Saturday, January 26, 2008

High Intensity Interval Training, What is it & How is it done?

High Intensity Interval Training

Want faster results and hate slow & boring cardio exercises? Need to burn more fat and build more endurance? Then high intensity interval training is the way to go to get better results in less time.

Check out this video and learn how to do high intensity interval training for a leaner and stronger body.

Click Play Now




Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit TurbulenceTraining.com


Click for quicker fat loss

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The 10 Minute Workout

The 10 Minute Workout

Here's a quick video demonstration by Turbulence Training creator Craig Ballantyne for those busy people on the go who feel they do not have enough time to exercise.

It is important to warm up properly before beginning your actual workout to prevent any injuries or strains. Do stretch before and after your working out to maintain flexibility with strength.


Click Play for a faster and more effecient workout





The 10 Minute Workout Mindset

One thing we have to lose from our workout mindsets is the idea of this "60-minute workout". Forget about spending that much time in the gym. Instead, choose better exercises that are more efficient. This will allow you to get your workout done faster, eliminating the "no time" workout excuse.



Click for more details

---------------------------------

About The Author:

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Monday, January 14, 2008

Learn The Best Foods For Fat Burning

Choosing the right foods for maximum fat loss does not have to be difficult. But we do need to choose wisely just as unwise food choices are the cause for excessive fat and weight gain.

Every day you can make a choice to make food an asset to your fat burning program or make poor choices and make food a liability that robs you of the lean,toned & muscular body you desire.

It simply comes down to making changes in the way we view the food we choose to eat.
In the following article you will plainly see what is the best foods for fat burning, what to look for and what to get rid of. Check it now and see what changes you can make to reach your goal to burn more fat and have more energy.

Best Foods for Fat Burning

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

I couldn't be any simpler with my nutrition recommendations for fat burning. You will get have the most energy and the best body and fitness level possible if you eat whole, natural foods. I always ask Dr. Chris Mohr, author of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines if I ever need help with nutrition information.

You must avoid processed foods, which is pretty much anything in a bag or a box. So cut out muffins, donuts, pre-packaged cereals, white bread, pasta, chips, crackers, cookies, etc.

We need to return to a time of simpler eating, focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It will take some "bad habit breaking" to rid yourself of your addiction to processed foods, but in your journey you will learn to appreciate the taste of REAL food again.

You don't have to eat meat to lose fat and build muscle, but it's not unhealthy to eat beef, chicken, and fish. In fact, fish contains essential fatty acids we can't do without.

You might have heard about the importance of healthy fats, which is a big turn-around from the low-fat mentality of the 80's and 90's. We now know eating fish and nuts won't make us fat, but will in fact make us healthy and help control our appetite.

So just focus on foods that haven't been processed, and you'll start to see changes in your body and energy levels in a matter of days. Get rid of the processed foods and you won't be tired anymore!

I strongly believe nutrition is the MOST important factor in fat loss and in health. If you're eating processed foods, trans-fats, and too many calories, you won't get maximum benefits from your exercise program, no matter what you are doing. Nutrition can either heal you or kill you, so choose wisely. Fortunately, the right choices are the simple choices.

I've had clients that switched to whole, natural foods and almost overnight they've reported changes in their bodies and huge increases in mental energy. So stick with the simple nutrition approach for fat burning.



--------------------------------------
About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Why Is Cardio Exercise A Waste Of Time For Fat Loss?

If you enjoy spending long hours in the gym and all you do is cardio exercises, then congratualations on making the time and effort needed to reach your ideal body.

But if you're like most folks who don't have as much time and hate long & boring cardio exercises, then here is an alternative method of getting maximum fat loss in less time from your workouts.

Cardio is a Waste of Time for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

While the mainstream fitness media still insists that aerobic exercise is a great way to lose weight, Turbulence Training users know that interval training is the better way to burn body fat.

Still not convinced?

A recent study published by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, subjects aged 40 to 75 were instructed to do 60 minutes of aerobic exercise per day for 6 days per week for an entire year.

Given the amount of exercise, you'd expect weight losses of 20, 30 pounds, or more, right?

Well, the surprise findings showed the average fat loss for female subjects was only 4 pounds for the entire year, while men lost 6.6 pounds of fat over the year. That's over 300 hours of aerobic exercise just to lose a measly 6 pounds of blubber. Not time well spent, in my opinion.

So what's the better way? Stick with Turbulence Training, using interval training and strength training to get better bodysculpting results. With intervals, you'll achieve more fat burning results in less workout time.

The next time you are out exercising, perform a session of interval training. If you are walking or running outside, find an incline that can challenge you for 60 seconds, then walk down for 60-120 seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.

If you walk or run on a treadmill, adjust the incline or speed to safely increase the challenge for 60 seconds, then return to the normal pace for 60-120 seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.

You can also use a rowing machine, bicycle or stationary bike, or even an elliptical machine to do intervals.

But whatever you do, stay away from boring, ineffective cardio exercise workouts and stick with Turbulence Training for your fat burning program.



