Off to Los Angeles this weekend, first visiting Alwyn Cosgrove and then hanging around Joel Marion, John Romaniello, and Vince Del Monte. Some funny guys…should lead to some funny times. Joel and Vince are doing their own transformation contest, and I think Vince is getting ready for another bodybuilding show, so I’ll bring you back a few transformation tips.

Speaking of that, you still have time to join the 10th TT Transformation Contest, if you start before Saturday, Jan 15th. Don’t forget, there are categories for men and women, over 40 and under 40.

Click here to listen to this week’s coaching call…

Let’s get started with…

Monday – Jan 17th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
“Learning to take responsibility for everything you are, everything you do, and everything you have is the biggest challenge you will ever face in your life. Until you first accomplish this major step, it will do you no good to go any further on your quest for success.” – Larry Winget

“I shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me. Or I can be lost in the maze. My choice. My responsibility. Win or lose; only I hold the key to my destiny.” – Og Mandino

Training Tips from upcoming issue of Men’s Health Magazine:

This is a bodyweight exercise circuit workout I gave the magazine…should be out in the April or May issue.

1A) Spiderman Pushup – 8 per side
1B) Prisoner Lunge – 10 per side
- Rest 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times

2A) Pushup (preferably with feet elevated) – “Go 2 reps short of failure”
2B)  Stick-up – 15 reps
- Rest 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times

3A) Close-Grip Pushup with 1 second pause at bottom – To failure
3B) Prisoner Squat – 25 reps
- Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time

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

Reference:
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Dec 29. Effect of sprint interval training on circulatory function during exercise in sedentary, overweight/obese women.

Researchers at the U of Georgia looked at sprint interval training in overweight women.

28 overweight women were randomly assigned to SIT or control (CON) groups.

SIT training was given for 3 days/week for 4 weeks. Training consisted of 4-7, 30-s sprints on a stationary cycle (5% body mass as resistance) with 4 min active recovery between sprints.

Results:
Sprint training reduced working heart rate and increased stroke volume during cycling at 50% max capacity.

Conclusion: Four weeks of SIT improve circulatory function during submaximal exercise in sedentary, overweight/obese women.

Wednesday Workout Tip

Overuse injuries are a MUCH greater concern for the average person than “overtraining”. If you train too often, you’re much more likely to have a joint or muscle injury than you are to get sick or slow your results. Make sure you take this into account when you try to workout 7 days a week – it will just lead to injury.

Trainer Thursday
•    Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

The best workout exercise order is:

• Warm-up
• Skill/Power
• Strength
• Major Movements
• Minor Movements
• Torso
• Interval training

For more info, check out this advanced training resource: Workout Template

Facebook Friday

Couple of questions this week…

Q: I want to lose 5 pounds quickly, any suggestions? – Kim

Answer:
Kim – Strict diet and consistent exercise. At the risk of losing you as a friend, you really should have started your plan earlier. However, that is the truth. But if you are strict, you can achieve results fast. It just depends on your current status. Also, do NOT overdo the exercise. The diet will do most of the work.

Q: Is it too much to work each muscle twice a week, ei: chest back Monday n Thursday, shoulder/arms tuesday n friday, legs wednesday n thursday, I have gained alot of strength doing it this way, but sometimes I do feel tired – Joan

Answer:
Joan – You will have likely have a shoulder overuse injury in 8-12 weeks. There’s really no reason to train more than 4 days per week. In fact, you’ll do best with a 3 approach. 1- Lower body squat focus, 2-upper body horizontal press and row focus, 3-total body. Stay active on your off-days with fun activities. You don’t have to be in the gym every day to look amazing

Social Support Saturday!
•    30 minutes of fun activity…

You can’t control all the circumstances in your life…but you DO control how you react to them. Stay focused on your plan. Make the right choices. Eliminate the negative and give more time and energy to the positive in your life. If you live 75 years, you`re given 27375 days (657000 hours). Don’t waste even one.

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

Research Reference 2:
J Nutr. 2010 Dec 29. Bolus Arginine Supplementation Affects neither Muscle Blood Flow nor Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young Men at Rest or After Resistance Exercise.

