Plague of Strength

Go here for Part One.

We’d left off with the murder of Melissa James by Kelly Ryan and Craig Titus, and are now about to delve into the maelstrom of catastrophic stupidity that only serious drug addiction and sleep deprivation could create. They’d tased her five times, strangled her, then wrapped her entire head in duct tape and injected her with a massively fatal dose of morphine “to make it look like a suicide.” Clearly, Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan were no geniuses.

Before you read the next bit, it helps to know that all three of these idiots were filled to the fucking brim with meth, Oxycontins, Nubain, cocaine, and they had morphine onhand. Though it stops short of the cocktails that killed Michael Jackson and Rick James, these people were not in any way thinking logically at the best of times, and this is basically Worst Case Scenario plus the addition to steroids to make them hyper-confident at each step.

After calling multiple people (they’re called witnesses in this sort of situation, and if you’re taking notes, you don’t want them up in your biz), Titus then packed up every scintilla of the murder evidence into a single magic-bullet duffel bag and gave it to some unwitting friends. That’s right- he gave other drug-addled halfwits a bag full of murder evidence without even so much as a suggestion of what to do with it with no warning, preamble, or explanation that in any way might have enticed them to throw that evidence into a dumpster and just scream lyrics from Chi-Raq by Montana of 300 if they ever see a cop.

“And we don’t know nothing about nothing nigga, we was out of town If somebody ask.”

Having failed utterly in evidence disposal, Titus decided to double down on his colossal stupidity and called up more idiots to help him disappear the body. These various and sundry mouth-breathers then went to convenience stores that were literally ringed with surveillance cameras and a store that has more cameras per square foot than a fucking casino, Wal-Mart, to purchase massive amounts of lighter fluid and a gallon of gasoline with their own credit cards, in addition to a flashlight that one of their nutsack accomplices left at the scene of the arson.

Oh yes, the arson. When people are stupid in a way that is hard to describe, you might imagine they want to announce their preeminence in the field of low intellect to others by perhaps lighting a bonfire to draw attention.

And who investigates a bonfire, you might ask?

Why, that would be the police… who then discovered the car with the melted lighter fluid bottles they’d just purchased their their credit cards, the flashlight purchased on those credit cards with the lighter fluid, and the corpse of an unidentified woman.

“Daskas said investigators could never say for sure whether James was still alive in the back of the red Jaguar caught on videotape outside a Wal-Mart – where Ryan bought charcoal starter fluid and a backyard barbecue set at 3:30 a.m. – or at a gas station where Titus, Ryan and a friend, Anthony Gross, allegedly bought another $2.66 worth of gasoline. The barbecue set was later found burned in Ryan’s car. Gross met Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan at the gas station and drove them back to Las Vegas after they set Kelly Ryan’s Jaguar ablaze in the desert outside Las Vegas” (Murderpedia). 

These fucking idiots did literally everything but the Clarence Worley move of leaving his license at the scene of the crime… and they were far from done committing actions so fucking stupid that the little potato from Peanut Butter Falcon would have been shocked at their ineptitude (which is, unironically, actually a pretty cool movie if you’re sunburned and overhung).

Meanwhile, they had already called the cops themselves, claiming they found Melissa James dead, and in another statement claimed that James was a drug addict who robbed them and stole their car. Having already found the flashlight bearing fingerprints belonging to a friend of the dipshit duo, the cops decided to press him for a confession to sew their whole case up tighter than a Muslim broad’s vagina in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By the time the cops had identified the corpse, they had the case against Titus and Kelly pretty much sewn up. When they got to their house, however, they found that the couple had already fled. Titus had traded in his truck for a new one, and the two had set out cross country to flee the cops. Being the paranoid tweekers they were, Titus and Kelly had squirreled away money all over their house, so after the two combed the house for cash like they usually did the carpet for more meth, they ran like hell for the East Coast in an effort to flee the country before the cops caught up to them.

Their idea was for once not a bad one- Titus had family in Greece, and Greece is a non-extradition country. There, they could continue to work in the same field and perhaps even compete in other non-extradition countries. If nothing else, they could attempt to fight their case from Greece without running the risk of arrest.

