Here’s an article I like someone calling a spade a spade I used to see people on trainers or exercise bikes at the gym for an hour and I reckon that after a year of that they looked exactly the same, no noticeable changes in body shape or muscle definition, and on top of that they looked bored doing it. Read on and please comment.

cheers Brendan

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Just over a year ago I was in Tampa, Florida, at another fitness seminar.

Between sessions, a physician from Georgia stopped me in the hall
and said, “Hey Craig, you were right about those crosstrainer
machines. I’ve had your program for a few months now and I’m getting
better results with metabolic resistance training.”

It’s always great to meet clients, and I was curious to find out
how he heard of me. Turns out, he found me through Google, landing
on an article I wrote about “how elliptical machines
(crosstrainers) suck for fat loss”.

That’s right, I think those crosstrainer-elliptical machine doohickeys
are almost a complete waste of time.

“I was using one of those machines for a long time and wondering why
I wasn’t getting any results,” the physician continued, “I’m so glad
I found your program”, he added.

I told him how I wasn’t surprised.

In fact, I’ve never known anyone to get great results with one of
those crosstrainer machines. Nope, it’s diet and metabolic
resistance training that really gets people results.

Now I know some people will be angry with what I have to say because
they like exercising on the crosstrainer, but the truth is that
they just don’t work as well as metabolic resistance training.

To me, the crosstrainer is just the easy way out.

You’ll get dozens of metabolic resistance training supersets – using
my unique non-competing turbulence method – when you grab your copy
of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss program.

And you can get Turbulence Training for Fat Loss for less than the
cost of a one month gym membership. That also beats shelling out
$1000 or more for a crappy crosstrainer for your home gym.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks:

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Hi everyone, just read this article by Craig and thought it was worth putting up on Beginner-Workouts, my bad spot is between getting home from work and tea time, I try to have a carrot or two which does the trick, have a look and see what you guys think and put on a post, cheers

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

This is always tough to admit, but nutrition is more important than
your workouts when it comes to fat loss.

And since diet is more important than exercise, I’ve decided to
spend a lot time sharing nutrition tips this week, starting with
these 5 diet secrets:

1) Your nutrition program doesn’t have to be extreme.

Hold up on making any extreme diet changes. Make sure the nutrition
plan you’ve chosen is sustainable. Simple diet changes go a lot
farther than you might think.

Why not just eat more whole, natural foods rather than trying to go
on an impossible-to-stick-to ultra-low carb extreme plan?

2) Get the junk out of the house.

If it’s in your house, you’ll eat it…and trust me, this goes for
me too. When I visit a relative’s house for holiday, I always eat the
treats they have sitting around. That’s why I keep the junk out of
my house.

So whatever your weakness is, keep it out of your home.

Success is that simple.

3) Fill in the “diet-killing” gap.

For some folks, the diet-killing gap is between work and dinner.
For others, it’s between dinner and bedtime, but for almost
everyone, there is a point in the day when we suffer from mindless
eating.

So make sure you have alternatives…as soon as you come home from
work, cut up vegetables and dip them into hummus. That will keep
you full on a small amount of calories.

After dinner, if you need something sweet, stir up chocolate
protein powder into a small bit of plain yogurt. That will satisfy
you.

4) Chew your food 5-10 times before swallowing.

Most people eat so fast they only about 1-2 times. You’ll really
notice a difference and you’ll slow your eating so you feel full.

5) Have a bowl of broth-based vegetable soup before a meal.

American researcher Barbara Roll has published a lot of studies
showing that this will help you reduce the food you eat.
Surprisingly, consuming just water doesn’t seem to do the same
trick.

So those are just 5 of the diet secrets we have for you this year.

Stay tuned for proven secrets to help you lose fat in 2010.

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

An interesting article from Craig, I know that after a workout and then sprint intervals I feel pumped for more than an hour at least, my body knows its exercised hard.

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

If you depend on classic aerobic cardio for fat loss, you
probably spend 30 minutes on a machine trying to burn a set number
of calories.

