Certified Turbulence Trainer, Mike Whitfield of Acworth, Georgia (read his success story here), has given us a 5  part series on metabolic finishers to add to your fat loss workouts. These are fantastic replacements for traditional interval training if you’re looking for ways to switch it up from machine-only interval training.

Finisher # 1 “Lower/Upper Body Countdown”

This is best done after a total body workout or upper-body focused workout… lunge jumps would be quite demanding after a lower-body workout.

Do the following super-set resting as little as possible.  In the first super-set, you will complete 10 reps of each exercise.  In the next super-set, you will complete 9 reps. Continue in this fashion until you complete 1 rep of each exercise

1A) Alternating Lunge Jumps (10 ea, 9 ea, 8 ea, etc, etc, down to 1 rep ea.)

1B) Push-ups (10, 9, 8, etc, etc. down to 1 rep)

Finisher #2 “High Intensity Cardio / Ab Endurance Superset”

Best done after any workout – Do the following superset 4 times, resting for 30 seconds between supersets.

1A) Any cardiovascular activity (running or biking for example) at an intensity that you can only sustain for 2 minutes

1B) Push-up Plank (ALAP* up to 1 minute)

*ALAP – as long as possible

Finisher #3 The “Ten-Four” Total Body Conditioning Circuit

Best done after a total body workout if done only twice; Otherwise, it can be done up to 4 times as a stand-alone bodyweight workout) … the name comes from using this as a stand-alone workout.

1A) Box Jumps (10)

1B) Inverted Row (10)

1C) Spiderman Push-ups (10)

1D) Prisoner Cross-Over Lunge (10 ea)-

Starting with the left leg as an example, a Cross-Over Lunge is where you step with your left leg forward and laterally over the right leg and then return to the starting position… complete all reps, then switch

1E) Stability Ball Pike (10)

1F) Burpees (10)

Everything is 10 reps and you do it 4 times… hence the name, “Ten-Four”. Do the following circuit (with 60 secs of rest between circuits) twice if doing this as “intervals” after a workout, and up to 4 times if used as a stand-alone body-weight workout.

Mike Whitfield, Certified Turbulence Trainer

http://www.CrankTraining.com

• Web-based Fitness/Nutrition Coaching
• 1-on-1 and Group Training
• Boot Camps

***********************
Mike has added his 2nd round of metabolic finishers. If you have your own metabolic finishers you’d like to suggest, let us know in the comments section below.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Certified Turbulence Trainer

In the last two weeks I’ve started working on the upcoming “51 Interval Training Workouts” manual (expect a Summer release), and it’s been a lot of fun to review past fat burning workouts that didn’t make the original manual.

Intervals are a research-proven KEY to your fat loss program and health. Researchers are even starting to use intervals with patients recovering from heart disease! So you know that interval training is just going to get more popular.

But a lot of folks worry that intervals can get boring, if you do the same ones over and over again. And that’s true. Heck, Alwyn Cosgrove told me that his clients had a low stick rate with interval programs until he introduced metabolic conditioning classes at his gym.

So here’s the deal…If you don’t have variety in your program, you are more than likely to end up at a fat loss plateau soon rather than later. Variety is one of the keys to keeping that fat loss coming.

Not only should you have variety within your training week (i.e. alternate between two different interval training workouts, rather than just doing the same interval workout each time), but you should also change these workouts every 4 weeks.

Just like your resistance training, you need to change your interval training program every 4 weeks. To modify your interval training workouts, you can…

- switch exercise methods (and even use bodyweight exercises for intervals)
- increase or decrease the length of the interval (while decreasing or increasing the intensity, respectively)
- increase or decrease the number of intervals per workout
- increase or decrease the rest time between intervals

First, let’s take a look at the interval methods. Here is my list of preferred ways to do your intervals, ranked in order from best to worst, based on my experiences…

1. Sprinting outdoors (and hills might be the absolute best)
2. Strongman movements (Farmer’s walks, tire flips, car pushing)
3. Bodyweight interval circuits
4. Treadmill running
5. Stationary cycle (upright preferred)
6. Stairclimber
7. Rower
8. Swimming (only works for competent swimmers)
9. Elliptical & Crosstrainer machines

Okay, so how long should you do intervals?

