Strength, Conditioning and Health

Your Fat Loss Goals: Are You Missing These Elements?

2010-09-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Your Fat Loss Goals: Are You Missing These Elements?

It’s important to keep challenging your body by changing the weights you use as well as the intensity, duration, rest periods, sets, and exercises. If you have fun with your workouts, train smart and focus on high quality foods, your body will ultimately be the fat burning machine you want it to be!

These simple workouts can be done in less than 30 minutes and all you need is a timer and at least one kettlebell. Make sure you are working to your potential. Don’t be afraid to go heavy since the longest you will be working at one time is for 30 seconds. Proper form is imperative so don’t be stupid!

10 Interval Training Workouts

2010-08-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Link http://www.howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/979/10-interval-training-workouts/

Here are 10 interval training workouts that are mentioned as favorites of people just like you.

Fat Loss Myths: 5 Myths And 5 Fat Loss Solutions

2010-08-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

Link Fat Loss Myths: 5 Myths And 5 Fat Loss Solutions

Dispell the all to common myths about fat loss. And let's look at 5 Solutions to permanent fat loss

Hybrid Workout Week 6

2010-07-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ok- so for Hybrid Week 6- I was actually SUPPOSED to be on a beach, but my trip got canceled, and thanks to a variety of aggravating circumstances it never materialized. 2 days, 2 different airports, a malfunctioning airplane and the like…all with a tired, impatient, wiggly toddler…meant I had my first staycation. I *don’t* recommend this for anyone! *sigh* Anyway.

The one positive thing is that I get to head to the gym this week for Week 6 of Hybrid. My weight is amazingly and gradually inching up (yeay!) and I’m still making strength gains. I’m at 116 now and it’s inching upwards.

For my upper body hypertrophy day, I’m trying to challenge myself with shorter than 1 minute for rest periods. For some reason, and maybe it’s because I’ve been starting with incline DB presses I’m not seeing much improvement in weight here. I’m stuck at the 35 and 40 lb DBs but I see 10 lb improvements in lat pulldowns (which come after the chest part on upper body hypertrophy days). I’ve also introduced cross bench DB pullovers and although I’m using the 40s, I’m getting in more reps with the same amount of weight than the last time I tried this. I gradually need to increase the rest from 45 seconds to 1 minute by the time I hit shoulders. I happily note a 5 lb increase for side lateral raises for shoulders (last time it was a special 16 lb DB for 12 and 10 reps for sets 1 and 2, and this time it’s 20 lbs for 8 reps for both sets- yeah!) , break even with seated DB presses for shoulders, but come out better with standing barbell curls.

My happy moment this week was seeing a big improvement in my front squat! This is one of the exercises for the legs that was challenging at first because of the bar placement, but now everything seems to be fitting just right! I break the 100 lb mark which is a personal record for 8 reps, discover how much fun walking barbell lunges are (everyone just kind of clears the way for you! and hello, feel them right away in the glutes!). It’s my first time doing these for lower body hypertrophy day, so I’m using 75 lbs on the extra long olympic barbell for 12 reps, and I am confident I can tackle more weight next time. I come out even with the leg extension but see an improvement in the seated leg curl.

The third day and final Hybrid day this week is a Total Body HIIT day. Seriously- I think I’m fitter than the average bear, but GEEZ this day NEVER gets easier! I complete 20 minutes of HIIT (a total of 10 sprints) on the elliptical then wobble off to the chin, squat, bench circuit. I do rope chinups today and get through 8, 6, and 5 reps.

This is actually not an improvement from before (wah!) but I remember a fellow BBR member saying these get harder as you get heavier. I’m hoping he’s not right! In any event, I’m actually seeing an improvement in the bench and squat weight for the circuit, squatting 95 for 15 reps and 70 lbs for the bench for 15 reps.

This represents a 10 lb increase for the squats. I finish with one of the most butt-kicking cardio machine known to Sumi- the step mill. For those of you that haven’t seen this cardio machine, it’s like an escalator that never ends. 20 minutes on this thing at level 6 and I’m the definition of toast. The awesome thing about this machine is that you can really squeeze the glutes with each step. I haven’t seen this machine at many gyms and probably with good reason. It’s hard as heck!

Please feel free to leave some comments or suggestions below. Lots of people at the gym are asking me what “I’m doing” and it’s fun to be able to represent such an awesome program like the Hybrid! OK time to go eat!

Sumi is an experienced group fitness instructor, personal trainer, full-time public policy manager, and mom to two-year old Shaila. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Tufts University and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University. Her passion for fitness gives her the stress relieving release that keeps her going!

A life-long weight-training addict, some of her most proud fitness accomplishments include: losing all the baby weight just eight weeks after a C-section; bench pressing her own body weight; and placing in her age class in several 5 Ks.

Her personal fitness journey continues to get better and more exciting with time. While she loves to lead by example and inspire people to "go for it," her ultimate goal is to be a great mom. Her daughter’s name, Shaila, means the Goddess of Strength and Confidence. Sumi owes it to her to be strong and confident so that she, too, can realize her full potential!

Sunny is currently following Will Brink's Hybrid Workout program which comes free with the deluxe edition of Will Brink's Bodybuilding Revealed.

3 Reasons Why Intermittent Fasting Is A Good Idea!

2010-07-01T03:02:00.000-07:00

Link Intermittent Fasting

You may not have heard of intermittent fasting, and so you may not know why it can and should be a part of your workout and fat loss plan. Intermittent fasting is the practice of abstaining from all but water for a period of usually 24 hours to help with the goals associated with fat loss and weight loss in general. The way in which it helps in this arena is by cutting out a full days caloric intake, while still being able to maintain a full workout schedule. Let's look at three main reasons I believe that intermittent fasting is a good idea for anyone serious about fat loss and muscle building!

Click the link above to read the rest of the article

Fat Burning Exercise This Is Extreme Cardio And Fat Burning

2010-06-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Burpee Variations Xtreme Fat Burning Exercises

The Burpee or as you may remember it from high school the Squat Thrust in my opinion might be the best all around bodyweight conditioning and fat burning exercise there is. But as good of an exercise as the burpee is there are ways to up the ante (and conditioning and fat burning effects).

In case you are not familiar with the Burpee here is how you do the basic 6 – count Burpee.

From the standing position:

1) Perform a full, ass-to-the-floor SQUAT w/ arms between the knees, palms and heels flat

2) JUMP back to an upper Push-Up positon, arms straight, abs and core engaged

3) LOWER down smoothly until the sternum grazes the floor between the hands

4) PUSH back up into the plank position, with arms locked, abs and core tight, elbows tucked into the ribs

5) JUMP back to a full Squat, butt to the floor, knees completely bent w/ knee caps tracked over toes, arms between knees and heels flat

6) from the low Squat, explode and LEAP high into the air, landing softly upon the feet

Immediately go into the next rep.

When performed like this, the 6-Count Burpee will increase mobility in the hips and work the abs and hip flexors extremely hard. Thanks to Steve Maxwell for the instruction and video.

Now let’s up the intensity and fat burning with some Burpee variations. These variations include the use of a barbell and a medicine ball.

Those are some serious fat burning exercises give them a try. But go slow and light to start with. I would like to thank Scott Bird of Straight to the Bar for this video.

And This Is Just Sick. This Guy Is A Total Beast.

Great video. So the moral of the story start doing some burpees in your workouts. You can also do them with kettlebells, dumbbells and sandbags. But like I said ease into them at the start.

Till next time.

Your 14 Day Fat Loss Guide From Turbulence Training

2010-06-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

Link http://howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/?p=242

Craig Ballantyne from Turbulence training has you all set up. Here is a 14 day fat loss guide to fast track your weight loss problems. Go and check it out. It is a day by day guide of what you should be doing starting today.

4 Fat Burning Cardio And Diet Errors and Fixes

2010-06-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

4 Fat Burning Cardio And Diet Errors and Fixes

Strength And Conditioning - Try This Total Body Exercise

2010-06-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I have an excellant video demonstration of the Turkish Get Up from Zach Evan Esh the Underground Strength Coach.

If you aren't using kettlebells yet you should be. Kettlebells are an amazing tool virtually a hand held gym you can take anywhere. One of the best exercises you can do with one kettlebell is the turkish get up which you are about to see.

If you are not familiar with the get up you will see in a minute how it uses virtually the entire body to do. I don't know about you but my belief is that ANY exercise kettlebell or otherwise that uses so many parts of the body at once is not only great for total body conditioning but is also a great time saver.

Okay now let me hand it over to Zach.

Kettlebells are ONE tool I use. One of MANY. So, before you have a nervous breakdown about me praising Kettlebells go ahead and take a deep breath and pay attention.

If you’ve been reading and watching my Blog for even just a short while, you KNOW I am a ‘Soul Lifter’ and love to lift ALL objects, including my own body.

But, Kettlebells are one of my favorite tools, they are extremely versatile AND mobile (and hostile

I use Kettlebells for strength, adding muscle, improving conditioning, speed, power and overall athleticism. They are a PIECE of the puzzle.

