In this week’s call, you’re going to get…

• The formula for the perfect workout
• 3 bootcamp fat loss workouts
• And the truth about social support from TT Body Transformation Contest Winners

This week we announced the winners of the 8th TT Transformation Contest. It was easily the best contest yet – amazing results…so many entries…and a success story for every walk of life.

Check out the winners…

www.transformationcontest.com

And details about the 9th contest coming very soon…

Click here to listen to the call…

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

Monday – Aug 30th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
Okay, this week marks Sept 1st…time to look back at what you wanted to accomplish in 2010, and if you aren’t there yet, to re-commit yourself to success. “Even the impossible can be broken down into possibilities.” Start with small goals. Achieve them and reward/reinforce your behavior. That will encourage you to continue with the right actions and will get you to keep moving closer and closer to your bigger goals.

TT Bootcamps Workout – TT Booty Bootcamp: Part 1

Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Jumping Jacks
Bodyweight Squat
Mountain Climbers
Arm Crosses
Leg Swings
Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.

TT Strength Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Split Squat (20 seconds per side)
Close-Grip Pushup
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 1 minute

TT Big 5 Conditioning Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Prisoner Squat or Kettlebell Swing
Elevated Pushup (20 seconds per side)
Band Row or DB Row or Stick-up
Reverse Lunge (20 seconds per side)
Stability Ball Plank
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 1 minute

TT Booty Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
1-Leg Hip Extension (20 seconds per side)
Stability Ball Hip Extension
Stability Ball Leg Curl
Grasshopper Pushup
Side Plank Leg Raise (20 seconds per side)
Stability Ball WYT’s (20 seconds per movement)
Walking Lunges
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 5 minutes

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

Reference:
Obesity. 2010 May 20. Regular Multicomponent Exercise Increases Physical Fitness and Muscle Protein Anabolism in Frail, Obese, Older Adults.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis…gave a 3-month multicomponent exercise training program in nine 65- to 80-
year-old, moderately frail, obese older adults.

After 3 months of training fat mass decreased (P < 0.05), fat-free mass (FFM), appendicular lean body mass, strength, and VO(2) peak increased (all P < 0.05).

The scientists concluded that a multicomponent exercise training program has beneficial effects on muscle mass and physical function and should therefore be recommended to frail and obese older adults

BOTTOM LINE: Older people, and I mean over 65, should get strength training into their life and should focus on maintaining muscle mass.

Wednesday

Partner towel assisted exercises – cool for bootcamps – check out travel report here.

The travel report was a labor of love, and it is free for you, and shows you how to get lean and stay lean while traveling.

TT Bootcamps Workout – TT 300 Challenge 2K10 Version 2.0

TT Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Prisoner Squat
Duck Unders
Arm Crosses
Pushup Plus
Waiter’s Bow
Elbow-to-Instep Lunge
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minute

TT Bodyweight Bootcamp 300 – 30 minutes
10 Vertical Jumps
50 Bodyweight Squats
10 Spiderman Pushups
10 Pullups or Inverted Rows
30 Stability Ball Jackknives
40 Walking Lunges (20 per side)
50 Close-Grip Pushups
20 Stability Ball Rollouts
40 Pushups
30 Stability Ball Leg Curls
10 Chinups or Underhand Bodyweight Rows
Rest as much as needed between exercises.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Adrenaline Abs Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Stability Ball Plank
Cross-Body Mountain Climber
Get-up (30 seconds per side)
Shuttle Sprint

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

FACEBOOK Q of the Week…

Q: What is the perfect workout?

Answer:
Well, here’s the perfect workout for building muscle, burning fat, and sculpting the body: Total body mobility warmup, strength superset, metabolic resistance training supersets or circuit, interval training (optional depending on whether you need more fat loss).

