Fat Loss Q'n'A

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Most people don't know that you can save time and your hard-earned pay by working out in the comfort of your own home. With Turbulence Training, you can avoid the hassles of commercial gyms (i.e. pushy sales people, smelly patrons, disgusting locker rooms, crowded parking lots, and out-of-the-way drives) while losing fat and boosting your metabolism with home-gym workouts.

And here are a few other common weight loss questions to help you choose the right approach to fat loss.

Q: I'm suffering through a major fat loss plateau right now. Will this help?

Answer:
Some of the major reasons for fat loss plateaus include:

- Using the same workouts over and over and over again for extendedperiods of time.

- Not including enough high-intensity strength training and
interval training.

- And choosing inefficient isolation, machine-based exercises
instead of standing, multi-muscle exercises.

The Turbulence Training workouts have been designed with variety,intensity, and efficiency in mind so that you get more results in less time.

Your workout programs will change every 4 weeks, and you'll use only exercises that train multiple muscle groups at the same time - thus burning more energy, and fat, with each repetition.

By changing the training intensity of your workouts, as well as
using a variety of repetition ranges for your lifting, and
including interval training, I guarantee that you will leave your
fat loss plateaus in the dust.

Q: I'm 50 years old, and no longer involved in sports. But I stay active with walking, biking and I even lift weights. But I want to lose my love handles. Is this program for me or is too intense?

Answer:
Thanks for your email and question. We've had clients in their 70's use Turbulence Training, not too mention the dozens of men and women in their 50's and 60's that have used the program.

So you certainly are a candidate for Turbulence Training, as long as your doctor has cleared you for exercise of course.

At 50 years young, you've got a long and healthy life in front of
you. But I also know that you don't intend to slow down with age. You've got things to do and people to see, and that's why you are probably like any other age group...and you want to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible. So the three Turbulence Training workouts per week should be perfect for your lifestyle.

I guarantee that every age group, from young to old, will be
challenged and entertained by the variety of bodyweight exercises. In fact, I bet you'll get a real kick out of doing exercises from your youth again.

I look forward to hearing how you like the workouts, and let me
know how many pushups you can do!

Q: Craig, I weigh over 250 pounds. Heck, it's a lot closer to 300 pounds. I haven't really exercised in a while either, but I feel pretty good otherwise. No aches or pains. Can I still do your Turbulence Training program? Will I be able to do interval training?

Answer:
This is a really popular question. The good news is that I've
worked personally with many men that are over the 300 pound mark, and we've successfully incorporated the Turbulence Training principles into their workouts.

You just have to:

- Get clearance from your doctor that you are ready to start an
exercise program
- Start with the introductory and beginner Turbulence Training
phases.

I include beginner level workouts in all of my manuals. There are step-by-step guidelines on how to get started, including a
day-by-day 21-quick start guideline for beginners. It will show you how to turn your unhealthy lifestyle around in just three weeks.

As for the interval training, please remember this: It is all
relative. You don't have to run sprints up a hill in order to call
your workout an interval workout.

You might simply increase your treadmill walking speed from 3.3mph to 3.6mph for 1 minute and then drop it back down. Those are the correct intervals for your relative fitness level. As you improve, you will be able to work harder. But never worry about comparing yourself to others.

Also, Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., has included specific calorie and
protein recommendations for overweight individuals. The TT Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines will keep you on track for fat loss in 2007.

Q: Has your Turbulence Training program worked for women, or is it just for male fat loss? I want a program that works on my butt, not just my biceps. Help!

Answer:
Don't worry, the Turbulence Training program is not gender
specific. All of the great exercises that are in the program will
work on the muscle groups that both men and women want to focus on.

After all, who doesn't want a firmer butt, flatter abs, and a
better chest?

Best of all, the efficient and effective exercise group that I
mentioned earlier includes squats, lunges, presses, and rows. These exercises are essential for both men and women, and will give you the total package regardless of gender.

And don't forget, the scientifically-proven Turbulence Training workout manual has used by hundreds of women to burn fat and sculpt their body.

Get in, get out, get lean,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training     www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Toning, Light Weights, & High Reps

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

I guess you could say it is my mission to show people the
value of intense strength training for fat loss.