Click for all the details
About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment,visitTurbulence Training for Fat Loss

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Best Way To Burn Belly Fat Is.......

The firt sign to let us know that it's time to get in shape is usually when we can no longer get our pants over the belly fat. No matter how hard you try to suck it in, you are going to have to breathe sometime and let it out.

So, what are the best ways to loose that belly fat? Do you prefer cardio workouts?.... or maybe just do sit-ups or crunches? Check out this recommendation and see how quickly you can get results.

The Best Ways to Burn Belly Fat

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Best Ways to Burn Belly Fat

I often get asked, “What’s the best way to burn fat and lose my belly?” People want to know if aerobics is better than strength training, or if traditional cardio exercise is better than intervals.

Well, to say I've done them all would be an understatement.

With over 15 years experience helping others, training myself, training for sports, spending countless hours in the gym, AND actually conducting laboratory research studies on different exercise methods, I'm pretty confident in knowing what works and what does not.

But first of all, I want to frame my responses. I'm going to talk about what works for people that have a limited amount of time to exercise, mostly because I expect your readers don't have 90 minutes per day to devote to a workout, unlike the typical audience of a fitness magazine.

That's why there is a huge disconnect between some of the information found in magazines and the ability of the reader to apply it to their lives.

We just don't have 6-8 hours per week for exercise, nor do we need it. If you're a triathlete, you might need that, but not someone that just wants to lose fat and gain muscle.

Having said all that, the bottom line for getting a better body is...

Use bodyweight exercises to warm-up, strength training supersets to build muscle, and then finish your workout with interval training to burn fat in a short amount of time. I've structured my system so that you are in and out of the gym in 45 minutes, three times per week.

You'll do 5 minutes of bodyweight exercises to warm-up. This is a much more efficient approach than spending 5 minutes walking on a treadmill, which really doesn't prepare you for anything except more walking on a treadmill.

Then we move into the strength training supersets, where we use two exercises performed back to back with minimum rest between each. This cuts our workout time, while still giving us maximum results. We only need 20 minutes for this, and we'll use basic exercises, and sometimes even more bodyweight exercises, depending on the client's goal for muscle building.

And finally, we'll do 18 minutes of interval training. A warm-up, followed by six short intervals at the appropriate fitness level for the client, interspersed with short periods of low-intensity recovery. Finish with a cool-down. And that's the workout. Again, about 45 minutes total.

Compare that to what most people do, which is run, jog, cycle or use the cardio machines for 45 minutes straight. Sure, that will burn calories, but it doesn't build a better body.

In fact, there are a few "dark sides" to long slow cardio, including less-than-optimal results, the potential for overuse injuries, and it is an inefficient form of exercise. If you only have 30-45 minutes for your workout and you spend it all on a cardio machine, when are you going to train the rest of your muscles and sculpt a better body?

So the best way to burn belly fat is with a combination of strength training and interval training. It’s fast, it works, and it’s fun!


Click for more details

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Turn Your Body Into A Lean & Mean Fat Burning Machine


Click for more details

Here's some great advice to any problems you may be having with your workouts and eating habits. By adding variety to your workouts and combining high-intensity circuit training with smaller more frequent meals, you can actually reprogram your body to increase its metabolism and burn more body fat.

You can actually turn into a lean and mean "fat burning machine."

Your 3 Fat Loss Mistakes

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

Let me solve your workout problem.

I know that you are:

- Eating well
- Exercising regularly
- and TICKED OFF that you aren't making progress.

I've answered dozens of emails from new readers that have said exactly that. And after I get more info from them, here are the 3 mistakes commonly made:

1) Your perception of your nutrition "
reality of what, when, and how often you are eating. To learn the rules of fat loss, you need to read (scratch that, you need to
STUDY), Dr. Chris Mohr's Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.

2) There is no variety in your training.

3) You need to up the intensity of your training.

Let's face it. Human beings like to stick to a routine. We don't
like change. We like our comfort zone - some more than others.

But if there is no change in your workout from month to month, then your body will not change either.

That is why I insist on changing your workouts every 4 weeks as you do in the TT workouts.

You won't succeed by doing the same thing over and over again.
Would you get ahead at work by doing the same tasks you did as the first day on your job? No way. You have to take on more challenges.

With variety in your training, you will continue to apply
"turbulence" to the muscle, and making your body use lots of energy (i.e. calories and fat) during the recovery period to repair the muscle and replenish the energy used. That will "jack up" your metabolism.

If your body is used to the training, the exercises, the sets, and
the reps, it will give a "ho-hum" response and your metabolism will flatline.

And that's why you need to raise the intensity of the workout as
well.

Slow, boring cardio doesn't jack up the metabolism like intervals.

And research has shown that 8 reps boost your post-workout
metabolism more than 12 reps. So you have to safely add a little
weight (try using 5% more weight with perfect form, of course), and decreasing the number of reps per set by 2. That's a good place to start.

So if you've been doing a machine circuit, then stop, and give this sample free weight Turbulence Training workout a try.

Warmup with a bodyweight circuit. 8 reps per exercise, go through it twice.