Below, broken down, step by step, is one of my top 3 Kettlebell exercises. Check it out and then read on to learn how to properly and most effectively implement this bad boy…

Here are a few ways to incorporate the Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

1) Perform these as a warm up for 5 minutes, in an up – down ladder format: 1 rep each side, 2 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps, 1 rep and repeat until 5 minutes is over.

2) Combine The Kettlebell Turkish Get Up with my other 2 favorite Kettlebell exercises, the snatch and the clean and press. Here is how you can perform this combo:

A) Perform the Turkish Get Up until standing

B) Perform 1 snatch + 1 clean & press

C) Lower yourself down and switch hands when on your back

D) Perform the Turkish Get Up until upright

E) Perform 1 snatch + 1 clean & press

F) Repeat for time or desired reps.

If you want fancy go elsewhere.

Results must be your focus here.

Hitting Turkish Get Ups, Snatches and the Clean & Press can AND will transform you into a Bad Mother F**er. IF you work hard enough

Lead from the FRONT.

Well there you have it. As you can see by Zach's video there is virtually no muscle in the body that the turkish get up doesn't use. So don't you think that would be a great exercise to add to your workouts? I have and I love it.

Start off with a very light weight the get up takes a little time to master. One point I want to emphasize is to always keep your eyes looking up at your kettlebell. This is important to keeping your balance as Zach mentioned.

For more Kettlebell workouts tips and exercises check out The Kettlebell Training Page

And don't forget to check out Zach's program The Underground Strength Coach

6 Pack Abs Another Non Traditional (But Highly Effective) Ab Workout

2010-06-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Link http://fatburningdietsandworkouts.com/6packabs2010/

Are you still struggling to get that six pack abs look? You know that lean tight stomach so your not hanging out over your belt line anymore. Click the link above for a NON Traditional ab workout that can help you reach your goal.

Hybrid Workout Part 5 Add Lean Muscle And Burn Fat

2010-06-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

After 4 weeks on the program, I take a 9 point caliper test which shows I’ve made the awesome gain of 4.01 lbs (yes I have to mention the .01!) of lean body mass (LBM). According to the calipers, my bodyfat as a percentage of my total body weight has actually gone down. A pleasant surprise to me, although I am feeling a little softer in the abs. No matter! 4.01 lbs of LBM is a huge treat! I just want to keep it going! From last week, it’s hard for me to see any changes but they’re happening somewhere.

Back shot- feel like I'm getting bigger in the back..and waist too.

Week 4 begins with a 5X5 lower body day. I’m still doing 135 lbs for my barbell squat, which is not an improvement over last time, but this time I am focusing on going deeper. I am at war with my sticking point! I also remind myself that this workout takes place after a really poor night’s rest, and indulging a bit from Memorial Day weekend. I’m at the point where my body is truly a well-oiled machine. It knows when I’m not feeding it or resting it right. If you eat clean you know what I mean! My deadlifts do see an improvement, which is great. 10 lbs more on the bar than last time. The best feeling is after a heavy leg day, you just feel so strong!

For my Hybrid HIIT day (and this day never gets easier!) I do 20 minutes of HIIT (5 minute warmup with 30 second all-out sprints and 1 minute recoveries) on an elliptical. I decide to switch up the order of the circuit to do chins first, then squats, and finish with the bench press. I vary the grip on the chins this time, using the short rope extension that normally attaches to the cable pulley apparatus. I wrap this around a high bar and am able to get 10, 9, and 7 reps this way. An improvement! I also go a little heavier on the squats 90 lbs (15 reps) and stick with 65 lbs for 15 reps on the bench. I finish with a 15 minute incline walk (8.0) on the treadmill at a speed of 3.7. I think about really squeezing the glutes here with each step and I can feel the difference the next day!

Upper body hypertrophy day does NOT begin the way I planned. I start with the 40s for an incline DB press (last week I picked these up for set 3), so I figure I should start with them, but can only get out 6 reps for sets 1 and 2 before having to drop to the 35s for the final set. I’m so mad at me, but for some reason it’s hotter than normal in the gym today and I don’t have the same awesome spotter that I had last time, so maybe something else is up. I do much better with the Hammer machine flat bench press, though! Comparing set 3 from my last upper body hypertrophy day, I finish with 125 lbs for 8 reps this time (last time it was 115 lbs for 7 reps on set 3). I feel better already! The weighed dips are still kicking my butt. I don’t see an improvement, but at least I’m not getting worse! Just goes to show you, you can’t always see improvement EVERYWHERE, but you got to celebrate the little successes that you do get!

I finish up the week with a lower body hypertrophy day. I decide to shorten the rest periods to 45 seconds to make my life more difficult. The hybrid program encourages rest periods for hypertrophy days of 60 minutes or less, so I’m going for less today. For the front squat, I’m able to squat more than before (10 lb increase) but with shorter rests and more weight, I’m doing 2 fewer reps.

I come out even with last time on the straight leg deadlifts and leg extension, but again, less rest is making the weight a bit more challenging. I am thrilled to see an increase in my lying hamstring curl (8 reps for 65, 60,60,60 lbs) compared to my last lower body hypertrophy day (where I stuck to 50 lbs for 12 reps). All in all, I’m getting stronger, though I know tomorrow I might have trouble walking up the steps!!

OK time to go eat!

Sumi is an experienced group fitness instructor, personal trainer, full-time public policy manager, and mom to two-year old Shaila. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Tufts University and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University. Her passion for fitness gives her the stress relieving release that keeps her going!

A life-long weight-training addict, some of her most proud fitness accomplishments include: losing all the baby weight just eight weeks after a C-section; bench pressing her own body weight; and placing in her age class in several 5 Ks.

Her personal fitness journey continues to get better and more exciting with time. While she loves to lead by example and inspire people to "go for it," her ultimate goal is to be a great mom. Her daughter’s name, Shaila, means the Goddess of Strength and Confidence. Sumi owes it to her to be strong and confident so that she, too, can realize her full potential!

Sunny is currently following Will Brink's Hybrid Workout program which comes free with the deluxe edition of Will Brink's Bodybuilding Revealed

Hybrid Workout Part 4

2010-06-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yeay! Week 3 on Hybrid starts off with a real improvement for me in strength gains and in weight. I’ve gained 1 lb a week steadily since starting eating (a lot more!) for 4 weeks now, so I’m almost at 115. No doubt, I’ve gained some fat too as the pics at the end of this post will show, but it’s a small sacrifice for seeing strength gains.

It’s so satisfying to see the numbers go up here in weight carried. I’m glad I take careful notes and always bring my training journal. Most people feel naked without their iPod— me, I can’t get by without my notebook. I repeated the same workout for the upper body hypertrophy hybrid day and here’s how I made out:

Notes

Exercise Reps Weight Reps Weight

Incline DB Press week 1 (12, 11, 9) 30 - week 3 (15, 12, 8) 30, 35, 40

Next time I’m starting with the 40s!

Hammer Chest Press week 1 11,9,9 (90) - week 3 10, 9, 7 (100, 110, 115)

Weighted Dips week 1 4,6,10 5,( 5) - week 3 No weight 8,8,6 5, 10, 10

Chins week 1 8,7,7 - week 3 8,4,5

Chins were better last week but I did MUCH better with the weighted dips. Compromise!

Hammer machine low row week 1 12,12,12 (70) - week 3 8,9,9 (90)

Partial rep deads in power cage week 1 8,8 (135) - week 3 8,8 (135)

Seated DB Shoulder Press week 1 12, 8 (25,30) - week 3 12,8 (25)

Hmm, week one better effort but I’m starting to feel my form slip. Better to stay safe.

Side Lat Raises week 1 15,15 (15) - week 3 15,12 (15)

We really need a 17.5

Standing barbell curl week 1 12,8,8 (40) - week 3 12,8,8 (40)

Same here, but I try a new move on sets 2 and 3- keeping my back against a wall makes it HARDER

Skullcrushers 15,15,7 (40,40, 50) 8,8,8 (50)

Big improvement! But was clearly being too conservative in week 1!

So- I’m no mathematician, but using the incline DB press and hammer machine press as an example, and comparing the weight carried on set 3, that represents (I think!) an increase in strength of 33% for the incline DB press and 27% for the hammer machine chest press. Whoa, did I really do that right?

The next day is lower body hypertrophy day…and I’ve never met a leg day I didn’t like. Rather than bore you with another chart, I did want to make the important point that I am seeing strength gains here too! Comparing front squats (love to hate em!) on set 3 on week 1 I was using 85 lbs, this time around (week 3) it’s 90 lbs. That’s a 5% improvement. Not huge, but front squats are one of those things where I’m super strict with form and tempo.

Plus, I’m still figuring out the most comfortable spot for bar placement. It’s getting easier though! For barbell lunges, comparing set 3 again, I’m seeing an 8% increase in weight carried (125 lbs and now 135 lbs). For leg extensions, same weight (130) but one more good rep out of each set (8 versus 9) so that is certainly an improvement. I break even with straight leg deadlifts, 115 lbs for 12 reps for 4 sets, but I have to remind myself that the one minute rests really keep my heart rate up and make packing on too much weight a bad idea, at least for me. No matter, there’s nothing that makes you feel like you’ve worked HARD when you’re lifting that bar off the low pins!

