November 23rd, 2009
Hi Ladies, no I haven’t forgotten you, good on you for starting!
Women can tone and firm up muscles by using a weight lifting exercise routine.
Before you start throwing weights around, ask yourself what are my goals, become a ‘yummy’ mummy, run a marathon, compete as a fitness model, or just lose a few pounds and get some energy back into your life. Write your goals down, are they realistic, make sure that they are as nothing sucks enthusiasm out of you more than not hitting your goals, by missing workouts or cheating a bit on the diet, but if your new routine has you up at 5.30 am working out for an hour everymorning and eating like rabbit, chances are you’ll slip up and lose motivation. Start off small and steady, cut out having a treat everynight with your coffee, make some healthy choices in what you eat, fit into your life three 30 minute blocks where you can do your workout, do two 15 minute workouts if you need too, you just have to make it work for you. Try and fit some walking into your lifestyle too, we all need to be more active daily the health benefits are massive.
Don’t worry about turning into a female version of Arnie, women don’t have the genetics or testostorne for that to happen(well most of them) and even the ones who do still need to train for hours and hours daily, as do male bodybuilders to get huge. If you start off with light weights and only do 5-8 different exercises and only do 3 sets of that exercise for between 8-12 repetitions that will get you underway. You can buy a set of weights to use, new or 2nd hand it doesn’t matter perhaps for a start use a can of fruit out of the pantry as a weight and work up from there. The good thing about weight training is that its speeds up your metabolism which burns fat up, one pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories per day, and after a workout your body releases endorphins which make you feel happy and relaxed.
Another plus of working out is that it is great for strengthening your bones and ligaments which can be crucial to good health when you’re older, it helps with your balance and movement in general. When is the best time to do exercise, when you can fit it in, a lot of people try and do it in the morning, to get it out of the road, get the day off to a great start, the kids are still asleep but if you can’t do your routine till night time do it then whatever works. So whether its Fat Loss or muscle building your after, get going. Just get started!
Thats enough info for a start, I’ll be posting more details later and don’t forget to post comments or questions
cheers Brendan
Posted in Beginner Fitness training | No Comments »
November 23rd, 2009
Hi everyone,
I was looking thru some aricles that I’ve recieved and this one had some great advice for the Holiday Season in regards to eating and enjoying the food on offer at this time of year and being motivated to work out and reach our goals.
Its by Craig Ballantyne, I hope you enjoy it, don’t forget to post your comments
Title: 3 Secrets of Your Fat Burning Holiday Plan
Hi,
If you want to do the impossible and LOSE fat over the holidays, then this is going to be the most important fat burning tips article you ever read.
Losing fat and keeping the weight off over the holidays is easier than you think. And I’m going to show you exactly what you need to do to lose fat while enjoying yourself at big meals and parties over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.
There’s just 3 simple steps you need to follow.
1) You need to plan out your reward meals in advance. Remember, it is a big psychological boost to your fat loss program if you can still enjoy your favorite foods while transforming your body.
So here’s what you need to do. Simply grab a calendar and mark off the days when you have a big meal planned. Don’t forget, you get at least one meal per week when you can have whatever you want.
That means you can mark off Thanksgiving Thursday, and then your work holiday party, then your family Christmas dinners, and any other event you have planned. Once per week you get to reward yourself for doing such a great job with your program. So enjoy!
2) The second thing you need to do is plan out your fat burning exercises sessions in advance, so you know exactly what you need to do in order to free up more time for holiday parties, shopping, and merry-making.
Remember, you don’t have to do long, slow, boring cardio if you want to lose stomach fat. In fact, you have to do just the opposite. You need to cut your workout time, cut the time you spend at the gym, and just say NO to cardio and crunches. Both are a waste of your time – and that’s my Christmas gift to you – never having to do those silly exercises ever again.
Switch to the simple, bodyweight and home fat burning exercises in the Turbulence Training system. You’ll love how you can burn fat in the comfort of your own home in just a few short minutes each week.