Sample bodyweight circuit:

i) Bodyweight squat
ii) An easy pushup
iii) A bodyweight row if possible, if not, do stick-ups

Then do 20 minutes of total body strength training done in
supersets.

ie.
1a) DB Squat
1b) DB Press

Do each exercise with a weight that allows only 8 reps. Do not rest between the squat and press. Rest 1 minute after the press. Repeat the superset 2 more times.

Next superset:

2a) DB Split Squat
2b) DB Row

Same as above.

On to intervals:

5 minute warmup.

6 intervals of 60 seconds at a "harder than normal cardio pace"
with 60-90 seconds recovery (at the easiest pace possible).

5 minute cooldown.

Stretch tight muscles only.

Done.

We don't do slow cardio. It does nothing for the man or woman who is short on time.

And of course, always train safe and don't do anything you are not comfortable doing...but if you are fit and healthy, you can
increase the intensity, change the variables, and burst through
your fat loss plateaus.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne,
Author, Turbulence Training

------------------------------

About the Author:

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visitwww.TurbulenceTraining.com

Monday, January 7, 2008

Fat Burning Workout Tips for Busy People


Click for more details

Here's a simple yet overlooked way to workout off those extra pounds gained over the holidays. Most busy people fail to even get started on some kind of exercise program simply for lack of time or they feel it is too expensive to join a gym when they have already made up their mind they can't fit it in into their busy schedule.

The key to making time for exercising is knowing all you really need is maybe 20-30 minutes of quality workout time. Unless your competing for some muscle fitness title, all you needed start the body fat melting process is a quick yet intensive workout that can be done easily from the comfort of your home.

Keep a timer or clock nearby and gradually increase the intensity of each workout, but keeping it at the same amount time, or as you get stronger you can even cut down your workout time. Using only bodyweight exercises to start off, then adding dumbbells into your exercise program can all be accomplished from home without expensive equipment or costly gym memberships.

Remember, it's the quality of the workout and not so much the time spent that counts.

Fat Burning Exercise Tips for Busy Parents & Professionals

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

The great thing about strength training and intervals for fat burning is "efficiency". Because you are working harder, the signal to your body to change is stronger. You cut time when you increase intensity and you burn fat faster.

Now don't worry, I won't be asking you to do hill sprints tomorrow if you aren't exercising today. For a beginner, we just do some slightly faster than normal walking intervals. For intermediate fitness levels, we'll pick up the pace about 20% compared to their normal cardio levels, but again, the work periods are much shorter.

The key is, you must shift to a slightly higher intensity in order to cut time from your workout. But the workout also goes faster, and much more importantly, you will get more results and better fitness from these methods.

It's easy to do these workouts first thing in the AM, at lunch, or after the kids go to bed. Plus, you can get a great workout at home with only a bench, dumbbells, and an exercise ball. You don't need fancy machines or an expensive gym membership.

And another bonus, you only need three hard fat burning workouts per week. You don't have to be in the gym six days per week.

On your off days, it's important to stay active for at least 30 minutes, but these days should be unstructured and revolve around being active with your family or hobbies. Don't think of them as workout days, think of them as fat burning, stress reducing activity days.

----------------------------

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises


Click for more details

Here's some great bodyweight exercises that can be added to your circuit training program when your out of town away from home or just don't have enough time to get to the gym. Doing circuit training really gets your heart rate going without needing to do long & boring cardio exercises since each exercise is done without rest or very little rest in between exercises.

Some of the bodyweight exercises may sound new, but they are all included in the Turbulence Training Program plus many more to boost muscle strength and burn body fat.


Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

When you travel, you worry about missing your workouts and eating poorly...So you must plan ahead for both (apples and almonds for planes, trains, & automobiles)...and bodyweight circuits for "no-equipment fat burning".

And while I have bodyweight exercises that are just as hard as the bench press and barbell squat in one of my bodyweight workouts, today we'll focus on replacing intervals with bodyweight circuits.

To do a bodyweight circuit...

a) Pick 3 lower body exercises

b) Pick 3 upper body exercises

c) Alternate between a lower and upper body exercise without rest, till you are done all 6 exercises

d) Rest a minute.

e) Repeat 2-3 more times until you are done 20 minutes

For example, this is a great circuit that doesn't need any equipment

1) Prisoner Squat (12 repetitions)
2) Elevated Pushups (8 reps per side)
3) Single-Leg Deadlift (10 reps per side)
4) Close-grip Pushups (As many reps as possible)
5) Jumping Jacks (30-60 reps)
6) Cross-Body Mountain Climber (12 reps per side)

Whew. That's pretty advanced...for a beginner, we'd slow it down like this and take some breaks between exercises...

1) Wall Squat (8 reps)
2) Kneeling Elevated Pushup (5 reps per side)
3) Lying 1-leg Hip Extension (8 reps per side)
4) Plank (30 second hold)
5) Jumping Jacks (5-10 reps)
6) Side Plank (15 second hold per side)

Safe travels, and of course, always check with your doctor before beginning a fat burning bodyweight circuit exercise program.

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

Bonus Video: Workout Supersets