins in the same breath. End of the day, the Chiefs always, always, always wear down.

Revenge of the Week: Denver over Seattle: 30-13- Call me crazy? Have you ever seen a vengeful Peyton Manning play in an NFL game? The results speak for themselves.

Carolina over Pittsburgh: 20-13- The Steelers are in danger of falling to 1-2. Remember when the Steelers were one of the NFL’s elite? Remember when the Panthers were a laughingstock? I only hope no Pittsburgh fan will wake up from a four year coma, because they’re in for a rude awakening……..literally.

Chicago over New York Jets: 31-24- Jay Cutler looked like an all-pro last week. Geno Smith is still in his second season and is still mistake prone. Not a good combo.

Nifty Workouts: So, I had a few good ones this week. Let me begin with my One Hundred Rep Nightmare:

100 reps of everything, as many sets as it takes. Rest time is how many reps you have remaining in seconds.

Decline Push-ups

Dumbbell Rows

Lunges

Crunches

Upright Rows

Suspended Dips

Plate Curls

Try it.

Also, before isolating any muscle group, try these before you workout:

Chest: 100 dumbbell fly

Back: 100 pull-ups

Triceps: 100 suspended dips

Biceps: 100 dumbbell curl

Legs: 100 lunges

Shoulders: 100 lateral raise

Abs: 100 full crunches

Before you workout the target muscle group, shock those muscles early.

Give me a weekly shoulder, ab, and cardio attack:

1,000 jump ropes for warm-up
10 minute non-stop ab work

4 sets of each and every movement, 8-12 reps unless specified.
Dumbbell Clean to Press
super-set: Inverted Barbell Presses

Dumbbell Lateral Raise
tri-set: Dumbbell Front Raise
tri-set: Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Battling Ropes for 50 reps
tri-set: Rope Face Pull
tri-set: Machine Rear Delt Fly

I’m out! Todd ‘King of Shredz’ Matthews.

The 100 Rep Method

Centuries, you know what they’re like. From the Middle Ages of the 1300’s to my noble ancestor Sir David Mathew rescuing his King in the mid 1400s (true story, look it up), to Columbus not necessarily discovering America (Amerigo Vespucci, again, look it up) but being credited for doing so, to Jamestown in 1607, to the good old colonial times, to the American Revolution of 1776 to 1783, to the birth of Lincoln in 1809, to the great Civil War from 1861 to 1865 to the first modern war, The Great War (World War I) in 1914, to the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, to the Obama presidency of present day. Centuries, one after another. And to make matters even cooler, I just gave a brief history of the world dating back to what I believe is the twelfth century, whenever Vespucci found America but for some strange reason saw no reason to assert his power for his own self gain (look up what Columbus was really after).

Now, if I gave a brief history of wellness and fitness, I’d bore you all because about eighty million things, often contradictory, have been discovered fairly recently, try the nineteenth century when people (in the West, that is) really began to care about their bodies. No, I don’t want to hear about ancient Greek Spartans, but I will say that sometimes I have dreams from a past life that would imply that I was indeed, a Spartan. This is probably why I love Greek food, too, but I haven’t had much in a while because I tend to consider most of it cheat food. Actually, I wouldn’t if I made it myself but now I’m going completely off of my intended topic, so without further ado, let’s get to the centuries.

Centuries, by my humble definition, means one hundred of something, anything, followed immediately by one hundred more of anything, followed again by one hundred more of anything. Centuries, be it every one hundred years, every one hundred yards, every one hundred reps, or every one hundred miles, centuries is basically one hundred of something followed immediately by one hundred of something else. Make sense?

Now, since I am talking about fitness and not about world history (I still get that itch every once in a while) we’re sticking with reps, in his case. Centuries are tough, brutal, not only psychologically, but emotionally challenging to the individual. It looks like an ultra tough hill to climb, but once the hill, or rather, mountain, is climbed, one feels the sense of accomplishment. This method of training isn’t meant for only one burnout set of one hundred reps. Each, and every, exercise is going to be just that: one hundred reps.