First, there is NO “best” interval training program – no best “sets and reps” for fat loss.

But that is good because it allows us to use variety in our approach. (So perhaps the best interval training method is simply the one that changes every 4 weeks.)

Interval recommendations have ranged from 15 seconds (from Muscle Media waaaay back in the late 90′s), to 5 minutes (these are known as aerobic intervals). So let’s take a look at each interval recommendation and all those in between.

8 seconds on, 12 seconds off
This is the duration used by the Australian researchers in the now famous “intervals vs. cardio” study from 2007. The results found that intervals helped subjects lose belly fat, but cardio didn’t. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to replicate 8 seconds on, 12 seconds off using cardio equipment in your gym.

15 seconds
The great thing about 15 second intervals is that you’ll be able to work at a very high rate (almost near your maximum power output), as long as you get adequate recovery between work intervals. The downside is that it is very difficult to do 15 second intervals on machines, because it takes a long time to “build up” and “bring
down” the machine settings to the correct speed.

If you decide to use these short, high-intensity intervals, you should do so only if you already have an above average level of fitness. Your rest interval should be at least 15 seconds long, and can be as long as 60 seconds. The longer you rest, the harder you will be able to exercise in each interval.

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off
This method is known as the Tabata protocol, after the Japanese scientist that published a study on this routine. It is very demanding (obviously), and while some trainers have suggested this is the best method for interval training, there is NO proof that you will get better fat loss results.

Clearly, the pro’s with this method (as well as the 15 second intervals) is that you’ll get your workout done faster (provided you do the same number of intervals as any other workout). Again, it would be very difficult to perform this type of interval training on a machine, due to the time lag as you increase or decrease the settings. And finally, these too should only be performed by above average fitness levels.

30 seconds
The Turbulence Training workouts tend to use a lot of 30 second intervals. Beginners will rest up to 90 seconds between intervals, while advanced fitness levels will rest 30-60 seconds. The longer (relative) rest allows you to work harder in each successive interval (i.e. you’ll almost be able to match your performance in the first interval with each following interval). Short rest intervals (as in the Tabata protocol) will lead to a dramatic drop-off in performance with each interval. You can easily do the
3-second intervals on any machine.

I started using these with athletes back in the 90′s, and that is when I first realized they worked AWESOME for fat loss. Sure they don’t sound as exotic as Tabatas, but they work!

45 seconds
These intervals are proven for fat loss, in addition to being effective for many team sports (such as hockey, soccer, basketball, and rugby). I have used 45 second intervals extensively in both areas of training. Not only will these tax your muscles, they will also tax your will to complete each interval (if done at the right intensity). Use 45-90 seconds of recovery between intervals. Do 3-6 intervals per workout. Your fitness and fat loss will skyrocket.

60 second intervals
Similar to the 45 second intervals in benefits and toughness. Use 60-120 seconds of recovery between each.

120 second intervals
These are now officially aerobic intervals, and can be used for both fat loss and improving aerobic capacity for sports and running. A great way to achieve two fitness goals at once. Exercise for 2 minutes and then recover for 2 minutes. Repeat 6 times. These workouts take longer (obviously), but can have a role in changing your body and improving your performance.

3, 4, or 5 minute aerobic intervals
These have been used in a lot of strength-endurance studies, and also in a lot of soccer-training protocols. Same strategy as with the two minute intervals. This really
increases your workout time, so these are only used with serious endurance athletes.

Beginner vs. Advanced
If you are thinking that these intervals all sound “too intense” for you, please don’t worry. Interval training is all relative. In fact, a recent study found that coronary-heart disease patients found interval training EASIER than cardio! You don’t have to sprint for your life in each type of interval.