3) Stay strong with social support. Now more than ever is the time of year when you need to spend time with your social support group. Make sure you are still checking in on the Turbulence Training member’s forum to get help and support on sticking to your fat burning plan over the holidays. You’ll get help from others all over the world to lose fat while everyone else at work gains weight.
So that’s all you have to do…just follow that simple 3-step plan of reward meals, planning, and social support, and you’ll lose fat over the holidays.
I strongly recommend you get the exact diet and fat burning plan from Turbulence Training from world=famous fitness expert, Craig Ballantyne.
Plus, with today’s special offer, you can try out the Turbulence Training Fat Loss System for only $4.95 for the next 21 days.
Click this link to try out Turbulence Training today:
=>
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
To your fat burning success over the holidays,
Craig Ballantyne
PS – Don’t forget…
The Turbulence Training System has a 60-day guarantee. If you aren’t 100% satisfied, just let Craig Ballantyne know and you’ll get every penny back.
Try out the trial offer!
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Posted in Fat loss for Beginners | No Comments »
November 21st, 2009
Hi there, and thanks for looking at my site, as the name suggests it’s for beginners looking for work-out advice that they use to start on the road to fitness.
A bit about myself, my name is Brendan Wild, I’m 41 and have been active and exercising for most of my life, I played tennis and badminton when younger (still have a hit with the kids now). When I began working I started going to a gym, with a simple program which I stuck with for awhile and then I began to modify it because of all the magazines I was reading which showed me the latest exercise that would turn me into the next Arnie, as long as I bought supplement to go with it, and the next month it was a different exercise and different supplement. Sure I had a bit of growth and some strength gains but I was no Arnie. Now being older and hopefully a bit wiser, I can accept that I was never going to be the next Mr Universe, but what I can do now is look after the body I do have, 178cm and 80kg, and keep it in the best shape that I possibly can for my sake, my children’s sake and eventually their children’s sake. So one of the reasons that I’ve got this site up and going is to save you money, injuries and most importantly time, which is precious!
My catergories are listed in area’s of interest, so some of you will be wanting have muscle gain others work on their overall fitness training, so now is a good time to think about why you want to begin, and what you want to achieve by beginning to work-out, what is your motivation? How much do you want to spend money wise and time wise on a program or gym membership, or even a new pair of runners. Write down your goals, you’ll be amazed at how just writing them down is such a strong motivator, stick them on a wall or door that you’ll see often. Once you decide on what your goals are, check under the catergory that suits you best for great advice. I will be posting some great content on all sorts of catergories and I’m hoping that it will save you, a beginner, some time and get you working out to achieve your goals as soon as possibe! Don’t forget to post any tips or advice back to me either or importantly and questions you have in regards to anything exercise and if I don’t know personally I’ll find out and get back to you.
A quick word of caution if you are over 40 or haven’t been that active, and are looking to start the journey to fitness and muscle, please take the time to get a doctor’s check done before starting any program. I, myself get a check done every year now, just like a bit of a tune up and it’s good hearing the doctor say ‘no worries you’re in good shape’
How am I going to save you some time and hopefully some money? In a couple of ways, I’m going to post free information under the different catergories that I’ve found to be helpful to me, so that you can use it too. And I will get articles from some of the better, no, best exercise guru’s out there and post them for you to use as well, I’m also always looking for youtube video’s to post showing how to do exercises correctly and safely, and maybe the odd funny one. I’ve been looking at exercise and muscle building sites for about the last 10 years so I know which ones have stuck around and have consistent content, those are the guys whose info I’ll be posting. Because I’ve tried a bit of everything of the sites I’ll mention I do have their programs and will comment on how I’m going with them both good and bad points and results achieved! I’m not going to sugarcoat anything here I want good advice and so do you!
To your sucess
Brendan
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 20th, 2009
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS www.TurbulenceTraining.com
/>Men’s Fitness magazine recently asked me for 3 of my best fat loss secrets. Since most times the magazines just don’t have enough space to run my full tips, I thought I’d give you a more detailed explanation of my secrets here (plus a few extra bonus tips that I didn’t send to the magazine).
