Basically, 3 things I’ve stolen from Roman that I will now claim to be my own after a 7 day grace period.

1) Roman’s Dense

Or more accurately, Roman uses density training to cram in more sets and reps and volume so that you get more work done and therefore – say it with me – more “super-ultra-mega-smurftastic” fat burning.

How do we do this?

- Choose 2 mega-awesome exercises (like squats and push presses)
- For each exercise, select a weight you can lift ~12 times.
- The goal is to perform as many reps as possible in 5 minutes.
- DO NOT lift the weight for 12 reps on your first set.
- Instead, perform 6 reps of squats, then 6 reps of push presses.
- Alternate back and forth for the entire 5 minute period.
- Rest as little as possible between sets.
- At end of 5 minutes, record the TOTAL reps you did for each.

Boom goes the fat burning dynamite.

Better performance. More muscle. More fat loss. Sexier body.

I’ll prove that in a second.

2) Roman’s Greasy

Yesterday I mentioned the “Grease-The-Groove” strength training tip that Roman gave me to help my Push Press exercise strength.

He has me doing Push Presses 4 days per week, doing 3 sets of 8 repetitions each time with a weight that I can do for about 12 reps.

Over time, I’ll have improved my skill in this exercise, and therefore will be able to lift ridiculously more weight.

Well, maybe not ridiculously more, but more.

And that applies to you how? Because there’s no doubt you have an exercise you want to improve, such as push-ups. Well, you can use the Grease-the-Groove strategy to get better.

As a result, you’ll add muscle and lose fat, while increasing your performance. Oh, and getting a sexier body.

Ready for that proof?

I’m now going to show you why the added muscle is so important for your best beach body ever.

3) More Muscle = Better Abs

Listen, I’ve tried to folks over and over again that doing slow cardio to lose the last bit of fat is futile.

Dieting + cardio without weights really, really is the worst thing you could do to your beach body.

Now most TT readers think I have decent abs and muscle, but take a look at what happens to a set of abs when you add another 15 pounds of muscle.

Behold…a sexier body from more muscle:

Romanz abs are even better, you have to give him that. So make sure you are using metabolic resistance training as your main source of calorie and fat burning workouts.

It’s that simple.

There’s a lot more to learn from Roman in his workouts that help you fix slow fat loss here:

=> Roman’s Proven Workouts to Beat Stubborn Fat

And don’t forget, I’ll send you two bonus workouts, the new “TT Clash of the Titans” programs, when you send in your receipt.

Just email us at:

TurbulenceTrainingHelp AT gmail.com

You have nothing to lose but stubborn fat,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Co-Creator, TT Clash of the Titans

PS – When you get John’s program through that link…

…we’ll also give you these bonuses:

1) TT Clash of the Titans 2 – “Ballantyne Strikes Back”
2) TT Clash of the Titans 3 – “Roman’s Revenge”

Did I ever tell you about the one time I watched a trainer instruct his client to stand on a Bosu ball, wearing boxing gloves, and then do some type of whacky reverse punch/backhand slap while the trainer stood BEHIND him holding the pads?

I was speechless…until – at the same gym – I watched a different trainer instruct his client to put his back foot on a Bosu ball and his front foot on an upended dumbbell (!!!) and do split squats.

Seriously, the trainer had his client stand on a dumbbell.

What’s wrong with these guys?

Anyways, I didn’t see anything that silly this weekend, but I did watch a guy do arms, chest presses, and then clean & presses supersetted with squats.

Probably one of the worst workout orders I’d ever witnessed.

So today, we’re going to cover the Best Exercise Order for maximum results in minimum workout time. Here’s how it goes.

The best workout exercise order is:

Stage 1: Warm-up
Stage 2 (optional): Skill/Power Training
Stage 3: Major Movement Resistance Training Straight Set or Superset
Stage 4 (optional): Minor Movements Superset or Circuits
Stage 5: Torso Training
Stage 6: Interval training

Let`s look at each stage in more detail.

Stage 1 – Warm-up

This is not the time to jump on the treadmill. That does not prepare you for stages 2-5. So we skip that and focus on a general bodyweight exercise warm-up that covers all of your major muscle groups & joints.

I filmed a warm-up video for you here:

=> Best Workout Warm-up

It covers everything far better than I could by email.

