Written by Ron Harris
25 April 2007
I have known Craig Titus since December, 1991, when the blonde unknown flew from Houston to LA to win his first big amateur contest, the Ironman/Ironmaiden. He only weighed 202 pounds on stage that day, but his shape and muscle quality, not to mention shredded condition, made short work of the top amateurs from California- not an easy task. He has been through a lot of shit since then. At times I have been friendly with him, other times not, usually based on what I was writing about him and reporting on at the time.  Craig has such an intense personality that you either love him or hate him- and I have done both. But I give the guy a hell of a lot of credit. The dude struggled for three years to turn pro, getting screwed with no lube a couple of times in the process. Then, once he does win the USA- oh shit, he's busted on a drug charge and sent to prison for nearly two years.  

Down, but Far From Out
We all thought he was done, over, finished. But Craig is one tough motherfucker. If you think he just pretends to be this bad-ass as some sort of character like in the WWE, you don't know Titus. He demands respect, and if he feels he has been intentionally disrespected, someone could get hurt. There have been a few well-publicized fights over the years to prove it. But back to his saga. He does his time, gets out, and starts rebuilding his career. Most guys in this position (and those of you who have closely followed the pro scene for years know he's far from the only one to face serious legal trouble and/or incarceration) are never heard from again; the ‘comeback' just never happens.  
Craig? Let's see. He qualified for the Olympia in his second pro show, and did it again the next year. He has stood on the Olympia stage twice now, holding his own and then some. A lot of us in the Mandalay Bay had him in the top 10 last October, but when the dust settled, he had just missed it. In the old days, Craig had as girlfriends a succession of the hottest fitness models on the planet. The new Craig is happily married and settled down in Las Vegas with Kelly Ryan, a sexy Southern Belle who somehow seems to be the best pro fitness athlete today, but keeps missing the top spot in questionable decisions.  What else? He just left Weider and signed a two-year deal with Pinnacle Nutrition.

Has any other pro had such a story full of drama, such a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs? Nope. The guy is a friggin' soap opera. Whether you worship the guy or think he's a jackass, you have to admit he makes the boring sport of bodybuilding a lot more exciting.

Bad Boy Forever
Craig is now 36 years old, so I wondered if he was finally getting sick of his whole bad boy image. "I like it as long as they are talking about me," he replied. "I'm in print all the time so at least people never forget who I am." Over the past couple years the gossip columns and bodybuilding websites have had plenty of material to work with regarding the long-running feud between Titus and King Kamali. The 2001 Pro Ironman, in particular, sold a lot of tickets based on some fans hoping to see an onstage fistfight.

"Actually, I am getting a little sick of the whole Kamali thing, but he just won't quit," bemoans Craig. "King doesn't know when to stop, and I won't tolerate his crap much longer. The latest episode where he called all the athletes who didn't go to the meeting in Columbus a bunch of cowards was pretty bad. Just because he can't figure out how to make money in this sport, he wants to drag the rest of us into his problems. If he was smart he would just keep his mouth shut and let his physique do the talking."

Though Craig still has a temper, he has learned to control it much better since he returned to competition in 2000 after four years away from the stage.  "I'm more mature now and I can ignore a lot of things that used to set me off," he says. "The bottom line is that I respect others and I demand that same respect, that's all there is to it."

I Don't Love LA
Having left LA over two years ago myself, and missing the only place where bodybuilders were somewhat accepted, I expected Craig to at least feel a hint of nostalgia for his old stomping grounds of Venice Beach. "I don't miss the traffic, the dirty beaches, the high price of living and the phony people who smile to your face and talk trash behind your back," he says. "When I first started training at Gold's Gym it was a novelty and I was excited to be there, but pretty soon I began to realize how many insecure, negative people there were who can't see someone else do well without being bitter and jealous. I didn't need to be in that environment and neither did Kelly. Since we have moved to Las Vegas, all that negativity has just lifted off us like a rain cloud. I love it here."  

Party All the Time
Not content to just be a pro bodybuilder with all the training, contests, and guest appearances that entails, over a year ago Craig decided to add "party promoter" to his resume. Since then, his events have become the official after-parties for all the big amateur and pro shows. The first one he put together was after the 2002 USA, and when 1,800 people showed up, he knew he was onto something. "Bodybuilders live such regimented and disciplined lives, especially when we are getting ready for a contest, that when it's over we just want to cut loose and have fun," he explains. "And we like to be among our own. Bodybuilding is like this big extended family and we only see each other a few times a year at these shows. My parties are also a chance for fans to mingle with the pros in a more informal setting."  