You can perform these in several ways. My favorite way is to simply get in as many reps as I can with a desired amount of weight, usually thirty to forty percent of what I would normally get for ten to fifteen reps, and get as many clean, solid reps as I can. So, say if I can get seventy reps before burning out, it means I have thirty reps to go. What I am going to do now is rest for thirty seconds, because I have thirty more reps to perform. Once I get the desired amount of reps in, then I’m going to go on to another exercise, targeting a different body part. On Monday, I did the following movements:

Crunches: 100 reps

Decline Push-ups: 100 reps

Dumbbell Rows: 100 reps per arm

Lunges: 100 reps total (not because it’s a leg movement, it’s because my right knee is currently in shambles and I probably shouldn’t be doing any legs to begin with, so give me some credit).

Upright Rows: 100 reps.

The above workout took me about thirty minutes to complete. Then I did my ten minute non-stop ab circuit, which I am notorious for, after I wrecked out a good five hundred reps. So, I completed five centuries here. Sometimes, I’ll up the ante and shoot for ten exercises of one hundred reps each. What I am doing here is mostly bodyweight exercises, two to three for larger muscle groups and only one for the smaller groups. With this, I like to do the following:

Pull-ups

Suspended Dips

Bodyweight Curl

Decline Push-ups

Chin-ups

Deep Bodyweight Squats on Plyo Box

Single Leg Speed Squats

Suspended Push-ups on TRX

Shoulder Presses with half of my current bodyweight on the bar.

TRX Bodyweight Rows

Sometimes, a 1,500 rep workout is in order. Assume that I have the above workout intact, but I’ll add in a cardio movement after some exercises:

Burpees: You can get really good at these after several weeks.

Step-ups with bodyweight only

Speed Box Jumps (much easier on the knees)

Battling Ropes (consider this movement a break)

Kettlebell Swings

Boom! A 1,500 rep workout is now in order. I think I did hit the 2,000 rep mark once, but that was because it was about zero degrees that day and there was snow on the ground from the night before and I had nothing better to do. It was a good two and a half hour workout! It rocked!

Here’s another fun thing to do to. Want some history lessons? Start with the first century. For us Christians out there, the significant aspect should be an easy one. Name a historical event, then do the movement. Why? It kind of takes your mind off of what’s at hand when you’re in the eighteenth century and the Battle of Yorktown is going through your mind. Or, you’re in the 2,100 rep range and the event in mind is the ISIS conflict, you really can take the mind elsewhere in the world while still crushing the workout. It’s seriously a psychological thing.

For instance, when doing workouts like this one that’s seriously taking your body to the absolute limit, why is it a good idea to have your favorite music blaring in your ears? Because certain music will create certain psychological responses in individuals. If I have Blink 182 in my head, then my workouts will always be harder and I’ll be more focused. If you don’t believe me then try it. Though I’m not a big fan of the TV on cardio machines, that’s usually annoying.

More Useful Information and Saturday Workouts

Today I’m going to go over the social networking aspect of my fledgling empire. I do put a lot of good, useful stuff on this blog, including advice on fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, motivation, and pictures. However, there is much, much more that I have to offer you all in your journey to the top of the fitness realm. I use facebook and instagram as key outlets in addition to my personal page here. Here are my pages:

Instagram: toddmatthewsfitness. Follow me here and gain some awesome access to even more pictures, motivational quotes, short clips, and even more progress pictures.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddmatthewsphysique?ref=hl . Follow the link posted for full workouts, workout tips, nutrition tips, lifestyle practices, and look at some secret workouts that only few of us know. I’ll be using my facebook page to post videos of exercises that not too many individuals know how to do by merely looking at the name of the exercise. Also, I’ll have videos of my personal style of training too, as well as some really cool nutrition videos coming up soon. So far, I have posted my latest shoulder workout onto the site. Feel free to scan my page and take a look at it. 