Total Body Hybrid HIIT is next up on the agenda. Unfortunately I’m really getting the hang of just how agonizing true HIIT training is. I choose the elliptical machine and use my gymboss interval timer to make sure I complete 10 sprints at 30 seconds with 1 minute recoveries (which by the way, go by WAY too fast!). For those of you who think you know what HIIT is, think again! 20 minutes and I’m TOAST.

My squat, chin, bench circuit is improving too! I can squat 85 lbs for 15 reps (10 lbs over last time), bench 65 for 15 (5 lbs over last time), and well…the chins are another story. For sets 1,2, and 3 I get 10, 8, and 5- diminishing returns indeed! I work on hitting the remaining reps for sets 1 and 2 by jumping up and working the negatives, but by set 3 my tank is on E! I finish with 20 minutes on a stairstepper. I think I’m really starting to understand (sort of) why people get “addicted” to cardio- it feels sooooooo good when it’s all over!!!

Racking up for squats is always a happy moment!

Day 4 is a upper body 5X5 where I really see some improvement in the bench press. When I started, I was benching 85 lbs for a 5X5 and I’m now able to do 95 lbs for the same workout. So exciting! For back I do one arm DB rows with 50 lbs, and before I started Hybrid I was using the 45 lbs. So, all in all, despite gaining some body fat, I know some of it is muscle, and it was a great week!

Sunny is currently following Will Brink's Hybrid Workout program which comes free with the deluxe edition of Will Brink's Bodybuilding Revealed.

Burn Fat With This 1 Fat Burning Exercise

2010-06-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

Link http://howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/?p=217

Click the link above to get the article and video of the bear. Don't know what the bear is? It is the end of your I have no time to exercise excuse.

Strength Conditioning And Health Here's Some Motivation To Succeed

2010-05-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I told you about Tom Venuto of Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle and the Body Transformation contest he is having. Well hopefully you went and checked it out if not or even if you did and are on the fence about Tom's program check out the story about last years female winner Hannah the mother of 3.

This is a little long, but even if you don't want to get involved it can give you so great motivation.

One of the best ways to succeed is to model successful people. Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel, you copy a winning formula that already exists. This can short-cut your trial and error learning curve by months or even years. The problem is, where do you find a role model? Who do you trust? Whose advice do you listen to? If the success you want is a better body, then who better than a body transformation contest winner? (like the amazing champion you’re about to meet…)

On May 24th, we are opening registration for our Burn The Fat 2010 Summer Body transformation challenge. “Contest central” will be located at the Burn The Fat Inner Circle.

With this new challenge coming up, I figured it would be a perfect time to call upon our last year’s champions to pick their brains and find out how they achieved body transformations so amazing that it won them the title of Overall Burn The Fat Champion.

Today I’d like you to meet Hannah Mauck, 2009 Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle Holiday (winter) Challenge women’s champion. Hannah slashed 12 pounds, and burned off 6% body fat in just 7 weeks.

You can’t help but be amazed at the results you see in her before and after photos. But what the pictures don’t say is that Hannah is also a mom of three, ages 5, 3 and 1. She made her contest winning transformation even while taking care of her children, over the busiest time of the year, with the most temptations (the winter challenge ran from Thanksgiving through New Year’s!)

That really puts her achievement into a whole different perspective, not to mention it kills any excuses you might have about family obligations getting in the way.

We interviewed Hannah after her win and pulled out her top body transformation tips. Whether you’re planning to enter our upcoming summer Burn the Fat Challenge or you just want some body transforming tips for your own personal use, this advice is pure gold!

Tom Venuto: how do you think you pulled off such a great fitness transformation while you were managing a family and what would be your advice for other parents who might be worried about getting their pre-baby bodies back or who are concerned about not having the time to work out or make healthy food with kids running around?

Hannah: Thinking I didn’t have time was exactly the reason I was in the predicament I was in, health and body-wise, in the first place. But when I found your Burn the Fat book and I read through, it really clicked with me. I knew that I could do it in a manageable amount of time.

All your techniques – the tracking, the accountability methods and the planning of the meals and workouts actually led me to having a lot more time, because I was more organized and I wasn’t trying to put something together at the last minute. I knew exactly what I would be doing and when I would be doing it.

Also, losing weight and spending the time working out has given me so much more energy and brain clarity, that actually, I have more free time. I’ve been able to get more done by investing time in working out. Not having time is not an issue once you actually focus on your goals. As far as getting my pre-baby body back, my body is better than before I had babies. So that’s not an excuse either.

Tom: It seems like you were pretty meticulous about what you were eating. How closely did you track your calories or your macronutrients, the grams of the protein, carbs and fat? If I read your journal right, you used some kind of electronic device to track everything. How did that work for you?

Hannah: I did track pretty closely. I didn’t even know what a macronutrient was, by your definition, until a couple weeks into your program. Then I realized that was important. I started putting that data in and that really helped me to see where my downfalls were. It leads to a lot of accountability when you have to enter food.

Using the iPod for tracking was really great. I got that idea off the Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle Inner Circle forums, where somebody else was using a program on their iPod. It’s really convenient, because you can have it with you all the time and you can enter your data right away and you can actually make adjustments throughout your day by what you’ve eaten or haven’t eaten. That was really helpful for me.

Tom: Obviously, you got a lot leaner, so that revealed the muscles that might have been there already, but you definitely showed more muscularity in your after picture. This is where you can really help us out. You can help the “greater cause” for us: that is, convincing women to lift weights, when they think they’re either going to get bulky or unfeminine. What do you have to say about that now?

Hannah: It’s not an easy task for women to put on muscle and you don’t look bulky even after you do. But I would also add that we all have different body types. Some of us are going to work out and we’re going to stay looking tall and lean and slender. Others are going to work out and we’re going to be a little bit more muscular naturally.

I think everyone should just embrace their fittest body and learn to be comfortable with their body type, whether you’re a little bit more muscular, or you’re more of the ectomorph or leaner type. I think my body type is a little more mesomorph – It’s a little easier for me to gain muscle, but that in no way added any bulk. We just become a little more defined.

The muscle showed once I lost the fat. But none of my measurements were bigger than before I started the challenge. So it did not, definitely did not add any bulk.

Tom: Some people get overwhelmed with the amount of information in the Burn The Fat book, let alone the huge archives we have at the Burn the Fat Inner Circle. Even though you were a relative newcomer to our community, you went right to work and picked it up so fast. What’s your secret? How did you learn all this so quickly and put all the information into practice so fast?

Hannah: I think the key for me was timing. I stumbled onto an ad of yours on the internet for Burn the Fat, then very shortly after that, you announced the Burn the Fat Challenge over the 2009-2010 holidays. I felt like my babies were old enough and I just needed to get busy, so I was mentally very ready for a change at that point. So I do think you have to be ready to change. .

Then, enrolling, and being involved in that challenge was really the key for the implementation. The holiday challenge was 7 weeks so I didn’t have time to just say, “Oh, I’m going to read that later” or “I’m going to do that later.” I had a goal and a deadline and a challenge so I had to focus and read it and do it now. I think it was really the challenge that helped me to implement everything so fast.

Tom: You said that you had days with low energy and days you felt really hungry. That’s going to happen to just about everybody who has their calories reduced for fat loss. So what did you do, either physically or mentally, to stay on your eating plan even when you were hungry, and stay on your training plan even when you were tired?

Hannah: One thing is I would tell myself that I’m in charge of myself, so I can have anything I want, as long as I wait 30 minutes. A lot of times, just delaying that instant urge to put something in my mouth would be enough to either make it to the next meal or realize I didn’t want it. Another thing was that being around kids and food all day long, I had to tell myself I wasn’t the garbage disposal. That may sound funny, but when you’re picking up food all day long, it’s easy to finish off the kids’ portions of this or that. So I put a halt to that and it really helped me. Drinking a lot of hot tea was another way that satisfied both my sweet tooth and cravings for other things.

As far as being tired, sometimes it was just mental and I pushed through it. I really saw a reward and felt more energy from just getting up and doing the workout. Other times, especially as a mom, I think you have to listen to your body and sometimes you need sleep. There were nights where I was up all night with a sick kid. The next day, I just allowed myself to sleep, or have a nap. That really helped with being able to recover and stay on track, because if I got overly tired, I was not able to make good judgment decisions, as far as what I was eating. Sometimes you just need to sleep.

Tom: In one of your very first challenge journal posts, you wrote, “Blechhh. I can’t believe I posted those pictures.” I know that posting before pictures takes a lot of courage. A lot of other women – and guys – in the challenge felt the same way, because I heard it from so many of them. People asked me, “Do we really have to post pictures to be in this contest?” So I’m curious: Looking back, how do you feel about having posted your before picture, when you can now put it next to your after picture?

Hannah: At the time, I definitely thought I was insane. That’s not the type of thing I would have ever done or considered doing at that point. The pictures were almost what made me not do the challenge. But now, I feel like that was invaluable and I totally understand that requirement today. Measurements and numbers are great, but they’re hard to believe in your head. Being able to actually see the change in your body in a picture – that’s totally invaluable. I wouldn’t be able to believe the numbers without seeing the picture. The picture also really kept my feet to the fire. There was no way to hide what you really looked like with the pictures right there.