Instead, just work at a slightly harder than normal pace. By the end of the interval, you should be getting tired, but you shouldn’t be gasping for air. Start conservatively and you will get the hang of it.

For example, if you regularly use level 5 on the stationary bike for 30 minutes continuously, you might try doing a 1 minute interval at level 7. Try that for an interval workout and let me know how it goes.

My favorite intervals for fat loss are between 30-60 seconds. These have been the staple intervals in my Turbulence Training workouts since the first workout was designed back in 2001. But again, I think you will get your best fat loss results if you vary your interval training workouts – just like you must vary your strength training workouts.

That’s enough for now…

Next week: The exact plan I would use if I needed to lose 20-30 pounds of belly fat

Intervals are your secret to success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS – Do you need to lose your post-vacation belly?

Then use the interval methods outlined above and the Turbulence Training workouts.

“Craig, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been using your Turbulence Training System to whip myself back into shape after a vacation and too much time in front of the computer getting a couple of projects completed and I’ve dropped 10.2 lbs. of bodyfat in the last 28 days. As a fellow fitness professional I can safelysay that it’s the best and most efficient approach to improving body composition that I’ve come across.”
Pat Rigsby

This week, you’ll discover the latest in sprint interval training research, plus my latest 4-week workout program. But first, the most recent updates on my travels, and of course, a Happy Thanksgiving to all American TT readers!

I started my travels in Louisville last week, visiting Pat and Holly Rigsby, and their lil’ baby boy, Alex. (Holly is America’s Fat Loss Expert for Moms.) Then it was on to Boston to see a guy about my websites, and then a meet-up with 2 of my old training clients who now live in Boston. I also trained at Gold’s Gym while I was there.

Then on Saturday I hopped the train into NYC to hang out with John Romaniello…we went to the crazy J-E-T-S game on Sunday and planned out the new “TT Clash of the Titans” workout with him. Great times.

Now I’m settling in for a 7-week stay here in Toronto…with no airports! Looking forward to the holiday season. Next trip: LA in January. Now let’s help you lose fat…

Click here to listen to the call…

On to the TT Workout and tips…

Monday – Nov 29th

Transformation Tip of the Week

We all make mistakes. We all have set-backs. It happens. But when it does, do what you can to get back on track immediately. No need to punish yourself. Focus on what you can do to correct the situation. Learn from the mistake so you stop it from happening in the future. Stay strong!

And for workout tips this week, we’re going to look through:

My Latest Workout Program

Workout A
1) Deadlift (6RM or 2×20)
2A) Bulgarian Split Squat (3×15)
2B) Plank type exercise
2C) Stability Ball 1-Leg Curl (3×10/side)

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

Reference:
Metabolism 59, Issue 10, October 2010, Pages 1421-1428

Effect of 2 weeks of sprint interval training on health-related outcomes in sedentary overweight/obese men

10 obese men between the ages of 25-40 performed a 2-week sprint interval program of:

• 6 total workouts (3 workouts per week)
• 4 to 6 30-second Wingate anaerobic sprints
• All sprints performed on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer
• 4.5-minute recovery between each sprint. That’s correct…almost 5 minutes recovery between sprints.

Results:
Increased VO2 max (aerobic power)

Significant decreases in waist (98.9 vs 101.3cm) and hip (109.8 vs 110.9 cm) circumferences compared with baseline were also observed after the intervention.

Bottom line:
2 weeks of SIT substantially improved a number of metabolic and vascular risk factors in overweight/obese sedentary men, highlighting the potential for this to provide an alternative exercise model for the improvement of vascular and metabolic health in this population.

Wednesday Workout Tip

I do one heavy lower body workout each week and one high-rep or bodyweight-only lower body workout each week.

I squat and deadlift once per week, but only one of those is done heavy each week. The other is either done with moderate weight and high reps, or using a bodyweight version.

For example, I might deadlift heavy on Monday, and then do pistol squats on Thursday. The next week, I’ll do high rep deadlifts on Monday and heavy squats on Thursday.

