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.

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

 

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

Garage Shoulder Workout

Boom! It’s that time of year again. We all hate being cooped up in a gym if you live anywhere north of the thirty-six, thirty line. Especially after that last winter, where we had at least ten weeks in the negatives, or so it seemed. It’s always weird how much we love the cold weather and snow from Thanksgiving until New Years Day, and how much we just despise it until April, or in some cases, May! Or wait, in extreme cases, spring confines itself to the first week of June, then it’s summertime, then it gets cold out again, and the cycle repeats itself. Thank God my uncle (mom’s brother) just moved to Fort Myers, Florida. Now that I have relatives down there, a high demand for training, a ton of rich people who would pay $5,000 a year for training and another $1,000 in Christmas gifts, and 74 degree January’s, maybe it’s time to use the term “null and void” to describe my future in Ohio…..sorry, Browns fans, I didn’t want to rain on your parade, but “null and void” is your ultimate catchphrase for the last two decades. 

So, today, I’m opening up the garage, fishing out a pair of old dumbbells that I have had since 2003, and I’m going to do an old fashioned garage workout while reliving the glory days of my past. Todd, what glory days are you talking about, you’re 23! It’s been ten years since I’ve picked up a weight, so it’s a long time coming! What does my garage shoulder workout look like? Look no further:

Tri-Set: Lateral Raise, Frontal Raise, Rear Delt Flye- 4 sets/15-20 reps

Quad-Set: Standing Dumbbell Press, Double Upright Row, Plate Arm Rolls, Plate Front Raise- 4 sets/10-15 reps

Tri-Set: Handstand Pushups (on a wall), Seated Rear Delt Raise, Kneeling Plate Presses- 4 sets/15-20 reps

Two mile run, Jump-rope (cardio should last between thirty to forty minutes). 

Only three different exercises (I count each set of movements as one exercise), four sets each (working sets), twelve total working sets. Not going to take all day, just give me one hour of my time and I got one killer shoulder workout. More garage workouts to come!

What Does My Typical Workout Look Like?

You see the conventional wisdom in just about every single bodybuilding magazine. You see that the pros supposedly won’t train a bodypart for more than once every seven days. You will see a pro say that he won’t go over a certain amount of sets per bodypart, usually sixteen for large ones and twelve or even less for smaller ones. They talk about avoiding overtraining and the hazards that will go with it. They say that all you need to do is to train smart, not hard.

With my personal experience, I trained this way from 2006 (age 15) to 2010 (age 19). I’ll be the first to tell you that unless several factors are nicely in place, this way does not work. I trained four to five times per week, never going over an hour during training, and never going over five exercises per bodypart, and never over twenty sets per bodypart. I did everything the conventional way, from meal prep to supposedly training smart.

Fast forward to 2014,and you will witness an opposite experience. For starters, I train twice per day, everyday, unless I’m so sick I cannot stand up. As for meal prep, I gave it up two years ago and I eat in order to fuel my body, not because the clock tells me it’s time to eat or that I need to eat a certain way to look a certain way. I eat in order to keep my body feeling normal, and I train to the point of complete exhaustion. 

This is an example of a shoulder workout. I say ‘example’ because it is never the same by the time I train shoulders again three days later:

4 sets/10-20 reps for everything, at times going under 10 and over 20 if I feel the need to do so. I will do four to five exercises per bodypart, however when I say ‘exercise,’ I am referring to two to four movements being performed in giant sets, so if you are counting the movements, there can be anywhere between eight and twenty different movements per bodypart; this example will show a shoulder workout:

Smith Machine Shoulder Press/Single Arm Lateral Raise

Face Rows/Dumbbell Rear Delt Flye/TRX Rear Delt Flye

Kettle Bell Pirate Ships/Battling Ropes/Kettle Bell Shoulder Presses

Seated Machine Presses/Pec Deck Rear Delt Flye/Cable Rope Pullovers

Band Flyes/Single Dumbbell Front Raise/Inverted Barbell Shoulder Presses

If you multiply this by five, you will see that I tend to do twenty sets for shoulders. If you were to multiply this by the fourteen movements, the number is higher, totaling fifty-six total sets. Now, I do warm up sets, so my total work sets will be around forty to forty five. 

This is only a portion of my evening workout. I will also insert a leg workout with shoulders, consisting of squats, leg presses, lunges, and dead lifts among others. I’ll add in machine work too if I want. Also, I’ll do a fifteen minute cool down on the treadmill, walking on a max incline at 4.5 miles per hour. The workout in itself will last between seventy-five to ninety minutes.

I also do a morning workout, which consists of either:

a) a light workout from the day before, with the same exact movements, three sets apiece, with 25-30 reps per bodypart, taking fewer than thirty seconds in between sets

b) a steady cardio workout that will last one hour. This workout is what I consider “active rest” if my body feels tired. 

c) an intense cardio workout, known as “afterburn,” consisting of movements that last between thirty and sixty seconds, resting between ten and thirty seconds. In these workouts, I use battling ropes, kettle bells, TRX, Dynamax ball, medicine ball, etc. This workout tends to last between thirty to thirty five minutes. 

I do my morning workout either first thing in the morning, or if I have a break during the mid-morning. It all corresponds to my personal daily schedule, which dictates when I do my two workouts. 