Canadian researchers at my alma mater, McMaster University studied the effects of supplementing with 10g of arginine on Nitric Oxide synthesis, muscle blood flow, and skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

Eight healthy young men participated in 2 trials where they performed a bout of unilateral leg resistance exercise and ingested a drink containing either 10 g essential amino acids with 10 g l-arginine (ARG) or an isonitrogenous control (CON).

Results:
The plasma arginine concentration increased 300% during the ARG trial.

Exercise increased blood flow and muscle protein synthesis, HOWEVER there was no difference between ARG and control.

Conclusion: We conclude that an oral bolus (10 g) of arginine does not increase NO synthesis or muscle blood flow. Furthermore, arginine does not enhance mixed or myofibrillar MPS either at rest or after resistance exercise beyond that achieved by feeding alone.

Save your money on those supplements!

Next week!
•    Training Tips – From my visit to see Alwyn Cosgrove
•    Research Review – How email can help you lose fat
•    Nutrition – Scary Fast Food Nutrition Facts From MH

Looking through the Turbulence Training archives this weekend, I dug up another fat burning interview about Turbulence Training and why it works so well for busy men and women.

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

Question: Let’s cut to the chase. What’s your number one fat loss tip that you can give everyone here?

Answer: I wish it was simply, “Use Turbulence Training”. However, it’s not.  The #1 tip everyone must follow to lose fat is to CUT OUT sugar and  processed carbohydrates from your diet. Stick to a whole, natural  food diet  of vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy fats, and protein sources.  If it is at all modified from its regular source, then skip it and find something closer to its original form.

Question: Where are most people going wrong in their fat loss mission?

Answer: Most people are still being ambushed by hidden calories and sugar.  That’s why I recommend avoiding foods in a bag or box. Heck, here in Canada you can call something “Trans-fat free” even if it still has Trans-fat in it! It’s outrageous. Starbucks is a big culprit in adding calories…so stay away from the sugary  drinks here!

Priority #1 for everyone is getting the diet in order.  As far as workouts go, most people will get more results in less time if they cut out the “quantity” and increase the “quality”. No more treadmill walking for warm-up.  Do bodyweight circuits instead.  No more isolation strength training exercises. Do fewer multi-muscle exercises and you’ll get more results in less time. No more long, slow cardio. Do interval training for only 20 minutes instead.

Question: What are your three favorite exercises for optimizing fat loss?

Answer: I put out a program that was available for the month of May – called “The Big 5 circuit”…and it uses my top five fat loss movements…  But I’ll cull that down to 3 for this question.

They are…

A) A squat movement
B) A total-body pushing movement
C) A total-body pulling movement

Specific examples would be…

A) Bell squat
B) A pushup of any kind (from kneeling – for beginners – to decline spiderman pushups – for advanced)
C) Inverted rows or pullups or dumbbell rows (Depending on your fitness level and equipment availability)

Question: You’re known as the guy who really dislikes Cross Trainer/Elliptical machines, which are usually a favorite of most gym  goers. Why are these machines just not effective for fat loss in your  book?

Answer:  Couple of points here… If you’re like me, you’d probably agree that we weren’t “designed” to  workout inside on a machine where we repeat the same movement hundreds of times per minute and thousands of times per workout. That sounds ridiculous if you think about it.  It’s an overuse injury guaranteed to happen. So I strongly recommend getting outside to exercise.  Frankly, I think 90%+ of cardio-machine users are ADDICTED to the calorie- readout counters on the machine. They take those numbers as written in stone, but a CBS news report once found them to be highly inaccurate!

So most folks need to take a deep cleansing breath, and realize that they  can get exercise from other ways besides going nowhere on a cardio machine. Yes, I know it’s tough in certain environments and weather conditions, but whenever possible, I suggest a real world alternative. Second, elliptical machines fail my “human nature test”.

Here’s the test… Put 20 folks in a room filled with 20 treadmills and 20 elliptical machines. Tell them they all have to exercise for an hour, but they can choose whichever machine they want. What do you think would happen?  I bet we’d get a 16-4 split, with 16 people choosing the elliptical.  machine…possibly even more! Why? Because they are easier! You can use more momentum. I’m just not convinced people will get as good of results with the Cross-trainer as they would with the treadmill.  Plus, it’s harder to read on a treadmill!