Secret #1 – Focus on burning carbohydrate, not fat, during your fat-loss workouts.
Sounds backwards, right? But not when you look at how I structure my workouts.
Remember that Turbulence Training focuses on resistance training and interval training. Both of these use carbohydrate as the main source of energy. So it’s obvious the workout is designed to burn carbohydrates during the training session.
I have no interest in you trying to train in your “target heart rate zone” for fat burning (aka – the fat burning zone). The whole idea of a fat-burning zone is an over-simplified idea of how the body works during exercise.
Leave the inefficient fat burning zone to the mis-educated trainers in the commercial gyms (that not surprisingly, also want to sell you a heart rate monitor so you can stay in your “fat burning heart rate zone”).
If you want to get the most results in the least amount of time, focus on burning carbohydrates, not fat.
Why do my fat loss workouts focus on burning carbohydrate rather than fat?
In order to burn more calories after the workout, that’s why. When you exercise with intervals and heavy resistance training, your body uses more calories in the hours after exercise than it would if you did traditional cardio and lifted lighter weights.
I call this ‘Turbulence’. By any name it gives you the same results - maximum improvements in your body composition (helping you lose fat while gaining muscle).
Secret #2 – Use a range of repetitions in your strength training workouts.
In order to train more muscle fibers and burn more carbohydrates, I have clients use a range of repetitions within the same workout.
The Turbulence Training workouts now use 6, 8, and 12 reps per set in order to work the muscle the most effectively.
This will burn more carbohydrates and promote as much muscle growth as possible when you are keeping the calories low.
Secret #3 – Use the stationary cycle for interval training.
I choose the stationary bike for intervals whenever possible because cycling against a resistance can help maintain muscle mass.
Cycling against a resistance also allows you to perform a large amount of mechanical work, and that is a key determinant of the Turbulence in my training.
But please note: I don’t use low-intensity, fast pedaling ’spinning’ intervals as I’m convinced that the hard, resistance based intervals are more effective for fat loss. My clients only cycle against a strong resistance in their intervals.
And while I really like the bike, but there are many other ways to do intervals. Use what works for you, but if you are at a plateau, try the bike.
Secret #4 – Increase meal frequency
Okay, so this isn’t really a secret to anyone that has read about fat loss.
But a 2005 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating 6 times per day was associated with eating fewer calories per day, lowering cholesterol levels, and lowering post-meal insulin levels.
Combine an increased meal frequency with an increased protein and fiber intake, and you’ll see your body composition improve rapidly.
If you need more nutrition help, then you’ll love the new Turbulence Training Nutrition Guide for Men & Women – written by Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D.
See below for more details…
Secret #5 – My Synergistic Turbulence Training Workouts
My Turbulence Training Fat Loss workouts are fast becoming the most effective way to burn fat, build muscle, and get lean. The synergistic strength training-interval training workouts are efficient and effective – getting you in and out of the gym in under an hour.
Here are some tips that you can use for an advanced training phase. Use these advanced secrets for 2 weeks then return to your normal training schedule:
a) Add 10 seconds to each interval but maintain the intensity
b) Add in some bodyweight circuits (10-20 minutes per day) done in the morning or evening (if you do your regular workout in the AM, do your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or later in the afternoon or evening)
If you are advanced, you can use squats, pushups, and bodyweight rows for your circuit.
If you are a beginner, you could use lying hip extensions, modified pushups, and stick-ups.
c) Add an extra set to each exercise in the first superset you do in each workout.
Again, use these three tips for an advanced fat loss period of two weeks, then return to a normal training schedule.
But always stick to the best fat loss nutrition plan possible.
If you have any other questions, just let me know.
Sincerely,
Craig Ballantyne Author, Turbulence Training
P.S. Big Nutrition Announcement!
The Turbulence Training Nutrition Guide for Men & Women – written by Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., is ready for you.