So, the truth for me is that if you workout hard, put everything that you have into each and every workout, then results will come like none other. I workout between two and two and a half hours per day, and I don’t stop until I’m burned out. I take very few breaks during my workouts, if I’m taking a break then I’m taking a drink of water. I also treat everyone, even my best friends as equals during my workout, giving off one word answers or short phrases before walking to my next station. Nothing, literally nothing will disrupt me during my workout. I won’t stop to chat for five minutes like I see many young people my age do unless there is a serious emergency going on. 

Now, you’re probably asking how do I fuel myself? Here is an updated nutrition plan:

Meal One: 2 scoops Arnold Iron Mass (500 calories)

Meal Two: 70 grams dextrose, 50 grams whey (480 calories)

Meal Three: One Quest Bar or 1 scoop casein (140-200 calories)

Meal Four: 12-16 ounces chicken or lamb, unlimited servings of romaine, Caesar or Greek dressing (1,000-1,500 calories)

Meal Five: Same as Meal One (500 calories)

Meal Six: Same as Meal Two (500 calories)

Meal Seven (optional): Same as Meal Three (140-200 calories)

Total Calories: 3,100 to 3,900 calories per day.

As one can see, at a bodyweight of 165 on a typical day, I eat over 3,000 calories on a daily basis. These are more than enough calories for me to carry out my intense workouts, my daily activities, and even my base metabolic rate, something that is overlooked by many who are figuring out their calories. I will also cheat once per week, replacing my main meal with a cheat meal, and this will be eaten at the end of the day, typically on a Friday or on a Saturday. On these days, my caloric intake will reach roughly 5,000. I have never been leaner off of this system, my metabolism has never been faster, and I have never been stronger. 

Here are a few “conventional” things I choose not to do:

1) I won’t yo-yo diet. This leads to a slow metabolism.

2) I won’t adopt a “one size, fits all” method. I follow a principle of individuality.

3) I don’t meal prep. My meal plan is based off of my daily schedule, so I eat when I can, not because a clock is telling me it is time to eat or to satisfy an appetite. 

4) I don’t believe in off seasons. Why, if I work so hard to look the way I do would I allow myself go during the colder months?

5) I do more than just stand on stage. I’m doing a half in April, about two weeks after I stand on-stage. I would love to get involved in more endurance events. 

Keep following my blog to learn more about me and my crazy ways. Stay fit!

 

2-A-Days

What?? Two a days are no longer limited to high school football? When did this happen? I do two a days too many times to the average individual working out at Anytime Fitness. As a trainer and aspiring fitness model, I have very, very little downtime, and I don’t workout in my free time. Working out is part of my schedule, and I typically do two a days every day. I tend to work the larger of the two muscle groups in the morning……back, shoulders, quads, and the smaller groups, biceps, hamstrings, abs, and triceps in the evening. The only exception here is chest, in which I devote an entire morning workout to chest, not because it is your most recognizable beach muscle, but because it just now became a strength on my physique after long being a weak point. In other words, my chest lags.

Here was my typical training split today:

7:00am: Shoulders

4:15pm: Triceps, Lower Abs

My shoulder routine started out with single sets of dumbbell shoulder presses, working my way up to a weight to where I only could get six reps. The rest of my shoulder workout looked like this:

Kettle Bell Pirate Ships

Dumbbell Frontal Raise

Cable Rear Delt Flye

I did 4 sets of each (3 working), with 10-12 reps per set, working the above three exercises in a tri-set, with no rest between each tri-set.

Next, I did a quad set of 10-12 reps over 4 sets:

Dumbbell Rear Delt Flye

Steering Wheel Frontal Plate Raises

Single Parallel Cable Flye

Kettle Bell Frontal Raise

Then I did one last super-set of 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Barbell Log Presses (Military Style)

Front Shoulder Raises on Rope Pulley

I did a triceps routine about nine hours later. Here is what I did today:

Tri-Set:

Overhead Barbell Extensions

Rope Pressdowns

Close Grip Pushups

Tri-Set:

TRX Overhead Extensions

Single Arm Pressdowns

Dumbbell Kickbacks

Super-set:

Dumbbell Overhead Extensions

Machine Dips

*I did four sets of everything, one warm up and three work sets……each work set was until failure in the 8-15 rep range.

**I also did a lower abdominal routine that consisted of one giant set of 10 lower ab movements.

For all of you followers, remember my first post of my blog about my nutrition? If you haven’t viewed it yet, please do so, as it will explain my protocol. If you look at my meal spacing, I insert a protein shake before my second whole meal and a protein shake before my final whole meal, with pre-workout meals consisting of complex carbs and protein, as well as two post workout meals. My final post workout meal at this time has only fibrous carbs, in the form of greens. My first post workout meal, after training my larger muscle group, consists of quinoa. This meal plan will keep me fueled all day long and I can workout to my fullest extent. 

Many perceive this as over training, and they may be right if I didn’t take several precautionary measures. First and foremost, supplements are important Let me explain that by the supplements I recommend that I am in no way, shape, or form sponsored or paid to rep any supplement that I list here. Here is what I like to take before my workouts:

Fish Oil by Optimum Nutrition

CLA by Muscle Pharm

Carnitine by Optimum Nutrition

N.O Xplode 2.0 by BSN*

*I tend to switch up my pre-workout nutrition periodically, some of my favorites include The Curse by Cobra Labs, Beta-Crete by Promera Labs, Assault by Muscle Pharm, and Pump HD by BPI.

For post workout nutrition, I take in 60 grams of simple carbs plus two scoops of whey, made by either Optimum or Dymatize Nutrition.