But does that work?

Does burning 500 calories per day cause you to lose 1 pound of fat
per week?

Well, according to science, it should. But if it did, you probably
wouldn’t still be reading this article.

Back in the day, I used to write a column on fat loss myths for
Men’s Fitness magazine. Here’s a classic weight loss topic I covered.

Myth: I need to burn 500 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 use strength and interval training to burn
fewer calories in less exercise time, but with a more intense form
of exercise.

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 turbulence). 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.

Reading the article has motivated me I’m off for a run see ya!

Hi everyone, how’s your week going are you hitting your targets? Have you drawn up a chart to motivate yourself? If not give it a go, it works now I have mine I love crossing off a workout.

The heading I have on one of mine is- I will do 156 workouts this year and as I do one I cross it off, note its the same amount as if I said I will workout 3 times per week but written differently on purpose, its so if I have a super busy week or one of the kids is sick ,whatever and I don’t do three workouts that week I don’t get down on myself and lose motivation because of it, I know that I have to do 156 workouts during the year total, thats all. I hope that makes a bit of sense, I read about goal setting that way somewhere and thought I’d give it a go, I like it.

Having said that if I do have a busy week or some late nights that make it hard to get up and going I will try and do even 5 minutes  before bed just to fit something in each day, its not much but its something and I find that it helps me get back on track quicker.

Thats all, keep exercising, and get fitter.

Cheers brendan

Hi guys, life has  been pretty busy lately but still fitting in some jogging and workouts as best I can but I was still getting a bit down on myself but then I realised life with 5 kids is busy, work is busy so I’ve realised that rather than be down about it  I should be happy that I can fit in some exercise and encourage my wife and kids to exercise and of course my jogging partner Gretta the crazy German Wire-Haired Pointer, who by the way thinks a 50min jog is just the warm up to some games. So I am encouraging all of you out there to just start exercising when and where you can, whatever your age , do some in front of the tv if it works for you, do it in 3/ 10 minute blocks so you can fit it in around the kids, I assure you, you will feel better and be motivated to do more. Me I’m getting up earlier so I can fit in a turbulence workout before work, it only takes me about 25 minutes to do the workout part and the interval training part takes about 20 minutes but I split it into two part and take the dog for a jog in the evening when it cools down, it summer here in Oz, or I’ll do sprints down our driveway, or intervals on the exercise bike. To help with motivation I have chart on the wall for work-outs and jogging and cross off a square after each jog or work-out and it does help to have visible cue.

I came across this article from Craig Ballantyne and in it he lists the  27 bodyweight exercises which as I’ve mentioned before are great for beginner-workouts  as the equipment is free, so here they, try to try them all out over the next couple of weeks. www.TurbulenceTraining.com

cheers Brendan

Alright, let’s say you go into the gym and it’s waaaaaaay too busy
(or you are exercising at home with only one set of adjustable
dumbbells) and you need some alternative exercises.

What can you do in place of dumbbell presses, dumbbell rows,
split squats, etc.?

Well, here are 27 alternative exercises for you.

Situation #1 – You can’t do dumbbell chest presses because all the
benches are taken, so you can do…

- pushups
- close-grip pushups
- decline pushup
- elevated pushups
- off-set pushups
- pushups with your feet on the ball
- pushups with your hands on the ball
- spiderman pushups
- pike pushups
- or possibly the hardest two hand pushup of them all, decline
close-grip spiderman pushups

Situation #2 – You’re superset calls for dumbbell chest presses and
dumbbell split squats, but you only have one set of dumbbells and
you’re set on doing the chest presses…what can you do for your legs?

- 1-leg lying hip extensions for beginners
- high-rep Bulgarian split squats for advanced
- high-rep split squats with your front foot elevated 4-6 inches
- 1-leg deadlifts
- 1-leg squats onto bench
- 1-leg squats standing on the bench
- deepstep-ups
- reaching lunges

Situation #3 – You’re at the gym on a busy Monday night and your
superset calls for dumbbell rows and stability ball leg curls, but
all of the dumbbells are taken. What alternatives can you do using
a pullup bar or smith machine?