Question: You’ve got some pretty cool testimonials, and of course, results on your site, and you’ve just finished your first ever transformation contest -which had some awesome body transformations, by the way. What has been the feedback  from running this and when is the next one?

Answer: I’m going to make a damaging admission here, and say that the results have even shocked me as to how great the results were for the dozens of men and women who finished the 1st ever Turbulence Training Transformation contest.  Our winner, by a landslide, was a gal named Emily Johnson…and she has some incredible “real life” after shots than any girl with a pair of skinny jeans  would aspire to… And for guys, our second place winner lost the most weight of anyone in the  contest, an astonishing 33 pound in 12 weeks, and lost 7.5 inches  from his  gut…oh yeah, and he looks a heck of a lot younger too.

Check out www.TransformationContest.com/rules for the details on the next contest. The greatest thing about the contest is the social support that everyone gives, gets, and shares on the member’s forum (which is included when someone starts with Turbulence Training).

Question: When I look at your members forum I see that it has grown a bit of a cult following hasn’t it? Why do you think this has really taken off?

Answer: The forum offers social support, so we have members all over the world doing the same workouts, going through similar trials and tribulations, and helping one another out. It’s so interesting to wake-up to hear from Lisa and John no down in NZ and  Oz sharing their thoughts, and then we here in North America post our  workouts and thoughts while they sleep. And sometimes we overlap, but it’s just so great to have people doing this all over the world – and helping  one another.

And the thing that holds everyone together is the common bond of being busy, of having a stressful job and hectic family life, but the workouts are short and infrequent, so it allows for a regular lifestyle at the same time as actually getting results. No more hour long cardio sessions everyday with nothing to show for it.

Question: I’ve written a number of times about how most weight machines in gyms are a total waste of time. What are your thoughts?

Answer: Well, it depends on what you mean by machines. However, generally, I probably agree. First off, most machines are built for a guy of average height…so right off the bat that eliminates short men and women and taller men and women from getting the most out of the exercise. Free weights and bodyweight exercises don’t discriminate on height.

Second, most machines tend to focus on body parts or single muscle groups. That just doesn’t fit the busy person’s schedule, so I don’t use them in my  programs, plus, I’ve built my programs for folks that exercise at home, and can’t afford the money or space on gym machines.

Question: On a lighter note, if you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want to take with you?

Answer: My dog. A Really, really, really big bag of dog food. And a BOAT.

My diet confession from the other week received a lot of great feedback from TT readers, so I wanted to share another confession…

You see, I haven’t always had 6-pack abs.

Like many folks, I once went down the well-traveled road of skipping workouts and too much food (and drink).

In fact, I almost became another casualty in the fight against the Freshman 15 in College.

I have to admit, this story is extremely EMBARRASSING to tell you.

However, I just have to share this turning point in my life to show you that no matter how tired or out-of-shape you might feel, bodyweight training can rescue you and your energy levels while helping you lose inches and burn belly fat without going to the gym.

When I first started University in 1994 I had already been lifting weights for 3 years, and was bench pressing over 225 pounds at a weight of 185 pounds and 10% body fat.

Every evening during highschool I’d get home from my $3.10/hour after-school landscaping job, eat dinner and go to the local YMCA to lift weights.

I didn’t miss a workout, week-in or week-out. I’d even train on Saturdays – and sometimes Sundays!

So by the time I got to University, I had my routine down to a science. But just like anyone, my life changed dramatically when I moved into the dorm. And I started saying to myself…

“The college gym isn’t very good.”
“It’s always too crowded anyway.”
“I have better stuff to do after class than go to the gym.” (Ha!)
“I don’t have any time to go to the gym between classes.” (HaHa!!)
“I have a big Anatomy test tomorrow.”
“I’m getting enough exercise playing soccer and hockey.”
“I’ll start back up in the gym again in January.”

I was coming up with every excuse in the book to avoid my workouts!

Plus, along with the endless amounts of cafeteria pasta and weekend “liquid” calories I was consuming, I was losing the body I had worked so hard to build.

I still remember eating huge take-out containers of pasta each night, and starting my “weekends” on Wednesdays and not finishing until Monday night football.

My first semester at school I probably gained 10 pounds of fat while losing muscle.

