Ugh. I hate seeing a post like this in the TT Member’s forum, but it reminded me that not everyone loses 2-3 pounds per week like our Transformation Champions. (But there was good news…eventually our member achieved the controversial, rapid “Whoosh” fat loss effect.)

Here’s what happened…
One member, JDS1971, wrote:

“I can’t seem to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m a 6’0, 207 pound, 40 year old male. Last summer I used TT to go from 207 to 193, but then I fell off track and gained the weight back.

“I’ve started TT and a strict diet again (Jan. 2) but after 3.5 weeks there’s been no movement on the scale or in my measurements.”

“I’m really discouraged and thought I was doing everything right, but not getting the results as before. I’m even lifting heavier weights than last time.”

OUCH.

We don’t hear this a lot at TT, but I’ll be honest, trouble cases like this pop-up once in a while.  One member, JudgeBill, made an interesting post that foreshadowed what was to come next. JB said:

“I tend to go through weight loss bursts – i.e. I’ll lose 2-3 pounds in 2 days, and then level out. Not entirely sure what causes them – it’s not always tied to diet perfection. Keep grinding, and you’ll probably wake up at 200 soon.”

Those fat loss bursts are known as the WHOOSH effect.

Highly controversial and not truly understood, here’s what my friend and extreme fat loss expert John “Roman” Romaniello said to me about the WHOOSH.

“Even the toughest fat loss plateaus eventually experience a ‘WHOOSH’ effect where your body weight rapidly drops. This happens because of a strange biological twist of fate in your fat cells.

“During a regular fat loss program, your fat cells, which normally do not store water, may take in water as the stored triglycerides are burned through diet and exercise.

“This gives the appearance of a fat loss plateau…which then can be broken, rapidly, through a couple of diet tricks. You then experience extreme rapid fat loss at once – thus known as the WHOOSH effect.”

So if you’re struggling, do NOT give up.

You could be one WHOOSH away from rapid results.

And Roman and I will be talking about those WHOOSH triggers all week long.

***********

But back to our TT Member, JDS1971…

SUCCESS

Eight days after his initial forum post, JDS was back with this update:

“Well, had my whoosh effect after the change you suggested. I lost almost 4lbs since Friday. Persistence pays off! I also experienced a bit more energy and focus during yesterday’s workout after some of the adjustments.”

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

And that’s how it goes…when you make small adjustments in your diet and training that can trigger the fat loss WHOOSH.

YOU too can experience the WHOOSH effect, no matter much you are struggling with a fat loss plateau.

Don’t give up.

Just make this a small adjustment.

Details about that to come on Tuesday…

Remember, no matter how much you might be struggling now, you could literally be just one small change away from a big WHOOSH fat loss result.

Stay tuned for more details (and my Turbulence Forever program),

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

Happy New Year. I hope you had a great celebration. Our family had a good time at a young cousin’s wedding. It was the perfect celebration to end 2011 and kick-off 2012.

But, a lot of my cousins were asking me for advice…like you, they are wondering how to lose those holidays pounds.

Well, no need to wonder or be frustrated any longer.

You have the solution.

Follow these 5 MUST-DO steps immediately, and you could lose 3-5 pounds BEFORE you go back to work.

And it would be a great way for you to kick-off your potentially winning transformation in our TT Contest.

Find out how you can win $1000 for losing belly fat here.

Now to those tips…

1 – Start a Morning Ritual

Simply getting into a healthy ritual to kick-start your day will help you stay on the fast track to fat loss.

- Drink 2 cups ice cold water and take 1g Vitamin C
- Workout (with supersets and intervals)
- Have a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast (such as an omelet with spinach, or a blender drink with berries, spinach, and protein powder)

I recommend this protein

- Drink 2-4 cups of Green Tea before lunch
- Take 1-2g of EFAs <= essential

I recommended this EFA

These steps will keep you full of energy, fight hunger, and support fat burning. Nothing magic in any of them, but combined, this is a powerful plan for fat loss.

(If you workout later in the day, that’s okay. There’s nothing metabolically magic about working out in the morning, but it will help you avoid missed workouts.)

2 – Take Advantage of Others

The SUPPORT of others, that is…

Research shows that online, in person, and in the gym social support helps you lose fat faster.

Get a workout partner and a diet buddy, and add this one simple little act to your morning ritual:

Take a minute to visit your favorite fat loss forum, such as www.TTMembers.com, and post your daily diet and exercise progress, plus ask for help where needed.