And they would have gotten away with it, were it not for those pesky kids. Yep, exactly like a couple of bug-eyed baddies from Scooby Doo, these two idiots were stopped after getting tipped off about the couple’s whereabouts my kids on MySpace. Not only had these two simpletons created a bread crumb trail of clues to lead the investigators to an airtight case, but they posted about their intent to flee the country on MySpace so that their fans could wish them goodbye before they left. Kelly Ryan was arrested at a nail salon, while Craig was nabbed a couple blocks away.

The tomfoolery in which Titus had already engaged pales in comparison to what was to come. This motherfucker came off meth and lost his goddamn mind altogether, along with every scrap of muscle he once possessed, and decided that if he couldn’t kill well and couldn’t flee well, he might as well double down one more time in an effort to salvage a small victory in the face of massive defeat.

“Even behind bars the muscle stars keep making headlines. While Craig Titus is in the Clark County Detention Center, someone tips off guards about a possible jail-break. Video from inside the jail shows guards aren’t taking any chances with such a powerful prisoner, strapping Craig into a chair to transfer him to another pod. Even though Craig and Kelly are behind bars, their killing spree may not be over. Police claim Craig is trying to arrange a hit, but police are five steps ahead of him, with an elaborate sting to catch him with blood on their hands.  

Ron Brady always wanted to be a bodybuilder, and idolized Craig Titus. Brady met his idol in jail and says he was easily lured in when Craig confided in him about the murder of Melissa James. The former man of muscle claimed he was innocent, and he wanted Brady to help him prove it — by silencing key witnesses.

‘He’d asked me to help expose the wrongdoings of these people that were trying to testify against him, but never to have them harmed in any way,’ said Brady. Ron Brady claims he was stunned. Here is Craig Titus, one of his heroes, now pleading for his help.

‘I don’t know where my mind was at, after Craig told me the situation,’ said Brady. ‘He was crying, actually crying to me.’ Ron Brady, speaking here for the very first time, confesses he wanted to help Craig beat the murder wrap.

Soon after his conversation with Craig, Ron Brady claims he was approached by another inmate, Deem Cassim, and he claims that’s the first time he heard any talk of getting rid of witnesses. When Brady was released from the detention center after charges against him were dropped, Cassim kept calling from jail to make sure he was still working on a hit to wipe out witnesses. Police say Craig Titus was desperate to get himself and Kelly out of jail” (Kihara).  

And with that, Titus dug his hole even fucking deeper. For his part in this waterheaded nonsense, however, he received no additional sentence, but as per usual the people around him got fucked. Brady got hit with 8 1/2-25 years for the murder for hire plot, because the guy he’d been contacting, Deem Cassim, was already facing at least three and a half years for robbing a World of Poker winner a year prior- ratting ended up netting him probation rather than prison.

Similarly, the nutsack who left the flashlight at the scene of the arson, Anthony Gross, got whacked with a felony conviction that only netted him a lifetime of unemployment and probation. Kelly Ryan, for her part, snagged two consecutive terms of 3-13 years and was released from prison in October of 2017.

Ryan and Titus divorced in prison after Titus claimed to have jumped on a grenade for her with his plea, so she could have a life after the debacle the two of them orchestrated. He’s since recanted that story, claiming he never should have signed the deal, and that he wasn’t even there at the time of the murder. According to Titus, the strangulation was just the result of some rough sex, after which Kelly Ryan and Melissa James brawled to the death, or somesuch nonsense. The man has changed his mind about the events of that night more than Joe Biden flip-flops on shit like support for abortions.

We might not know what happened that day, but what we do know is that Craig Titus was 44 when he was locked up and he’ll be 61 when he’s even eligible for parole. Given the fact he wasn’t charged with the whole hitman deal, it’s a safe bet to say the parole board will make that jackass spend at least another eight in there, given that is what Brady received. All in all, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever see Titus re-emerge inside the bodybuilding scene ever again.

Which is why you might want to perk up, because Titus knew some shit about training.

Craig Titus’s Training Methods

As I mentioned, Craig Titus’s biggest strength lay in his ability to learn from other lifters. After working with Dorian, Titus hitched his wagon to future Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, with whom he shared a very similar build and look. At his last pro show, Titus stepped onstage at 5’9″ and 250 pounds, while Cutler was an inch taller and ten pounds heavier- they were alike enough to be twins from a distance.