Friday

TT Bootcamps Workout – TT Beach Body Bootcamp: Part 1

TT Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Chops (20 seconds per side)
Bodyweight Squat
Elevated Pushup (20 seconds per side)
Stick-up
Waiter’s Bow
Shuffle
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

TT Strength Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 12 minutes
1-Leg Hip Extension or 1-Leg Bench Squat or Reverse Lunge (30 seconds per side)
Close-Grip Pushup ¾ Reps
Underhand Inverted Row or DB Row
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Big 6 Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Side-to-Side Jump or Kettlebell Swing
DB or KB Split Squat (20 seconds per side)
Pushup
DB Row or Inverted Row
Prisoner Forward Lunge
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Total Body Abs Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Inchworm
Stability Ball Plank or Plank (60 seconds)
Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Contest winner quote, from Ion, 2nd place, men under 40

“Social support- only now do I realize that Craig was 100% right: it’s the most important factor in a fat loss contest. I’ve ignored it completely in the other contests and failed without exception. So special thanks to everyone: the TT Forum members, my university colleagues, my parents (who really tried to help me and stayed away from unhealthy food in my presence), my training partner, who’s been a huge source of motivation, to my wonderful girlfriend.

What did I learn in this contest? There’s nothing we can’t achieve as long as we’re determined enough and we stick to it. This is why I’m so eager to join the 9th contest. That’s when I’m finally going to get my 6 pack abs!!!”

On the other hand, we hear from Mark, winner of over 40 men

“A big issue for me was the lack of a support base. My wife never supported me losing weight. She thought the training was excessive and the East Stop Eat lifestyle was insane. I had to just rely solely on my own motivation. To add to the problem, about half way through the contest my wife’s father became ill in the UK and she flew out leaving me with two kids to manage for 2 1⁄2 weeks! I handled it by taking some time off work and enlisting the help of my parents, but I still didn’t give up drinking several nights a week. I was just too stressed.

Anyway, I pushed through. All on my own. No support, no training partner.

The biggest success for me was not stopping, and pushing through no matter what happened. I also now have found a perfect exercise and diet combination that works for me and I can easily follow. I am leaner, fitter and more like the Karate Man that I want to be than I have been in many years. It feels great!”

And from Naomi…

“I have shared my journey with friends and family throughout, but it’s when I posted my Five Week Transformation contest results that the questions started pouring in. Many friends wrote just to tell me how inspired they were by my results. I, in turn, follow people who inspire me. I spent a ton of time on the TT forum reading old contest threads and have my own contest thread where everyone is so supportive! It’s so much fun to share workouts
with others who have been there and to learn from other workout journals. It’s wonderful to be able to share the hard bits too like the very bad day and how to deal with stress.”

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

Does drinking water burn fat? No, but it can help you control your appetite. And personally I found drinking more water (4 liters per day) makes me feel better. I notice it when I don’t drink 2-3 liters.

Next week!
TT Workout – More TT Workouts
Research Review –  New info on the “1 vs 3 set” debate
Nutrition – How to avoid eating at night
3 Over-rated ab exercises

So I’m back from Europe…and I’ll be creating a special report on all my travels…I might even start a new travel oriented blog.

Highlights: Joel Marion’s Wedding; Liberty Camp in Lithuania & the enthusiastic kids; Hiking in the mountains in Poland – crazy hailstorm

Click here to listen to the call…

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

Monday – Aug 23rd

This is the final day for entries to be submitted for TT Transformation Contest #8…and yes, TT Contest #9 is coming soon in September!

Transformation Tip of the Week:
‎”Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
Dale Carnegie

…so never, ever, ever give up on something that is important to you.

TT Bootcamps Workout A – Beginner Bootcamp

Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Cross Crawl
Jumping Jacks
Kneeling Close-grip Pushup
Lying Hip Extension
Plank
Arm Crosses
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time. Add rest between exercises as needed.

TT Strength Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
1-Leg Lying Hip Extension (20 seconds per side)
Kneeling Pushups or Regular Pushups
Mountain Climber
Bird Dog
Rest 30 seconds between exercises.
Rest 2 minutes before repeating the circuit 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Big 5 Circuit Conditioning (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Total Body Extension
Pushup Plank Hold
WYT on Stability Ball or Stick-up
Split Squat – hand on wall or partner for balance (20 seconds per side)
Side Plank (20 seconds per side)
Rest 2 minutes between circuits and repeat 2 more times.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Fun-n-Games! – 5 minutes
Follow the leader (take a 30 second break every minute)

Cool-down & Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

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

Reference:
Short-term sprint interval training increases insulin sensitivity in healthy adults but does not affect the thermogenic response to β-adrenergic stimulation

Researchers from Colorado studied 31 adult subjects assigned to one of three groups.