Stage 2 – Skill/Power Training (Optional)

Skill and power training should be done at the start of a workout while your neuromuscular system is fresh, not fatigued. That`s why you should not do power cleans at the end of a workout or supersetted with squats. Unless you like injury and dislike results.

Skill and power training are also optional for fat loss, but if you have any athletic or maximal strength goals, this is the time for most effective training.

Plus, this type of training is not bad for fat loss, but it just must be done appropriately for all levels.

Even beginners can do power training, such as doing very low (4-6 inch) box jumps – i.e. jumping from the floor onto a sturdy surface, such as an elevated aerobic step.

Anyways, this is a complex topic and we can revisit it another day.

Stage 3 – Major Movement Resistance Training (Straight Set or Superset)

If you are training for fat loss and to get the most amount of work done in the least amount of time, you`ll stick to supersets as outlined in the Turbulence Training workout. Simple, but effective.

However, if you want to dramatically increase your strength in the bench press, deadlift, squat, power clean, chin-up, or 1-leg squat, you can also do straight sets before you get into your supersets.

With the straight sets for strength approach, you`ll take more rest (2-3 minutes) between sets.

Alternatively, you could superset one of those strength exercises with a non-competing minor movement or stretch.

For example, if I`m focusing on bench press strength, I might stretch my psoas (hip flexor) area between sets, or superset dumbbell rear deltoid raises – something that uses the time between sets but does not impair my strength performance.

Again, another long topic for another day…and a future Meathead workout.

Stage 4 – Minor Movements (Supersets or Circuits)

I believe you`ll get more muscle building and strength gains when you choose supersets over circuits. That said, if you only want to lose fat and maintain lean muscle, you can finish your workouts faster by arranging your workouts in metabolic resistance circuits.

Two TT workouts that do that are TT 2K10 and TT Hard-Core 2K10.

Stage 5 – Torso Training

I prefer this term over `core training`, but essentially we are discussing the same thing. Working your abs, obliques, low back muscles, etc., using stability exercises – as is done in ALL of the
Turbulence Training workouts. No crunches, no sit-ups.

Sometimes old-school is good, but not when it comes to ab training. To learn more, I recommend the TT for Abs manual, and for beginners, please start with the January 2010 Total Torso Training workout.

Stage 6 – Interval Training

I`m getting a little long-winded today, so we will cover intervals on Wednesday.

For now, at least you have the perfect template for the best workouts.

But an even better resource would be to have all of the TT workouts at your finger tips…and you can get full Platinum Member access for the shockingly low investment of only $95 this week only here:

=> Click here for Platinum Access to ALL Turbulence Training Fat Loss Workouts

I`ve extended the January New Year`s special for three days, because of a funny thing that happened to me on Friday.

You see, I was driving from Toronto to my parent`s house in the country, and ol` Maxima broke down along the way. Now I have a big repair bill to pay off.

I`ll try to send you the full funny story about ol` Maxima`s problems tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

For those of you who don’t know Tom Venuto,  he is a NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder, freelance writer, personal coach and author of the #1 best-selling e-book “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle” (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models.

Tom has written over 170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom’s articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. If you would like more information on Tom’s “Burn The Fat” e-book, click here:  www.burnthefat.com.

So let’s get right into it.

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

Craig Ballantyne: Tom, you’ve written a great article called, “Risk to benefit ratios of extreme and controversial fat loss techniques.” I first read it on your site, Fitness Renaissance (www.fitren.com) has rankings since you wrote that article?

Tom Venuto: That article pretty much sums up my current thoughts about fat loss. The article looked at techniques for fat loss that are controversial, like not eating for 2-3 hours before going to bed or not eating carbs after a certain time of the day, or doing early morning cardio on an empty stomach. Some experts recommend these methods; others strongly recommend avoiding them. Some say they work well; others say they don’t work at all.

The main message I wanted to get across is that when you generalize by saying things like, “This technique is good”, “that technique is bad”, or “never do this,” “always do that,” you’re limiting yourself. I believe in the philosophy that the person who has the most flexibility and the most choices is the person with the most power to get results and to break past barriers (which unfortunately, are often self-imposed by all or none thinking).

