Alright, you ready to start the 8th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest? It officially starts on Monday, May 3rd. You can even use the new TT Hardcore program if you want…or TT Gauntlet, which is the focus of this week’s call.

Click here to listen to the call…

And now, our fat loss tips.

Monday – May 3rd

Transformation Tip of the Week:

One bad meal, one bad night, one bad day – even one bad week – doesn’t ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for…so never give up. And don’t let anyone deter you or get in your way of doing the things that will get you closer to you’re’.

Also in this week’s call, you’ll get my, “7 Nutrition Changes You Must Make Today to Lose Fat”

Change #1. Remove all added sugar and trans-fats from your diet. Avoid foods from bags or boxes, but if you do eat anything with a label, make sure to avoid the following ingredients: High-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.

Workout – TT Gauntlet Workout A
Start with the general bodyweight warm-up circuit
Do this workout in circuit format.
Rest as little as possible between exercises.
Rest 1 minute at the end of the circuit before repeating the circuit 1 more time.
Do only 1 round of the circuit the first time you try this workout.
For pull-ups and pushups, 80% max reps means to do only 80% of the maximum number of reps you can do. For example, if you can do 5 pull-ups, then do 4 reps. If you can do 10 pushups, stop at 8. Round down when needed.

Shuttle Sprint – 20 seconds
Prisoner Squat – 25 reps (2-0-1)
Sprint – 20 seconds
Pull-up – 80% Max reps (2-0-1)
Pushup – 80% Max reps (2-0-1)
Pull-up – 80% Max reps (2-0-1)
1-Leg Squat on Bench – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
Elevated Pushup – 15 reps per side (2-0-1)
1-Leg Squat on Bench – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
Underhand Inverted Row – 15 (2-0-1)
Bulgarian Split Squat 1& ½ Reps – 12 reps per side (2-0-1)
Underhand Inverted Row – 15 (2-0-1)
Sprint – 20 seconds
Prisoner Squat – 25 reps (2-0-1)
Sprint – 20 seconds

Finish with 5 minute cool-down walk & static stretching.

Click here to watch the Gauntlet Workout Videos

And remember…this is an advanced program.

Tuesday
Get 30 minutes of fun activity – now grab a Green Tea and do this week’s research review.

Nutrition Change #2. Eat at least 10 servings (combined) of fruits and vegetables per day. Stick to high-fiber fruits such as apples or grapefruit, antioxidant rich berries, leafy green vegetables and colorful vegetables. Try one new fruit and vegetable every week.

Reference:
Caloric Sweetener Consumption and Dyslipidemia Among US Adults
Jean A. Welsh, MPH, RN; Andrea Sharma, PhD, MPH; Jerome L. Abramson, PhD; Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD; Cathleen Gillespie, MS; Miriam B. Vos, MD, MSPH
JAMA. 2010;303(15):1490-1497.

While most associate fat with cholesterol, research shows that dietary added sugars (caloric sweeteners used as ingredients in processed or prepared foods) are an increasing threat to messed up cholesterol.

6113 US adults were studied.

A mean of 15.8% of consumed calories was from added sugars.

The less added sugar you eat, the greater your good cholesterol and the lower your triglyecerides. And if you’re a woman, the more added sugars, the greater your BAD cholesterol.

Key word: ADDED

Fruits are still good…but soda, candy, etc…NOT good. Very simple.

Wednesday

Nutrition Change #3. Prepare a weekly menu. Outline each meal and snack for every day of the upcoming week. Take into account the possibilities that you might work late or get invited out to lunch. The more options you have and preparations you make, the better you will be able to stick to your fat loss plan. Prepare the meals or the ingredients so that making the actual meal doesn’t take a lot of time. Like shopping, it’s best to do all of these preparations at one time (such as on a Sunday or another day off).

TT Gauntlet Workout B – The TT Abs Gauntlet

Day 3 – Advanced Workout B – The TT Abs Gauntlet
Start with the general bodyweight warm-up circuit
Do this workout in circuit format.
Rest as little as possible between exercises.
Rest 1 minute at the end of the circuit before repeating the circuit 1 more time.
Do only 1 round of the circuit the first time you try this workout.
Expect considerable soreness in your abdominals in the following 3 days.