But of course it's not all fun and games to put these things on. "These are major productions," he says. "First I have to secure the venue, then I start hiring the staff, get the best DJ's, do the advertising, print up the tickets and sell them. My office at home is busy 24/7, and Kelly helps me a lot."

The results are almost always a big hit, though occasionally a copycat tries to hitch a ride. "You get these egomaniacs who decide to throw their own after-party, and that does nothing but confuse people and spread our little group out and dilute it," he notes. "The pros know that when they come to my party they never have to pay and they get a total VIP treatment. Luckily, now the contest promoters are starting to include my party information in their ads, so the fans know my events are the official ones where they can see all the pros and top amateurs. And it's always first-class in every way."

Looking for a Big Payday in the Big Apple
I spoke to Craig as he was just under eight weeks away from the Night of Champions, where he was fully anticipating his first pro win. Over the past two years, he has had the opportunity to study under some of the masters of contest preparation. "I worked with Dorian for the 2001 Olympia, and he showed me how to get that dry, grainy type of conditioning- but I came in flat and looked too small," reveals Titus. "That taught me that with my type of physique I have to be full or else I look like shit. I am always thirsty for knowledge, so the next year I worked with Milos Sarcev. He gave me a lot of excellent advice and I was able to come in much fuller at the 2002 Olympia, yet still with that detail. During this past off-season I consulted with Chad Nicholls on nutrition and made some new mass gains."  

But most recently he has turned to a fellow pro right there in Vegas- Jay Cutler.  "Jay has improved in leaps and bounds over the past few years, so he obviously knows what he is doing," says Craig. "What works so well for one guy doesn't always work as well for another, but in this case I have lucked out. I think Jay and I have the same type of muscle fiber composition or DNA or something. For the past four or five months, I have been following his diet of higher carbs, and very low fat. Two days out of the week I have no fat at all and sugar load, and you wouldn't believe how well it's working for me. I have never been this tight at this weight before in my life. I should hit the Night of Champions right around 250 absolutely full and shredded, and I honestly can't see anyone stopping me."      

Arms and Blood Volume Training
Admittedly, building his arms has never been a problem for Craig. But he still made several mistakes in his early years that kept them from reaching the size you see before you now on these pages. "I thought the same rules applied to everyone, so I always did nine sets each of six to nine reps for biceps and triceps," he says. "Supposedly anything beyond that will cause you to be overtrained and your arms won't grow. But I read something about blood-volume training and how a great pump had a lot to do with muscle growth.  Once I tried it, everything improved, even my chest, which has always been my biggest challenge. It's pretty much how Jay trains, too."  
Now, bi's and tri's are treated to 15-16 sets of 10-20 reps with a constant tempo, no pausing to flex at the end of the rep. "That takes away from the amount of blood you can force into the muscle," Titus notes. There is very little rest between sets, and Craig describes this style of training as "fucking intense and not for the weak of heart." These are the exercises he selects from, either doing four of them for four sets, or five different movements for three sets each.

BICEPS
Standing EZ-Bar Curl
On barbell curls, as with all his arm exercises, Craig starts out heavy as soon as he's warmed up with two or three preliminary sets. For this one he can handle 150 pounds in good form. "I do use a pretty fast rep speed compared to the slow-motion stuff you see some guys using in the gym, but I am always in control," he says. "My reps are never sloppy."

Concentration Curl
Titus does his concentration curls the old-school way, which you may have seen Arnold or Robby Robinson doing in old photos from 30 years ago.  Instead of sitting down and jamming his arm against his inner thigh, Craig stands hunched over, stabilizing himself with the other arm, and starts each rep from a dead hang. "This way is tougher because you can't use your leg as leverage," he explains. Even so, he can use a 65- or 70-pound dumbbell in the off-season when he is over 270 pounds.

Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curl
"Sitting down for your alternate curls makes your form a lot stricter right away," says Craig. "When you stand, there is always a tendency to start leaning into the working arm when you get tired, shortening the range of motion. Plus, you can start getting a little boost from the legs and lower back without even realizing you are doing it. I will do these standing once in a while, but nine times out of 10 I sit down." Craig can use 70 pounds in each hand for sets of 10-15 reps.