It wasn’t quite the Freshman 15, but it wasn’t pretty.

What I wouldn’t give to have those days over again…and not just for all good times and girl-chasing!

I wish I had a chance to relive those days because I’d never have gotten off track from my workouts.

However, the truth is I did stop working out and eating right for months and things actually GOT WORSE before they got better…

At Christmas I went home. It was the first Christmas holiday when I wasn’t working at my high school manual labor job, so I had plenty of time for more eating and drinking…but also contemplating.

I was sick of feeling lazy and lethargic. I was 19 and I used to be strong. My bench press probably decreased 50 pounds or more since the summer ended and I started University.

You know that feeling you have during the holidays after all the meals, when you have some downtime, and you are feeling guilty, and you wish you could do something but there’s too much snow in the driveway to go to the gym? Or the gym is closed? That’s how I felt.

I started getting angry and disgusted with myself.

Here I was, on the path to what I knew would be a life dedicated to helping people improve their health and fitness, and I was
wasting away my time eating food that made me tired, and being too lazy to do anything but sit around and eat more food.

Finally, I got off the couch and put down the Sports Illustrated I was reading and picked up an old Men’s Health magazine, stumbled across a bodyweight workout, and went upstairs into a large open area in my parent’s house and I started working out.

No equipment, no bench, no nothing – just me, myself, and my own bodyweight.

It felt good to move, but it also felt frustrating to feel so out of tune with my body.

I was a 2-sport athlete in high-school, and now I felt like a beginner who wanted to quit. I hated that feeling, but I knew I was making progress.

I knew then I would never, ever, EVER give up.

After the workout I sat down, read through the rest of the Men’s Health magazine and said to myself, “Some day I’m going to be
writing for this magazine.”

I’m not joking.

I knew then that I was going to become a fitness expert and help millions of readers make that same breakthrough I made that day.

That bodyweight workout was a TURNING POINT in my life.

For the next three weeks I did bodyweight workouts almost everyday, coming up with more and more exercises to help me regain my strength and burn body fat. I did supersets, circuits, tri-sets, and anything else you could think of.

And by the end of those three weeks when I headed back to college for the next semester, I lost all 10 pounds of fat I had gained as a freshman. Plus, I had a new outlook on fat burning workouts, one that changed the course of my life FOREVER.

I wish I could find the author of that old magazine article and thank him – from me AND you – for helping all of us discover the
secrets of bodyweight fat burning workouts.

These early experimental workouts later became the foundation for the Turbulence Training Bodyweight Cardio secret workouts that you can get today.

Just visit this website to take advantage of this one time sale on the complete At-Home Bodyweight Cardio Fat Burning Holiday Kit here.

Helping you lose fat over the holidays (no matter what you eat),

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS – With these workouts you’ll have…

…the exact prescription for fast fat loss from intervals and bodyweight training.

This is the REAL DEAL. And an enormous savings of a deal, too, but only until Thursday at midnight.

=> http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com/BurnFatAtHome <== Save 75% today

You’ll soon be boosting your metabolism with proven, powerful fat burning workouts that you can do at home from one of the first trainers to introduce fat loss intervals to the world.

I’ve been using and preaching intervals and bodyweight exercises for over 13 years now, and having trained thousand of clients – in person and online – I know exactly what works.

You’re going to love these workouts to keep you lean – and even help you lose fat over the holidays.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving…and I have a lot to be thankful for…so many friends, in person and online, including you and everyone on FB…even on the streets of Toronto!

Today I was walking Bally the Dog, and a guy rolled down the window of his mini-van and yelled, “Craig Ballantyne. I love your workouts!”. Whoever you are, you made my day. Thanks!

Of course, I’m also thankful for my family, health, fun workouts and healthy eating…and that dog. That funny ol’ dog.

Big meal coming up Sunday night most likely…then I’ll head back to Toronto on Monday for Deadlifting. Weather is going to be a gorgeous 70 degrees (~20 celcius all weekend). Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

Now let’s help you lose fat…

Click here to listen to the call…

Now let’s get into the TT Workout and tips…

Monday – Oct  11th – Thanksgiving Monday

Transformation Tip of the Week:

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
Les Brown

So ask yourself: How can I get what I want? What do I need to do to get there? Then make a plan. Take action. It’s that simple to get started.

