T’is the season for folks to be hitting the cardio confessionals with the mistaken belief that 30 minutes on the elliptical machine will somehow
magically erase 40 days of being on the See-Food diet…

Today while I did my Turbulence Training style workout, I watched all those poor folks on the cardio machines (you know, the ones with the long, sad faces
hating what they are doing) and felt kinda sorry for them.

Not many – if any – of them looked like they wanted to be doing cardio.

I also thought about how disgusting cardio machines are…

Back in University, I once helped the maintenance guy clean the cardio equipment. And I’d compare that experience to walking through a slaughterhouse – pretty darn gross.

The stuff I saw on those machines…from thousands of gym members doing
thousands of hours of cardio…sweating out their DNA into every crack and
crevice of that equipment…the sweat mixed with hair mixed with all other
sorts of stuff led to the grossest “gunk” I’d ever seen compiled anywhere
outside of a sewer.

I pretty much swore off of ever touching a cardio machine that day.

But it always makes me laugh when I see someone give a ceremonial squirt and wipedown of a cardio machine, as if that’s going to do anything…

I also watched all those folks on the cardio machines and I noticed they go through some interesting rituals during their workouts.

This got me thinking, and I came up with “The 7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio”.

So you are doing too much cardio if…

#1 – You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all
the magazines in the gym to find one you haven’t read before.

#2 – You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.

#3 – You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym (and you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)

#4 – You hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.

#5 – The only thing you are losing is precious time – and not belly fat.

#6 – You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing
cardio.

#7 – You’re getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.

Seven darn good reasons why cardio is lame.

Listen, cardio is not the be all and end all of exercise for fat loss. In fact, as I’ve written in previous fat burning cardio articles, slow cardio is highly over-rated for fat loss.

Most of your results are going to come from your nutrition. So focus on whole, natural foods, and avoid foods that come from a bag or a box. If it’s been modified in any way, you don’t need it.

Once you’ve taken care of your nutrition, look for workouts that you enjoy that allow you to build strength, mobility, and fitness.

And no matter what you choose to do, don’t just do the same thing over and over again everyday.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Just Say NO to Cardio

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By the way, here are some bonus reasons from my readers about why they think cardio is lame.

If you have other thoughts, please post them in the comments below. Thanks!

#8 – If you are using cardio as a form of self-punishment (like after a night of
eating at a friends wedding)…you do too much cardio.

#9 – If you go to the gym to do cardio even though you have more important and time sensitive things to get done..you are a cardio junkie.

Yesterday I was interviewed by Men’s Health magazine, and they were looking for workouts that could replace cardio. In my opinion, doing bodyweight or kettlebell circuits is a much better replacement for cardio.

I think bodyweight circuits or kettlebell-bodyweight circuits are the best replacement for cardio.

Now of course you’re not going to run a sub 3-hour marathon just by doing these circuits, but I guarantee you’ll sculpt a better body and burn fat with circuit training than you ever will by just doing cardio. Plus, these circuits, even if done up to 5 times, will still be a shorter workout than doing an hour of cardio.

Take it easy the first time through each circuit and use that as a warmup, and then go through another 2-4 times for your workout.

Here are some sample circuit training workouts:

Crazy-8 Bodyweight Circuit
1) 60 Jumping Jacks: Done as fast as possible, but make sure you do full jumping jacks.
2) 20 Spiderman Pushups or regular pushups:
3) Walking Lunges: 30 steps total
4) Spiderman Climb: 10 per side
5) Bodyweight Squat – 20 reps
6) Mountain Climbers – 20 reps
7) Burpees – 5 reps
8]  High Knees: Done as fast as possible. Do 50 total.

With that program,  you can literally do that circuit anytime, anywhere, without having to rely on a single piece of equipment. After all, that’s the biggest concern of most people these days…they need to workout in a hotel room, or at home, or in a park where they don’t have kettlebells, or dumbbells, etc. So that’s the workout you can use.

Next up is a circuit that you can do in a tiny amount of space in your home. And frankly, you can do it anywhere that you have access to a kettlebell and stability ball, so YES, you can do this one in a park, too.

Kettlebell and Bodyweight Exercise Circuit
1) KB Swing – 20 reps (1-0-1)
2) Pushup – 20 reps (2-0-1)
3) Stability Ball Back Extension – 10 reps (2-0-1)
4) Stability Ball Pike – 8 reps (2-0-1)
5) KB 1-Arm Swing – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
6) Pushup – 20 reps (2-0-1)
7) Stability Ball Leg Curl – 20 reps (1-0-1)
8] Ab Wheel or Stability Ball Rollout – 8 reps (2-0-1)
9) Sprint or Burpee – 20 seconds or 8 reps

If that’s not hard enough for you, you can add more kettlebell swings or snatches. And if its too hard for you, then you can do this circuit instead (make sure to move through it as fast as possible)…

Beginner Bodyweight Exercise and Kettlebell Circuit Workout
1) KB Squats or 2-Arm Swings – 10 reps
2) Beginner Pushups – 10 reps
3) Stability Ball Leg Curls – 10 reps
4) KB Squats or 2-Arm Swing – 10 reps
5) KB Rows – 10 reps per side
6) Bodyweight Split Squats – 10 reps per side
7) Beginner Close-Grip Pushups – 10 reps
8] 20-second run

Those are bodyweight exercise and kettlebell circuit workouts that you can do with little equipment, and you should be able to do them at home. The equipment might cost you 50 bucks (or more if you need a heavy kettlebell).