Hang Leg Raise – 10 reps (2-0-1)
Stability Ball Plank – 30 seconds
Stability Ball Rollout – 20 reps (2-0-1)
Stability Ball Plank – 30 seconds
Stability Ball Jackknife with Hands on Floor – 20 reps (1-0-1)
Cross-Body Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Side Plank – 45 seconds per side
Spiderman Push-up – 10 per side (2-0-1)
Chin-up plus Knee-up – 10 reps (2-0-1)
Bulgarian Split Squat 1 & ½ reps – 12 reps per side (2-0-1)
Spiderman Pull-up – 5 reps per side (2-0-1)
Shuttle Sprint – 30 seconds

After the circuit you can perform your favorite 20-minute interval training session.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Nutrition Change #4. From your menu plan, make your grocery list and stick to it (see below). Grocery shopping is your first opportunity to break some bad nutritional habits. You can’t eat chips, cookies, or cakes if you don’t have them in the house – so don’t buy them and you’ll avoid any future temptation.

Friday

Nutrition Change #5. Have a reward meal once per week. Follow Dr. John Berardi’s 90% rule – if you eat according to the guidelines 90% of the time, you can cheat 10% of the time and still make incredible body changes.

TT Gauntlet Workout C
Start with the general bodyweight warm-up circuit
Do this workout in circuit format, working up to 5 circuits.
Round #1 – Do 5 reps per exercise
Round #2 – Do 10 reps per exercise
Round #3 – Do 15 reps per exercise
Round #4 – Do 10 reps per exercise
Round #5 – Do 5 reps per exercise
Do NOT move to the next exercise until all reps have been completed. For example, if you can only do 7 chin-ups in round #3, take a rest and do a few more, and repeat until all 15 reps are completed. Then move to the next exercise.
Rest as little as possible between exercises.
Rest 1 minute at the end of the circuit before repeating the circuit 1 more time.
Do only 1 round of the circuit the first time you try this workout.

Kettlebell Snatch (Explosive movement) – Do prescribed reps for each side
Vertical Jumps (Explosive movement)
T-Pushup (2-0-1) – Do prescribed reps for each side
Chin-up (3-0-1)
Prisoner Forward Lunge (2-0-1) – Do prescribed reps for each side
Decline Close-Grip Pushup (2-0-1)
KB Swing (Explosive movement)

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Nutrition Change #6. Use Fitday.com or another similar website to record your food and calorie intake for 7-10 days until you get a good grasp of how many calories are in typical servings. Once you can eyeball your calorie needs – and after you’ve improved the quality of your diet – you won’t need to count calories ever again. Seriously!

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
30 minutes activity and plan, shop, & prepare…

Change #7. Use fluids to keep you healthy and full. Drink 12 cups of water per day and eat vegetable soups before meals to help you eat less.

Next week!
TT Workout – TT Transformation
Research Review – Music and training – does it matter?
3 under-rated ab exercises

Booty Workout

If you want to have thinner thighs but those silly high-repetition soup-can workouts in today’s fitness magazines aren’t helping, I have good news for you.

Today I’m going to give you 7 tips that you can use immediately to start losing inches from your thighs…perhaps even an inch in a week.

Here are seven things you need to do right now:

1) Interval training

Research from Australia found that when women did short burst interval training, they lost most of the fat from their thighs and butt.

One of the best interval durations to use is 24 seconds of work followed by 36 seconds of recovery. That’s just one of the interval programs in the Booty for Wife program.

2) Take a before photo

In the last 3 weeks I’ve interviewed 3 fat loss experts, and they’ve all listed “taking before photos” as one of the main factors for success.

When you take that before photo, it triggers something in your mind that makes you more committed and more successful. I promise you taking a before photo really helps you get more results (and you don’t have to show it to anyone else, but please take it for YOUR results!).

3) Switch to more bodyweight exercises

Instead of doing heavy leg presses (like the trainers at my gym suggest to their female clients), switch to bodyweight exercises such as 1-leg lying hip extensions, 1-leg bench squats, and 1-leg deadlifts.

These moves work your butt more, and your thighs less. And that will put the curves in all the right spots while giving you thinner thighs.

Click here for the best booty-weight exercises to get a Booty for Wife

4) Cut out all added sugar from your diet.

Let’s be honest…diet is the key to fat loss and thinner thighs. So you must make sure you’re not sneaking in candy, cookies, or soda.