Every month more research comes out to support intense training over slow cardio, and light weights. And each week, in real-life, more and more men and women (yes, women too!) see the benefits of pushing themselves with strength training.

The evidence from research and real-life continues to pile up that you need to put down those light weights and cut out those high reps.

Take really light weights, add in isolation exercises, and repeat
for a large number of reps. Do this for 3, 6, or 12 months, and
you're guaranteed to have the same physique you have today. This approach just does not work.

You need to step out of your comfort zone with strength training.

Research has shown using a weight that enables only 8 reps per set results in a greater post-exercise metabolism than using a weight that allows 12 reps per set. And this was in women! So lifting challenging weights is not just for men, but also for the ladies.

Another research study showed that a 30-minute, hard total-body strength training session can boost metabolism about 36 hours. You just don't get that from slow cardio or light, "toning"
isolation exericses, I'm sorry to say.

But what if you are worried about "bulking up"? Just do one or two sets of 8 reps per exercise, rather than three or four.

Bodybuilders know that high-volume training builds muscle. But if you don't want massive amounts of muscle, just don't do a lot of volume. That's just one of the reasons I don't use bodybuilder
workout programs for fat loss.

Another way to avoid "bulking up" while still boosting your
metabolism is to use more bodyweight exercises.

As for exercise choice, say goodbye to biceps curls, hamstring
curls, and triceps kickbacks. Seriously, I couldn't think of a more
useless exercise for a fat loss program than triceps kickbacks.

Stick to full body movements. Use squats, lunges, split squats,
pushups, chinups, rows, etc.

Remember, you don't have a lot of time to workout. So you can't be doing bodybuilding splits from the 80's that call for three
exercises for the long head of the triceps, and two exercises for
each of the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoid.

That's just not possible in the real-world. A pushup trains almost all those muscles, and more. It works your abs, chest, triceps, and shoulders. That's the type of exercise that is going to help you get more fat loss results in less workout time.

I train in the concept of a short time frame. That is, anyone that
wants to use my programs has less than 3 hours per week to devote to structured exercise. So there just isn't much room for isolation training in that time frame.

But training should be fun too, and adding some curls as a reward for completing a hard workout is fine, but only if you want to. You don't need those types of exercises to get results.

But remember, isolation exercises are not actually going to
burn fat, but they can build muscle and help you sculpt your body. Here's the list of methods that lead to fat loss, in order of
importance:

i) Nutrition
ii) Burning calories with interval training
iii) Burning calories due to an increased metabolism from interval training and strength training (with multi-muscle movements)

As long as you understand that nutrition is the most important
factor in fat loss, and that strength training is essential for
sculpting your body, than you will have realistic expectations of
success - based on how well you commit to each process.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training      www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

Fat Loss Q'n'A

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Q: How fast can I lose weight while using a truly effective fat loss program? Can I lose 10 pounds in a weekend like some of the diet plans claim?

Answer:Doctors recommend losing fat at a rate of 1-2 pound per week. At the end of a good 12 week program, you can expect to lose 12 pounds of fat. But since you didn't gain the fat overnight, you also won't lose the fat overnight. Commit to long term goals and enjoy the process of developing proper nutrition and exercise habits.

With one of those "10 pound weight loss juice diets", you might lose some weight, but it won't be fat. And you'll quickly gain it back. Those are just too good to be true.

Q: Do I have to do crunches and sit-ups while on this program?

Answer:
No you don't. Crunches and sit-ups are not the best way to lose fat. To lose fat, you simply need to eat properly, avoid excess calories, and use fat blasting intervals/cardio. In fact, crunches and sit-ups can stress your spine, so I like to use "spine-friendly" core training exercises (the Ab curl, plank, side plank, and bird dog) as an alternative method for training your mid-section. And you can do those all at home without fancy pieces of equipment. All you need is your bodyweight.

Q: But I'm a full-time worker and mom. How do I fit exercise into my day?

Answer:
Try to commit to at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.

If you are a beginner and stressed for time, simply do three 10-minute bouts of exercise per day. Heck, you could even do six 5-minute walks per day. Everyone can fit that in...