Instead of making generalizations, I prefer to approach training and nutrition from the viewpoint of personalization and risks versus benefits. If you think about it, all exercise has risks. Squatting has risks. Running has risks. Competing in sports has risks. You can’t avoid risks. Heck, being alive has risks! The idea is to manage risks, not to try and eliminate them.

Take fasted cardio in the morning, for example. Are there risks in using this technique in an attempt to accelerate the fat loss? Yes, absolutely. Cortisol is higher in the morning, so you are more catabolic, and you might lose muscle. Does that mean there are no benefits and you should never use this technique? Not necessarily. Does doing cardio on an empty stomach guarantee you’re going to lose muscle? No, it only increases the possibility. However, many trainers, strength coaches, athletes and bodybuilders approach techniques like these with “It’s good” or “It’s bad” with no shades of grey in between.

The truth is, the value of each technique depends very much on the context. I remember reading something Charles Poliquin wrote about how ridiculous it was to think about his “manly men” athletes (as he called them), such as a 6 foot 5 inch 250 pound hockey player, doing any kind of conventional “aerobics.” That makes complete sense to me – in that context. If the athlete shows up after the off season carrying some undesired body fat, that weight can easily be shed with strength training and nutrition. Combine that with energy expended from practice time, and no aerobics are necessary.

However, does that mean “All aerobics are bad” or “Cardio is completely worthless.” Well, again, it depends on the context. Bad or worthless when? How much? How intense? What kind? Under what circumstances? And for whom? Are we talking about a 55 year old sedentary women with 35% body fat, an elite shot putter or a bodybuilder six weeks out from a competition?

I think these rigid all or none beliefs get formed gradually over a whole lifetime of experiences. We tend to collect our own personal biases and carry them along with us – I know I had to overcome my “pure bodybuilder” mentality and develop more flexibility in my approaches in order to really serve my non-bodybuilder clients the best. I specialize in fat loss – including nutrition, exercise and the psychological/emotional aspects – and my  personal interest is bodybuilding.

I don’t train people for sports, so I don’t have the perspective that most strength coaches do. Similarly, I imagine that many top strength coaches have developed an anti-cardio bias from their experience working with power, speed and strength athletes who have always been told that aerobics kills your strength, and perhaps they generalize their beliefs to apply to everyone.

The bottom line and the whole point of my article was that there are no absolutes, everything is context dependent.

Craig Ballantyne: You rank “fasted cardio in the morning” as a high risk, high benefit activity for fat loss. Is this something that you use yourself or with clients?

Tom Venuto: Because it’s high risk, it’s not necessarily a fat loss technique I recommend for everyone all the time. However, I’m not afraid to use it and I believe it has benefits that can outweigh the risks, depending on the circumstances. I usually do fasted cardio in the morning about 8-12 weeks before a competition. However, it depends on my weekly results. If I’m losing fat quickly and easily, I don’t need to use any high-risk techniques. Sometimes I’ll still do cardio in the morning, because I like doing it then, but I’ll have a whey protein drink or even a whole meal shortly beforehand.

I like to have an enormous amount of flexibility in my approach. If there’s a plateau in fat loss, I want to be able to dig into my bag of tricks and have a lot of stuff in there to pull out when I need it. If you only have one way, and you get stuck, you have a problem. I don’t like rigid formulas. I like freedom to choose my approach according to how things are going.

That’s all for today. We’ll take a look at the pro’s and con’s to traditional cardio compared to interval training in part 2 of this expert inter view series with Tom Venuto.

I’ll be doing my workouts there on Friday morning and Monday morning, and taking Saturday and Sunday off – except for some stretching.

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  18th

Transformation Tip of the Week sponsored by Daily Inspirational Quotes:

“When you focus on you failures you become a person of reasons. When you hang onto your successes and build on them you become a person of results.” – Jordan Belfort

Don’t quit. You can do it. I believe in you. Take the mistakes from the past and burn them. Focus only on what you can achieve in the future.

How to burn 1000 calories (or more)

According to Men’s Health magazine:

67 minutes of jump rope burns 920 calories
2 hours of chopping wood burns 1500 calories in a large tuna melt sub from Quiznos
2 hours of backpacking burns the 1000 calories of Romano’s macaroni grill chicken pasta

And according to a random website, it would take a 200 pound guy over 70 minutes on the elliptical machine or 2 hours of hard landscaping to burn 1000 calories. Boring. I’ll take the wood chopping any day.