1) Intervals: six sessions of repeated (4–7) 30 s bouts of very high-intensity cycle ergometer exercise over 14 days

2) Single-bout SIT (n = 9): one session of 4 × 30 s cycle ergometer sprints.

3) Control

Both interval training groups improved insulin sensitivity but didn’t increase resting energy expenditure…so the complex topic of intervals for fat loss continues.

Wednesday

The first circuit is the classic TT Big 5/6/7 Circuit method.

The order of this circuit is (jumps), squat, push, pull, single-leg, and total body ab exercise (or finish with an interval).

Due to a lack of equipment, the “pull” exercise is often replaced with a squat that also trains the upper back (i.e. Prisoner Squat or Y-Squat) or the Stick-up exercise. If you have equipment such as a kettlebell, dumbbell, or resistance bands, you can use traditional pulling exercises such as rows.

TT Bootcamps Workout B – Advanced Big 6 Conditioning

Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Run in Place
Leg Swings (20 seconds per side)
Spiderman Climb
Prisoner Lunge (20 seconds per side)
Pushups
Stick-ups
Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.

TT Strength Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Vertical Jump
Decline Pushups
1-Leg Deadlift
Rest 2 minute before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Big 6 Conditioning Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Side-to-Side Jump
Prisoner Squat
Close-grip Pushup
Band Row or DB Row or Bodyweight Row or Stick-up
Reaching Lunge (30 seconds per side)
Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Big 6 Conditioning Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Jumping Jacks
Split Squat (30 seconds per side)
Band Row or DB Row or Bodyweight Row or Stick-up
Off-set Pushup (15 seconds per side)
Lateral Lunge (30 seconds per side)
Cross-Body Mountain Climber
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Total Body Abs Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Inchworm
Side Plank Leg Raise (20 seconds per side)
Mountain Climber
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Turbulence Training Facebook Fanpage QnA

Q: What can I do for motivation after injury and getting back into it?

Answer:
There’s nothing more you can do then get your butt in the gym and start training again consistently. Think of every pro athlete that ever had a serious injury. They start from scratch and build themselves back up. Just do it.

Friday

In this program, you’ll do abs early and late in the bootcamp workout…

TT Bootcamps Workout C: Abs First: Part 1 of the TT Abs Bootcamp Series

Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Jumping Jacks
Arm Crosses
Total Body Extension
Downward Dog Pushup
Reverse Y-Lunge
Run in Place
Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.

TT Total Body Abs Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
Squat Thrusts
Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
Stability Ball Rollout or Inchworm
Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

TT Strength Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 5 minutes
1-Leg Squat or 1-Leg Bench Squat or Split Squat (30 seconds per side)
Spiderman Pushup or Decline Pushup
Optional: Pullups, Chinups or Inverted Row
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Big 6 Conditioning Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Side-to-Side Jump
Prisoner Squat
Decline Pushup
Band Row or DB Row or Stability Ball WYT
Diagonal Lunge
Stability Ball Jackknife or Mountain Climber
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Water Break – 2 minutes

TT Abs Depletion Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes
Jumping Jacks
Spiderman Climb
Forward Lunge (20 seconds per side)
Cross-Body Mountain Climber
Plank on 1-Foot (30 seconds per side)
Shuttle Run or Run in Place
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Resistance training is important for older women…so take your mom to the gym (with professional help of course!)

Reference:
J Appl Physiol 106: 1611-1617, 2009. Improvements in whole muscle and myocellular function are limited with high-intensity resistance training in octogenarian women.

Researchers from Ball State University put six 85-year old women and nine 21-year old girls through a 12-week high-intensity, progressive resistance training program.

1-RM strength increased (P < 0.05) in YW (36%) and OW (26%).

Thigh muscle cross-sectional area increased (5%) in YW (P < 0.05), but thigh muscle did not
hypertrophy in OW.

These data show that the myocellular functional profile in OW is similar to that in YW but that OW have a blunted hypertrophic response to PRT at the whole muscle and myocellular level.

CONCLUSION: These data suggest that attempts to greatly enhance skeletal muscle mass and function should begin before 80 yr of age.

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

Food journaling: Make a note of how much you eat

Reference:
Hollis, JF, Am J Prev Med 35:118, 2008.

Recording food intake in a daily food journal will help you lose 2x’s weight.
Even emailing yourself works!