If you can devote a full 30 minutes straight to exercise, you can alternate between strength training and cardio training days if you are limited to 30 minutes. However, if you can get an hour of time 3 days per week, perform both cardio and strength training together.

Beginners should start with several 5-minute blocks of exercise each day. After all, everyone can make room for 5 minutes of exercise. Once you move into more serious workouts, you might need to experiment with different exercise times so that you can workout without disrupting your family's events. Fortunately, there is no magic exercise time. As long as you are consistent, you will get results.

Many people have had great success by getting up early and doing the workout before everyone else gets up. Alternatively, you can do it after the kids go to bed or during a break in the day. Schedule your workout like any other important appointment so that you don't neglect the exercise sessions. You'll find that the exercise will give you more energy throughout the rest of the day.

Q: What do I do if I can't get to the gym?

Answer:
You won't even need to go to the gym to lose fat. There are dozens, if not hundreds of bodyweight exercises you can do at home. And the workout potential is exponential if you have a couple of dumbbells at your disposal. There are hundreds of dumbbell exercises you can use to sculpt your body.

Q: Hi, I'm an overweight woman (180 pounds) and I was wondering if I should still eat 1oz of protein per pound?

Answer:
Hi, first, just to clarify its grams per pounds, not ounces. Second, here are the limits from Dr. Chris Mohr found in the TT Nutrition Guidelines...

"Since women have less overall lean body mass than men, they won't require as high an amount of protein each day (0.8g of protein/lb of body weight will suffice). This value is still in line with the recommendations for strength trained athletes. For obese individuals, just as with the calorie estimations, the protein calculations will also be over-estimated.

Therefore, in my opinion, I would put women at a maximum of 150g of protein per day and men at a maximum of 200g of protein per day. Because being obese does put them at risk for diabetes, this would also impact kidney health, so obese individuals don't need the additional urea being filtered through if in fact they do have diabetes."

Q: I'm new to the whole "working out thing". What is Turbulence Training? How would you describe the workouts?

Answer:
Turbulence Training is combination of more effective methods (Strength training and interval training) to help men and women get more effective fat loss results in less workout time.

TT uses supersets and interval training because they are time-saving methods. The workouts also only use the best exercises so that clients don't spend more than 3 hours per week in the gym. 

Get in, get out, get lean,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training      www.TurbulenceTraining.com

How Often Should I Workout?

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

People often email me asking how many days per week should they workout. For the average person wanting to lose weight and focus on fat loss, the answer is simple. They will get fantastic results by training hard only three days per week. Now for the average person, that should be manageable.

And yes, all three of those workouts should be done in less than an hour. Research shows that 20-30 minutes of interval training is more effective than 40 minutes of slow cardio for weight loss. Combine the intervals with 20-30 minutes of strength training. Do that 3 days per week, and pow, you'll lose fat fast. (With good nutrition too, of course!)

On off days, I encourage people to be as active as possible, but without making extra effort to go to the gym. Walking to do your errands for an hour is great, if you have the time. Just do some form of health-promoting exercise (which can mean a half hour walk, yoga, or aerobic training if you desire). The duration and intensity of these off-day workouts depends on your fitness level, your recovery capacity, and your nutrition plan.

For many people, New Year's resolutions mean a return to high-volume cardio programs. But I urge restraint, caution, and conservatism. Trying to re-do your old running programs after some time off is a recipe for disaster.

If you plan on resuming a former running program, please start conservatively, especially if you are running on hard surfaces. Start easy. Build up in volume. Monitor your energy levels, strength levels, and mood. Be conservative, train consistent, and superior results will be yours.

And what about for beginners? How often should they workout?

Well, if you are the utmost of beginners, and haven't done any formal exercise in a long, long time, then simply do 3-6 bouts of 5 minutes of walking each day. Every day. Progress with your walking by increasing the time you walk and decreasing the number of "bouts" per day. For example, in week 3 of your exercise program, do 3 bouts of 10 minutes per day. And by week 6, you should be able to walk for 30 minutes straight. That is a place to get started.