And the difference between pictures and the mirror??? HUGE. I can’t really even explain that. Something happens when you look in the mirror that does not happen when you look at a photograph. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know how our brains fool us that way. But I could look in the mirror all day long and not see what I can see from a photograph.

Tom Venuto: For anyone who’s thinking about entering the next challenge and they’re terrified to take their picture and post it in the website, what would be your advice to them – coming from someone who felt the same way, but did it anyways?

Hannah: I completely sympathize and I understand how hard it is. But it really is invaluable and it’s the best way to really admit where you’re currently at and to see the milestones you pass and be able to see the changes in your body. It’s definitely invaluable.

Tom: Our summer transformation contest is the big one – 98 days across the entire summer, but our winter contest only ran from Thanksgiving to the first week of January. You came down 6% body fat in those 7 weeks. To put that into perspective, for most people, it would take 12 weeks to drop 6% body fat. About a half a percent a week is typical fat loss. How did you get results that were so far above average and what is your advice for other people who want to make a “results not typical” transformation?

Hannah: The first thing would be the goal setting techniques from your book. The goal card really helped me – just having that written down goal, instead of some vague idea that I needed to improve, kept me totally focused. Second was using feedback from measurements and actually tracking my progress numbers and being accountable to others on the forum. Third was the pre-planning of when exactly I would work out and what I would do, and menus that I would follow.

Tom : Do you think this whole Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle challenge changed your perception on how much you can transform your body in a short period of time, as in our 7 week challenge?

Hannah: Absolutely. I had no idea it was possible. I’ve always looked at those ads, showing pictures of people changing and I thought like that was just a huge fake. I thought it really wasn’t possible and that it would take at least a year to see visible changes of long, hard, hard work, and that has always been a deterrent for me. So knowing that I can put in a concentrated effort for a certain amount of time and actually see visible results is really encouraging to me.

I feel like you could probably advertise the next challenge by saying that if you just finish the challenge and stick to your goals, you will achieve the untypical results, the above average results. Because so many of the finishers did, just by having the accountability of a challenge like this that you don’t have doing it alone. So many of them worked so hard and lost so much weight or changed their body composition so much. It was just amazing to see.

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Lose Body Fat Not Muscle Or Water Weight

2010-05-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Join The Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle Body Transformation Contest

Burn The Fat Weight Loss and Fitness In 98 Days Join The Contest
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto is one of the most successful weight loss and fitness products around today. Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is the #1 best selling diet and fitness ebook in the history of the Internet. In fact, it's one of the best selling e-books on ANY subject in the history of the Internet -... And there's a reason why...

It's because thousands of women and men of every age are burning off BODY FAT - not muscle or water weight - and they're doing it naturally, without supplements, pills or "magic potions," simply by using the proven, scientifically-accurate and common-sense advice found inside this amazing diet and fitness guidebook.

I don't want to get in to a whole review here for Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle but if you click the link you can go to my review.

So Tom is having a Body Transformation contest. The deadline is May 30th 2010. To give you an idea what it's all about I took this from Tom's site.

* Tools For Body Transformation Success: *

Motivation and Rewards (MAUI! and other great prizes)

Group Support (you'll be joining thousands of "burners", all cheering you on!)

Personal and group Accountability (the program is structured, so you'll be accountable for your results - you can even join a team if you want "double accountability!")

A powerful program with a proven track record (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle - official fat burning program of the Burn the Fat Challenge)

* A New You In Just 98 Days! *

This is one of two challenges sponsored by Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle every year. Our holiday (winter) challenge takes place over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's - Those 49 days fly by fast.

The Burn The Fat 2010 summer challenge - which is open for entry between May 24th and May 30th this year - runs twice as long - 98 days - which is why we've nicknamed it "THE BIG BURN!"

That means you have ample time and opportunity to make a HUGE, MASSIVE change in your body (a LOT can happen in 14 weeks!)

The best part is, the changes in your body will be the IDEAL kind - you'll be burning off pure body fat, not just water weight or lean body mass - and you may even find yourself gaining some lean muscle in the process.

This is like no fitness contest you've ever seen before, because:

You are competing against yourself for personal improvement, not against others.

This is NOT a "weight loss" contest. This is a body composition transformation contest.

This is a lifestyle transformation - NOT a crash diet or anything extreme.

The offer is simple: Buy a copy of the ebook, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle or purchase an Inner Circle membership and get free admission into the Summer Challenge.

So there you go a body transformation with the help of one of the most respected trainers in the fitness industry and the chance to win some great prizes.

Here is the link to the Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle Contest. Good Luck!!!!

A Hybrid Workout Part 3

2010-05-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sumi’s Hybrid Journey Week 2

22 May || by Sumi Singh

Posted in Sumi's Hybrid Program Journal, Training Programs, Women's Health

I’m following the every other day training protocol for Hybrid, and this week begins with a total body Hybrid HIIT protocol. I decide to look up Will’s suggestion for trying his “killer conditioning” day (sounds fun!). In his video, Will uses a piece of cardio equipment that looks like an elliptical/stairstepping machine. Honestly, there are so many choices at the gym, and all the fancy gadgets and screens confuse me a bit, but I pick one that looks similar to the one in his video.

After a brief 5-minute warm up, I do 1 minute low intensity followed by 30 seconds all out 100% tongue-hanging-out panting-like-my-dog effort, and repeat. I did that for 15 minutes, which is literally all I could stand. I get off and my legs are wobbly but I can still walk. Success!

I can’t do math and work out at the same time, but I count the intervals when I’m done and I’ve nine, which sounds like too many. I’m thinking next week I’m going to try this on a machine I’m more familiar with!

Next up is the squat/chins/bench press weight circuit. I’m sweaty and determined. Last week I substituted lat pulls for the chins because I could only complete 12 on round 1 (not 15 like advised), but this week I’m determined to stick to my chinups even if I don’t hit the 15. For set 1 I got to 12, but for round 2 and 3, I barely hit 8 good ones, am mad, so finish 5 reps by jumping up, and working the negatives. I keep telling myself that this will get easier!

I finish with 20 minutes on another new machine (to me), the stair master. At first, I step on the pedals and sink down to the floor like a water buffalo. I look nothing like the cardio bunnies around me who hop on this thing like gazelles.

Why don’t I see these gals on the weight room floor? I ask this question later of the guy at the front desk, and he tells me it’s because they all think weights will make them “bulky.” I’m thinking “really??? Have they seen me? All 112 lbs of bulkiness??” Anyway, I select a function called “glute blaster,” because I figure my glutes need all the help they can get. After this, I head back to the pullup bar and finish 12 chinups…for fun! My heart is pumping and I’m sweating…err glowing!

The next day is a 6X6 upper body core workout. I am really looking forward to this-I get 3 minute rest periods (yum!) and get to push 80% of my max. Today calls for bench presses (love `em), deadlifts (my fave next to barbell squats and pullups!), incline DB presses, and weighted chins (never done them).

I’m pleasantly surprised that I’m able to lift more already on my bench press over from last week on my 5X5 day! I easily get to 6 reps at 85, bump it a little to 90 to get 6 again, and finish a little less peppy with 5 reps at the same weight. Still after supersetting with deadlifts at 135 lbs (I take no break between the bench and the deads, only once the superset is complete do I rest for 3 minutes) I feel good about my effort. I then superset with incline DB presses (I pick up the 40 lbs but only get out 4,6,and 5 reps). It was a challenge from start to finish but I know the 35s would be way too light. Ugh- I need a 37.5!!

The icing on the cake was discovering I could do weighted chins!! When doing regular chins on my Hybrid HIIT day, I’m already a little spent from the circuit, so I assumed the weighted chins would kick my butt. I’m able to do 12 with 5 lbs, so figure I should pick up the 10s on the next two rounds. I’m happy to be able to do more than 6 reps. 8 to be exact! Next time, more weight on that chain!

The next day is a 6X6 lower body day. So far, I haven’t met a day on the Hybrid that I don’t like. I love them all equally! I choose barbell back squats supersetted with leg curls and leg presses paired with straight leg deadlifts. The power rack is my best friend. I warm up for a 135- lb squat with the warm up protocol described by one the brilliant BBR mods. It’s not like what I used to think about warm ups (i.e., 20 reps with a light weight, but a 5,3,2,1 rep scheme with progressively heavier weights).

I get warm and tell myself I’ve come a long way with the weight, but as I approach the last rep and attempt break below parallel on my squat I feel my form give and the power rack pins come to the rescue. Very frustrating! Getting to ¾ of the way is never an issue but below that it’s a whole new challenge. Something to work on for sure and comments welcome!

Still, despite my frustration I know I’ve improved on the leg curl (70 lbs for 6 reps straight after a 135 is good for me- considering I fought with 70 lbs on a 5X5 the previous week!). Though you can’t see the plates too well, I’m currently leg pressing 380 lbs for 6 reps (I think you can tell by the look on my face though- yikes!). Those gals in the fitness mags who smile through this are either pressing nothing for the sake of the shoot or are superhuman. This ain’t pretty!

