In this week’s fat loss guide, you’ll get 10 interval training workouts from TT readers…plus a kettlebell workout,  some fat loss motivation, and the truth about measuring your body fat.

But first, a fat loss reality:

Everything you do either takes you closer to or further from your goals. Just remember that in everything you do this week.  I first heard this from Alwyn Cosgrove, and it’s so simple, yet so true.

Click here to listen to the call…

And now, our fat loss tips.

Monday – March 15th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
Everything we do has consequences…if we eat that pizza…if we decide to skip a workout…as my friend Simon Black said to me…”Bear in mind the single universal law of causality… there will be consequences from your actions, and you must be prepared to accept them.”

INTERVAL TRAINING

What have I been doing?

1) Adrenaline sprints – see the TT Adrenaline program for more details
2) Kettlebells – I just bought a 44lb, so now I have a 35, 44, 53, and 70
3) Treadmill intervals – Last workout was 6 intervals at 10.8mph (60s with 60s rest)

And now here are 10 of your favorite interval training workouts as posted on the TT Facebook Fanpage.

1. Sprints on the treadmill. 5 mins at 1min on 1min off.. 9.8 for the sprint then 3.8 for the rest
2. Bodyweight cardio TT style
3. 20-yard shuttles… throw five of them back-to-back for 100 yard total.
4. 30 on 30 off doing kettlebell swings, and tabata training for 4 minute rounds with the kettlebell or any other chosen exercise
5. Burpee pyramid.
6. 5-meter Interval shuttle runs
7. Stadiums- simple and effective. Motivating to see how many sections in front of me and how many I’ve completed
8. Prowler sled
9. We live on a hill, at the bottom of a dead-end. At least once a week we’ll do a dozen or so 50 yard uphill sprints. If I’m feeling frisky I’ll do Litvinov intervals: 30 heavy kettlebell swings, then the uphill sprint. You won’t see a dozen Litvinov’s however.
10. 1/4 mile sprints….90 seconds off in between.

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

Reference:
Obes Res Clin Pract. 3(4):209, 2009. Assessing Body Fat Changes during Moderate Weight Loss with Anthropometry and Bioelectrical Impedance.

Researchers from Vanderbilt U studied the best way to measure body fat, including testing Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA). If you have a body fat scale at home, it uses BIA…and this study is bad news for that scale.

• Fat mass changes were assessed in 34 overweight adults (24 females, 10 males) after a 12-week supervised weight loss induced by caloric restriction (-30% of requirement) using BIA and DXA.
• Diet intervention resulted in a significant decrease in body weight (- 7.86 +/- 2.87 kg), body mass index (BMI – 2.69 +/- 0.98 kg/m(2)), total body fat (- 5.22 +/- 2.32 kg), truncal fat (- 2.80 +/- 1.94 kg) and waist circumference (- 5.52 +/- 3.57 cm).
• Compared to DXA, BIA underestimated total body fat changes in males (- 8.8 kg, p<0.001) and overestimated total body fat changes in females (+ 2.1 kg, p< 0.001).
• Body mass index, body weight, and waist circumference provide simple and more accurate than BIA estimates of relative changes in total and truncal fat during moderate weight loss in adults.

You’ll notice the diet caused a lot of lean body mass loss, since there was no resistance training.

Bottom line:
The body fat analyzers you use at home are inaccurate. Wildly inaccurate.

Wednesday

First tip: Here’s how to double the number of bodyweight exercise you know:

For many exercises, including legs, pushing and pulling exercises, you can play around with the 1&1/2 rep style – lowering to the bottom position, coming halfway back up, and then lowering again, and then coming all the way back up.) It makes any exercise harder.

Second tip: Some new exercise substitutions

What can you use to replace the deadlift?

Answer:
The only direct replacement is a dumbbell squat.

Otherwise, just replace with any lower body exercise paired with a row.

For example, do a barbell lunge and DB row.

Or pair a Stability Ball Leg Curl + DB Row.

Q: What exercises can I use to replace lunges if I have knee soreness?

Answer:
First, see a doctor and have them diagnose the problem. Second, see a therapist and have them treat the issue. Third, see a trainer and have them assess where you need to work on flexibility and how you can include some “knee-friendly” exercises in your workout program.

These exercises include:
Lying Hip Extensions (also known as Lying Hip Bridges)
Single-leg Hip Extensions (Used in the TT Bodyweight 4-week program)
Lying Hip Extensions with your feet on the ball
Lying Stability Ball Leg Curls (Used in the TT for Fat Loss program)

And remember, always talk to your doctor about the best possible exercise selection to help reduce your knee pain.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity and then understand that the basics are what work the best…

You see, everyday I get so many weird/extreme/complex/technical fat loss questions…and the thing is, I don’t know anything about what you just asked me, but I just don’t see how it would change what you need to do.

To lose fat, you must:
Eat fewer calories than you need, avoid processed foods, do intervals, and resistance training.

That’s pretty much it. What could possibly change?

Friday

Here’s a list of kettlebell exercises I did last Saturday…

35lb 2-Hand Swing
35lb 1-Hand Swing
35lb 1-Hand Snatch
35lb 1-Hand C&P
53lb 2-Hand Swing
53lb 1-Hand Swing
53lb 1-Hand Snatch
53lb 1-Hand C&P

Click here for more info on Kettlebell Workouts

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…

Research show that for 75% of people their biggest regrets in life are the things they didn’t do in life…not the things they did.

So…”Go to the effort. Invest the time. Write the letter. Make the apology. Take the trip. Purchase the gift. Do it. The seized opportunity renders joy. The neglected brings regret.”
Max Lucado

Sunday
Plan, Shop & Prepare and do 30 minutes activity.

Earlier this week I wrote about whole grains and fat loss and I’ve found some gluten free, wheat free noodles…the brand is “King Soba” and the ingredients are:

1) brown rice + millet

2) brown rice + Wakame (a sea vegetable)

But I still think that all whole-grains are decent, as long as they are high fiber.

According to research from Penn State University, replacing processed carbs with whole grains will help you lose belly fat (probably by lowering insulin levels – insulin is a hormone that stores fat).

For most people, they simply need to worry about losing body fat and getting under 20 or 25% fat. So eating more whole grains will help.

Next week!
TT Workout – TT 2K10
Weekly Research Review – Hormone & Resistance Training Study
Nutrition – How to avoid night-time binges