Next week!
TT Workout – More TT Bootcamps Workouts
Research Review – Resistance training at any age
Nutrition – Complex topic of water

As you might know I just moved over to the east side of Toronto. So
far, so good.

Sure there are a lot more freaky people on this side of town, but
there are even more cool dog parks on the east side for Bally the Dog.

In fact, every morning I walk him up by a big park near Greektown
where he smells weird things and I watch a bootcamp class do their
thing.

Today I got to watching and thinking, and wrote down a few ideas that can make most bootcamps better.

1) Switch things up and make exercises more difficult by using the
“one and a half rep” method. This is great for pushups, squats,
lunges, and split squats – plus hip extensions for beginners.

Do the full lowering phase, then come halfway back up, and then go
all the way back down again, and then come all the way up. That’s
one rep. It makes things “interesting” to say the least.

2) Break up your bootcamp class into groups and have them work
through stations, rather than having everyone do the same thing all
at the same time.

(I know most of you are already doing this…I suppose I’m writing
this tip to the trainer who I watch every morning who teaches her
class in a large circle…I think she could do better than that.)

This is obviously a great system if you have a limited amount of
equipment (i.e. if you have 4 kettlebells and 16 campers).

3) Try shorter interval training

I know, I know, clients just love to get the crap kicked out of them.
But don’t worry, you can do that too…

However, it’s important to note that the “famous” interval training
research study from Australia had women do eight second intervals
alternated with twelve seconds of rest.

Sure that’s easier than a 20 second sprint followed by a 10 second rest, but it works for fat loss.

Try using the 8-12 ratio in one of your workouts each week.

4) Try the “TT Addiction Workout Challenge” Method

I borrowed this idea from Martin Rooney, who wrote about the push-up
challenge in the April 2010 Men’s Health magazine.

In the challenge, your goal is to do as many pushups as possible in
3 minutes. But don’t go to failure in any set, or you’ll sacrifice
your results. Just do a few, then rest for 15 seconds, and repeat
that until the 3 minutes is up. It will still be a challenge near
the end.

You can use this same method with bodyweight squats, bodyweight rows,
and lots of other exercises. (Just make sure clients use proper form
all the time.)

These “Challenges” get clients hooked on improving their performance
and they’ll step up their training in order to beat their score each
week. Lots of fun.

5) To help clients with nutrition, recommend that everyone reads the
book called, “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan. It contains easy to
follow, common sense nutritional advice that every busy family can
stick to. I still can’t beat his “7 word diet” for simplicity:

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Everyone can get that. And your clients will lose a lot of belly fat
with that advice.

Have a great bootcamp today,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Bootcamps
=> http://www.TTBootcamps.com/31Workouts

Last Saturday was an awesome time at the Transformation Domination seminar in Florida.

I was amazed at how many folks came from Japan, France, Belgium, the UK and all over the world just to do a TT Bootcamp in the morning and then learn transformation secrets from Joel Marion, Isabel De Los Rios, Vince Del Monte, Holly Rigsby, and almost a dozen other experts.

The fun started bright and early at 7am with the first of two super fun back-to-back TT Bootcamps done in a big empty hotel ballroom.

WOW – can TT readers really “bring it”. I was blown away by how hard you folks were working out.

I just want to say a HUGE Thank You to everyone who was there.

But if you haven’t tried this workout, I have good news for you.

Today I’m giving you the complete bootcamp workout we went through on Saturday morning.

If you’re a trainer, your clients will love it…and if you’re not a trainer, well, you can print this out to do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!

Warm-up Circuit – 2 rounds
1) Arm Crosses (see TT Transformation warm-up for photos)
2) Bodyweight Squat
3) Jumping Jacks
4) Mountain Climbers
5) Prisoner Forward Lunges ==>
6) Pushups
7) Stickups

Strength Superset – 2 rounds
1A) Toughest pushup for 30 seconds
1B) Toughest single leg exercise for 30 seconds per side

Water break

Conditioning Circuit – 2 rounds
1) Reverse lunge
2) Spiderman climb
3) Plank
4) 1-leg hip extension
5) Close-grip pushup

Water break

Ab circuit from John Romaniello (check out his interview in TT members)
1) Abdominal walk out
2) Garhammer ab curl
3) Pushup plank

(I’ll get John to explain these in Part 2 of his TT Member’s interview coming in February.) 