The final day of this week is another HIIT training day. But before I begin today’s protocol, I head off in the morning to watch a local figure and bodybuilding show. These athletes have trained hard and dieted harder, so I’ve got plenty of admiration for their hard work and sacrifice.

I’m posting some pics of me with some of the Master’s Bodybuilders and the show’s organizer. (Can you see how happy I look next to those guys…ahem. Maybe too happy.) There’s also a shot of the figure girls and women bodybuilders on stage. From a distance they all look amazing. The show’s organizer tells me that she thinks women’s bodybuilding is a dying sport. Only 4 of them compete today, and there are at least 3 times as many figure girls. I also have a chance to chat with the families and friends of the competitors. It’s a very friendly, supportive environment, even though one husband jokes that his wife has been really cranky during the last few weeks of dieting (she wasn’t around to hear that!)

After the show I head home for my final day of Hybrid this week. I’m doing this workout at home, but luckily I have all the tools to get today’s workout complete. I put my toddler down for her nap, and while she’s off in dreamland, I begin my workout.

I set the incline at 1.5, warm up for 5 minutes on the treadmill, and begin with a sprint at a pace of 6:22 for 30 seconds, walk for 1 minute and repeat the madness for 10 cycles. I can only hope my neighbors below forgive me because I assume I’m pounding our floorboards! I have no idea if this pace is a true sprint, but it’s 9.4 out of 10 as far as level of intensity.

The model I’m using only goes up to to 10! I know I worked hard because the squat, chin, and bench circuit kick my butt. Still not able to complete the full 15 for the chins, and my ability to complete them gets harder and harder by circuit 3. But as aggravating as it is, part of my really enjoys the battle. It’s a fight to the end! I finish with a 20 minute walk at a 14:45 pace at a 2.5 incline.

OK, time to go eat!

About Sumi

Sumi is an experienced group fitness instructor, personal trainer, full-time public policy manager, and mom to two-year old Shaila. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Tufts University and a Masters in Environmental Management from Duke University. Her passion for fitness gives her the stress relieving release that keeps her going!

A life-long weight-training addict, some of her most proud fitness accomplishments include: losing all the baby weight just eight weeks after a C-section; bench pressing her own body weight; and placing in her age class in several 5 Ks.

Her personal fitness journey continues to get better and more exciting with time. While she loves to lead by example and inspire people to "go for it," her ultimate goal is to be a great mom. Her daughter’s name, Shaila, means the Goddess of Strength and Confidence. Sumi owes it to her to be strong and confident so that she, too, can realize her full potential!

Sunny is currently following Will Brink's Hybrid Workout program which comes free with the deluxe edition of Will Brink's Bodybuilding Revealed.

7 Minutes For Fat Loss And Better Health?

2010-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Today I have an article for you from well known fitness and health author Jon Benson.

7 Minute Science The science behind brevity training by Jon Benson, Author of 7 Minute Muscle

A few months ago I released a book whose title was more reminiscent of a line out of "There's Something About Mary" than a serious work on fitness. "7 Minute Muscle" -- yep, it's getting more and more difficult to distinguish fact from parody.

Here's the real irony: Of the 27 testimonials I've received so far that I deem worthy of publishing on the web, over a dozen were from fitness professionals. I'm not talking about "doctors" with a gut as large as their paycheck. I'm speaking of men and women with both academic and real-world experience in the fitness and bodybuilding world.

There were exceptions of course. My friend John Berardi, while saying some nice things about the work, couldn't endorse it due to the emphasis on shorter training sessions. That's cool. Everyone has a different approach. But the overwhelming number of folks with consonants behind their names -- those who read the book and applied the principles -- had wonderful things to say.

There's a reason for that: The workout protocol is based on the science of hypertrophy as well as psychophysiology, the study of the mind/body connection.

I will delve into the mental aspects of the protocols in a later article. For now, since most of you are experienced, educated and (dare I say it) hard-core, let's delve into the meat.

7 Minute Muscle is primarily a density-based training system. It demands varying rep ranges done within specific time periods. The protocol factors six of the primary variables of hypertrophy, or muscle growth: Intensity, Load, Volume, Density, Time and Force. (Time includes rest intervals as well as the time required to perform a given task.)

A layman's take on one of the basic laws of physics states that time and energy are interrelated. Doing the same amount of work in less time demands more energy, which translates into more power. While power is a factor in training, our interest is focused on forcing muscle growth and adaptation. This is also an element of time and energy. More energy expended in less time = more power.

If you break down the typical 3-4 set bench press routine, with reps starting at 12 and ending in the 4-6 range, with longer rest intervals between heavier sets, you'll find that the aggregate weight lifted is "less" than a protocol like 7 Minute Muscle, which uses 'less' weight (easier on the joints) but demands more work in less time. In other words, X amount of repetitions done with Y amount of weight in just 5 minutes (phase 1 of our two-phase protocol) ends up being greater than your typical 3-4 set protocol, despite the fact that more weight is used in the latter.

Other routines, of course, utilize this factor of density. Vince Gironda's infamous 8 sets of 8, EDT and so-forth. 7 Minute Muscle goes a bit further by varying rest, load factors and repetition range. Reps will vary from as low as one rep to as much as ten, and all of this is at the trainee's discretion. They have only one objective: Increase the aggregate repetition count from one training session to the next.

Since time is limited (broken down into two phases: A Power Phase of no more than 5 repetitions and a Mass Phase of no more than 10 repetitions) the trainee is given a system that more accurately measure the seventh and most crucial factor of hypertrophy: Progression.

More work in less time. Variable repetition ranges. Variable rest intervals. And all in seven minutes (for beginners.) Intermediate and advanced-level trainees are given 14 and 21-minute protocols if they wish to implement them. I myself rarely go beyond 14 minutes, as that is all that's required to stimulate muscle growth.

I will cover health factors, cardiovascular work, ab training, and the science of mind and body in future articles. For now, give 7 Minute Muscle a shot. There's nothing funny about it, except for the fact that you'll be laughing all the way home from the gym as you finished your killer workout while your buddies were still warming up.

A Hybrid Workout Journey Part 2

2010-05-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

This is the first week in the hybrid training program that I recently told you about. Sumi as you may recall is following the hybrid workouts of Will Brink in his Bodybuilding Revealed program.

Hybrid Week 1!

15 May by Sumi Singh

Sumi's Hybrid Program Journal, Training Programs

Week 1 on the Hybrid was AWESOME. Day 1 was a 5X5 chest and back day. I was warned 5X5s would take some “getting used to” as I have never followed a program that has such long rest periods between sets. The hardest part was figuring out what was 80-85% of my 1 rep max was as that’s a fairly new concept for me also. That was the weight I could successfully handle for about 5-6 reps while maintaining correct form. I was also warned it would take a few weeks to really dial in the correct loading (which changes depending on what part of the program you are following) so I’m still getting that figured out, which will be apparent from the number below.

Regarding rest, I’ll agree that after a great set of squats and deads with a BIG weight, you do need all the rest. For me, it was mainly to regain the right mental attitude! Most people, especially women, are used to taking short rests between sets and have not really worked with such a planned program that forces you to work at specific weights, times between sets, etc.

5X5 upper body day

Bench Press:

95 lbs X 4 (ugh! That made me feel totally weak)

85 X 5

85 X 5 (big fight with that last rep)

80 X 5

85 X 5 (regained my attitude)

Thought on the above: I see lots of room for improvement on weight. I’ve benched my own weight (110) for a 1 rep max so am on a mission to improve here! Some guy at the gym admired my “strict form” so that made me feel a little better! Strict form with lower weights beats “heavy” weights with sloppy form any time!

Deadlifts: (one of my favorite exercises, ever)

145 lbs X 5

145 X 4 (ack!)

140 X 5 (dropped weight a touch, but it felt “easy”)

145 X 5 (felt back rounding on last rep. Some guy lent me his fancy brand wrist straps saying it really helped him, but for me it was just another thing to get used to. No thanks for me, at least for now!)

145 X 5 (lost the wrist straps and a perfect set. Way to end!)

Deadlifts!

Day 2 was a 5×5 lower body day. Totally excited to get this one in, as I love training legs and LOVE the barbell squat.

Barbell Back Squat: (one of my favorite exercises, ever)

125 X 5 (ok too easy. Certainly not 80-85% of a 1 rep max)

135 x 4 (4! 4! That’s it? I think I sat too deep on this one. The power rack pins saved me!)

130 X 5

130 X 5 (regaining my confidence now)

135 X 5 (Yeay! Can’t wait for the next squat day)

Lying Leg Curl:

80 x 4 (grr. Too heavy, bar barely touches butt on last rep)

60 X 8 (grr. Far too easy)

65 X 7 (still too easy)

70 X 5 (ouch, that’s the weight)

70 X 5 (now I know where to start next time!)

Hybrid HIIT Day!

Nothing like an intense, sweaty, heart pumping session to make you feel like you’re really getting in a great workout. It has been months since I stepped on a treadmill so it was like getting reacquainted with an old friend. I decided to follow Will’s suggestion of walking at a medium pace for 5 minutes, and running for 1 and repeating several times, which is more interval training then true HIIT, but I’ll get the HIIT part of the program done as I get used to the overall program. It took me a couple tries to figure out what my “running” pace was. A 7 minute mile was the number. After 20 minutes, my heart was pumping and I was ready for my squat, chinup, and bench press circuits.