For me, this works better than going heavy both days. It spares my low back, which gets irritated if I squat and deadlift heavy in the same 7-day training cycle.

The high-rep deadlifting day switches the emphasis from the low back to the upper back and grip.

The bodyweight or high-rep squat day allows me to focus on improving single leg strength with the pistol exercise OR muscle and MENTAL endurance with high rep squats.

By the way, 20 rep sets of deadlifts and squats will still lead to muscle growth, as long as you are pushing your limits. There’s no way to avoid getting bigger and stronger when you pick up a heavy object from the ground 20 times. Works for farmers and construction workers, and it will work for you.

Workout B
Warmup: Stick-up + MB Throw + Light Rtr
1A) Football Bar Bench (3×5)
1B) UH Seated Row (3×8)
2A) Bodyweight Triceps (3×15)
2B) BB Curls (3×8)

Trainer Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity and then check out this trainer tip from my buddy…

“Trainers and coaches who aren’t confident in ability, will just try to hammer the client every session – doing random stuff, just hard all the time. There’s no skill in that approach. Smart trainers build progression into programming & are more concerned with their clients progressing and getting results than just hammering them all the time. Fatigue & soreness are not indicators of progress.” – Alwyn Cosgrove

Facebook Friday

Here is the “question of the week” from Matthew Rumsey, who posted it on the TT Facebook page (visit that link to post your question)

Q: Hi CB, today I was trying to explain the benefits to a colleague of interval training but I couldn’t remember why it is so important to slow right down to a walk on rest periods. Can you briefly refresh my memory? Thx!!!

Answer:
The reason we use low intensity recovery is so that you can work hard during the interval portion. When people don’t slow down, the intensity of the workout drops.

Workout C
1A) Depth Jump (5×2)
1B) High Box Sqt (3 RM)/Full Sqt (3×20)
2A) Eccentric GHR (3×8)
2B) DB Step-ups (3×8)
2C) Ab plank

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Workout D
Warmup: Stick-up + MB Throw + Light Rtr
1A) Foam Press (3×6)
1B) DB CSR (3×8)
2A) BB Shrug (3×12)
2B) EZ Bar Triceps Extension (3×8)
2C) DB Incline Hammer Curl (3×8)

And here are 5 business books that I read in 2010 that you might like:

1) Knockout Entrepreneur – George Foreman
2) Getting Naked – Patrick Lencioni (great for managers)
3) Making Them Believe – Dan Kennedy
4) The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs
5) The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

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

And here’s a nutrition tip from Dave Kekich’s book, “Life Extension Express”:

“Get 30-50 percent of your food as uncooked. Juicing (or blender drinks) and a salad at lunch will easily put you at that volume.”

BTW, in addition to eating a lot of raw fruits and green vegetables, I’ve recently added garlic and a lot of red onion to my diet. Plus, I sometimes supplement with two green powders, one is called spriulina, and the other is a commercial product called, “Athletic Greens”.

Next week!
•    Training Tips – Latest Workout Tips from MH December 2010
•    Research Review – The Most Effective Weight Loss Websites
•    Nutrition – My new  blender drink strategy

I’m off to Texas and Mexico this weekend…working on a new fat loss travel report. I’ll also be down there with a bunch of fitness folks, including John Romaniello (that’s John posing for you there), the world famous NYC trainer…good guy, quite funny. Maybe we’ll design a Clash of the Titans 2 workout for you.

This week I want to go over TT Adrenaline…I want to get this program more love…

Click here to listen to the call…

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

Monday – Sept 20th

Transformation Tip of the Week sponsored by your Daily Inspiration:
“The opposite of winning isn’t losing, its quitting.” – Scott Sonnen

Listen, you can’t quit. You just can’t. Doesn’t matter how hard of a day yesterday was, or how hard today will be. Quitting is not an option. Here’s another popular quote from my facebook page.

“Self-confidence is the surest way of of obtaining what you want. If you know in your own heart you are going to be something, you will be it. Do note permit your mind to think otherwise. It is fatal.” – General George S. Patton

So be confident in the changes you are making.