Using the smith machine, you can do…
- inverted rows
- underhand inverted rows
- inverted rows with your feet on the ball
- inverted rows holding the ends of a towel hung over the bar
(advanced grip strength there!)

Using the pullup bar, you can do…
- eccentric pull-ups
- regular pull-ups
- sternum pull-ups
- chinups
- side to side pull-ups

PS whoa some of them are hard, give them a go

PPS have a great week everyone,

Hi guys, I’ve got a great book to give away written by one of the real guru’s of the fitness industry Tom Venuto, so if you’re interested in getting some absolute top info for free send a reply address  and I’ll send you the book its 62 pages  long so its not a little fluffy piece there is real content in it. I’m applying some of what I learnt in it  now to myself.

cheers Brendan 

http://www.Beginner-Workouts.com

Hi guys, Craig Ballantyne has put out another great workout that uses only your bodyweight give it a go, and be prepared to sweat!

Turbulence Training Fat Loss Bodyweight Workout

Did you know that you can get an amazing workout from ONLY bodyweight
exercises…

…and that this workout can be done LITERALLY anytime and anywhere?

Check out this workout from Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines
fitness expert, Craig Ballantyne. It uses his world-famous Turbulence
Training workout secrets to help you lose belly fat without equipment.

Warm-up Circuit – 2 rounds – Spend 15 seconds on each exercise.
1) Jumping Jacks
2) Bodyweight Squat
3) Pushups
4) Mountain Climbers
5) Prisoner Forward Lunges
6) Stickups

Strength Superset

1A) Toughest pushup for 30 seconds
1B) Toughest single leg exercise for 30 seconds per side
- Rest 1 minute before repeating this superset

Water break – 2 minutes

Conditioning Circuit – 20 seconds per exercise
1) Prisoner Squat
2) Pushup Plank
3) 1-leg hip extension
4) Close-grip pushup
5) Side Plank
- Rest 1 minute before repeating this circuit

Water break – 2 minutes

Final Circuit – 20 seconds per exercise
1) Split Squat
2) T-pushup
3) Prone Stick-ups
4) 1-Leg Deadlift
5) Squat thrusts
- Rest 1 minute before repeating this circuit

Water break – 2 minutes

Stretching Circuit – 20 seconds per stretch
1) Hip Flexor Stretch
2) Glute Stretch
3) Chest Stretch
4) Hamstring Stretch
5) Shoulder Stretch
- Rest 1 minute before repeating this stretching circuit

Done!

So much fun, and no equipment needed. You can do this at home, at
the park, in your office (we won’t tell!), and even in a hotel room
at a hotel – it no longer matters how bad the hotel gym is!

For more amazing Turbulence Training workouts, visit this website:

=>

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Enjoy,
Brendan Wild

********************************************************************

OK so you’ve decided to begin working-out, great you’re all keen and raring to go. What Next?

I’m going to assume that you’ve read my previous post and have decided on you Goals and have Written  them down, and have seen a doctor for advice about beginning an exercise program. The next step is to investigate some programs that will help you achieve Your Goals. Or maybe you’ll join a gym and the gym will provide you with a program to follow but…. you don’t want to join a gym and exercise in front of others…yet.  Perhaps you rushed out and bought some equipment eg dumbbells but don’t know what to do with them, or  maybe you haven’t done anything yet you’re in Analysis Paralysis mode- too many options so you do nothing! Well lets move on from there right now!

Let’s get you onto a Beginners Workout , I’ll show you a few exercises 

Group A  If  you don’t have any equipment yet

Group B  Those of you who have bought a little bit of equipment eg Dumbells

OK some basics here Exercises are done in Sets, in your set you would do 10 Repetitions of the exercise eg Squats 3×10= 3 Sets of squats with 10 repetitions  

Group A- Body Weight Exercises

Are a cheap option- your equipment goes with you everywhere- why not use it. Body weight exercises are a good starting point if you are a bit overweight and can help you gain a bit of confidence and strengthen up before graduating to some equipment, also if you travel with your job you can always fit in a workout.