Final Circuit
1) Prisoner Squat
2) T-pushup ==>
3) Split squats
4) Squat thrusts
5) Side plank

Water break

Stretching Circuit
1) Hip Flexor Stretch
2) Glute Stretch
3) Chest Stretch
4) Hamstring Stretch
5) Shoulder Stretch

*****************
NOTES: First, you’ll notice there were no pulling/rowing exercises.

Why?

Well, because we had no equipment. No balls, no bands, no dumbbells, no kettlebells, no nothing.

But we still had an awesome fitness bootcamp workout with all of our TT friends from around the world.

It was pretty darn cool.

Also, because I gave away the complete TT package at the Transformation Seminar, and I wanted to give you a Special Offer as well for those of you who couldn’t make it on the weekend.

Click this link to get your Abs bonus when you get started with the TT Bootcamp program today – offer ends Friday, Jan 22nd, 2010.

Thanks again to everyone who said “Hi!” at the seminar,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Bootcamp Workouts

This week, we have the best fat loss research tips of 2009, including a possible way to boost your post-workout metabolism, and we also have the 7th TT Transformation Contest starting Sunday, December 27th, 2009.

And during the contest, you’re going to learn that you control everything.

Your success is your responsibility.

That means you must set the rules from the start. Be consistent. Make your fat loss the priority of everyone around you. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

And always look to surround yourself with positive social support from people who are going to help you no matter what.

Click here for the rules of the TT Transformation Contest

And don’t forget, a $1000 prize goes to the winner of the men and women plus 3-year platinum membership! For more details:

Click here to listen to this killer content call!

Now let’s take a look at some of the most important research studies of 2009.

Monday – Dec 28

Transformation Tip of the Week:

Win the Game
“Losing fat is a game between you and the outside world. Everyone, from family to friends to co-workers to restaurant owners to TV advertisers are conspiring against you to make you eat more and exercise less. Like it or not, it’s true. They might not be doing it on purpose, or with bad intentions, but they are happier when you are fed, full, and flat out on the couch. So focus on getting social support and setting up routines to overcome those obstacles thrown at you!”

Turbulence Training Bootcamp Workout #10 – TT Fat Loss Fun’n’Games (BW 200 V. 2.0)

TT Warm-up (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes

• Y-Squat
• Pushup
• Cross Crawl
• Y-Reverse Lunges
• Shuffle

Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.

TT Fun-n-Games! – 10 minutes

• Partner shadow drills (switch every minute)
• Follow the leader with camper as leader (switch every minute)

Water Break – 2 minute

TT Strength Circuits (30 seconds per exercise) – 10 minutes

• Vertical Jump & Stick
• Extended Pushup
• Reaching Lunge (30 seconds per side)

Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.

TT Bodyweight 200 V. 2.0. – 20 minutes

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 15 Jumps
• 25 Pushups
• 10 Jumps
• 50 BW Squats
• 50 Walking Lunges (25 per side)

Rest as much as needed between exercises.

(NOTE: If you have access to kettlebells, bands or bars, do some type of rowing exercise instead of the 2nd round of jumps.)

Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break – 10 minutes

Click here for more 21 “Done for You” no equipment TT bootcamp workouts

Tuesday
30 minutes of fun activity…and take a quick peak at this interesting protein research…

Researchers had 8 trained subjects (5M, 3W) do a workout at 7am after consuming either 20grams of whey protein or 20grams of carbohydrates. The workout consisted of 9 exercises (4 sets of eachat 75% 1 RM).

NOTE: That’s a huge workout! 36 freaking sets.

Results: Both workouts boosted metabolism at 24 and 48 hours after training, HOWEVER, at 24 hours, the increase in metabolism was greater in the protein supplement experiment.

Reference:
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Dec 4. Timing Protein Intake Increases Energy Expenditure 24 Hours Post-Resistance Training. Hackney KJ, Bruenger AJ, Lemmer JT.

Comments: Would this lead to increased fat loss? Not sure…there’s a lot of other things to consider…but I guess in theory, if you want to maximize your results, then you might want to consume protein before your workout – particularly if you workout first thing in the AM.

But then again, it might not make any difference at all in the long run.

Wednesday

Today I want to go back in the TT time machine…

When I first started fiddling with TT like workouts, it was way back in 98-99 when the system of pairing pushing and pulling exercises within the same superset first became popular.