Every time I review the diet of a female client who is struggling, she ALWAYS – and I mean ALWAYS – is sneaking too many sugary snacks.

But if you want advanced results, you have to take advanced measures, and that means cutting out the sugar so that your diet is on track 90% of the time (and you can reward yourself 10% of the time – but NOT everyday).

5) Cut back to 1 set per leg exercise

Getting big thighs is every bodybuilder’s dream. And how do they do that? By eating a lot and by doing many sets of heavy weights.

And while it is important to do some strength training, if you gain muscle quickly, you’ll still get the lean mass metabolism benefits of resistance training from just one set – not three – and that will cut out the thigh-building from your workouts (so you can spend that extra time on intervals).

6) Keep a food journal

This is another research proven method of improving your diet so you lose more thigh fat. It’s very simple…just write down what you eat everyday. You can use a notebook, an excel spreadsheet, or even one of those fancy Iphone apps.

But do this for a few weeks and I promise you’ll eat better and lose inches.

7) Take measurements

Listen, we’ll never really know if your thighs are getting smaller unless you wrap the tape measure around your thighs so that you know the truth.

(NOTE: Make sure you measure your thighs in the morning before a workout, not after a workout when they are filled with fluid.)

By knowing the real numbers and by keeping a food journal and making these training changes, I promise your thighs will start to shrink overnight.

Booty Workout

And to get the complete 12-week program that will thin your thighs while giving you glorious glutes and curves in ALL the right spots, click here to claim the NEW and improved “Booty for Wife” program.

Thin your thighs and curve that butt,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Booty for Wife (& for all the single ladies!)

Funny thing happened last week…a  few people emailed me and said there was picture of me in the April issue of GQ.

I had no idea what they were talking about…so I bought a copy. The comparison – as you can see – is striking.

Interesting stuff…and if you want to know how this turns out, make sure you join the TT Fanpage for updates:

=> http://www.facebook.com/TurbulenceTrainingFanpage

In this week’s call, we’ll zip into spring with a new bootcamp workout, my
latest workout from Men’s Health magazine, and new fat loss research. Oh,
and by the way, Happy Easter to everyone – enjoy some reward chocolate
today, but after that, you don’t really need it – so get it out of the house.

Click here to listen to the call…

And now, our fat loss tips.

Monday – April 5th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
“To live an extraordinary life, you must resist an ordinary approach.”
Frank McKinney

CB says, “This applies to fat loss too. You can’t eat a “normal” diet that consists of junk and soda and live a “normal” life of 6 hours of TV per day if you want the body of your dreams. You have to change, get out of your comfort zone, and be who you really want and deserve to be.”

Stay strong!

Now for this week’s workout:

TT Bootcamp Workout #13 – TT 30-Minute Bootcamp 2K10

Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
•     Jumping Jacks
•     Prisoner Squat
•     Off-Set Pushup
•     Duck Under
•     Arm Crosses
•     Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.

Water Break – 1 minute

TT Strength Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
•     Vertical Jump or 1-Leg Deadlift (20 seconds per side)
•     Spiderman Climb Pushup or T-Pushup
•     Optional: Pull-up, Inverted Row, or DB Row
•     Rest 1 minute and then repeat 1 more time.

Water Break – 1 minute

TT Depletion Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
•     Bodyweight Squat
•     Decline Pushup or Close-Grip Pushup
•     Reverse Lunge (20 seconds per side)
•     Cross-Body Mountain Climber
•     1-Leg RDL (20 seconds per side)
•     Plank (60 seconds)
•     Run in Place
•     Rest 1 minute and repeat 1-2 more times.

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 7 minutes

Tuesday
•     Get 30 minutes of fun activity – now grab a Green Tea and let’s do
this week’s research review.

Our research friends in Iceland show us the 1 drink that is associated with
dropping out of a weight loss program…

Reference:
Ann Nutr Metab. 2010 Mar 11;56(3):212-216. Predictors of Dropping Out in a
Weight Loss Intervention Trial. Gunnarsdóttir I, Sigurgeirsdóttir GK,
Thórsdóttir I. Unit for Nutrition Research, Landspítali University Hospital
and University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.

114 subjects went on a diet – 30% fewer calories (about 600 calories) for 8
weeks.