As always, I like posting my workouts onto the page as well. But, I do copy many of my main workouts onto this page. Getting my grind on early this morning, I did a really fast cardio workout, ten solid minutes of abs, and then the remainder of my workout was a chest workout. Here is what I did

Chest Workout:

5 Minutes on stair stepper, as fast as possible, climbing as many steps as possible.

10 minute abs

3 giant sets/25 reps: Push-up, Wide Grip Push-up, Close Grip Push-up, Reverse Push-up, Wide Grip Incline Push-up
4 sets/8-12 reps: Cable Crossover/Incline Barbell Bench Presses
4 sets/ X reps: Suspended Push-ups on Dip Machine/Incline Fly
4 sets/15-20 reps: Weighted Wide Grip Suspended Dips/Decline Crossovers

This workout typically takes between an hour and an hour and fifteen minutes to complete. 

In a few hours time, I’ll get my cardio on. My right knee has been experiencing some issues over the last nine days but after two days of taking a really strong dose of glucosamine, the knee is ready for another test run. Here is what I plan to do:

One mile run for a warm-up

Circuit: 20 yard lunge, 40 yard sprint, jog down hill, sprint up hill. Repeat as many times as possible in a 20 minute time limit.

Circuit: 1/4 mile run as fast as possible, 50 mountain climbers, run another 1/4 mile except that this time the 1/4 mile is down the hill and back up the hill. Return to first exercise in this circuit.

10 minutes of abs in a giant set. 

Total time should not exceed one hour. 

These workouts are not for the weak hearted. Go ahead and modify them if need be, but the full workout requires a lot of clean calories, a decent warm-up, and your favorite music, which is usually a deciding factor that keeps people going. So go ahead, give it a whirl, and tell me what you think. 

Boulder Shoulder Workout and ETC

I have a challenge for all of you. See if you can survive me. See if you can keep up with me. See if you can beat me at my own game. All you have to do is the following: Two workouts a day, every day, eat zero cheat meals (I like to cycle my carbs and calories, it works, trust me), and repeat this for a consistent period of time. If you can remain consistent with my style, then it’s all good, because you just scored a new lifestyle. What? You say you don’t have time for a two-a-day. Then get up forty-five minutes earlier, it’s all you’ll probably need. Forty-five minutes is usually all I need to get in a killer workout. Then you may ask, “why don’t you just go an hour and a half to two hours in one session” My answer to that question is just that I don’t see two straight hours doing one workout feasible for anyone. Why would I wear myself down the first hour only to struggle through the second hour

All I need is forty-five minutes to an hour, and that’s it. My philosophy is to get in, get it in, and get out, get on with your day. Two hours in one workout is going to lead to a two and a half to three hour gym session. Why? Most people like to talk to their buddies when they workout. I usually workout with one workout partner, or alone. Lately, I’ve been going at it alone because it’s tough to mesh a schedule together.  And since 2014 has been my greatest year ever, only my main workout partner can workout with me. If I’m working out alone, I guess God becomes my workout partner, or perhaps my workout leader. But here’s the score, my workout buddy and I rarely talk during the workout, because we both have lives and we both have things to do. Want a list? Here:

Other things to do:

Keep house clean or get kicked out

School work (we’re both in school)

Work….don’t give me that we both work as trainers nonsense. Spend a day in my shoes and see how fun it is to train clients from 5:00am to 8:00pm with a few gaps during the day, but it’s no one way straight eight hour shift. You cater to your clients.

Pay numerous bills: school, phone, car, car insurance, rent (yeah, I get charged to live at home, thank God my dad’s tough on me)

Maintain my social networking, such as this wordpress, facebook, and instagram. I gain new followers everyday and I’m no longer a fledgling in this fitness community.

Practice my poses for both shows and shoots, I have both coming up in just over a month……Happy October.

Okay, so we both have lives way outside the fitness realm of things. So what if I don’t have a brat or two to spend my hard earned money on? I’m twenty-three and I’m fortunate to have never made THAT mistake in my life. Man, I hope I didn’t jinx myself!

Anyway, onto phase two of this lovely article. I like to work hard, work fast, and get it in. Currently, I’m experiencing some chronic knee issues, so my philosophy on cardio is getting reinforced through this too. “Lift weights really fast,” as one notable gym member puts it. That’s my philosophy, just go, fast, with each and every lift. From arm workouts to shoulder workouts to chest workouts. I like to literally fly through my workout, taking few breaks, under thirty seconds for the majority of the time, unless I need to take a water break, but I usually have some right beside me. 