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

Reference:
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009. Web-based Weight Loss in Primary Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Bennett GG, Herring SJ, Puleo E, Stein EK, Emmons KM, Gillman MW.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health studied 101 obese patients who used comprehensive website that taught a moderate-intensity weight loss approach.

Patients also participated in four (two in-person and two telephonic) counseling sessions with a health coach.

Results:
Greater weight loss at 3 months (-2.56 kg) compared to usual care (0.28 +/- 1.87 kg).

High rates of participant retention (84%) and website utilization were observed, and the greatest weight loss found among those with a high frequency of website logins.

Conclusion:
Web based fat loss works, and the more often someone logs into a fat loss website, the better results they get.

Wednesday

Workout Tip Wednesday

“Do ONE strength exercise before metabolic resistance training.”

I was hanging out with a world-class powerlifter on Friday night. He literally squats 1000 pounds, but there are a lot of similarities between our training. The main difference is that they do one main strength exercise before they get into supersets. So if you want to improve a particular exercise, do it first with extra rest, lower reps (6 per set), and straight sets (or paired with an easy non-competing move).

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Facebook Fitness QnA

Q: Which of your workouts would you recommend for a mountain biker?

Answer:
Depends on how much the person mountain bikes, I’d use something basic like squats once per week plus some bodyweight exercises (3-4 for a total body workout) and then another day later in the week of a dumbbell lunge or stepup and more bodyweight exercises (3-4 for a total body workout). I can’t think of which specific TT workout would do that…if you have the main manual, use TT2K3 or TT 2k4.

Friday

More fitness qna…

Q: hey craig, for the past 8 weeks I’ve been using turbulence training for fatloss. Is it possible to increase strength without being on a muscle building diet/routine? Is there an amount of reps that is better suited for strength gains?

Answer:
Yes, you can gain strength without getting bigger. The lower the reps, the heavier the weight, the more strength you will build. To be safe, if you are using 8 reps per set now, increase the weight by 5% and drop the reps to 6.

Even older dudes can get stronger!

Reference:
The effect of strength training and short-term detraining on maximum force and the rate of force development of older men. European Journal of Applied Physiology.

Australian researchers studied 24 older men (70–80 years) were randomly assigned to a ST group (n = 12) and C group (control, n = 12).

Training consisted of three sets of six to ten repetitions on an incline squat at 70–90% of one repetition maximum three times per week for 16 weeks followed by 4 weeks of detraining.

Training increased RFD, upper leg muscle mass and strength above pre-training values (90% strength increase!).

After 4 weeks detraining all neuromuscular variables were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than after 16 weeks training but remained significantly (P < 0.05) higher than pre-training levels.

Bottom Line:
Resistance exercise should be performed on a regular basis to maintain training adaptations.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…and now, let’s go to the November Issue of Men’s Health to ask the common question, “Will my skin return to normal after I lose weight?”

They asked this question to a doctor from the Mayo Clinic, and he said,

“If you weighed 30% more for 5 years or longer, than surgery is probably the best option,” according to Dr. Galen Perdikis, MD, Mayo Clinic. Otherwise, give your skin 6-12 months to tighten.

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

Now for 2 international nutrition studies from the November issue of Men’s  Health magazine.

In a Swedish study, one group of men snacked on 1360 calories of non-chocolate candy every day for two weeks straight while another group ate the same amount of peanuts. Surprisingly, only the candy group gained weight and increased their waist size. There were no changes in the peanut group.

According to a study of 25,000 japanese men that was published in Preventative Medicine, drinking 1 cup or more per day of Green Tea helps prevent tooth loss.

Next week!
TT Workout – My Current Workout
Research Review – Superset Research

Once you’ve that, come back for some awesome belly fat burning tips.

Ready?

Okay, you’re NEVER too old and it is never too late to lose belly fat.

My mom’s doing it at 68 (she’s still young in my opinion!), and hundreds of TT users are going to enter the 9th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest even though it goes over the holiday season!

But they aren’t letting that stop them. They’ll plan ahead and work around special events. Let’s get real, it’s not that hard.

Most of us just say it’s hard because we are looking for an excuse.