Now for a bodyweight workout plan

TT BW 1000: Workout A

1A) DB Chest Press – 8 reps (2-0-1) —- Substitute: Advanced pushup or max reps pushup
1B) DB Bulgarian Split Squat – 8 reps per leg (2-0-1) – Substitute: 1&1/2 rep style bodyweight only version
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

2A) DB Chest-Supported Row – 8 reps (2-0-1) —- love this one….keep the exercise and increase reps
2B) Stability Ball 1-Leg Curl – 10 reps per side (2-0-1) —- Substitute: 1-leg DB RDL
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

3A) Elevated Pushup – 12 reps per side (2-0-1) —- Substitute: 1-arm DB press
3B) Overhand Inverted Row – 12 reps (2-0-1) — Substitute: underhand
3C) Y-Squat – 15 reps (2-0-1) —- Substitute: Close-stance bw squat for 30 reps ==>
3D) Dumbell or Kettlebell Swing – 30 seconds (1-0-1) —- Substitute: 1-arm swing for 20 sec each side
Rest 1 minute before repeating the circuit 3 more times.

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

If you’ve ever suffered through an anxiety attack, you know it’s the next worst thing to suffering a real heart attack. You truly think the end is coming.

I went through a 6-week period of this many years ago when I was younger and trying to stay up late and get up really early to work…eventually it caught up with me.

So this week I’m dedicating the research reviews to two studies about using exercise to help cope with anxiety…

Reference:
‎Br J Sports Med. 2008 Nov 19. State anxiety and subjective well-being responses to acute bouts of aerobic exercise in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders.

Aerobic exercise is associated with a reduction in state anxiety and an improvement in subjective well-being.

Researchers from Belgium studied 19 males and 29 females after 3 workouts.

20 minutes at self-selected intensity without HR feedback
20 minutes at self-selected intensity with HR feedback
20 minutes at the prescribed intensity of 50% of max HR

State anxiety and subjective well-being were evaluated using the State Anxiety Inventory and the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale.

After 20 minutes cycling, patients showed significantly decreased state anxiety and negative affect in the three conditions – same in all conditions.

Only cycling at self-selected intensity enhanced positive well-being.

Reference
Depress Anxiety. 2008 Aug 26;25(8):689-699. Reducing anxiety sensitivity with exercise.

Researchers from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas tested the belief that exercise helps in the treatment of anxiety. 60 people (suffereing from anxiety) were randomly assigned to

a 2-week exercise intervention
a 2-week exercise plus cognitive restructuring intervention
or a control condition.

Exercise led to better improvements in anxiety than control, but there were no added benefits of cognitive intervention.

Bottom Line: Going out and exercising at a nice pace makes you feel better. Two thumbs up for that!

Of course, serious issues should be brought up with a medical doctor.

Wednesday

Workout Tip Wednesday

Change the tempo: Slower lowering tempos often lead to more soreness. But it is a different training stimulus. I think it is worthwhile to go up to 4 seconds on the lowering phase. I don’t like to use slow lifting, but I don’t mind slow lowering. So next time you did dumbbell chest presses, take 4 seconds to lower the weight to your chest. Alternatively, when doing squats, take 4 seconds to lower yourself to the bottom position. This will make you hurt so good.

TT BW 1000: Workout B
1A) DB Squat – 10 reps (2-0-1) — Slow it down to 4 seconds, if you’re sick, add a pause
1B) Grasshopper Pushup – 10 per side (2-0-1) — Faster — one second lowering phase
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

2A) DB Renegade Row – 8 reps per side (2-0-1) — pause at the top for one
2B) DB Split Squat – 8 reps per side (2-0-1) — pause at the bottom for one
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

3A) Stability Ball Rollout – 10 reps (3-0-1) —- go faster, do more reps
3B) Burpees – 30 seconds —- can’t change this…but feel free to add a chin
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

Intervals

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Turbulence Training Facebook QnA time…

Q: If I only have 20 minutes to exercise, what’s the most effective thing that I could do?

Answer:
resistance training supersets or circuits. Could be bodyweight, db, or barbell. you can do a LOT in just 20 minutes. But don’t skip the warmup.