Not everyone finished the study…and the researchers found that the folks who
dropped out drank 35% more soft drinks & 44% more diet soft drinks – prior
to the study.

It seems like heavy soft drink users just can’t stick to a diet program.

That’s SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT for you if you want to lose weight.

Wednesday

Check out the new April 2010 Men’s Health magazine (p. 47)  for my article on 4 upper body exercises that also work your abs:

1. Chinup+kneeup
2. 1-arm standing overhead press
3. Renegade row
4. Lying triceps extension

Thursday
•     Do 30 minutes of fun activity…and consider this tip to cut calories:

Put a mirror on your fridge

Research shows this results in a 32% decrease in junk food intake!

Friday

More tips from Men’s Health April 2010…

3 minute pushup test from strength coach, Martin Rooney
(from Page 46, April 2010 Men’s Health)

Rules:

1) Rest whenever you want – but the clock keeps running.

2) Perfect form…all the way to the top and all the way down to 2 inches above the floor.

3) Pace yourself however you’d like…Rooney says to take a 15-second break once you start to slow down after your first burst. Then take longer breaks as you get more tired. Do NOT go to total fatigue.

His Scoring:

<55 reps = below average

55-74=ave

75-99 = good

100-110 = excellent

>111=extraordinary

Cool, huh?

I hit 114 when I tried it out.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…with a dog?
Why not? Research shows that dogs decrease stress, increase self-esteem, decrease depression, & decrease the risk of dying after a MI.

(Quoting page 199 of the book, “59 seconds”.)

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
30 minutes activity and plan, shop, & prepare.

Today I’m going to try and convince you (again!) that nuts are okay for your diet.

According to research that I found summarized on MSN.com (so I’ll admit, this is secondary info), “dieters who ate a few ounces of almonds a day reduced their waistlines by about 6 1/2 inches in 24 weeks—nearly 50 percent more than those who ate the same number of calories without the nuts”.

How is that possible when nuts have so much fat?

Well, it’s probably because of the fiber in the nuts…but it could also be something to do with the protein and healthy fats in nuts.

Regardless, eating nuts will probably help you eat fewer calories overall, even though they have a lot of calories.

Try 1 ounce of almonds, an apple, and a green tea for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks instead of donuts, muffins, or processed junk.

Here are the calorie amounts in one ounce of nuts:

•     Almonds: 20-24 whole are about 1 ounce, 160 calories
•     Brazil nuts: 6-8, 190 calories
•     Cashews: 16-18, 160 calories
•     Hazelnuts: 18-20, 180 calories
•     Macadamias: 10-12, 200 calories
•     Peanuts: 28, 170 calories
•     Pecans: 18-20 halves, 200 calories
•     Pine nuts: 150-157, 160 calories
•     Pistachios: 45-47, 160 calories
•     Walnuts: 14 halves, 190 calories

Next week!
•     TT Workout – The Fat Burning Power of Kettlebell Workouts
•     Research Review – Social Support & Fat Loss
•     Nutrition – Tips to help you cut calories without starving
•     Support – The truth about how your friends might make you fat
•     Why yoga works for fat loss

It’s going to be another great call,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Bootcamps

This is kinda funny…picture this…

A young Craig Ballantyne back in the summer of 1987…on vacation with his parents in the small town of Grand Bend on the edge of Lake Huron in sunny Southwestern Ontario – about 45 minutes from home.

About mid-afternoon I’d had enough of the beach. It was time for some mini-golf. But as I walked towards the putt-putt links, I stumbled across a video arcade.

As soon I walked in, I was in awe of the beeping, the flashing lights, and the giant machines. And so in I went, wandering from game to game until I settled on one called, “Gauntlet”.

It was one of those dorky wizards and warriors games, but I was hooked on it for the rest of the afternoon…or until my quarters ran out.

And while I quit playing video games in high school (once they added the 4th button to the controllers I had to give it up – too confusing), the image of the Gauntlet arcade game was burned in my mind.

So it shouldn’t surprise me that just last week – while in the hotel gym in Washington – I decided to come up with a program called, “The TT Gauntlet“.

The idea was so random and so out of the blue…but I’ve since taken that idea and turned into one of the most amazing – and ADVANCED – TT bodyweight programs I’ve ever put together.

It also has the dorkiest cover of any book I’ve created, too. Just wait till you see it. You are going to have a good laugh at me.