Single Cable Curl
This is an isolation movement not unlike the concentration curl, but Titus finds cables especially suited to high reps. "The constant tension the cables allow makes it easier to get the pump I'm looking for," he says. "I find I can use pretty heavy weights for much higher reps on a cable. Even with one arm, I can usually use the stack for one-arm curls."

Dumbbell Curl on Incline Bench
Curling on an incline bench is really a partial range of motion, something the late MD writer Don Ross used to tell me about years ago. By only training the muscle through its strongest range of motion, are you able to use more weight and really overload the muscle. "I often use this as a finishing move for the biceps to hit that middle range of motion that works the peak," Craig says.


TRICEPS
Cable Pushdown
Like a lot of us guys who have been training for 20 years, Craig has had his share of aches, pains and injuries. His elbows, in particular, have taken a beating over that time and need to be warmed up very well or else they throb in pain from extension movements. To accomplish this important task, Titus usually starts his triceps work with the standard cable pushdown. "Unlike a bar or a dumbbell, the cable doesn't have a sticking point, so the reps are smooth and there is less trauma on the elbow tendons," he explains. This is where you will usually find him utilizing his high end of the rep range, generally staying with 15-20 reps per set. "The objective here isn't really so much to build mass, but to warm the muscles and connective tissues up so I can do the mass-builders that follow it safely."

EZ-Bar Skull Crushers
Craig now moves on to his all-time favorite exercise for slapping meat onto his tri's, the skull crusher. You will see that he doesn't lower the bar all the way to his forehead, but stops short about four inches. "I don't feel there is a need to go any deeper with the stretch than that," he comments. "When I do, it bothers my elbows pretty bad."

One-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension
Another favorite free-weight motion for the tri's is the overhead dumbbell extension, most of the time done one arm at a time. He can go up to a 60- pounder on this, keeping his elbow tucked close to his head as he extends and never bouncing at the bottom of the rep. "A lot of elbow problems come from that rapid bounce or rebound that some guys do," he says. "It subjects those tendons to a ton of force they really can't handle. You might get away with it for a while, but eventually, if you keep doing it, those elbows will go on you. Once that happens, expect to become very familiar with ibuprofen and ice packs."

Lying Cross-Face Dumbbell Extension
Here's an exercise you don't see very often anymore. Lying down flat on a bench, he holds one dumbbell with his arm fully extended above him, and then lowers slowly toward the opposite shoulder.  "I keep constant tension on the triceps by not locking the arm out," he says.

One-Arm Reverse-Grip Pushdown
Last but not least comes another exercise on which Craig will execute higher reps- the reverse-grip cable pushdown with one hand. "It's a total finishing movement for when your strength is shot," he says. "I go pretty light and keep the reps right at 20 for each arm. After a few sets of that, those tri's are super tight and swollen."

    A Good Place
Craig Titus is at a very good place in his life, and he has certainly had his bumps and paid his dues along the way. Signing with Pinnacle has him on cloud nine. "I love the fact that they respect the athletes and give back to the sport," he says. "They were the ones who gave away the Cadillac Escalade at the Olympia last fall." I don't know if Craig will win the NOC or not, but I know for damn sure I will be at his party afterward, as will many of you. (Hey Craig, can you hook a brother up with the VIP treatment?). You will also see that he is penning an exclusive column for MD. "Nothing against the Weider magazines, but I was barely in them the whole two years I was under contract," says Craig.  "In Flex you see the same guys all the time- usually Shawn, Kevin and Gunter.  I'm looking forward to being able to speak my mind here with no censorship or ass-kissing."  
 
As for his arm training routine, you could very well be like Craig and find that the standard number of sets and reps isn't really suited for your body. Try the blood volume training approach for a month or two and see if it's what you have been missing. If the skintight pumps equate to new gains, stick with it.

SIDEBAR:

Training Split
Day one        Chest, biceps, abs, plus six sets for tri's
Day two        Back, traps, calves
Day three        Shoulders, triceps, abs, plus six sets for bi's
Day four        Quads, hamstrings, calves
Day five        OFF
Repeat

SIDEBAR

Contest Highlights

1996 NPC USA            Heavyweight and Overall Champion
2001 Ironman Pro            5th place
2001 Arnold Classic        6th place
2001 San Francisco Pro        2nd place
2001 Mr. Olympia             12th place
2002 Night of Champions        5th place
2002 Mr. Olympia            11th place
2002 GNC Show of Strength    7th place