Today I’m sharing my boulder shoulder workout from today. I went through roughly 36 sets of fast moving, fast paced shoulder exercises. This isn’t counting my cardio starter, which was a sledge hammer and tractor tire until I was completely winded, and a plank style ab workout, which rocked.

Four sets of every single movement shown here. For reps, just go heavy and go until you can’t get another rep, go to complete failure. What I mean by this is to go until you cannot move that weight another inch!

Tri-set: Arnold Press/Standing Barbell Press/Standing Dumbbell Clean into Press

Super-set: Lateral Raise/Front Barbell Raise

Super-set: Rope Face Pull/Seated Machine Rear Delt Fly

Super-set: Battle Ropes (50 reps as fast as possible)/Front Plate Steering Wheel Twist

 

Boulder Shoulder Workout and ETC

I have a challenge for all of you. See if you can survive me. See if you can keep up with me. See if you can beat me at my own game. All you have to do is the following: Two workouts a day, every day, eat zero cheat meals (I like to cycle my carbs and calories, it works, trust me), and repeat this for a consistent period of time. If you can remain consistent with my style, then it’s all good, because you just scored a new lifestyle. What? You say you don’t have time for a two-a-day. Then get up forty-five minutes earlier, it’s all you’ll probably need. Forty-five minutes is usually all I need to get in a killer workout. Then you may ask, “why don’t you just go an hour and a half to two hours in one session” My answer to that question is just that I don’t see two straight hours doing one workout feasible for anyone. Why would I wear myself down the first hour only to struggle through the second hour

All I need is forty-five minutes to an hour, and that’s it. My philosophy is to get in, get it in, and get out, get on with your day. Two hours in one workout is going to lead to a two and a half to three hour gym session. Why? Most people like to talk to their buddies when they workout. I usually workout with one workout partner, or alone. Lately, I’ve been going at it alone because it’s tough to mesh a schedule together.  And since 2014 has been my greatest year ever, only my main workout partner can workout with me. If I’m working out alone, I guess God becomes my workout partner, or perhaps my workout leader. But here’s the score, my workout buddy and I rarely talk during the workout, because we both have lives and we both have things to do. Want a list? Here:

Other things to do:

Keep house clean or get kicked out

School work (we’re both in school)

Work….don’t give me that we both work as trainers nonsense. Spend a day in my shoes and see how fun it is to train clients from 5:00am to 8:00pm with a few gaps during the day, but it’s no one way straight eight hour shift. You cater to your clients.

Pay numerous bills: school, phone, car, car insurance, rent (yeah, I get charged to live at home, thank God my dad’s tough on me)

Maintain my social networking, such as this wordpress, facebook, and instagram. I gain new followers everyday and I’m no longer a fledgling in this fitness community.

Practice my poses for both shows and shoots, I have both coming up in just over a month……Happy October.

Okay, so we both have lives way outside the fitness realm of things. So what if I don’t have a brat or two to spend my hard earned money on? I’m twenty-three and I’m fortunate to have never made THAT mistake in my life. Man, I hope I didn’t jinx myself!

Anyway, onto phase two of this lovely article. I like to work hard, work fast, and get it in. Currently, I’m experiencing some chronic knee issues, so my philosophy on cardio is getting reinforced through this too. “Lift weights really fast,” as one notable gym member puts it. That’s my philosophy, just go, fast, with each and every lift. From arm workouts to shoulder workouts to chest workouts. I like to literally fly through my workout, taking few breaks, under thirty seconds for the majority of the time, unless I need to take a water break, but I usually have some right beside me. 

Today I’m sharing my boulder shoulder workout from today. I went through roughly 36 sets of fast moving, fast paced shoulder exercises. This isn’t counting my cardio starter, which was a sledge hammer and tractor tire until I was completely winded, and a plank style ab workout, which rocked.

Four sets of every single movement shown here. For reps, just go heavy and go until you can’t get another rep, go to complete failure. What I mean by this is to go until you cannot move that weight another inch!