I want to get this program a little more love…

TT Adrenaline Workout A

1A) DB Chest Press – 8 reps (3-0-1)
1B) Chin-up – Max reps (3-0-1) OR DB Row – 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
1C) 5-meter Shuttle Sprint – 8 second sprint with 12 seconds recovery x 3 reps
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

2A) Pike Pushup – 15 reps (2-0-1)
2B) Seated Row or Renegade Row – 12 reps or 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
2C) Repeated Jumps – 12 reps (1-0-X)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

3A) Dips with Knee Up – 15 reps (2-0-1)
3B) DB Rear Deltoid Raise – 12 reps (2-0-1)
3C) 5-meter Shuttle Sprint – 8 second sprint with 12 seconds recovery x 3 reps
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

Adrenaline Sprints Based on…

A research study that found…

Test 1: 20 minutes of short high intermittent intensity exercise (8-s sprint, 12-s recovery)
Test 2: 20 minutes of long high intermittent intensity exercise (24-s sprint, 36-s recovery)

What the researchers found was quite surprising. The first test, where the women did the 8-second sprint intervals, resulted in greater oxygen uptake and greater energy expenditure than the 24-second sprint.

Professor Steve Boutcher, the head of the study, said, “If you do it much longer, 20 seconds, it’s very painful. Normal people won’t stick to it. If you do it much shorter, two to three seconds, you don’t seem to get the same benefits. So by trial and error and prior research we’ve established what seems optimal for most people at least on the bike — eight seconds sprint, 12 seconds recovery.”

Click here for more info on “The Science of adrenaline for fat loss”

Interesting.

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

Reference:
Public Library of American Science Medicine. 2010 Aug 31;7(8). Physical Activity Attenuates the Genetic Predisposition to Obesity in 20,000 Men and Women from EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study.

This study was heralded as proof that exercise can overcome bad genetics.

It looked at 20,430 people living in Norwich, Britain and found that most people had 10-13 genetic traits associated with an increased risk of obesity – although some folks had up to 17, while others had as few as six. The more of these genetic traits a person had, the greater their risk of obesity. HOWEVER, physical activity reduced the risk of obesity by 40%.

The head of the study, Ruth Loos of Britain’s Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, said the findings “challenged the deterministic view of the genetic predisposition to obesity. Our findings further emphasize the importance of physical activity in the prevention of obesity.”

So get active. Stay active. And of course, eat whole, natural foods.

Wednesday

TT Adrenaline Workout B

1A) Lunge Jump or DB Split Squat – 6 reps per side (1-0-X) or 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
1B) Inchworm – 6 reps (2-1-2)
1C) KB Snatch or KB 1-Arm Swing – 10 reps per side (1-0-X)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

2A) Bulgarian Split Squat 1&1/2 reps – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
2B) Stability Ball Jackknife-Pushup Combo – 15 reps (1-0-1)
2C) KB Swing – 20 reps (1-0-X)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

3A) SHELC (Stability Ball Hip Extension Leg Curl) – 15 reps (2-0-1)
3B) Stability Ball Jackknife Plank – 60 seconds
3C) 5-meter Shuttle Sprint – 8 second sprint with 12 seconds recovery x 3 reps
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 circuits.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

And now it’s time for the Facebook Fitness Question of the Week!

Q: How to get rid of the lactic acid that causes soreness?

Answer:
Lactic acid clears out within 60 minutes of any workout. It doesn’t cause soreness. You just have muscle damage.

Foam rolling might help. Light stretching might help. Light exercise might help. Vitamin C pre-exercise might help.

But really, post-workout muscle soreness is like a hangover, the best remedy is time. In fact, the best cure is prevention. That means, whenever you start a program, just do 1 set instead of 3. Prevention is the best medicine.