Here are just some of the things you’ll learn from Dr. Mohr…
1) How to calculate your calorie needs (p. 6)
2) Calorie recommendations for obese individuals (p.7)
3) The 23 types of sugar (many hidden!) to avoid (p. 9)
4) The 20 whole-grain sources to fuel your fat loss program (p9)
5) Over 60 fruits and vegetables that should be added to your diet (p. 10)
6) The 16 protein sources you should select most often (p. 13)
7) Shocking trans-fat content of 18 common foods – find out which food is the deadliest in terms of fat content (p. 16)
8] The 9 Fat Sources you should select most often (p. 17)
9) Dr. Mohr’s 12 Rules for Fat Loss (p. 18)
10) The TT Nutrition Plan for Men (p. 19)
11) The TT Nutrition Plan for Women (p. 23)
12) Bonus Supplement Report: The Truth About Fat Loss Pills (p. 27)
Try Turbulence Training today:
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Posted in Fat loss for Beginners | No Comments »
February 20th, 2010
By Craig Ballantyne, Men’s Health Magazine Expert, Certified Strength
MEN: Click here to uncover the secrets of short workouts you can do to build muscle and burn fat at the same time, all in less than 45 minutes only 3 times per week, so that you can boost your energy and get on to more important things in your life.
Click here to download the “Try it First, and Decide Later” Turbulence Training Program Trial
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 12th, 2010
Hi, everyone another great article from Craig Ballantyne on another buzz word, de-tox, read and enjoy
It’s about that time of year.
This is when folks slowly start dropping off from their workout program, or cheating on their diet.
And for a lot of folks, weekend eating – particularly SuperBowl weekend eating – is to blame.
When some folks binge eat, they go looking for a “detox diet”, thinking that will reverse all their mistakes.
But I’m not here to recommend that…no way.
Instead, I have an amazing article – perhaps his best article ever - from fitness expert Craig Ballantyne about a simple 7-Step Detox Diet that you can easily follow everyday…
…so that you never need to do an extreme 7-day or 2-week cleanse.
Here’s Craig to tell it like it is:
I just got back from the SuperBowl and got a chance to sit in the front row right in the endzone. It was really cool, and I also got a chance to see “The Who” live in concert at half-time.
But, while I was there, I had a few extra “non-compliance” meals than normal, so it got me thinking about detox diets.
I have a pretty strong opinion about detoxing, and I put together a simple 7-step detox diet plan that you can easily follow so that you never have to do a 16-day detox ever.
You see, my biggest “beef” with the entire theory of “detoxing” is this…
It is simply NOT possible to EVER detox your body.
Why?
Because it’s such a vague statement.
What does “detox” mean?
How do you measure “detoxification”?
What do you even define as toxins?
And when do you officially become “detoxed”?
The answer is, “You don’t.”
It’s impossible.
After all, every single second of every day your body produces carbon dioxide, which is a toxin.
And if you have deep belly fat, research shows that this “visceral fat” is constantly releasing inflammatory toxins into your blood.
Every second. The more fat you have, the more toxic you are.
Plus, every breath you take includes pollutants.
And even the water that you drink may contain “toxins”.
So….what’s the real deal on detoxing?
Listen, while every “expert” is out there arguing about tiny little details and “gurus” are trying to sell you on detoxing so they can sell supplements, the TRUTH is that you really just need to know a few steps to avoid getting toxic in the first place.
In my opinion, the #1 factor in living a “low toxin life” is simply to keep as much garbage out of your body in the first place, rather than depending on a 3-day, 7-day or even 16-day detox to be healthy.
So what do I do to prevent “toxin build-up” in the first place?
Well, I live the Turbulence Training Lifestyle of course, including my “7 Step Detox Nutrition Plan”:
1) Start each day with a blender drink of berries, spinach or other greens, raw nuts (such as walnuts – rich in healthy fats), and other ingredients packed with antioxidants and healthy fats.
2) For lunch, have a large green salad with spinach, beans, broccoli, peppers, avocado, onions, etc.