Ok a simple body weight Beginners Workout would look like this:

Warm-up 10 squats, 30 seconds running on the spot and 20 jumping jacks have no rest between exercises have a 30 second rest and repeat once more then start workout. Please don’t skip Warm-up

Do a set of each exercise with only 30 seconds rest in between when finished all the exercises rest for one minute,  have a sip of your drink, breathe deeply then repeat whole routine 2 more times. Note if you can only do it once or twice don’t worry  work up to three sets of the routine don’t overdo it.

Exercise 1 Squats                                 3×10 (Does all of lower body)

Exercise 2 Push-ups                             3×10 (Does all of upper body) If a full push-up is too hard instead of your toes rest on your knee’s until you’re strong enough to do full push-ups

Exercise 3 Plank                                   3×30 seconds (Does all abdomen) It the same position as a push-up only resting on your fore-arms-hold that position. You’ll feel that one!)

Exercise 4 Step-ups                              3×10 per leg  Start with a step of 6”/150mm work up to a step of 12”/300mm. Place front leg on step-step up using front leg to do most of the work, step down again using front leg to work hardest.

Exercise 5 Lying Hip Extensions            3×10  Lie flat on floor with your knee’s bent and feet flat on floor, Liff your hips off the floor by squeezing your butt (Don’t use your lower back at all)Hold that position for 3 seconds then slowly lower yourself down… almost touch the floor go again

Exercise 6                               3×25 Jumping jacks finish with some cardio

Group B                                  if you have bought some Dumbbells you can do the same exercises but on the Squat andStep-ups hold onto your dumbbells for extra resistance(Start light you can always add more as your strength and co-ordination increases) Plus we’ll add 1 more exercise in before the Jumping jacks, 3×10 bicep curls, so your workout will look like this-

Group B

Warm up 2x

Exercise 1 Squat                                      3×10

Exercise 2 Push-ups                                 3×10

Exercise 3 Plank                                       3×30 seconds

Exercise 4 Step-ups                                  3×10

Exercise 5 Lying Hip Extensions            3×10

Exercise 6 Bicep Curls                            3×10

Exercise 7 Jumping Jacks                        3×25

Ok go and schedule in a workout and do it.

Cheers Brendan

PS Please post any good execises you know as well

PPS Next post for Beginners after Muscle Gain            

Hi there everyone,

Just wanted to get a few tips out there to all you people about to begin an exercise program it’s easy to get all gung-ho and start lifting weights or running long distances without having a plan And I want people to start exercising and stick with it for life not be injured or put off in the first few weeks so here are  some tips, some I’ve learnt the hard way, others I’ve read or seen. In no particular order-

* Have a plan or goal of what you want to achieve and write it down

* Research any program before you buy it has to fit your goals not the other way round

* Decide where you will exercise- gym or home

* Don’t spend a fortune on equipment. Do body weight exercises for a start if you want

* Always warm up before lifting. Eg skip rope, run on the spot, exercise bike

* Don’t lift too much weight for the first month make sure you’re performing the exercise correctly

* Mix in some cardio if you are weight training or some weight training if you are just doing cardio

* Don’t read too many books or magazines they will confuse you, stick to your original program

* Change your routine around after 4 weeks so you don’t get bored

* Plan a time to do your exercise into your schedule- stick to it!

* Don’t listen to negative advice/comments by friends or family it’s your body and your life!

* Allow at least a day between workouts so your body can recover- when beginning two can be better

* Eat good foods to help your body recover

* Work on your diet in combination with exercising it will bring results

* Cool down properly after a workout or run with stretching, your body will thank you tomorrow

* Drink heaps of water daily

* Just start today!!

That’s enough for today I’ll post some more another day reread the list and apply it to yourself it’s worth it at the start.