That’s not to say that Craig Titus was born a hyper-muscular, slavering murderbeast. He wrestled 132 in high school and didn’t actually start lifting until college. When he matriculated, Titus stood 5’6″ and 140 pounds. By the time he graduated, he was 5’8″ and 185 pounds, and used that basis to compete as a middleweight a couple of years later. From his 1988 stage debut to his 1996 pro card win, Titus gradually added mass until he was 250lbs onstage at his last pro show in 2005. Were it not for Titus’ drug habit and his colossal stupidity, he might have challenged Dexter Jackson and Jay Cutler (they’d battled as amateurs as well) for the Olympia crown.

Since “slow and steady” was Titus’ motto when it came to gaining mass (which is frankly insanely shocking), it should not surprise you that Titus’ training routine was nothing terribly unique, though he did train with more volume than most of the guys at that time. Training eight days out of every ten, Titus put in a lot of time at the gym chasing the pump, which he referred to as the “blood volume” training approach.

“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” (Harris).

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

Titus’s best bodypart was by far his triceps, which are considered among some of the best ever. His arms were massive and well developed, and they folded into some of the best delts on the planet at the time. As such, here’s what he did for everything from the traps to the tips of his fingers when he was at his biggest.

Craig Titus’ Arm Routine

For biceps and triceps, Titus used 15-16 sets of 10-20 reps for each. He’d do either four of the following for four sets each, or three of them for five sets each. Regardless, he used a constant tempo, without a pause at the bottom or contraction at the top, in an effort to force more blood into the muscle. Using very short rests, he blasted through set after set as quickly as possible, with a constant tempo, not 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’” (Harris).

The Biceps Exercise Grab Bag

Standing EZ-Bar Curl– Though he didn’t cheat, his reps were fast as hell and he used a none-too-shabby 150lbs for his high rep/short rest sets

Concentration Curl– He did these old school, like Arnold- standing and starting from a dead hang. This prevents you from using your leg for leverage to cheat more weight up. He was using 65 to 70lb dumbbells in the offseason for these.

Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curl– Titus did these seated, to avoid cheating, using the same weight as concentration curls.

Single Cable Curl

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” (Harris).

Triceps Exercise Grab Bag

Cable Pushdown– Titus did these mostly as a warmup, keeping the reps at 15-20.

Partial EZ-Bar Skull Crushers– His favorite mass builder, Titus only came to about four inches off his forehead. He claimed any deeper would hurt his elbows, but given all the Nubain he had coursing through his body, feeling anything at all was pretty unlikely.

One-Arm Overhead Dumbbell Extension– A staple movement in the 90s, Titus used a very slow and controlled tempo to avoid fucking up his elbows and didn’t go over the 60s in weight.

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” (Harris).

One-Arm Reverse-Grip Pushdown– He did these for sets of 20 to get a big pump.    

Craig Titus’ Shoulder Routine

You can hate the man, but you can’t hate on his fucking delts- they were sick. His routine was pretty fucking standard, but he did have some hot takes on delts, of which I disagree with two-thirds), but are worth sharing regardless:

Ditch the behind-neck press. “Pressing behind the neck is such an unnatural movement that I don’t even know how it got so popular in the first place. It’s just too hard on the rotator cuff. Unless you are the rare exception, if you do this exercise long enough to get very strong, you will get hurt. I always press to the front. I know too many guys who destroyed their shoulders pressing to the back.”

Half reps for laterals are actually better. “Some exercises are actually more effective when you don’t use the full range of motion possible because you can maintain better tension on the muscle. Side laterals are a perfect example. I never bring the dumbbells up any higher than my delts. Anything past that is just working traps. And I don’t let them come all the way down, either. Coming down only about half the way makes it tougher because you can’t swing the weight at all.”

Don’t go too slow on laterals. “You have to use a medium to fast rep speed on your lateral movements, or else you are seriously limited in the weights you can use. I’m not saying you should cheat, but using a little bit of momentum makes a big difference. You have to pump that shit up and get some blood into the muscle.
Think about it; are you going to get be﬙er results on laterals going super slow with 10-pound dumbbells, or a faster rep speed with 50s? I can tell you from having tried both that that the faster rep speed gets the job done better” (Harris).