Research shows that the more frequently you use a fat loss website, the better your fat loss results. It’s no surprise that our most successful contest winners are men and women
who use the TT forum EVERY day – often twice a day, in the morning and at night.

You can take advantage of ALL of these social support tips when you enter the 13th TT Transformation Contest (where you could also win up to $1000 just by losing your belly fat).

For all the details on the contest, go here (it’s on)

In just a few short days you could lose that 7-15 pounds you gained over the holidays. In fact, past winners have lost 33-36 pounds in just 12 weeks.

One gentleman, James, who placed second in our most recent contest, was able to lose 46 pounds in 12 weeks. You can check out his amazing results here.

3 – Avoid the Cardio Confessional & Switch to MRT Supersets and Intervals

Just say NO to the cardio confessional. Listen, the truth is that you simply can`t jump on an elliptical machine and make those big meals from the weekends just disappear.

Cardio doesn’t work that way.

In fact, cardio for fat loss remains the BIGGEST fitness myth in the industry today (just ahead of using crunches for six pack abs).

In fact, new research shows that interval training works faster than slow cardio for fat loss (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: January 2011, 43:115-122).

Add in metabolic resistance training to sculpt your body and get lean (and sexy), fast.

But what EXACTLY should you do?

Well, you could go to a busy commercial gym and hire a fresh out of college personal trainer for $60 an hour, but why bother when you can get the complete – and proven -
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system for only $19.95.

Click here to save 50% and get started losing fat with TT on your way to potentially winning the $1000 Grand Prize in the 13th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest.

This includes a 30-day membership to the TT forums.

4 – Track Your Body Composition

Start by getting a baseline of your body fat level (percent) and then take the following body measurements.

Waist Circumference (at navel): _____
Mid-Upper Arm Circumference:_______
Mid-Thigh Circumference: ________
Hip Circumference (Widest point between legs & navel):______

These are essential to know because while your weight might not move, all that matters is that your body fat goes down.

REMEMBER: No one else but YOU knows your scale weight, so do NOT get obsessed with what you weigh.

Instead, focus on how your clothes fit and how your body measurements change on a week to week basis.

Seeing the inches drop will keep you motivated and frustration-free. Your weight can fluctuate depending on salt and water intake, and of course, if you’re a woman then your weight will be on a roller coaster ride because of your hormonal cycle.

So again, don’t get obsessed with body weight…focus on these measurements instead, and this next tip:

5 – Take BEFORE Photos

As much as you may dislike this, it might be the most important thing you do on your fat loss journey.

After all, the most common element of all fat loss success stories is having that BEFORE photo.

It encourages and motivates you to continue sticking with your rituals and making the right choices.

Workouts and diets might differ, but the BEFORE photo is always there to remind you of how far you’ve come.

Take your photo – it is really, really important, and you’ll
thank me later when you compare the NEW you to that old photo.

Alright, now you have the 5 steps you must take immediately in order to have the COMPLETE BLUEPRINT to your fat loss
success in 2012.

Add the full TT for Fat Loss program (at 50% off) and get
started losing fat today.

More powerful fat loss tips coming soon,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Creator, Turbulence Training

PS – You can win up to $1000 in the Transformation Contest just for losing your belly fat.

So here’s what you need to do now:

1) Go to this fat loss website

2) Click on the Get Started Link or Big Yellow Start Button

3) Download your copy of Turbulence Training and all of the workout bonuses and start using the workouts and nutrition advice today to lose that holiday blubber.

4) Create your username and password for the TT Member’s area.

5) Post any personal workout and nutrition questions on the TT forum and I will answer those for you within hours.

That’s all you have to do to get started losing fat today.

It’s the perfect way to start your body transformation and kick-off the New Year to make 2011 your best year ever!

PPS – Still not sure?

No worries, I understand your skepticism, so I’ve written down 3 amazing reasons to get started with Turbulence Training today.

Reason #1 – Turbulence Training is guaranteed to help you lose fat(and you get a 60-day guarantee so you can try out the program for 2 months to judge for yourself).

Reason #2 – In the 13th TT Transformation Contest, the winners of the male and female divisions get $1000 cash PLUS a 3-year Platinum Turbulence Training Membership.

Reason #3 - The most important reason to get started with Turbulence Training immediately is the fact that it’s on sale for 50% off.

Click here to get TT for 50% off

This is going to be your BEST YEAR EVER. You deserve it.