Cheers Brendan

PS Please post any tips you have for everyone to share

Hi everyone,

A few days ago, fat loss author/expert Tom Venuto
issued a bold challenge to hundreds of thousands
of people…

Basically, he “called them out,” (but in a motivating
sort of way, that is).

Tom was making an announcement about a new type of
fitness transformation challenge contest that will
run – get this – through ALL the holidays:

Thankgiving (US), Christmas and New Years.

He actually suggested that now is the BEST time to
transform your body and that procrastinating until
New Year’s is a pointless waste of time. If you
wanted a better body, why wait, right?

He also said that he thinks its downright “neurotic”
to believe that you can’t get leaner AND enjoy holiday
food at the same time.

According to Tom, that is a catastrophic form of
“EITHER / OR THINKING” which leads many people to
procrastination or self-sabotage.

You can read more of Tom’s “call to action” here:

www.burnthefat.com

To say there was a “response” would be an understatement…

Tom’s blog had something like 500 comments on it when he
first issued this challenge and he hasn’t even opened the
contest registration yet.

He also hasn’t released the prize package list yet, but
rumor has it, he is sending the overall winners somewhere
tropical… a warm place to show off a hot new body in the
dead of winter! Nice.

But if it wasn’t the prizes, what created all the buzz, then?

Well, Tom simply asked two questions in his challenge announcement:

(1) “Are you concerned about dealing with holiday food and
drink temptations that might lead you to become one of
the “holiday fat gain” statistics?”

(2) “If so…. DO YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE TO GET IN BETTER
SHAPE OVER THE HOLIDAYS?”

hundreds upon hundreds of people raised their hands and
said, “YES, I accept the challenge!”

It became clear that what people need more than
“another diet program” is MOTIVATION…. INSPIRATION…
and a REASON WHY to get up, move, and change the things
that need improving.

By providing a goal (a contest), a source of motivation
(prizes and recognition), accountability (A forum with
THOUSANDS of like-minded fitness enthusiasts to help
you along) and expert advice (a place with coaching and
education resources), THAT combination was the trigger
that had so many people say YES to this challenge.

Maybe, if you too say “YES, I accept your challenge,”
a fitness competition during the holidays could be an
event that not only keeps you from gaining fat from the
season’s indulgences, but could inspire and motivate you
to achieve your best shape of the year, or even the best
shape of your life.

I can tell you this: I’ve heard it myself from a lot of
people; it’s reward enough to get through the “holidaze”
in better shape than you began them; winning would just
be the icing on the cake.

I agree. And I believe you CAN do it NOW – DURING the
holidays – while enjoying the food and festivities
(with balance and moderation), and you will NOT be
one of the procrastinators who say, “I’ll start after
New Year’s day.”

Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle Will be “CONTEST CENTRAL”

===>

www.burnthefat.com

He just opened up a new challenge forum where ALL contestants
and members will converge to post their before/after
results, post their journals and all support each other
towards an incredible “50-DAY-BURN!”

If you want to be a part of online fitness history and
become a contestant in the first-ever 50 Day Burn The Fat
Holiday Challenge, you will be instantly eligible for
the contest and get access to the challenge forum when
you join the inner circle:

===>

www.burnthefat.com

Another way to get started: Read (or Re-Read) Burn The Fat,
Feed The Muscle.

If you don’t have this ebook yet, this is the classic
manual that many people call the “bible of fat loss” –
it’s a virtual roadmap for how to eat, train and get
motivated to win a transformation contest or, simply
get yourself in the best shape of your life

Get Burn The Fat

www.burnthefat.com

Anyone who already owns Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is
automatically eligible to enter the contest, with no
other purchase required.

Registration for the contest will open at the Burn The Fat
Inner Circle on Thursday, November 19th. There may be
some restrictions and the contest is void where prohibited
by state or country law.

More details are coming soon.

you can read Tom’s Holiday Fitness Challenge call to arms,
and get on the notification list about the contest prizes,
rules and instructions by visiting this page:

www.burnthefat.com

To your best body transformation, while enjoying the
Food and festivities of the holidays at the same time!