I was disappointed that I could only eke out 12 reps of unassisted chinups, so decided to do pulldowns for sets 2 and 3. Oh well- at least I have a target number to aim for! My trusty gym workout buddy, George said, “why don’t you just use the assisted chinup machine to get to 15?” but as I have learned from Will and crew, assisted machines don’t translate well to actual chins ups, so best to just work on those chins! The circuit truly kicked my butt! By set three on the final set of bench presses, the last rep was a fight!

I finished with 20 minutes on a machine I never ever use…a rowing machine. After I stood up I felt it everywhere, and especially in my glutes. Who knew? My new favorite piece of cardio equipment!

Upperbody Hypertrophy Workout: Memo to self: take more caffeine pre workout:

First of all, those 60 second rest periods were WAY to short! For the most part when I lift, I normally take 2 minutes, so cutting that in half was a real challenge. Plus, I had typically split all my upper body work in the past (i.e., a back day only, or a chest day, etc etc) so getting chest, back, shoulders, bis, and tris all in fried in one hour was a challenge! I had to drop weight all across the board (very humbling for us show -off types), but even so, with more reps and less rest the workout was a battle to the end. And OW!!!: chinups and weighted dips with weight belt were insane! This one guy did clap for me though and my upper body was TOAST. Here’s a pic of me doing some bicep curls.

For Day 4 of the program, I was looking forward to lower body hypertrophy day. Same structure as the upper day (i.e., more reps, less rest) and I started with an exercise I don’t do very often, the front squat. Body Building Revealed teaches you to be strong from all angles, and although I can carry a much bigger load for a back squat, the front squat is a whole new feeling.

I also did Barbell lunges (NOW I can get more weight on that bar!), Leg extensions, Straight leg deads, Leg curls (that was awesome, my hams were fried from all the high volume work!), and finished with some calf work. My overall take from today was that I’m still figuring out the appropriate load for this sort of routine, so now I know that next time, I can strive for more! I left the gym feeling strong.

Well, that’s my first week report of doing this program, and so far, it’s fantastic stuff. Oh and I’m posting a pic of my body on week 1 of the program. After 2 weeks of eating almost 3000 calories (according to FitDay) I’ve gained a whole pound, and so far body fat has remained constant. I’m a work in progress!

A Hybrid Training Journey

2010-05-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

I wanted to bring you something I find very interesting. We are going to be following along with someone that is working on developing some lean muscle while keeping her body fat in check. her name is Sumi Singh and she is following Will Brinks Hybrid training program as laid out in his Bodybuilding Revealed program.

So as Sumi posts new updates on her progrees I will bring them to you. So here is her first post.

Welcome to my training journal that will follow my progress and experience with Will’s Hybrid Program. I have been a member of his BBR forums for some time now, and have greatly benefited from the info I found there. I kept reading about the impressive results people were having with this program, and decided to give it a try!

Although I have been very dedicated to both exercise and nutrition, I have not tried anything quite like this in the past, so I’m excited to get started. I hope BrinkZone members will follow along with my progress, and help me keep motivated. I plan to add pictures and other updates as I get used to all this. I’m also new to blogging,so bear with me.

What is the Hybrid training program ?

Will Brinks Hybrid Training is…

• One of the most productive programs you will ever follow and is described as a “best of all possible worlds” routine.

• A fairly advanced multiple training program designed to produce the best overall blend of hypertrophy and leanness.

• Uses a variety of rep ranges, volume, tempo without overemphasizing any one energy pathway over the course of 12 weeks.

• Not for the beginner or poorly motivated.

• Downright fun, highly effective for altering body composition and strength gains, and for the strength athlete looking to try something different and non-traditional.

With all this in mind and having reviewed the training protocol and asking as many questions as possible from the Hybrid Program creator and Body Building Revealed author, Will Brink, I can’t wait to get officially started with my own journey on Hybrid on May 8.

I’ve been a group fitness instructor for over 5 years, am a certified personal trainer, work full time as a public policy advocate, and am mommy to a busy and beautiful two-year old princess.

Every week I’ll detail my goals, stats, and progress (with pics!).

Here’s a little detail about my goals , stats, and diet.

As far as goals go, for me, it’s to get stronger and build lean body mass by keeping my body guessing with this workout. Variety is key here. For me, I can easily measure strength by documenting increases in reps and/or poundage after repeating the same workout in a week or so. Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, weighted pullups/dips, barbell rows…those are some of the exercises I want to see some gains in.

At around 111.5 pounds (on a good day!) another obvious goal is to get my weight up to 115, at a minimum. At 5”4 (and ¾!) I can stand to gain weight. I think the only other time I felt OK about deliberately gaining weight was when I was pregnant! So this should be fun. I’m accomplishing this by eating roughly 2500 calories a day, making any adjustments if I see weight drop. I doubt that will happen considering all the food I’m eating. The meal plan is below. I’m not calling it a diet!

To measure lean body mass, I followed Will’s recommendation to get a body fat measuring tool called Accumeasure. After a couple of tries, the thing insisted my body fat was 13.2%. I’m not quite so sure though. A 9-point caliper test had me at 16% and a handheld bioimpedence tool had me at 15%. So, maybe I’m somewhere at 15%. I’ll repeat all the same tests in a few weeks time. I’m thinking maybe 2-3 weeks…

Finally, because the program incorporates REAL high intensity interval training, I’m looking forward to seeing gains in recovery, how fast I can step, run, or row during the working intervals. With the help of my trusty Gymboss Interval Timer, I know I’m going to be sticking to those work times.

Of course, no one can expect to take on a program like this without eating (and in my case, a LOT). Here’s the meal plan:

Meal 1: 8 egg whites, one yolk, ½ cup oatmeal

Meals 2, 3, 4, and 5. 6 oz of lean meat, 1 cup veggies, ¾ cup brown rice. Lather, rinse, and repeat. 1 TBSP almond butter every other day.

Meal 6: 7 oz lean fish, ½ cup veggies, 4 tsps Barlean’s Omega Swirl Fish Oil (yummy!)

OK time to go eat! Wish me luck, strength, and lean body mass

Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors. Will is the author of the popular e-books, both acommpanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.

Talk to you soon Jag252

5 Fat Burning Cardio Workouts

2010-05-13T02:18:00.000-07:00

Link http://howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com/Articles/?p=173

Strength Training Slow Or Explosive Lifting?

2010-05-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Slow VS Explosive Lifting: The Controversy Continues…

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS Director, Staley Training Systems

“Injuries are not caused by methods per se, but by the inappropriate, premature, and/or excessive application of methods.”

– Charles Staley

In all the years I’ve been involved in sports conditioning, I’ve never seen an issue with as much longevity and potential for heated debate as the question of whether or not it is necessary, safe, and or effective to perform “explosive” or “ballistic” movements in the weight room.

If you’re active on the internet, you’ll discover endless, passionate (and often, ugly) confrontations between those who advocate slow lifting speeds, and those who espouse so-called explosive training techniques, such as Olympic lifting and it’s derivatives, and plyometric training methods.

While it is true that explosively-performed (i.e., high velocity) repetitions can be potentially more dangerous than low velocity movements, it’s just as true that heavier weights, since they put more tension on the musculoskeletal system, are potentially more dangerous than lighter weights. So it really becomes an issue of using the right tool for the right job.

Remember, in order to train a biologic system, you must apply stress to that system. Too much stress leads to injury; too little leads to little or no effect; just the right amount leads to a training effect.

As you read this article, please refer to the section below which outlines the more technical terms used herein (click here or scroll down). These terms are often used inappropriately, which leads to even more confusion.

Also, please resist the human instinct to either agree or disagree with the statements I will make. Instead, simply listen. Observe. Correlate the material to your own experiences. In this way, you’ll give yourself the best opportunity to come to an intelligent decision regarding this issue.

What is Training?

Training involves the exposure of a biologic system to the systematic application of increasing stress at a frequency, intensity, and duration below that system’s maximal tolerance limit, which, over time, causes a resultant increase in that system’s tolerance limit (1).

Different training methods cause different adaptations. For example, sets lasting between 20 and 70 seconds seem to promote hypertrophy better than sets of greater or lesser duration (2). Sets performed with incomplete rests develop anaerobic capacity through a greater proliferation of capillaries in the muscle(s) being trained (3). High repetition sets develop Type I (slow twitch) fibers, while low repetition sets with heavy weight challenge Type II (fast twitch) fibers.

Long-term performance of an exercise which takes a muscle through less than it’s full range of motion promotes a shortening of that muscle, while chronic use of exercises which take the muscle through it’s full range of motion encourage the muscle to become longer (4).

These examples of the specificity principle strongly imply that the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems are capable of adapting to explosive movements just as they are capable of adapting to any other type of stimuli provided.