Workout A from the original TT Depletion program

Friday

Another FB QnA…this time, a question from a young man who is overthinking training…a kid who posts advanced questions on every expert’s FB page…seemingly with no clear plan, but a ton of youthful enthusiasm.

Q: Training for lean gains. can I skip the HIIT on lifting days and do sprints on off-days? Also, can I add in a big compound exercise for 4×5-8 eg. Bench, Deadlifts or Squats before the supersets?

Answer:
At the risk of losing you as a friend, here’s the deal. You need to stop thinking so much and asking so many minor-details questions, and just get a professionally designed program, put your head down and do the work. What you need to do is simple. I recommend Jay’s Muscle Gaining Secrets. Do that for 12 weeks. Get strong, get some experience, and stick with the basics!

Now for the Bodyweight 1000. Please note, I’ve eliminated the bike crunches from the workout and replaced them with mountain climbers and the plank.

TT BW 1000: Workout C
100 Jumping Jacks or Jump Rope
25 Close-grip Pushups
25 Jumps
25 Pull-ups
100 Squats
50 Mountain Climbers (25 reps per side)
25 Stickups
100 Pushups
50 Walking Lunges (25 reps per side)
50 Underhand Inverted Rows
Plank (100 seconds)
50 Stability Ball Leg Curls
50 Decline Pushups
25 Overhand Inverted Rows
50 Mountain Climbers (25 per side)
50 Squats
25 Chin-ups
100 Jumping Jacks or Jump Rope

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” Earl Nightingale

Here’s a list of topics that I reflect on each day during a simple Gratitude Exercise. (NOTE: The answer to almost all of these questions is often, “the little things in life”.)

1- Who am I Grateful for?
2- What Opportunity am I grateful for?
3- What did I do today that I am grateful for?
4- What will I do tomorrow that I will be grateful for?
5- What and who do I appreciate in life?
6-(In the morning) Reaffirm what I am going to do today that I will be grateful for.

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare

30 minutes activity and plan, shop, & prepare…and now let’s look at another research study…

A lot of nutritionists make these really awesome sounding arguments against whole grains…but the research almost always shows that whole grains improve health and weight loss. Here’s another study for the debate:

Reference
Am J Clin Nutr 92: 733-740, 2010. Effect of increased consumption of whole-grain foods on blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk markers in healthy middle-aged persons: a randomized controlled trial

UK researchers looked 3 daily portions of whole-grain foods on cardiovascular health of 233 individuals at high risk of CV disease. Study started with a 4-wk trial of a refined diet, and then random allocation to 12 weeks of:

1) control (refined diet)
2) wheat
3) wheat + oats group

Both whole-grain groups experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure. But there were no changes in systemic markers of cardiovascular disease or cholesterol concentrations.

Authors concluded: The observed decrease in systolic blood pressure could decrease the incidence of coronary artery disease and stroke by ≥15% and 25%, respectively.

Up for debate: Would removing grains allowed inflammation to be lowered?

So much to debate, so little time…

Next week!
TT Workout – How to burn 1000 calories
Research Review – Power of web-based fat loss
Link to a really cool interview with Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-hour work week

I spent last weekend in LA…and had some internet problems, so I’m waaaaaaaay late getting this on the blog. Sorry! Fortunately, I had a great time and did some of the upcoming TT Bodyweight 1000 workouts…some advanced stuff. Speaking of advanced, I’ve added what might be the most extreme TT workout ever to the member’s section…Resistance Evil.

The new BW 1000 comes out later this month, as does the “Bodyweight Cardio 1000″. Mark your calendar for October 19th. Today, we’ll review the BW 500 that was featured in Men’s Health magazine.

Click here to listen to the call…

Now let’s get into the TT Workout and tips…

Monday – Oct  4th

Transformation Tip of the Week:

Kekich Credo #58. “You are responsible for exactly who, what, and where you are in life. That will be just as true this time next year. Situations aren’t important. How you react to them is.”

Now onto our workout…a classic challenge program. Challenge workouts are some of the best things you can do.

TT BW 500: Workout A

1A) DB Push Press – 6 reps (2-0-1)  — Or you could do a handstand or pike pushup
1B) Front-Loaded Forward Lunge – 8 reps per leg (2-0-1) — Or a Bulgarian Split Squat 1& ½ rep style
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

2A) DB RDL – 8 reps (1-0-1) —- Or a Glute-Ham Raise
2B) Stability Ball Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Rest 30 seconds before repeating the superset 2 more times.