Tri-set: Arnold Press/Standing Barbell Press/Standing Dumbbell Clean into Press

Super-set: Lateral Raise/Front Barbell Raise

Super-set: Rope Face Pull/Seated Machine Rear Delt Fly

Super-set: Battle Ropes (50 reps as fast as possible)/Front Plate Steering Wheel Twist

 

Weekly Workouts and Other Updates

Here’s some awesome weekly workouts that I posted to my fitness page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddmatthewsphysique?ref=hl. First, I urge all of you to follow this link and like the page for workouts, lifestyle tips, motivational tips, nutritional advice, and photos. There’s much more to come on the page as I am currently in contest prep for the NPC Natural Pennsylvania, taking place in Greensburg, PA on October 12th, 2014. I’ll be sure to post updates as soon as possible.

Contest News: Earlier in the month, I took 5th place at the NGA Steel Valley Classic in a class of 12 competitors. I did want more out of the show, but I’ll take the top five this time. Hopefully I can only build off of that success in October. 

Fitness Shoot Front: I am currently working to get at least one fitness shoot lined up in addition to my October 12th show. I’m hoping I can get the two in as close to one another as possible. I look for this shoot to be Pittsburgh based or Canton based. Hopefully big things coming. 

Lifestyle News: I’m currently back in school on an online basis working towards my Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management with a Wellness and Fitness background. I plan on doing big things with this degree, but with the track I’m currently on, big things are rightly on the way. 

Weekly Workouts: 

10 straight minutes ab work
Tabata workout: Push-ups, rest 10 seconds, super-set with Battle Ropes (cardio portion of workout)

4 sets/8-15 reps
Pec Deck Fly/Incline Dumbbell Press
Cable Iron Crosses/Close Grip Incline Press/Svend Press
Wide Grip Bodyweight Dips/Incline Dumbbell Fly
3 burnout sets of Incline Hammer Strength Press

 

45 set shoulder blast:
Start with 10 minute abs: 5 minute plank work and 5 minute crunch, twist, and raise work.

5 sets/10-15 reps; 30 for ropes
Lateral Raise
Face Rows
Battle Ropes

4 sets/10-15 reps
Alternate Shoulder Press
Rear Delt Fly on Pec Deck Machine
Kettle Bell Front Raise

4 sets/10-15 reps
Cuban Press
Landmine Twist
Cable Front Pullover (this works some lats too)

3 sets/X amount of reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise to a Dumbbell Front Raise
TRX Rear Delt Fly to Rear Delt Vertical Fly

For Cardio Purposes:

2 minutes straight of jump ropes, 2 minutes straight treadmill for a fast run, 2 minutes straight of jacobs ladder, 2 minutes straight of stairmaster, 2 minutes straight of non-stop ab work, rest one minute

 

Photo Updates: Some cell phone selfies and contest photos since the last update:

 August, 2014, Steel Valley Classic

 

Now from the front at the same show.

 

Abs close-up

 

From my journey to Anytime Fitness Robinson

 

The Most Killer Home Gym Routine Yet

I hope you all have read and liked my recent writings on my dumbbell and kettlebell workouts, designed for the busiest of the busiest. Those with maybe thirty minutes a day to get into a gym (or their basement) to bust out an effective workout want to take a look at these posts, because they are designed especially for the busy population.

Some of us just never get a break. We wake up before the sun, not with it, and we’re at work as the sun is coming up. We may or may not have the greatest opportunities to eat solid meals on a consistent basis (look into meal replacement shakes or the Quest product line). And then the obligations at home take over once the work day is over.

All in all, life can be a roller coaster for many of us and as a trainer I’ve seen many individuals give up on their fitness goals because they claim life gets in the way. They may work twelve hour days, have a family at the house, or have many other obligations on top of all of that. The truth is that by giving thirty minutes of the day directly to a daily workout isn’t as complicated as it looks. Get the workout in first thing in the morning, directly after work, or before going to sleep at night, which is my favorite time to get my main workout in.