Looking forward to receiving your success story in 2012.

I love finding new workout boosters and “tweaks” that make fat burning workouts and bodyweight exercises more effective.

Each month I scour over a dozen magazines, two dozen websites, online videos, hundreds of scientific research papers, hard copy books, and university text books to uncover new ways of training to add to TT workouts.

That’s how I’ve ended up creating over 121 TT Workouts for you here:

(And you can get them all for about 77 cents each.)

Now in the last year or so, there have been 7 workout boosters that have really stood out in my programs, including:

1) The 5×5 Bodyweight Cardio System

This powerful, better-than-slow-cardio replacement for traditional treadmill interval training can be done anytime, anywhere. There are now 5 versions of the 5×5 workout, and you’ll find them in my Bodyweight Cardio programs.

2) Muscle-Metabolic Resistance Training – Coming in TT2K12

This is a new technique I’ll be featuring in 2012 workouts for TT Members.

After bringing MRT (metabolic resistance training) to the fitness world, I’ve upped my game and am bringing M-MRT to the scene.

Muscle-Metabolic Resistance Training trains not only with intense movements, but also trains your muscles intensely.

Borrowing some squeezing techniques from bodybuilders, your workouts just got better, more intense, and more effective for building muscle and burning fat at the same time.

3) The Big 5 Exercise System

The simplest way to put together a total-body workout is by using my big 5 system, like so:

Squat – I.e. Bodyweight squat or barball squat Push – I.e. Decline Pushup or chest press Pull – I.e. Bodyweight row with TRX or db row Single-leg – I.e. Alternating forward lunge Total Body Ab – I.e. Plank or stability ball rollout

Doing this circuit three times with minimal rest will help you get a metabolic training stimulus in less than 20 minutes.

4) The 8/12 “Adrenaline” Shuttle sprints

What are these: 8 second shuttle sprints paired with 12 seconds of recovery, repeated for 10-20 minutes.

Why:Australian research found that interval training (done for 8 seconds on, 12 seconds of recovery for 20 minutes) resulted in a significant loss of belly fat.

Another study from the same Australian group found that 8 second sprints with 12 seconds of recovery resulted in fat burning hormone levels.

Finally, a 2nd study (on soccer players from the Ivory Coast national team) found that shuttle sprints were more difficult than straight line sprinting of an equal duration.

Combine the two and you have “Adrenaline Shuttle Sprints”.

5) 10-Minute Density Sets

I pulled this one out in my “so-crazy-it-is-infamous” Ballantyne’s Day Muscle Massacre program. Check it out here as the February 2011 Workout of the Month:

This is an ADVANCED, super-fast, rapid results technique. (Not for beginners)

Do as many sets of barbell squats as you can with minimal rest in 10 minutes. Stop as soon as 10 minutes is up. Use a 2-0-1 tempo.

For example, here’s what I do.
45×20
95×15
135×15
185×12
225×8
185×8

Bonus Booster- Bodyweight Arms
Just some good ol’ fashioned meathead arm training fun to add to the end of an upper body workout.

A) Chin-ups – *50% of your maximum reps (2-0-1)
-    No rest.
B) Dips – *50% of your maximum reps (2-0-1)
-    No rest. Repeat 7 more times.
*If you can do 10 reps, then do 5 reps per set. Add one rep per set each week.

Alright, back to the books and research to find more exercises to bring you over the next 12 months in TT workouts.

Until then, I highly recommend you become a TT Platinum Member so you get FIRST access to all of my new workout boosters and unique exercises – AND access to all 121 workouts already made.

You can become a TT Member for just pennies per workout here:

Back to the lab again,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS – This is only for Turbulence Training VIP readers such as yourself, to thank you for your support.

But the workouts will keep coming.

Every Monday at my gym, our supplement rep comes in to go over the order.

Once he and I go over it, I usually get either some free samples or a t-shirt… and sometimes both.

My wife loves it when I text her, “just got another t-shirt”.  She thinks I need more t-shirts, too.  She claims that I don’t collect enough of them and she wishes it would be harder to close the shirt drawer after she does the laundry.  Oh look, it’s lightni…

The truth is that I have too many t-shirts.  I will confess that I’m a t-shirt junkie.  When I see a funny shirt, I usually get my hands on it, even if I don’t really need it.

One of my favorite shirts says, “If You Were Me, You’d Be Awesome”.  Oh c’mon, that’s brilliant. I wore that last year in the Thanksgiving Day 5K wearing a turkey hat.