Seated Dumbbell Press– 3 – 12–15

Bent-Over Lateral Raise– 4 – 15–20

One-Arm Front Raise– 4 – 15–20

DB Shrug– 5 – 10–15

Craig Titus’s Diet

Titus said it himself- he was ready to draft off Jay Cutler as long as it took for him to have the speed to pass him. In Craig’s own words:

“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” (Titus)    

In Conclusion

Craig Titus was a jacked-as-fuck, meth-addled, murderous piece of shit the world likely won’t miss when he finally dies. For anyone who thinks I might have been exaggerating about what a piece of shit Craig Titus was, here’s what he told investigators about finding his former fuckbuddy/girlfriend dead:

“‘Found her (James) in the (expletive) car dead, stinking up my (expletive) car,’ Titus told detectives in a Dec. 24 taped interview in Boston.

‘I panicked. That gets in the newspaper, we’re ruined. Dead girl, car, OD’d, Craig Titus, Kelly Ryan. We’re (expletive) ruined,’ Titus said.

‘Plus, not to mention that my car’s ruined … so I think OK, let’s put her in the trunk and burn it and play stupid. That’s what we did. Period. Finito. End of story‘” (Murderpedia).

Thus, Craig Titus is literally the worst fucking friend in the history of human relations. It is better to befriend schools of piranhas or unshielded plutonium than Craig Titus. Knowing any of the people named in this story personally would be almost as fulfilling as a bleach enema, only without the clean colon and the potential subsequent scrubbing of your genitals by potentially hot nurses. If and when the man is ever released, avoid him like you would avoid a person bearing open sores, screaming in tongues, and waving a loaded firearm, because even driving that man around a small Southwestern town before he got hooked on meth left certain parties with an unrelenting hatred for him (though I will say that it was really just rekindled and validated rather than the impetus behind this article).

Should you be interested in achieving his look, feel free to try some of his training methods, though I will again suggest you include some heavy work as well, as that seems to be what builds dense, lasting muscle- chasing the pump, however, only helps you in the short term. Thus, combining the two seems to be the optimal solution for anyone who might want to take a month off the gym and not look they aged ten years and never lifted a day in their life.

Want more true crime meets weights insanity? Check out the first article in the series about Chris Benoit here.

And as always, help a motherfucker out and hit up my Patreon if you feel like this shit is worth keeping porn-and-gore filled, rather than sanitized for advertising. If you already do, I really appreciate the support of strength sports counterculture- we’re the only motherfuckers keeping it alive at this point.

Sources:

Harris, Ron.  Bad boy bis and tris- Craig Titus and his titanium guns.  Muscular Development.  25 Apr 2007.  Web.  26 Nov 2019.  https://www.musculardevelopment.com/training/1035-column-archives/titus-talks/695-titus-talks-july-2003.html

Harris, Ron.  Night of the Titus?  Reprinted from Feb 2003 Muscular Development.  Web.  6 Jan 2019.  https://www.musculardevelopment.com/1035-column-archives/titus-talks/696-titus-talks-aug-2003.html

Kihara, David.   Bodybuilder, wife get prison in slaying.  Las Vegas Review Journal.  3 Aug 2008.  Web.  5 Jan 2020.  https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bodybuilder-wife-get-prison-in-slaying/

Kihara, David. Informant said he did what was right.  Las Vegas Review Journal.  1 Feb 2008.  Web.  6 Jan 2020.  https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/informant-said-he-did-what-was-right/

Kihara, David.  Titus fanatic sentenced in murder plot.  Las Vegas Review Journal.  20 Aug 2008.  Web.  6 Jan 2020. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/titus-fanatic-sentenced-in-murder-plot/

McCarthy, Melissa.  Assistant found dead in torched car in desert: bodybuilders busted.  True Crime Daily.  23 Sep 20916.  Web. 15 Dec 2019.  https://truecrimedaily.com/2016/09/23/assistant-found-dead-in-torched-car-in-desert-bodybuilders-busted/

Murderpedia. Craig Michael Titus. Murderpedia. Web. 5 Jan 2020. https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/titus-craig.htm

The Wrestling Professor.  Booker T vs Craig Titus.  Armpit Wrestling.  22 Jul 2016.  Web.  24 Dec 2019.  http://www.armpit-wrestling.com/booker-t-vs-craig-titus/

Titus, Craig.  Titus talks.  Iron Magazine.  18 Sep 2012.  Web.  28 Dec 2019.  http://www.ironmagazine.com/2012/titus-talks-6/

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