PLUS, here’s the best news for you.

I’m giving this workout away. For free. It’s a complete bodyweight workout – my gift to you.

Why?

Just to say thanks to you for reading my articles, watching my videos, posting on my blog, and being friends on Facebook.

(Besides, I asked Bally the Dog how much I should charge for The TT Gauntlet Workout, and he said nothing. So there you go, it costs nothing.)

It’s just my gift to you.

Ah, but I know what you’re thinking…What’s the catch, Craig?

Good question. In fact, there are indeed 3 catches to this gift…

Catch #1- Its advanced. This is not for anyone who is more than 30 pounds overweight or who can’t do a plank for a minute. T’is a serious routine. And you need to understand that before you try it.

Catch #2 - In order to get the secret link to the download page, you have to become a Facebook Fan of Turbulence Training.

Click here to become a TT Fan on Facebook

(NOTE: If you refuse to use Facebook, you can still download the program from the TT Member’s site. But if you’re not a current TT member, that means you’ll have to pay for this free workout. And that just doesn’t make sense.)

Catch #3 – You’ll need to enter your name and email so I can send you updates/improvements to the program and cool new advanced bodyweight exercises.

So why am I doing all of this?

Because I really like you and appreciate your interest in all of my workouts, exercise tips, and advice.

And because I really like interacting with Turbulence Training readers on Facebook – and want to see you on the TT Fanpage.

Yep, it’s a “bribe” to get you to join the TT Facebook page.

I know, I know, I was one of those people who said they’d never get a Facebook account, but it’s really turned out to be the easiest way to interact with TT readers.

It’s far more convenient and less of a distraction for communicating with you than using Twitter or Email or Youtube.

And I also do random fitness Q’n'A sessions where you can ask me quick questions about your workouts or what TT program you should use next. Plus, I’ll be posting unique videos and audio interviews there as well.

Now for the 2 reasons you MUST get the TT Gauntlet Workout:

1) The dorky book cover that will make you laugh out loud. (I promise you’ll at least snicker and shake your head at me – especially if you’ve ever played this video game.)

2) The workouts are AWESOME! (And free – so that is reason three.)

So to get “The TT Gauntlet Workout” and my goofy book cover and the TT Abs Gauntlet Circuit, just go to this link and become a Fan of Turbulence Training:

=> http://www.Facebook.com/TurbulenceTrainingFanpage

You’ll love the new workout…although your abs might be mad at me for a few days.

Let me know what you think of the workout & the TT Fanpage,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Gauntlet – Including the TT Abs Gauntlet Workout

PS – Please join the over 5231 other TT Fans on the TT Facebook page:

=> http://www.Facebook.com/TurbulenceTrainingFanpage

That’s where you’ll get your free copy of the TT Gauntlet Workout, and the TT Abs Gauntlet circuit that left my abs feeling it for 3 days.

This is long overdue, and for that I apologize, but here’s the Ultimate Exercise Substitutions List.

Feel free to add your suggestions or follow up questions below, and we’ll keep building this out as a  great resource.

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

Exercise Substitutions

For Squats –> You can do split squats, lunges, step-ups, reaching lunges, 1-leg deadlifts, or 1-leg hip extensions

For DB Incline Press –> You can do DB Chest Press, DB Floor Press, DB Standing 1-Arm Shoulder Press, Dips with Knee-ups

For DB Chest Supported Row -> You can do DB Row, BB Row, Seated Row, DB Renegade Rows, DB Rear Deltoid Raise

For Dips with Knees-up –> Any version of close-grip pushup, DB Floor Press, DB Close-grip Press, DB Close-grip Floor press

For DB Chest Presses (of any kind) -> You can do one of these:

- 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

For DB Split Squats -> You can do:

- 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 for intermediate
- 1-leg deadlifts
- 1-leg squats onto bench
- 1-leg squats standing on the bench
- deepstep-ups
- reaching lunges

For DB Rows -> 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!)

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

Not strong enough for Stability Ball Leg Curls -> You can do:
- Lying hip extensions and 1-leg hip extensions
- Then progress into hip extensions with feet on the ball.

If you have pain during squats & Lunges -> You can do:
- lying 1-leg hip extensions

For Step-Ups -> You can do:
- 1-leg hip extensions

**********************************
Have other ideas or questions?

Please comment below.

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training