3) Eat an organic apple a day. Certain fruits (i.e. apples, peaches, cherries, and strawberries) and vegetables have a higher exposure to pesticides, and you should choose organic when possible.
4) Eat RAW snacks only – of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Try using this one simple rule and limit all of your between meal snacks to raw fruit, raw vegetables, and/or raw nuts and I promise you’ll drop the pounds because you’ll be full on a smaller number of calories.
5) Drink Green Tea (2-3 cups) and filtered water (3 liters) instead of beverages that contain calories or chemicals.
6) Limit animal protein intake to only 2 servings per day. On most days, I’ll one of the following: an “after workout” chocolate milk, organic eggs in the morning, or occasionally I’ll have high quality meat at dinner.
You don’t need to be a full vegetarian to live a longer life, but you should probably avoid eating meat 5 times per day, like people in Chicago.
(Hey Chicago, don’t get mad at me for that…it was a born-and-raised Chicago native who told me 5 servings of meat per day was the average Chicago meat consumption.)
7) Minimize or completely eliminate alcohol intake.
While research does show that for men, up to 2 drinks per day may help cardiovascular health (and for women, up to one drink per day), I’m not about to recommend you start drinking.
After all, if you go above those limits, you start to destroy your health…and you risk addiction. Alcohol killed my father, and I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you. Tread cautiously with the booze.
So that’s it. A simple 7-Step Detox Diet Plan.
By the way, it goes without saying that you should avoid:
- cigarettes - trans-fats - excessive amounts of sugar - refined grains - and 7-11 nacho cheese
Right?
Of course.
And you should be exercising to lose the belly fat…using proven methods, such as interval training – which is proven to beat long, slow cardio when it comes to burning dangerous belly fat.
Plus, you should be using Turbulence Training resistance supersets to burn more calories and sculpt your body.
If you’ve never used Turbulence Training, you can try it out today for less than the cost of a Superbowl hot dog.
Click here to get Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks:
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Simply follow those 7 nutrition guidelines and use the short TT workouts to cut out as many toxins from your body – without detoxing.
Stay strong,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Author, Turbulence Training
PS – I also believe you should avoid toxic relationships…
…so you need to take a hard look at the people you surround yourself with in life.
Do you have the right work friends? Are you in the right relationships? Do you spend enough time with the right family members?
Or are they toxic too?
Remember – you need social support for success in life and in fat loss…so surround yourself with positive people, like the good folks on the TT Member’s forum.
If you need to dump the toxic folks and get positive social support, we’d love to see you on the forum and help you out.
You will get a free 3-month TT membership access to the forum when you try out Turbulence Training for only $4.95 today:
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Please click that link to get started losing fat & getting rid of the toxic baggage in your life.
Posted in Beginner Fitness training | No Comments »
January 30th, 2010
Hi everyone, here’s some great practical advice that can help you reach your fitness goals, enjoy.
If it’s January, it must be crazy time in the gym…and it must mean that every huckster out there is selling the magic potion to help folks lose the blubber.
Be very careful about “gurus” who make claims that sound too good to be true…after all, none of that stuff has worked in the past, why would it start working now?
It’s easy to get caught up in the latest “weight loss craze”, but it is essential for you to never stray too far from the basics.
The basics are what work time and time again. That’s how the TT Transformation Contest winners get such great results.
The 5 simple steps to success are:
1) Review your food journal.
Research shows that if you use a food journal, you should lose up to 3.5 pounds more than if you didn’t. Pretty simple, huh?
2) Use Fitday.com to see if your calories have crept up.
When people ask me how many calories they should be eating, I simply tell them to do three things.
- Go to Fitday.com and find out how many calories they are eating now. - Cut that number by 20% if they are not losing weight. - Improve the quality of their diet by eating at least 5 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables each day (in addition to your other healthy foods).
The fat will fall off with this simple guideline.
3) Stop doing long, slow, boring cardio and switch to interval training.
Unless you are training for a marathon, a 10-K, or if you just love cardio more than life itself, there’s really no reason to do long, slow boring cardio.