This is the real key to understanding this issue...that the athlete moves through an appropriate series of progressions which allow a sequential exposure to a gradually increasing stimulus. If you skip any part of this progression, or if you progress too quickly, injury may result as you exceed the body’s “maximum tolerance threshold” to that stimulus.

Defining the Issue

Before we proceed further, please appreciate that this issue is a difficult one to analyze, since there are several ways to lift a weight.

For example, powerlifting is not normally considered an “explosive” event, since at 1RM levels, the bar moves very slowly, due to its mass. Nevertheless, the lifter is attempting to maximally accelerate the bar. So, are we discussing the actual speed of the lift, or the attempt to maximally accelerate the weight (even if the implement speed is low to to its mass)?

Also, we must distinguish between lifting weights at a fast tempo, and lifting weights in an accelerative manner (increasing the speed over the duration of a repetition). Further, are we speaking of lifting light to moderate weight, or heavy weights?

For instance, when performing the deadlift, using a fast lifting speed with a light weight would simply reduce both the tension, as well as the time under tension, of the involved musculature, leading to a compromised training effect.

However, when deadlifting a challenging weight, you stand a better chance of making the lift if you attempt to accelerate the bar. It is important to understand that this is a smooth acceleration, not a rapid “jerk” on the bar, which would in fact, increase the likelihood of injury.

Incidentally, I define “good form” a bit differently than most. If you enter a workout with pre-determined parameters such as number of sets and reps, tempo, optimal body alignment, range of motion (which may be complete or partial) length of rest periods, and you maintain these parameters, you’re using “good form.”

So for example, you may set out to use a 2 second tempo, which is relatively fast (and may or may not be safe, depending on the exercise, your experience, the weights being lifted, and a host of other factors). However, if you set out to do a 4 second tempo, and due to fatigue or inattention it ends up being a 2 second tempo, this shows a lack of control, which in my opinion, heightens the potential for injury.

So, although many people cite the dangers of “fast” or “explosive” lifting, I hope you can now appreciate that the issue is far more complex than most people consider. During this article, I will make reference to explosive, ballistic, and accelerative lifting techniques, in an effort to cover the various possible methods.

Is Accelerative Activity an Inherent Characteristic of Human Movement?

The phenomenon known as the stretch-shortening cycle (or SSC) strongly hints that the body is, in fact, designed for ballistic and accelerative stress (5).

To illustrate this concept, I’ll ask you to imagine the act of throwing a baseball, overhand style.You grab the ball, extend your throwing arm behind you, and, just as the arm nears complete extension (the eccentric portion of the throw), you rapidly reverse the motion (the concentric phase) and release the ball.

Now, just as an experiment, extend the arm back, and pause for three seconds before you throw. It’s intuitively obvious that the second throw, aside from feeling totally unnatural, will travel much slower and result in a shorter throw.

When you throw (or jump, hit, etc) correctly, the musculo-tendinous unit stores potential kinetic energy during the eccentric phase of the movement. At full stretch, the muscle begins its reversal into the concentric phase. If you use proper timing (the “switch” between eccentric and concentric must be very rapid), you can recover all that potential energy and return it during the concentric phase. If you wait-even for a split second- the energy will dissipate.

A simpler way to visualize the SSC is to imagine the muscles as elastic bands that stretch during eccentric activity, and contract during the concentric portion of the movement. (Incidentally, plyometric training programs, usually consisting of various jumps and throws, are designed to train the elastic potential of the musculoskeletal system.)

If you watch people carefully in various situations, you’ll notice that, whenever there is an option to accelerate a load, people will take that option.

On stairclimbing machines, people will, especially as fatigue sets in, tend to step in a bouncy, choppy manner. When a heavy box must be lifted from the floor to a high shelf, a person will accelerate the box throughout the lift.

Further, the motor cortex will normally choose a movement pattern where more muscle groups can participate in the effort, in order to conserve energy and avoid dangerous levels of stress to any single muscle involved in the movement.

Optimal Progression Ensures Safety

Now the question becomes “If this is how muscles work in everyday activities, should we train muscles this way?” My colleague Paul Chek often asserts that “First isolate, then integrate.” What Paul means by this is that before asking the chain to produce high levels of force, one should first strengthen each link of the chain, especially the weakest links.

When training a link, you must “isolate” that link...in other words, create a movement or exercise where associated links have no ability to assist in that movement.

Since muscles are the links in any kinetic chain, another way to view this progression is to “First, train muscles, then train movements.” Either way you choose to conceptualize it, most accelerative lifting movements (such as modified Olympic lifts such as power cleans & snatches, push-jerks, jumps, throws, etc.) involve large numbers of muscles.

Therefore, if these individual muscles are brought to maximum strength levels prior to accelerative, multi-joint movements, the athlete lessens the potential for injury. However, if any link in the chain is relatively weak, that link would logically have a greater potential for injury during any explosive type exercise that involves it.

As an example of the proceeding progression, an athlete wishing to perform power cleans might spend 6-9 weeks developing strength in the quads, hamstrings, spinal erectors, trapezius, glutes, scapular retractors, and gastrocs, and then gradually switch to more explosive training methods, while maintaining the strength of the individual muscle groups, using a reduced volume (about 30 to 50 percent) of work.

In my experience working with Olympic weightlifters, I have used various permutations of this progression and have never witnessed a serious injury.

A recent study by Brian P. Hamill (please see sidebar entitled Multi-Sport Comparative Injury Rates) collaborates my observations (6). In his analysis of statistics derived from surveys and competitions, Hamill found that competitive weightlifting is safer than many other sports, including soccer, recreational weight training, and (believe it or not) badminton.

In his analysis, Hamill suggests that qualified supervision is the most important precondition for safe participation in both competitive weightlifting and recreational weight training.

Should Bodybuilders Perform Ballistic, Explosive, or Accelerative Weight Training?

Legions of successful competitive bodybuilders have achieved their goals without using these techniques. However, it has been my experience that many top physique stars have achieved their success in spite of their training methods and habits, not because of them.

When you have a superior somatype and a favorable hormonal system to support it, and when you have a superior ability to train hard on a consistent basis, you don’t need to sweat the details. Recreational pharmacology should be factored in, also.

But let’s assume that you’re at least the fourth generation of your family to stand upright. Let’s also assume you have a job, and limited chemistry skills. Let’s further assume that your training program could benefit from a bit of variation, and even some fun.

If you fit this profile, and if you employ qualified supervision (I’d recommend calling the United States Weightlifting Federation at 719-578-4508 in order to find a qualified weightlifting coach in your area), I would urge you to explore these methods.

The downside? For starters, HIT Jedis will call you a fool. Also, you may abandon bodybuilding for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. You also run the risk of slow twitch fiber atrophy, as your Type II fibers hypertrophy to unprecedented size. Finally, you may suffer guilt pangs as you find yourself actually enjoying training again. On balance, I’d say it’s worth the risk.

SIDEBAR - Is “HIT” Dead?

For years, the most vocal faction of coaches and athletes in opposition to explosive lifting techniques has been known as “HIT” an acronym meaning “High Intensity Training.”

The HIT doctrine took root through the teachings of Arthur Jones, and has been furthered by Mike Mentzer, and several collegiate strength coaches. HIT has traditionally favored single set, low-speed, machine based movements, and has been vehemently opposed to multi-set periodized approaches, explosive lifts and plyometrics, and free weight exercises.

Recently, however, the HIT “Jedi” (the self-appointed term for adherents of the HIT philosophy) have all but merged with the mainstream on issues of number of sets, repetition ranges, and the use of free weights. They remain steadfast on the use of explosive lifting techniques, however.

In the recently released HITFAQv2.0a , the section describing “proper form” advises “raising and lowering the weight in a deliberate, controlled manner.” The FAQ continues “Anytime, anyone, be they Mr. Universe, or whomever, tells you to move a weight fast, in an ‘explosive’ style, just walk away. That person is a fool.” (I always thought that anyone who took comfort in applying blanket statements to a wide range of circumstances was a fool, but maybe I’ve got it wrong!)

Important Terminology

1) Torque:

The effectiveness of a force to produce rotation of an object about an axis (7). Measured as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation. The SI (International System) unit of torque is the newton-meter (N.m)

2) Force:

That which changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion in matter (7). Force may increase or decrease the velocity of an object. The SI unit of force is the newton (N).

3) Work:

Tthe product of an expressed force and the distance of displacement of an object, irrespective of time (7). The SI unit of work is the joule (J). To measure work, you would multiply the force applied by the distance the force was applied over.

4) Power:

The rate of performing work (7). The SI unit of power is the watt (W). To measure power, you would

5) Velocity:

A change in either the speed or direction of an object, or a change in both the speed and direction of an object (8). Most people use the term velocity to describe a change in the speed of an object.

6) Explosive Strength:

One of two elements of speed strength (power) -the ability to apply a maximal force against an external object (such as a shot put or barbell), or ones own body, as in sprinting or jumping, in minimum time (9).

7) Ballistic:

Infers movement which is accelerative, of high velocity, and with actual projection into free space (10). Ballistic activities include throwing and jumping.

Upping Your Fat Burning Workout

2010-05-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been sharing with you information about Joel Marions new fat loss program Xtreme Fat Loss. Today I want to share with you a workout that Joel told me about it is a really cool technique that he calls SUPER supersets.