3A) DB Row with Elbow Out – 12 reps (2-0-1)  — Or an inverted row, pullup, or TRX row
3B) DB Chest Press – 12 reps (3-0-1) —- Or an advanced pushup or high rep pushup
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time for a total of 2 supersets.

Interval Workout A

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

Reference:
Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 1. Dairy calcium intake, serum vitamin D, and successful weight loss. Shahar DR, Schwarzfuchs D, Fraser D, Vardi H, Thiery J, Fiedler GM, Blüher M, Stumvoll M, Stampfer MJ, Shai I.

Past research suggests dairy, calcium, and vitamin D help with weight loss.

I don’t believe it. But here’s a study that supports it…

Researchers ran a 2-y Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT) [n = 322; mean body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)): 31; mean age: 52 y]

Their data suggest that dairy calcium intake vitamin D were associated with increased weight loss across the 2-y intervention.

I still dunno…I just don’t get it. More controversy for the dairy debate, I suppose.

Wednesday

TT BW 500: Workout B

1A) Prisoner Squat – 15 reps (2-0-1)
1B) Walking Offset Pushups – 8 per side (2-0-1)
Rest 30 seconds before repeating 1 more time for a total of 2 supersets.

2A) Split Squat with Front Foot Elevated – 12 reps per side (2-1-1)
2B) Inverted Row – 12 reps (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time for a total of 2 supersets.

3A) Stability Ball Jackknife – 6 reps per side (1-1-1)
3B) Stability Ball Leg Curl – 12 reps (1-0-1)
Rest 30 seconds before repeating 1 more time for a total of 2 supersets.

4A) Spiderman Pushup – 8 reps per side (1-0-1)
4B) 1-Leg Hip Extension – 15 reps per side (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time for a total of 2 supersets.

DB (or KB) Swing Intervals
6 sets of 15 reps with 30 seconds of rest between each.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Time for the TT Facebook Question of the Week.

Q: Is it better to do DB squats or Barbell Squats?

Answer:
Barbells are better in most cases…just remember, the TT workouts are generally designed for folks who train at home with dumbells only…that’s why you see DB squats in the majority of programs.

The best thing to do is squat within your limits…don’t squat with something you aren’t sure you can complete.

Remember, TT doesn’t insist you go to failure, so while your last few reps should be hard, there should NOT be any sets to failure. Overall message – train safe first and foremost.

You can always focus on single leg squats, bulgarian split squats, etc. Although they are even harder to get motivated for than regular squats.

Friday

TT BW 500: Workout C

1A) DB Squat – 15 reps (2-0-1) — Or repeated vertical jumps
1B) Shoulder-press Pushup – 10 reps (2-0-1) —- Or decline close-grip pushups
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

2A) DB Incline Press – 12 reps (2-0-1) —- Or elevated pushups
2B) DB Renegade Row – 8 reps per arm (2-0-1) —- Add in a pause at the top of the movement
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

3A) Assisted 1-Leg Squat – 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
3B) DB Rear-Deltoid Raise – 15 reps (2-0-1) —- Do the upper back iron cross with straps
Rest 30 seconds before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Here’s the original Bodyweight 500

50 Prisoner Squats
50 Pushups
25 Jumps
25 Stability Ball Leg Curls
50 Stability Ball Jackknifes
50 Step-ups (25 reps per side)
25 Pull-ups (NO substitutions)
50 Forward Lunges (25 reps per side)
50 Close-grip Pushups
50 Inverted Rows
50 Squats
25 Chin-ups (NO substitutions)

We’ll review the Bodyweight 1000 next week…

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
30 minutes activity and plan, shop, & prepare with some simple tips from October MH 2010.

First, research shows that eating eggs (rather than bagels) for breakfast helps reduce your appetite by 164 calories at lunch.

And second, an MH reader suggests chewing sugar-free gum for 15 minutes after eating to cut cravings.

Next week!
TT Workout – TT Bodyweight 1000
Research Review – Anxiety studies…didn’t have a chance this week
Gratitude exercise