Switch to shorter interval training sessions and you’ll get more results, have more fun, and do it all in less than half the time.
4) Review your workouts for best results.
In addition to your food journal, you should keep a workout journal. This will allow you to go back through your past workouts to find out which ones worked best for you and which ones you enjoyed. If you’re struggling now, I suggest returning to the program that gave you the best results in the past.
5) Include resistance training in your workouts to help you sculpt your body.
Look at your body as a sculpture…sure you might have a little extra plaster on it, but you’ll get that off fastest with nutrition, not long cardio.
So use nutrition to lose the fat, and resistance training supersets, like the ones in the world-renowned Turbulence Training program, and you’ll sculpt your body like a beautiful work of art.
If you’re ready to go sleeveless, to get a flat stomach, and even to show off your body at the beach, then you’re ready for the world’s most popular home-workout program, Turbulence Training.
As featured in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Oxygen, Men’s Fitness, and even Prevention magazine, Turbulence Training and Craig Ballantyne’s fat loss tips have been used by millions of men and women all over the world.
And now you can try this legendary workout program for less than the cost of a fast food combo.
Click here to try out Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks:<
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
Posted in Fat loss for Beginners | No Comments »
January 29th, 2010
If I go to the gym and do 45 mins of cardio and then 15 mins of toning weights, does that work against each other?
Cardio and weights don’t go against each other due to the different benefits they give to your body.
Cardio works on your heart & lungs (to keep them strong & fit) and increasses your metabolism, so you’ve higher fat-burning capacity to burn off excess body fat, to lose weight.
This article on cardio explains it all: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/cardio-exercises.html
Weights boost your muscle growth and benefit you in several ways:
1. Strengthen your muscle hence provide your body with stronger support
2. Build up your muscle; the more muscle you’ve, the higher your metabolism and the more calories you burn, to lose weight (due to the fact that muscle is metabolically active; it raises your resting metabolic rate [the rate you burn off calories even while resting])
3. Muscle also burns off fat faster
In fact, it’s really good if you can cardio and then do weights, one after another.
Posted in Cardio for Beginners | 3 Comments »
January 29th, 2010
Here I am hungry at 3am. I have to be careful as am anaemic and on iron tablets and am following a diet of muesli , soup, fruit and main meal. I eat brown bread to fill up. The problem is, as I am increasing training I am getting really hungry. I cycle mainly, do some tai chi and running. Soup makes me even hungrier. I want to lose another 7kg and increase my stamina. What could I eat to fill up and please no more rice cakes. Is bread ok?
Hi, dont worry that is perfectly normal. I eat like a damn horse all the time, but I also train A LOT!! lol!
For a healthy diet, you need to be eating small to medium meals regularly. 4 or even 5 times a day. Each meal (apart from breakfast which should preferably be fibre rich), should contain a balanced ammount of carbohydrates for energy, (from potatoes, rice and pasta, etc) protien (from fish, chicken, occassional red meat is fine, soya is good too) and plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (simple fresh fruit and veg). Eat like this and make sure you are well hydrated (fruit juice is as good as water, any fluid counts, but some fluids have negative effects too, such as alcohol or caffiene rich drinks.)
You can have a wide range of healthy meals with this, from Thai, Chinese, Italian, British, Indian, etc. Just make sure each meal contains balanced ammounts of these three. On the bright side too, fresh veg and rice and pasta is a lot cheaper than crappy junk food!
This doesn’t mean you cant have chocolate or pizza/takeaway/etc, just save them as very occassional treats.
Posted in Beginner Fitness training | 4 Comments »
January 29th, 2010
What is the best source of protein for body building?
Natural foods? If so which?
Supplements? If so which?
Natural foods: Non-breaded chicken/turkey/fish/lean beef for your meats. Almonds/ other non-salted nuts for snacks. Whole Wheat breads/pasta for your grains.
Supplements: 100% Whey Protein
Posted in Beginner Body building | 7 Comments »
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