Helping you burn fat without cardio,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS – Check out all of the Turbulence Training Circuit Programs here.

The cardio debate rages on, and if you’re still skeptical that you can still get results without doing cardio everyday, then please read this…

My advice (and this works with excess protein intake as well)…

“Just cut back a little bit each week until you realize that doing less cardio (or eating less protein) doesn’t slow your fat loss progress.”

In fact, if you substitute harder intervals, I’ll bet you get more results. AND if you have a former “cardio addict recovery” story you’d like to share, please do so by replying in the comments section.

Yesterday, I gave this advice on my Facebook page, and received this brilliant reply from my Facebook friend, Siddharth Sheth:

“The thing that most people don’t realize is that you can’t expect to get different results by doing the same thing over and over again. People are afraid of change. They’d rather keep on running on a treadmill for 45 minutes and not lose weight than try something different that pushes them out of their comfort zone for as little as 20 minutes and see the fat melt away.”

I agree! Couldn’t have said it better.

In my opinion, folks stick with cardio because it is mentally easier to go for a jog or use the elliptical compared to doing real fat loss workouts that can change your body (such as the TT supersets, bodyweight exercises, and interval training).

Taking the easy way out does NOT work.

And it’s boring.

As another one of my Facebook friends, Maria Landez, said:

“I knew there was a reason I’ve never liked slow boring cardio. HATE IT!! Give me bodyweight or kettlebell exercise any day!”

You don’t need cardio for fat loss anyways. Siddharth lost 25 pounds without ever stepping on a treadmill or cardio machine. He used kettlebell and bodyweight exercises instead.

And those types of workouts are exactly what you’ll get in the October, November, and December Turbulence Training Workouts.

The October 2009 TT Fusion program is available now, and uses everything from barbells to kettlebells to bodyweight exercises. It was an instant classic when it was released.

In November, we’ll have a complete Kettlebell and Bodyweight program from the first ever Certified Turbulence Trainer, Chris Lopez.

And in December, you’re going to get four 12-minute circuits (one each for dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight exercises) to keep you lean over the holiday season.

You’ll get all three of those workouts in the TT Member’s area.

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS – I just stumbled across another “intervals vs cardio” study…

…and I’ll be sharing the results soon. As you expect, this study doesn’t make cardio look good.

Unfortunately, too many folks find out the hard way, by doing a lot of cardio and getting no results. Or as one woman on my Facebook page said, she gained 5 pounds of fat when she switched from strength training to cardio.

Ouch!

Stick to Turbulence Training workouts instead.

Just say NO to cardio!

This is our 40th issue of the year of the Turbulence Training podcast and this might be the best episode ever. It’s full of new research studies and a program that most folks don’t know about – The TT Hotel Room Workouts.

So let’s get into some very interesting cardio research…that leaves me suggesting you “Just say NO to cardio!”

Click here for the best fat loss coaching call ever!

I also want to say, “Happy Thanksgiving” to all of my fellow Canadians…this is our holiday weekend. But this time of year always brings up something I really dislike – and that’s the dependence on the “Cardio Confessional”.

Monday – Oct 12

This week’s top Transformation Tip:

Do Not Give in to the Cardio Confessional!

Depending on the calorie counters on cardio confessional machines is the biggest fraud in fat loss today.

Don’t believe that you can just go “burn off a big meal”. It’s impossible to win with that thinking.   Focus on building your body up with Turbulence Training, rather than tearing your body down with repetitive cardio. Just Say NO to Cardio!

Instead, improve your diet – more on that later – and stick to body transforming workouts like the bodyweight exercise circuits you’ll get in the TT Hotel Room Workouts.

Intermediate Workout A – Hotel Room Workout – Click here for your copy

Repeat the circuit 2 times the first time you try it.
In future workouts, you can repeat the circuit up to 3 times.

Bodyweight Squat – 15 reps
Prone Stick-up – 8 reps
Step-up – 12 reps per side
Close-Grip Pushup – 20 reps
Forward Lunge – 12 reps per side
Plank with Elbows on Bed – 20 second hold
Pushup Plus – 10 reps
Side Plank – 20 second hold per side

Interval Training – Jumping Jacks
30 seconds jumping jacks, 30 seconds recovery (very slow walking in place)
Repeat 6 times

Tuesday
30 minutes of fun activity

Another study kicking sand in the face of long slow cardio for weight loss…and again its from Australia. The Aussie’s are smart, they know cardio is a big waste of time for fat loss.