Are You Collecting Too Much Workout Information?

Just like collecting shirts, we can end up consuming and reading way too much workout information so we can prepare for a body transformation, but not actually doing anything with it.  The same goes for the junk in our house.  Why do you have 4 boxes of sugary cereal in the pantry?  That won’t help you with a body transformation.

We end up reading and reading, but not actually taking action on the information.  You simply keep piling on info overload and the next thing you know, you’re overwhelmed with all this “stuff”.

Simplify.

Can I confess something to you?  I looked over TT’s “Metabolic Resistance Training” program several times before I actually did it.  I knew the program was going to kick my butt, but I wanted to challenge myself to whole new level.  OK, fine… I also wanted to keep my weight down from the Thanksgiving feast and knew this program would help.  By the way, if you want to see something special, watch me eat on Thanksgiving.  You can see why I was almost 300 lbs.

Anyway, I just wrapped it up last week and I’m proud of myself if I do say so …. well…. myself.  It challenged me physically and mentally.  Workout B is the toughest program I’ve done in my life.  It took my conditioning to a whole new level and yes, I was able to keep my weight down, even with my Thanksgiving feast.

Here’s the deal – metabolic resistance training works for a true body transformation.  With a good diet, you can burn belly fat and build lean muscle simultaneously.  It’s really simple actually.  That’s why I wrote this; I wanted to simplify the process for you if you’re looking to transform your body.

Let’s face it, there is a lot of information out there and some of it is good, while some of it is just downright silly (like adding more long, boring cardio to break a plateau).

Simple Strategies for a Body Transformation

Nutrition – It’s not that hard.  Sure, you can count every calorie and every carb if that’s your thing. But to simplify and actually just start your transformation, eat whole, natural foods.   An easy way to cut calories? – get your carbohydrates mainly from fruits and vegetables.  They are nutritionally dense, but fewer calories.  When you consume processed foods like sugary cereals, you’re consuming calorically (I made up that word and I think it looks cool) dense foods, but lacking in nutrition.  Silly adult, Trix is for kids.  You’ll end up eating more because they don’t fill you up like fruits and veggies can.

Workout program - In order to truly transform your body and not just lose weight, you will need to use metabolic resistance training.  Either use an upper/lower split, or my favorite, total body workouts.  That’s it…. just 2 choices.  Use non-competing supersets and circuits so that you can give each and every set your full attention and effort, making every rep count.  For instance, you would superset a DB Chest Press with a DB Step-up.

And forget long, boring cardio.  Use metabolic workout finishers or intervals after your main program.  This will burn belly fat for hours and you preserve your lean muscle, which will give you the definition you’re looking for.  Who looks better and more ripped – sprinters or marathoners?
Boom goes the truth dynamite.

Preparation – If I had done these in order of importance, this would be at the top without a doubt.  This is the one thing that usually separates a true body transformation from someone who just “works out”.  Figure out your game plan including the workout program and the nutrition.  Planning is everything.  This means if you need to prepare your food on a Sunday for the upcoming week due to a busy schedule, then do it.  Don’t read about nutrition on Sunday, prepare your nutrition.  There’s a big difference.  Pencil in your workout times as if they are interviews.  That way, you won’t have any excuses to miss any of them.

That’s it.  That’s the four paragraphs you need in order to start your body transformation… all in one place.  It’s fine to educate yourself on new information, but if you’re not acting on any of it, then it’s time to stop reading and start doing.  Take it from a dude that’s dropped 100 lbs.  No, don’t go to google and put “workout info from a dude that’s dropped a 100 lbs” in the search bar.  I’m that guy.

Your search is over.

Today as I write this, I’m seeing the supplement guy again at some point.  If he gives me another t- shirt, you have my word that I’ll give it away or donate it.  But the free samples (especially pre- workout stuff)?… Mikey likey caffeine.

Baby steps.

Finish Strong,
Mike (Mikey) Whitfield
Certified Turbulence Trainer

Click here for Mikey’s awesome Workout Finishers program.

There are so many fat loss myths out there in “exercise-land” that I was hired by a fitness magazine to write about one myth each month.

After all, by now you’ve probably heard that if you don’t do 60-minutes of cardio in your fat burning zone on an empty stomach while Venus is in line with Jupiter, you’ll never burn fat.

The problem with myths is that not only are they wrong and give false hope to millions of people trying to lose weight, but they also waste your time and mental effort.