Friday

TT Adrenaline Workout C

NOTES:
Mark down the distance you complete in the first 15-second sprint. You must repeat that distance in all other sprints for the rest of the workout.
Rest as little as possible between exercises, but trust me, when I’ve done this workout, I was taking a LOT of 30-45 second rests between exercises.
Don’t forget: You must know your total pushup and pullup counts in order to create a TT Adrenaline Challenge Score.
Scoring the TT Adrenaline Circuit Challenge

Score = (Total Pushups + Total Pullups) – (# of minutes to finish circuit)

Therefore, if I did a total of 50 pushups and 10 pullups in 25 minutes…

Score = (50+10) – (25)

Score = 60-25

Score = 35

The TT Adrenaline Circuit Challenge
1) 10-Meter Shuttle Sprint – 15 seconds
2) Pushups – Max reps
3) 10-Meter Shuttle Sprint – Repeat distance from sprint #1
4) Pull-up – Max reps
5) 10-Meter Shuttle Sprint – Repeat distance from sprint #1
6) Stability Ball Jackknife – 20 reps
7) Stability Ball 1-Leg Curl – 6 reps per side
8] 10-Meter Shuttle Sprint – Repeat distance from sprint #1
9) X-Body Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side
10) Split Squat (bodyweight) – 10 reps per side
11) 10-Meter Shuttle Sprint – Repeat distance from sprint #1
12) Stability Ball Plank – 30 second hold
13) Kettlebell 2-Hand Swing – 15 reps
Rest 2-minutes and repeat the circuit one more time.
At the end of the 2nd circuit do a bonus round of pushups and pull-ups for max reps.

Bonus Round
Pushups – Max reps
Pullups – Max reps

Social Support Saturday!

30 minutes of fun activity…

First, a quote:

“Social support is simply other people believing in you before you believe in yourself. And that is why it’s so important…because it gets you through to when you can finally believe in yourself.”
Marty Goldman, winner of Bill Phillips’ Transformation Contest

And now, I want to share this study as part of my response as to why I don’t create a “TT for Kids” program…

Reference:
J Obes. 2010;2010. Kung fu training improves physical fitness measures in overweight/obese adolescents: the “martial fitness” study.

Australian researchers wanted to see if a 6-month Kung Fu (KF) program would increase physical fitness in 20 overweight/obese adolescents. One group did KF, the other did Tai Chi.

Overall compliance to the training sessions was only 46%.

That’s the BIGGEST reason I don’t do “TT for Kids”. Kids don’t like to be told what to do…they don’t want to do things if they don’t like them…and overweight kids aren’t interested in doing structured TT workouts…we are better off to find them fun activities that get them moving…not grown up workouts.

On the bright side, Kung Fu resulted in significantly greater improvements in submaximal cardiovascular fitness (P = .03), lower body muscle endurance (P = .28; significant 95% CI: 0.37-2.49), and upper body muscle velocity (P = .03) relative to TC training.

This short-term KF program improved submaximal cardiovascular fitness, lower body muscle endurance, and muscle velocity, in overweight/obese adolescents with very low baseline fitness.

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

Recently I interviewed nutrition expert Josh Bezoni about his 7-Day Belly Blast Diet. He revealed 7 obesity additives, with the main one being sugar. Josh said:

“An average American eats 140 pounds of sugar per year—about 173 grams per day. That’s one tragic sugar addiction. The American Heart Association recommends that men, women, and children get no more than 30 grams of sugar a day. But the average soft drink contains a whopping 40 grams of sugar. A 12-ounce soft drink (the same goes for energy drinks and fruit juices) has around 140 calories—all of which come from sugar—and the typical American has at least three of these drinks a day (yes, Starbucks® drinks are loaded with fat and sugar too).”

Josh shares more facts about losing belly fat fast here in the free interview.

Next week!
TT Workout – Meatheads IV: Lean & Jacked
Research Review – Green Tea & Fat Loss

This week’s call features weeks 1-4 of TT for Athletes…

But first, let’s talk about all the reasons to be celebrating.

1) Next week is July 1st, Canada Day!

2) Next Sunday is July 4th, Independence Day!