At the same time, combine your walking program with a professionally designed bodyweight 3-day strength program that you can do at home (heck, most beginner exercises are even done lying on the floor!). After 6 weeks, you can increase the intensity of your workout, as outlined by your personal trainer. Eventually, you can progress into a more intense 3-day per week program. 

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Why Calories Don't Matter

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Myth: I need to burn 300 calories each workout to lose fat.

Truth: Possibly one of the worst inventions for fat loss was the calorie-counting monitor on treadmills, elliptical machines, and stairmasters. Because of these, millions of men and women now obsess about the number of calories burned per session. You've probably even been one of those people, watching it creep up ever so slowly during a slow-cardio session. All the while knowing that you can wipe out a 30-minute, 300-calorie treadmill session with one fell swoop of the Krispy Kreme hand.

Too many people are brainwashed into thinking that if they don't burn 300-500 calories per session, then they won't lose fat. After all, that is what you've been told time and time again in those fluffy fitness/fashion magazines. The problems with this approach to fat loss are numerous. First off, it's difficult to say if the calorie counters are even accurate. A story on CBS news showed that cardio machines overestimate calorie burning by up to 20%.

Next, depending on slow cardio for advanced fat loss is relatively useless and at the very least, inefficient. It takes a long time for you to burn a lot of calories and one study showed that men who only used cardio training for weight loss ended up with a reduced resting metabolism. You are basically undoing the calorie burning by depending only on cardio. On the other hand, guys in the same study that used strength training didn't suffer a reduced metabolic rate.

So what is the solution to burning fat in a faster, more efficient method? The answer is to burn fewer calories in less exercise time, but with a more intense form of exercise.

And the trick to getting better results in this backwards approach? Your body will burn more calories after exercise (when you use intervals) than it does after you do slow cardio and your metabolism will stay high. Some experts refer to this as the afterburn effect. How do you do intervals? Well, you could sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds and repeat that for 6 sets - using the bike preferably or treadmill if you are experienced with it.

Within that short time frame the intervals will cause your muscles to go crazy with activity (I call it a metabolic disturbance). This crazy metabolism boost causes lots of calorie burning after exercise to get your body back to normal. The result is you would end up burning more fat and more calories in the post-exercise period as your body tries to get things under control.

Now there is one time where you'd want to count calories, but that is when you are counting up and determining how many calories you eat per day. Again, you can wipe out an entire workout's work in less than a minute simply by eating garbage. Without some structure and discipline to your nutrition, there is nothing that even my programs can do to help you lose fat.

So exercise nutrition control and interval training. These are the two anti-calorie counting methods that will help you lose fat and get lean.  www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

How to Cut Your Workout Time & Lose More Fat

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

The #1 reason for not working out is a lack of time.

If you get up at 5:30am to drive an hour to work, only to get home at 6pm and then have to launch right into carting the kids around, who can blame you for not working out? Not when it takes 45 minutes to do cardio, and another 30-45 minutes for isolation bodybuilding workouts.

If that's the way you have to exercise to lose fat, then practically no normal person is going to be able to pull that off.

But when you look at the science, you'll see that you can get more results in less time. You just have to increase the intensity of the workout, but at the same time, you can cut your workout time in half (or more!).

I am convinced that an effective fat loss workout can be done in 45 minutes or less, and that long, slow, excruciatingly boring cardio is not necessary for you to get the body you want. Please, read on...

In last week's newsletter, I spoke about the 3 biggest training mistakes as well as my top 3 training tips to help you get more results in less time. Here I go into detail on the superiority of interval training when compared to traditional aerobic exercise:

Q: What is the role of interval training vs. steady state aerobics in a fat loss program?

Answer:
Interval training is more important than cardio. First of all, it gets more results in less time. And with "lack of time" being the number one reason most people do not participate in a training program at all, clearly intervals are the winner here.

Now let's just assume that lack of time is not a problem. Well, interval training is still more effective because it applies more "turbulence" to the muscle. Or in scientific terms, interval training results in a greater metabolic stress on the muscle.

And that causes more calories to be burned in the important 23.5 hours per day when you are not exercising.