But, there are times when my schedule is ultra booked for the day, I got to be here, then there, then across the county for something, then maybe my workout time gets cut a little short because I’m waking up two hours before the sun the next morning. In these hectic situations, I keep my workout, even my main workout, short. Sometimes, I don’t even use the gym and I’ll do this very workout I’m about to write up in my basement.

Workout A:
4 circuits/25 reps each. 30 minute time limit if time is limited.

Push-up with Snap Jump
Plate Curls
Bench Dips
Jump Lunge (25/leg)
Touchdown Squats
Front Plate Raise
Squat Press
Diamond Push-ups
Up-Downs
Mountain Climbers (25/leg)

Workout B: 30 for beginners, 60 for intermediates, 100 for advanced in as many sets as it takes. Cannot do next movement until 100 reps are performed for the first movement. 30 minute time limit if time is limited.
Spiderman Push-up
Band or Dumbbell Curl
Suspended Bench Dips (use a flat bench, coffee table, bathtub, etc and place a chair a couple feet from the bench)
Jump Squats
Tactical Lunge (50/leg, use a dumbbell or kettle bell, do a reverse lunge with weight in one hand, switch to other hand under the legs, like a basketball player does)
Band or Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Leg Raise
Band or Dumbbell Rows
Lateral Mountain Climbers (100/leg)
Snap Jump

Upper Body Workout Series In the Gym

So, you aren’t entirely too sure on whether or not you should do what the two jacked up guys on the bench are doing if you’re working out alone. No problem, everyday I see guys and girls in the gym take a pair of dumbbells into the backroom and use things like kettlebells and TRX in addition to these simple tools and I’ve seen some killer workouts being done! So, sit back and the two jacked up guys on the bench or in the squat rack will look on with shock and awe at the intensity being unleashed in the room behind them or maybe even right in front of their power rack!

 

Workout One: Dumbbells Only: A Todd Time Original

You’re the boss, dumbbells are your employees. Bosses must utilize to their employee’s strengths, although this very rarely if ever happens. What we’re going to do here is pair up chest with back, legs with shoulders and abs, and biceps with triceps. These will be done in super-sets.

Heavy Lunges

super-set with Dumbbell Lateral Raise

super-set with Dragon Flags

We’re going to start with the largest muscle group, the legs. Take a pair of dumbbells and hammer out eight lunges per leg, 12 dumbbell lateral raises, and 30 dragon flags. For the first two movements, raise the weight if the desired number of reps are reached. Go ahead and try four sets.

 

Incline Dumbbell Fly into Press

super-set with Dumbbell Rows from the Bottom Rack

We’re going to combine two favorite movements to hit the upper pecs here from two different movements at the same time. We’re going for 15 reps here. Same goes for the rows. Raise the weight once the target amount of reps are hit. Four sets.

 

Dumbbell Hammer Curl

super-set with Dumbbell Overhead Extension

Two of Todd Time’s favorites combined into a super-set. Yes, I actually do these on a regular basis. Four sets, 10-15 reps. Make sure you fall into the range. If you do, increase. 

 

 

Dumbbells Only Part II

So, you did Part I a couple of times and want to mix in some more movements? Look no further, as Part II is right below.

Once again, the dumbbells submit to the exerciser. We’re going to do the same style we did in Part I, beginning with legs and ending with arms, except…..

Giant Set:

Dumbbell Stiff Legged Dead Lift

Seated Dumbbell Press

Dumbbell Russian Twist

Dumbbell Side Bend

For legs and shoulders, go heavy with ten reps, then go heavier if you get the amount of desired reps. For Abs, go lighter and for twenty to twenty five reps.

Flat Bench Dumbbell Press

super-set Dumbbell Pullovers

super-set Double Dumbbell Rows (do these standing, no hands on the rack or bench)

Do one set for fifteen reps, next a second for twelve, then a third for ten, then a fourth for eight, and finally a set of six. Yes, increase weight each time substantially, since the amount of repetition drops.

Standing Alternating Curl

super-set Dumbbell Kickbacks

What we want to do here is do three sets, but the catch is ten reps with a heavy weight, drop the weight, fifteen more reps, then up the weight again, and go for as many reps as possible. Note that this is only one set. Two more rounds to go!