3) Days are getting longer down under. It will be your summer time soon!

And this weekend is Vince Del Monte’s weddings. I’ll try and get some photos of the happy couple.

Click here to listen to this week’s celebration call

Now let’s get into this week’s TT workouts and tips…

Monday – June 28th

Transformation Tip of the Week:

“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.”
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

And now let’s look at a rare workout…

Turbulence Training for Athletes – Weeks 1-4: Workout A

• Strength train 3 days per week.
• Do interval training 3 days per week.
• Take one full day off from training each week.
• Take an extra day off (day 4 or 6) if you need more time off.

Workout A

1A) Deadlift – 3×8
1B) Chest Press – 3×8

2A) 1-Leg Squat – 3×6
2B) Back Extension – 3×12

3A) Prisoner Squat (25)
3B) Walking Lunge (15 per side)
3C) Inchworm (8)
3D) Elbow-to-Instep Lunge (8 per side)
3E) 1-Leg RDL (10 per side)

(Do 2-3 rounds of this circuit)

Tuesday

Interval training or 30-minutes of fun activity…now our research review:

Reference:
Obesity. The Effect of Physical Activity on 18-Month Weight Change in Overweight Adults. Jakicic, J, et al.

278 overweight adults were put into one of three groups for 18 months.

Group A did 150 minutes per week of low-intensity exercise.

Group B did 300 minutes per week of low-intensity exercise.

Group C was left on their own.

No diet advice was given to anyone.

Results: After 18 months, there was little weight loss in any group. When researchers looked at everyone individually, they found that anyone who had success also happened to improve their eating behavior.

This is another study that proves you can’t out-exercises a bad diet. At least not with 5 hours of low-intensity exercise.

Wednesday

Bodyweight strength training time. NOTE: I’ve updated the workout from the one in the manual to reflect what I’ve learned in the last 4 years…

TT for Athletes: Workout B

1A) Chinup (2xMax Reps minus 1) – means go one rep short of failure
1B) Dips (2xMax Reps minus 1)

2A) Jumping Jacks (100)
2B) Ab Wheel or Pike (8)
2C) Cross-Body Mountain Climber (12 per side)
2D) Inverted Row (12)
2E) Close-Grip Pushups (15)
2F) Stability Ball Jackknife (15)

Thursday – July 1st – Happy Canada Day

In the TT for Athletes program, you’ll use aerobic interval training, where you do a 2 minute interval at a pace you can maintain for 8-10 minutes. Rest 2 minutes and repeat up to 6 times.

Friday

TT for Athletes: Workout C

1A) Squat – 3×8
1B) DB Row – 3×8

2A) Y-Squat (20)
2B) Multi-Directional Lunge (12/side)
2c) Spiderman Pushup (12/side)
2D) Bulgarian Split Squat (15/side)
2E) 1-Leg Stability Ball Leg Curl (12/side)
2F) Burpees (10)

Social Support Saturday

I always like to cover a social support tip in this part of the call, so let’s talk about a related research study from the journal, Diabetes Education (36: 465, 2010). Authors, Dodani, S., and Fields JZ.

In Kansas City, they applied a program called “Fit Body and Soul” in a church. They had 4 ministers lead a group of 40 churchgoers on a Diabetes Prevention Program.

Only 35 members attended 10/12 sessions. Of those 35, seventeen lost 5% of their weight, while 14% lost over 10% of their weight.

This is a positive step showing that groups, such as churches, can help folks lose weight.

Sunday – Plan, Shop, and Prepare

One more study to review…this time, more proof that fruit helps weight loss.

Reference:

Nutrition. 26: 727-734, 2010.

The food diaries of 77 overweight dieters were studied. Results showed that the more fruit a person ate, the less they weighed. Plus, as a person increased their fruit intake, they lost weight.

This is the complete OPPOSITE of the bodybuilding myth that fruit makes you fat. That belief is ridiculous.

So remember these 3 shocking words for weight loss:

Eat MORE fruit!

Until next week,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training & Simple Nutrition