To give credit where it is personally due for me, it was in an article by Charles Poliquin.

As a result, I actually designed a research study program based on this principle – and that research study, as far as I know, has still generated the BIGGEST 8-week muscle gaining results in the history of all research studies. I do not know of any study that has delivered better results than the superior group in that study.

Reference: 8-week training & supplement study

Anyways, that’s another blog post for another day – and it’s a great story – best summer of my life, back in 1999…

But back to the pushing-pulling supersets.

Eventually, Canadian researchers decided to test this out, and here’s a recent very interesting study.

• 15 men performed an 8-week program.
• One group did all their pressing exercises and then all their pulling exercises. The other group alternated between presses and pulls – they called these complex sets (sounds like supersets).
• Results: First, the complex sets resulted in cutting training time in half. Second, 1 rep max strength increased the most in the complex set group but peak power increased the most in the traditional training group.

Reference: Effects of agonist-antagonist complex resistance training on upper body strength and power development.

Bottom line: If nothing else, pairing supersets with non-competing exercises cuts your workout in half. And it might even make you stronger.

Thursday
30 minutes of fun activity – and since it’s New Year’s Eve, why not go for some dancing? Have a great New Year’s!

Now let’s look at my favorite interval training study of the year…

Reference: J Strength Cond Res. Physiologic Effects of Directional Changes in Intermittent Exercise in Soccer Players. Dellal A, et al.

• Researchers from Africa, Europe, and Asia teamed up on this one…
• Compared interval shuttle running against interval straight-line running in 10 elite men soccer players. Results showed that the shuttle running was more difficult.
• Researchers concluded, “The changes of direction induce an increase in the anaerobic metabolism solicitation and consequently create different responses compared with traditional IL running.”

So not only interesting for soccer (i.e. you should have lots of changes in direction), but also for fat loss…instead of running on a treadmill, you should be doing athletic movement and sprint drills.

Friday – 2K10!

Happy New Years!

I hope you are as excited as I am about this year…after all, check out all of these workouts coming in 2K10…

• TT Bootcamps 2K10
  TT Transformation
  Booty for Life 2
  Big 6 Circuit
  TT KB 15-minute Express
  TT Adrenaline
  TT Addiction
  TT Hardcore 2K10
  TT Bodyweight Cardio Vol 3

And much, much more. More info soon…Until then, if you don’t already own Turbulence Training or if you aren’t a TT member, then take advantage of:

The First Ever 50% Off Turbulence Training Sale

But hurry, it ends Friday, January 1st.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity, and then consider the results of this research study…

Reference: Supervised exercise versus non-supervised exercise for reducing weight in obese adults. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2009 Mar;49(1):85-90.

• This research study looked at the effects of training with supervision/instruction (ie a qualified trainer) versus “advice”. There were two groups:
• Group one met a trainer twice a week for 4 months (as a group).
• Group two received basic advice to increase physical activity and access to a fully equipped gym (any exercise they did was unsupervised).
• The group with supervision lost almost 10 pounds more over a 4-month period. (Total fat loss of 13.4lbs in the coached group – and only 3.7lbs in the advice only group).

If you are serious about changing your body – hire a coach, or get a great training partner or team to help you. At the very least, make sure you belong to an online fat loss forum – like TT Members.

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
Do 30 minutes of fun activity, and then plan, shop, & prepare. And make sure you choose organic for a few specific items. According to the new Rodale book, “The New American Diet” (excerpted in Feb 2010, Men’s Health magazine), there are a “Dirty Dozen” fruits and veggies that should be organic.

Starting with the worst offenders, the dirty dozen are:

Peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, pears

On the other hand, here are the clean fifteen (the fruits and veggies that contain the least pesticides and probably don’t need to be purchased in “organic” form):

Onion, avocado, corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, pappayas, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, sweet potatoes.

Hope that helps you with your planning, shopping, and prepping. Here’s to your success in the TT Transformation Contest!

Next week!
TT 15-min express
Nutrition – Green Tea & fat loss research

Have a great New Years,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS – Until next week…

…if you don’t already own Turbulence Training or if you aren’t a TT member, then take advantage of:

The First Ever 50% Off Turbulence Training Sale

But hurry, it ends Friday, January 1st.