But if you plan, shop, and prepare yourself – both mentally and with a proven fat burning schedule – you can lose fat EVEN during the days between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.

So today I’m going to give you five RESEARCH-PROVEN methods to help you lose fat 24/7/365.

Alright, let’s do this.

Proven Fact #1 – Eat More Fruits & Vegetables

Subjects on a low-fat diet that ate more fruits and vegetables lost more fat than another group on only the low-fat diet.

After 1-year, the low-fat, fruits and vegetables group (LF-FV) lost more weight than another group of woman on the low-fat (LF) diet only. Why?

Because the LF-FV group reported being less hungry, thanks to being able to eat more food than the LF group.

Here’s the reference:
Amer. J. Clin. Nutr. 85: 1465-1477, 2007.

So eat nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables to fill you up. Time to enjoy peaches, watermelon, apples, melons, and berries. Don’t let any “guru” tell you that fruit is bad, that’s nonsense!

2) Drop the Cardio and Use TT-Approved Interval Training

Our research friends in Australia have found interval training to be the solution to stomach fat.

According to Professor Steve Boutcher, an Australian expert on interval training, “high intensity intermittent exercise may result in greater fat loss in the abdomen”.

That means that unlike doing hundreds of crunches, interval training can work to burn belly fat over everything else. And that’s why the Turbulence Training for Abs workouts use intervals, not cardio.

3) Okay, There is ONE Type of Cardio That Can Help

In another study, researchers compared high-intensity cardio against low-intensity cardio. Both groups burned the same amount of calories in their workouts (400), but the high-intensity group exercised less.

Results?

The subjects in the Low-Intensity Exercise group did not lose fat. So “Boooo!” to low-intensity cardio.

On the other hand, the HIC (high-intensity cardio) group lost a significant amount of abdominal fat.

Once again, research shows that exercising harder results in more belly fat loss in less time. And in fact, slow cardio does NOTHING for fat loss.

Reference:
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Oct 8. Effect of Exercise Training Intensity on Abdominal Visceral Fat and Body Composition.

So if you insist on doing cardio, I will allow you to do one extra high-intensity cardio session per week in addition to your three Turbulence Training for Abs workouts per week.

4) Burn More Calories AFTER Exercise with Supersets

The latest research shows that superset training – the type of resistance training used in Turbulence Training for Abs – boosts metabolism more than traditional straight set training.

Reference:
J Str Cond Res 24:4 2010.

Sure, Turbulence Training was 10 years ahead of this research, but it is always nice to have more scientific proof that the Turbulence Training for Abs workouts are the best way to train for fat loss!

5) Stick with Lower Reps in Your Workouts for Calorie Burning

This is from one of the first studies I used to formulate Turbulence Training. In the study, researchers had women do two workouts. One workout was done with light weights and high reps, and the other workout was done with heavier weights and 8 reps per set (this group was called high-intensity).

The study found that the high intensity group burned more calories AFTER exercise and therefore the scientists recommend high intensity resistance training rather than low-intensity high rep lifting.

Reference:
A Comparison  Of Two Different Resistance Training Intensities On Exercise Energy Expenditure And Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. Thornton, K, Potteiger, JA. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Volume 33(5) Supplement 1, 2001, p S73.

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

So there you go…I use ALL five of these RESEARCH-PROVEN methods in my TT for Abs workouts that I filmed on DVD for you.

Burn belly fat with scientifically proven workouts and nutrition,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training for Abs

This weekend I’ll be celebrating Joel Marion’s wedding in Tampa Bay, Florida (that’s him with his fiance Lisa in the photo)…then heading overseas to eastern Europe to see some friends.

In fact, while you are reading this, I’ll probably be on a 24 journey taking me from Tampa to Miami to Frankfurt to Vilnius, Lithuania. Crazy.

So lets get into it…

Click here to listen to the call…

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

Monday – Aug 9th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
You wouldn’t put an alcoholic in a bar if you wanted him to stop drinking…so make sure you are putting yourself in the right training environment for your goals…and that you are hanging around other achievers – no matter what aspect of your life – from fitness to financial to family. Avoid negative situations and negative people as much as possible.

TT Reformed Meathead Fat Loss Workout A

Squeeze your muscles at the end of EVERY repetition.
In the first week, do only 2 supersets instead of 3 supersets per exercise pair.