I could go on for days about fitness myths, but I cut my list from 30 down to the Top 5 Fat Loss Workout Myths today. I’ll save the other 25 for future newsletters.

Myth #1: You have to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Relax. You don’t have to hop on the treadmill at 4:30am every morning. Let’s allow common sense to dictate when and how you exercise.

If you want to work out first thing in the morning, and I know that is the best time for many TT readers, by all means, go ahead and do it.

But there’s nothing magical about this time – although it is often the only time many of day many people have to themselves.

We need to think “outside of the hour” of exercise and realize that calorie burning and fat burning goes on for 24-hours. Forget about the theories and look at the big picture.

It doesn’t matter when you exercise – as long as you exercise intensely and consistently. Focus on relatively high-intensity workouts to increase your metabolism for as many hours after exercise as possible. That is best done with interval training and resistance training.

Myth #2: You have to do your cardio in your “fat burning zone”.

Again, nonsense.

While you might burn a larger proportion of total calories as fat when you exercise in your fat burning zone, you burn fewer calories overall by exercising at such a low intensity.

When you INCREASE your workout intensity and get out of your so-called “fat burning zone”, you burn more total calories, and as a result, more fat.

In addition, the “fat burning zone” training doesn’t put “turbulence” on your muscles…so you don’t burn many calories in the post-exercise time period. But with interval training, you burn a significant amount of calories for hours after training, and that leads to more fat loss.

I’ve worked with hundreds of people that have avoided the fat burning zone while still managing to lose dozens of pounds of fat. The “fat burning zone” is one of the biggest fitness myths of all time.

Click here to stop the cardio & lose fat with Turbulence Training workouts:

=> http://www.turbulencetraining.com/

Myth #3: You have to do cardio for 20 minutes before you burn fat.

When I hear this, I picture a fat-burning switch in my body that turns on only after I’ve been doing “cardio” for 20 minutes.

But what if I only exercise for 19 minutes and 59 seconds? Are you telling me that I won’t have burned any fat? Ridiculous.

What if I did it on an empty stomach in the morning and in my target heart rate zone? (read that one sarcastically!)

I’ll say it one last time. We need to be more concerned with our 24-hour metabolism, not how much fat or even how many calories are burned during the workout.

Myth 4: Drinking ice cold water will help you burn calories and lose fat.

Standing in line at the grocery store is a great place to pick up the latest fat loss myths. You’ll also find this one all over the Internet.

This myth often comes along with some calculations showing that by drinking 8 glasses of ice-cold water you can burn 70 calories per day.

I don’t believe that actually holds true in real life. Regardless, drinking cold water is not going to burn any more fat off your body than drinking room temperature water.

Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe you should drink 12 glasses of water per day, but the temperature of your water won’t have any effect on your overall fat loss success.

Myth #5: Adding one pound of muscle will burn 50 extra calories each day.

Uh-oh, now I’m cutting down a myth that supports my use of strength training in a fat loss program.

But I have an obligation to set the record straight about this extremely prevalent myth (even though I just saw a big name fitness expert perpetuate this myth in a recent article!).

This myth sounds so good. Add a pound of muscle, boost your metabolism 50 calories. That doesn’t seem out of line at all.

But do the math for a guy that puts on 30 pounds of muscle.

Does his metabolism really increase by 1500 calories?

Absolutely not.

For an average guy, that would require his resting metabolism to increase from 2500 calories to 4000 calories per day.

How would he be able to keep any of that muscle with a metabolism like that?

He’d have to eat like a pig forever.

So when you look at the big picture, you can see this little myth start to fall apart.

That’s not to say you should stop your strength training, but just don’t use this myth as an excuse to cheat on your diet.

Bonus Myth: Negative Calorie Foods Cause You to Lose Weight

According to the “experts”, a negative calorie food requires more energy to digest than it provides you when you eat it.

Often included in the negative calorie food list are apples and bananas, which other “experts” claim are bad for you, based on the ridiculous “fruit stops fat loss” argument.

Sheesh.

There is no such thing as a negative calorie food. It’s a shame “experts” are out there promoting this stuff, and that so many people fall for it.

Instead, let the common sense fat loss principles apply. It’s going to take consistent effort, working hard at your workouts and with your nutrition to get the results you want.

Stick with the proven Turbulence Training plan here:

=> http://www.turbulencetraining.com/

I guarantee you that Turbulence Training will successfully guide you to the fat loss you deserve and desire.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training