(Aussies, like female surfer Serena Brooks, know its better to spend your time surfing than on the elliptical.)
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Br J Sports Med. 2009 Sep 29. Beneficial effects of exercise: shifting the focus from body weight to other markers of health. King N, Hopkins M, Caudwell P, Stubbs J, Blundell J.

Researchers studied 58 overweight men and women over a 12 week cardio program (5x’s per week, 500 calories burned per session).

Overall, the group lost an average of 3.3kg – below the expected weight loss.

But worse, 26 of the 58 lost only 0.9kg (exactly 2 pounds) in 12 weeks, despite doing almost 60 HOURS of cardio!

The good news of course – that everyone knows and I’m happy to admit – is that cardio helped folks improve their health. (Of course, you could probably get better health improvements with changes in your diet.)

In the end, the researchers concluded, and this is an EXACT quote from the study, “From a public health perspective, exercise should be encouraged and the emphasis on weight loss reduced.”
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There you go, the Australian researchers have said what I’ve been saying all along…

The emphasis of cardio on weight loss should be reduced.

Trainers, magazines, and gyms need to stop promoting “cardio” as the magic formula for weight loss.

And that calls for another photo of an Australian female surfer, this time, Layne Beachley, one of the top female surfers in the world – at 37 years of age!

Wednesday

Back to the hotel…

TT Hotel Room Intermediate Workout B

Repeat the circuit 2 times the first time you try it.
In future workouts, you can repeat the circuit up to 5 times.

Prisoner Squat – 15 reps
Off-set Pushup – 6 reps per side
Stick-up – 12 reps
Split Squat – 12 reps per side
Spiderman Climb – 6 reps per side

Tabata Interval Training – Running in Place
20 seconds running, 10 seconds recovery (very slow walking in place)
Repeat 8 times

Thursday
30 minutes of fun activity. And now for a deep thought…

“Once you realize and accept how hard it is to lose fat, then you’ll find the process to be quite simple. You’ll understand that you need to plan your meals in advance, prepare for your workouts (so you don’t just “wing it” at the gym), set up social support, and identify solutions for all of the obstacles in your life. Once you “get it”, then you’ll finally be ready to succeed.”

Please let me know about your success story!

Friday

Last workout, this one is just a giant circuit…

TT Hotel Room Intermediate Workout C

Repeat the circuit 2 times the first time you try it.
In future workouts, you can repeat the circuit up to 5 times.

Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds
Bodyweight Squat – 20 reps
Pushups – 20 reps
4) Y-Squats – 12 reps
Mountain Climbers – 10 reps per side
Running in Place – 30 seconds

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity with a friend, and then…

Write this down and live your life according to this…Kekich Credo #75 – “Persistence is a sure path to success with quality activities. Never, ever, ever, give up.”

Stay strong through this journey. I know you can do it.

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

Now to stir up some more trouble…

Saying that “diets don’t work” is a politically-correct excuse that allows people to avoid diets in the first place. The politically-incorrect truth is that diets DO work…its the people that don’t work. So what you need to do is continue looking for the diet that will work for you. Don’t just give up. But remember, even the right diet will take hard work and consistency. Good luck, I know you can do it.

Now let’s look at a research study that shows the power of the diet (again from Australia!)…

Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep 30. One-year weight maintenance after significant weight loss in healthy overweight and obese subjects: does diet composition matter? Delbridge EA, Prendergast LA, Pritchard JE, Proietto J.

In this study, overweight men and women were put on a 12-week low-calorie diet, and they ended up losing 16.5 kg. That’s over 36 pounds and over 18x’s the amount of weight lost by some of the people in the cardio study.

That just shows you that diet crushes cardio for fat loss.

But there was a 2nd part to the study.

The subjects were split into two groups for another 12 months. During this year, one group of subjects went on a high-protein diet while the other group went on a high-carbohydrate diet.

At the end of the 12 months, both groups gained back 2kg. That’s not good news, but the point is that both groups gained back the same amount of weight.

So both “diets” worked at helping people maintain a large portion of their original weight loss.

But here’s the BAD news…

Forty-seven percent of the 180 subjects who began the study completed both phases.

That’s a lot of dropouts. So the challenge isn’t the diet, it’s getting people to stick to it. And that’s where social support, planning, education, and finding the right diet for your personality comes in.

Bottom line: Never give up. Keep looking for the diet that works for you.

Combine that with short workouts – not long cardio – and you’ll finally get the results you deserve.