1A) DB Incline Press – 6 reps (3-0-1)
1B) DB Row – 6 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

2A) Pull-up – Max reps (4-0-1)
2B) Dips – Max reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

OPTIONAL
3A) DB Triceps Extension – 8 reps (2-0-1)
3B) Barbell Curls – 10 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 3 more times for a total of 4 supersets.

Jumps or Intervals
Vertical Jumps – 10 reps
Rest 10 seconds
Repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 rounds.

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

Reference:
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: August 2010 – Volume 42 – Issue 8 – pp 1511-1518. Increased Cardiometabolic Risk Is Associated with Increased TV Viewing Time.

Australian research study looked at over 11,000 people and found that increases in television watching above 10 hours per week were associated with increases in waist circumference, blood pressure, and cardiometabolic risk factors.

And this was INDEPENDENT of physical activity levels. Interesting.

Cut back on your TV if you do more than 10 hours per week.

Wednesday

Heading to Chicago for TT Team meeting…a cubs game, then a TT Team meeting on Thursday where we’ll discuss how we can help you better…In fact, there’s a cool surprise coming later this summer for all TT readers who have ordered the Turbulence Training manual or DVDs.

TT Reformed Meathead Fat Loss Workout B

1A) Barbell Squat – 12 reps (3-0-1) – with last set drop-set at 50-75%
1B) Stability Ball Rollout or Ab Wheel – 10 reps (3-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

2A) DB RDL – 12 reps (3-0-1)
2B) Stability Ball Jackknife – 12 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

3A) Barbell Forward Lunge – 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
3B) Side Plank with DB Lateral Raise – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Bodyweight Intervals
Burpees – 10 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 rounds.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…and now for a new component of the calls. I’m going to answer a Facebook question every week in our Thursday section of the 7-day guide.

Facebook question of the week: “How do you do foam rolling?”

Great question, and luckily Chris Lopez from KettlebellWorkouts.com just filmed this video for you.

Friday

TT Reformed Meathead Fat Loss Workout C

1A) Deadlift – 8 reps (2-0-1) – Use perfect form, no straps, overhand grip.
Rest 1 minute.
1B) DB Chest Press – 8 reps (3-0-1)
Rest 2 minutes before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

2A) Military Press – 8 reps (2-0-1)
2B) Inverted Row – Max reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

OPTIONAL

3-Minute Arms (Click here for 3-Minute Arms)
6-Minute Abs (Click here for 6-Minute Abs)

Bodyweight Squat Intervals
20 seconds of bodyweight squats
10 second hold in bottom position of squat
Repeat for 8 rounds.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

And another study…

Reference:

Am J Health Promot. 2010 July/August;24(6):378-383. The Drop It At Last Study: Six-Month Results of a Phone-Based Weight Loss Trial.

6-month trial to examine the efficacy of phone-based weight loss programs with varying levels of treatment contact (10 vs. 20 sessions) in comparison to self-directed treatment.

63 obese adults separated into 3 groups.

1) self-directed treatment
2) 10 phone coaching sessions
3) 20 phone coaching sessions

Weight losses were -2.3, -3.2, and -4.9 kg, respectively.

Participants who completed 10 or more sessions lost more weight (-5.1 kg) compared to those completed four or fewer sessions (-.3 kg, p < .04).

Conclusions: Phone-based weight loss program participation is associated with modest weight loss. The optimal dose and timing of intervention warrant further study.

Craig Ballantyne’s Bottom line: Enlist a trainer or social support from someone who will get on the phone with you on a regular basis. Once per week. Have a buddy you call every Saturday.

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

I recently read “12 Steps to Raw Foods” and I’ve decided to bump up the number of raw foods in my diet (even though I already eat 60-80% raw foods). I’m experimenting with one serving of “Garden of Life Raw protein” each day and I’m going to cut out the toasted almond butter sandwich in the AM and switch to eating raw nuts and dates.

By the way, if you love to “cook”, here’s an amazing raw dessert for you to try (in a martini glass).

Next week!
TT Workout – Advanced Hotel Room BW Workouts
Research Review – Runners: Beware!
Social Support – Your Success Depends On Your Spouse & Social Support