From there, the muscle must work to recover, repair, and replenish the energy that was used in the training. It is much more metabolic work for the muscle to recover from interval training (and strength training) than it is to recover from aerobic training.

Therefore, in the post-exercise period, interval training results in more calories burned.

In fact, I just read a new study from Australia that shows interval training is superior to slow cardio for fat loss.

The researchers, Trapp & Boutcher put WOMEN through a 15 week study where one group was a control, one group did intervals (20 minutes of alternating sprints and recovery), and one group did 40 minutes of slow cardio.

The interval group lost 2.5kg of fat in 15 weeks on average (with one subject losing 7.7kg of fat), while the slow cardio group lost only 0.4kg of fat over 15 weeks on average.

The results speak for themselves.

So don't get hung up on how many calories are burned during a training session with aerobic training. That is not nearly as important as how many total calories your body burns over the course of the day - and you will burn more with interval training.

And for those that subscribe to the fat burning zone as being important, again, you aren't looking at the big picture (the 24-hour calorie burning period). Instead, those that believe in the importance of the fat-burning zone have a myopic view of how the body works.

The same message applies to those people that live and die by the cardio on an empty stomach method. You're "nickel and dime-ing" the fat loss process, when really it's a much bigger budget to balance.

Look at the big picture. Get your nutrition in order, then focus your workouts on brief, intense strength and interval training workouts that increase your metabolism for the next 24 hours.

Get your very own copy of Turbulence Training & the Nutrition Guide here: http://www.turbulencetraining.com/

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training      www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Top 7 Weight Loss Mistakes

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com 

Seven Mistakes People Make When Trying to Lose Fat

1. They fail to consider the consequences of their actions.

Alwyn Cosgrove (one of the top trainers in the business) once told me, "I get my clients to think, "Will this help me or not? Is this a positive step or not?" If you can see that every action that you take is either helping you lose fat or stopping you from losing fat, then you will start to make better choices. So remember that everything you put in your mouth is either for or against fat loss. And every exercise choice you make is either for or against fat loss. "Get that", Alwyn says, "and you’re a hit."

2. They neglect to control their insulin and blood sugar levels - 2 key factors in determining whether or not the body fat will come off.

If you eat processed foods you are guaranteed to elevate your insulin & blood sugar levels. If you do that, your body sends the message, “Store fat!”, and you won’t make any progress. So avoid white-flour based bakery products, sugary drinks, and almost any carbohydrate snack that comes in a bag or a box.

3. They train like it’s the 80’s.

Yes, I know. Eighties music is popular again. But that doesn’t mean ineffective training methods from the 80’s like light weights, low intensity steady state cardio, and endless low-intensity ab work should also make a comeback. That type of training should stay buried in the back issues of cheesy muscle magazines. Stick to strength training and interval training for efficient and effective body changing routines.

4. They don’t take 30 minutes to plan their next day’s food intake.

If you fail to do this, you will set your fat loss efforts back by a minimum of 72 hours. Without a good meal plan, you are left to hunt and gather food in the modern world. And that’s a recipe for fat loss disaster. You are bound to eat something processed if you aren’t prepared. You will lose the fat burning benefits from yesterday’s workout and it will take until the end of the following day to get back on track. An entire 72-hour period wasted.

5. They don’t eat enough vegetables.

We can thank John Berardi for making it common knowledge that you should eat fibrous vegetables at every meal to assist your fat loss efforts. By doing so, you’ll control your blood sugar and insulin - thus supporting the optimal hormonal situation for fat loss.

6. They screw up their hormones with poor lifestyle choices.

If you are out boozing and staying up late on the weekend, you are shutting down your fat loss and messing up the optimal hormonal environment for fat burning. I will talk a lot more about the optimal hormonal levels for fat loss, as I believe this is the underrated key to building your best body ever.

7. They don’t plan and monitor their training sessions.

If you are still going to the gym without a plan, then you are going to have a hard time losing fat. And if you aren’t recording your workouts and eating habits, then you aren’t losing as much fat as you probably can. To fix this mistake, start by getting on track with strength training and interval training. It’s guaranteed to get you lean. www.TurbulenceTraining.com