Stay strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS – Next week…

1) Advanced Hotel Room Workout – Click here for your copy
2) 5 Nutrition rules
3) Fasting Research Update!

You’ve heard of the fat burning zone, right? It’s a joke, a bunch of useless info, but here’s how it goes down…

Well, I’ve got a few fat burning hot zone exercises I want to share with you today…But first:

Happy National Pecan Month.

Bet you didn’t know that April is Pecan Month, did ya? Well, there you go. Unfortunately, the pecan is a low-protein nut, and later on you’ll discover which is nut is top of the protein chart. More details in a bit, but now, time to start out 7-day fat burning guide.

Monday’s Top Transformation Tip

If you want to have enough “energy” to stick to your program, you need to cut the sugar, processed foods, and massive doses of caffeine from your diet. Discover the rest of my 7 tips to having more energy here:

=> 7 tips to have more energy

Now let’s take a look at a better fat burning zone workout, and review this week’s TT program:

The Hot Zone Turbulence Training Workout (from August 2008)

Workout A
1A) DB Split Squat (8 reps/side)
1B) Pushup Hands on Ball (15 reps)

2A) DB Chest-Supported Row (12 reps) – see here =>>>>
2B) X-Body M. Climber (10 reps/side)

3A) DB 1-Arm Sh. Press (8 reps/side)
3B) Ball Jackknife Plank (60 sec)

Interval Workout A

What type of intervals are best? I talk about that in this blog post:

=> Best interval workout for fat loss

Tuesday
Off-day, stay out of the gym. Enjoy life! Get outside!

Then sit back, and have a laugh at how I show you how silly personal trainers are trying to wipe out the cute lil’ bunny population with their crazy theories about “negative calorie foods” here:

=> Truth about negative calorie foods

Bunnies would die if “negative calorie foods” existed. Think about it.

Wednesday
Time for another fast TT “fat burning zone” workout.

Workout B
1A) DB Incline-Flat Press (8 reps)
1B) Underhand Inv. Row (15 reps)

2A) DB Step-up (8 reps/side)
2B) Stability Ball Rollout (10 reps)

3A) DB Incline Curl (8 reps/side)
3B) DB Triceps Extension (8 reps)

Interval Workout B

Thursday
Another sweet, glorious off-day from structured workouts. Now get outside and play! Do 30 minutes of fun activity like softball, soccer, or Frisbee.

Alright, earlier I mentioned that pecans were a low protein nut (doesn’t stop me from eating them, of course). So let’s look at who is the “King of Nuts” for protein…

Almonds are looking good at 6g of protein per ounce.

Cashews hit the scene with 4.3g of protein per ounce.

Walnuts are right there too at 4.3g…

But the winner, by a peanut, is peanuts. They have almost 7g of protein per ounce.

So having an ounce of any nut for a snack gives you a couple of grams of protein…and I have more vegetarian options in a second…you’ll be surprised…

Friday
Before we get to workout C, let’s hear from the smartest man in fitness, Bill Hartmann, about his thoughts on the one upper-body, bodyweight exercise you must NOT do in the gym…

The Bench Dip

According to Bill…

“The bench dip requires about 90 degrees of shoulder extension which exceeds normal shoulder extension by about 25 degrees.  To achieve that much range of motion the scapula must tilt forward which is a pretty unstable position.

This also means that the shoulder joint is unstable and increases demands on the rotator cuff especially the subscapularis.  Over time this is a lot of undesireable stress leading to impingement of the cuff.  This doesn’t even consider the stress on the AC joint.  It’s also a crap exercise for overload.”
Bill Hartmann, “The Smartest Man in Fitness”
Click here for Bill’s site

Alright, now it’s time for the last Hot Zone workout.

Workout C
1A) Pull-up + Knee-up (8 reps)
1B) Stability Ball Leg Curl (20 reps)

2A) DB Forward Lunge (8 reps/side)
2B) Spiderman Pushup (8 reps/side)

20-Min High Intensity Cardio

Yes, high-intensity cardio. Sometimes put it in for fun. Do not mistake this for long, slow, boring cardio (LIE cardio).

Social Support Saturday!
Get accountability and support by following me on Twitter and posting your meals and workouts there.

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Sunday
Have another fun off-day doing 30 minutes of activit, and don’t forget to plan, shop, & prepare.

And then check out my 40-grams of protein, 3 banana taco lunch. No meat, no shakes.

Lunch was…

- raw vegetables & hummus
- 3 “banana tacos” (banana + blueberries + tbspn almond-hazelnut butter wrapped in tortilla)
-500mL chocolate milk

= 40 grams protein

Alright, that’s it for this week, enjoy!

Next week!
- How to beat the belly bloat
- Another bodyweight workout
- Tips on beating high blood pressure & diabetes

Helping you lose fat while spending less time doing cardio,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Click here to try the Hot Zone Turbulence Training Workout (from August 2008)