So what’s a SUPER superset? Well, nothing official, but rather a name that he more or less just came up with to describe a technique in which you combine two different superset techniques: Post-fatigue supersets and antagonistic supersets.

If you have no idea what that means, don’t worry, I’ll explain.

When you hear the term “superset” in regards to weight training, it generally refers to performing two exercises for a particular muscle group back to back (with little or no rest inbetween) in order to maximally fatigue the muscle group in question. This is an example of post-fatigue and isolated failure.

A great way to use post-fatigue supersets is to start off with a big, multi-joint movement (for example, the bench press) and then “superset” that movement with a smaller isolation exercise (i.e. dumbbell flyes) to ensure maximal stimulation and fatigue of the target muscle group (in this case, the chest).

Antagonistic supersets on the other hand are a bit different.

For those unfamiliar with the term, antagonists are simply opposing muscle groups or muscles that perform opposite actions. For example, the chest and back are antagonistic muscle groups, triceps and biceps, quads and hamstrings, etc.

With antagonistic supersets, you alternate back and forth between exercises involving opposing muscle groups. For example, do a set of dumbell bench presses and then follow it up with a set of seated rows.

Antagonistic training allows you to save time in the gym by working the opposite muscle group while the other group “rests”. Time between antagonistic supersets is usually longer than between regular ”post-fatigue” supersets, but still allows you to trim rest periods down tremendously in order to cut your workout time by at least a third.

And if that wasn’t enough, antagonistic supersets have also been shown to have an immediate impact on strength levels by inhibiting something known as antagonistic co-contraction (but we’ll save that for another blog post).

So, how do you combine the two for the ultimate SUPER superset?

It’s pretty easy really:

1. Pair antagonistic muscle groups together for your workout. For example, pair chest/back.

2. Set up the use of post-fatigue supersets for each muscle group.

Here’s how to structure your workout:

•Antagonistic superset pairing: chest/back

•Post-fatigue superset pairing for chest: dumbbell bench press (compound)/dumbbell flyes (isolation)

•Post-fatigue superset pairing for back: pull ups (underhand grip; compound)/lat pull downs (wide overhand grip; more isolated)

Combining the two:

A1) Dumbbell Bench Press supersetted with Dumbbell Flyes [12 reps each; no rest between sets]

Rest 45 seconds.

A2) Pull Ups (Underhand Grip) supersetted with Lat Pulldowns (Wide Overhand Grip) [12 reps each; no rest between sets]

Rest 45 seconds.

Repeat the above sequence 5 times.

So how about you? What type of workout did YOU do yesterday? And are you up for giving SUPER supersets a try sometime soon?

If you haven't already go to Xtreme Fat Loss to see how you can burn fat by having a diet cheat day every fifth day.

2 Fat Burning Circuit Workouts From Strength and Conditiong

2010-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Kettlebell Fat Burning Circuit Workouts

Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training here with a guest post for Strength Conditioning and Health.

I love training outside with kettlebells. In fact, I go almost all winter long without using kettlebells because I just don’t like using them inside.

But this weekend it was about 50 degrees out on Saturday (about 10 degrees Celcius) and that was warm enough for me and my dog to head outside for a kettlebell-bodyweight circuit.

And I have one each of the 35, 44, 53, and 70lb kettlebells out at the farm that I was able to use…although to be honest I didn’t even bring out the 70 from it’s hiding spot…soon, but not yet.

My first circuit was a COMBO of BODYWEIGHT and KETTLEBELLS and I built the specific warm-up into the circuit:

1) Prisoner Squat

2) Kettlebell Swing

3) Decline Pushup

4) Kettlebell Snatch

5) Kettlebell Lunge

6) Grasshopper Pushup

7) Kettlebell 1-arm Swing

Rest 1 minute and repeat 2 more times.

(NOTE: I tried doing some sprints but when I’m working out with the dog he always tries to jump on me when I’m running and it breaks out into a 5-minute dog wrestling match…so I stuck to the kettlebells while he barked at another dog a mile away…)

* Then I moved into a KETTLEBELLS-ONLY circuit: *

1) Kettlebell Snatch

2) Kettlebell Renegade Row

3) Kettlebell 1-arm Overhead Press

4) Kettlebell Row

5) Kettlebell Swing

Rest 1 minute and repeat 2 more times.

That was all I did…a tough workout for me, but I’m no Marine…so for all those advanced readers, you can probably do more…but I’m just getting the "rust off" right now.

Should be snatching that 70lb kettlebell for 15-20 reps by early June.

NOTE: If you are a BEGINNER or INTERMEDIATE, please start with an easier workout from Chris Lopez’s Kettlebell fat burning workouts here:
Your friend,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Creator, Turbulence Training

PS - If you haven't given kettlebells a try yet you really should. Craig and Chris Lopez have developed a great program for kettlebell training called The Kettlebell Revolution click the link below to read my review talk to you soon Joe

=> Kettlebell Workouts

Fast Fat Burning Workout To Do At Home

2010-04-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

If you want to lose belly fat, then you want to adopt a fat burning workout into your exercise program. Weight training, kettlebell exercises, bodyweight workouts should all be part of your fat burning workouts.

You can't just do a thousand sit ups or crunches and expect to lose stomach fat. Spot reduction is one of the great myths of fat loss, using light weights and doing countless ab specific exercises will not burn off your belly fat like many people would have you believe.

A good cardio routine will help burn calories all over. If it takes 3,500 calories to burn one pound, then you can try cutting back on about 500 calories of food consumption and doing a form of fat burning exercises that burns another 500 calories a day.

Here is a good circuit training fat burning workout to lose your stomach fat.

1a) Deadlifts

1b) Push-ups

2a) Clean And Press

2b) Mountain Climbers

Set a timer for 10 - 20 minutes (the time you chose is based on your conditioning level). Pick a weight (for the weight training exercises that you can do for 10 reps), start with exercise 1A do 5 reps, without resting (or as little rest as you need) do 5 reps of exercise 2b. Keep going back and forth this way till your time is up. Rest for 3-5 minutes do your other 2 exercises.

In a little over a week, you will have burned a pound – which is a safe amount of weight to lose per week.

Cardio attacks the fat cells right where they live – and you will soon see the effect in how your clothes fit. If that belly fat you are carrying bothers you, then just get moving!

When belly fat is the big problem in your life, it's crucial that you begin as soon as possible to get it off. Belly fat hinders the functionality of many of your organs – it's the most dangerous type of weight gain you can have. Not only being ugly to look at many studies have shown the health risks of having too much stomach fat.

Make sure you flush your system by drinking lots of water. If you drink a minimum of eight glasses of water per day, you will stay hydrated and help the body do its work that much more efficiently. Eat a clean diet stay away from processed foods, spread out your meals (5-6) throughout the day. You'll experience fat loss (specifically the loss of belly fat) and enjoy a more energetic lifestyle, too!

Now I have only just touched on the subject of healthy eating here. Make no mistake all the fat burning exercises and workouts in the world will not get rid of your belly fat without a diet of eating healthy. Doing extra workouts while continuing to eat all the processed junk food that is all too prevalent today will not help you lose belly fat.

When we talk about stomach fat we are not just talking about looks here. There are very serious health issues that go along with too much stomach fat. We too often get hung up on how it looks, but what we don't think enough about is how having too much fat affects our overall health. Doing some fat burning exercise daily will take you along way to reaching your fat loss goals.

Strength And Conditioning Cardio Conditioning What Cardio Really Is

2010-04-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have another post today from Eric Wong of Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioining. The more I talk about training the more impressed I am with his ideas and what this type of training can mean to anyone in developing lean muscle gains, fat loss, cardio conditioning, energy levels and general health benefits.

As I mentioned in a previous post you don't have to be (or want to be) a fighter to benefit from these workouts. Anyone and everyone will benefit greatly from them.

Okay Eric take it away.

Cardio as it’s popularly referred to by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg every UFC is what will keep you from looking like the Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights.

Man it’s so frustrating seeing dudes on TV who can’t hold their hands up… in the first round!!

Anyway, the term cardio doesn’t include just one aspect of fitness, like the name implies, and if you don’t understand how cardio is developed, you’ll never be in great shape.

Luckily, I’m going to tell you what you need to do.

So here’s how developing your cardio is more than just running, or intervals, or 5 minute circuits, or CrossFit:

Now let me tell you that these things are in no particular order, because the order in which it’s best to develop these aspects is different for each individual.

The first key is General Strength.

If you’re weak, then you’ll be working closer to 100% of max strength than a guy who is strong. You can only last a short period of time working at 100% max strength (like 20 seconds) so then you’ll gas out quickly.

If you don’t quite get it, let’s make it even easier to understand.

Let’s say you can Bench press 100 lbs for 1 rep (you monster, you).

If a guy is laying on top of you, and you need to bench press him off (because your technique sucks) , and he weighs 170 lbs, you’re using 100% of your strength to try to do this.

You’ll be able to push with all your force ONCE, then every attempt after, your level of force will go down, until your energy supply runs out and you can no longer lift your arms, unless you rest them.

Now let’s say you can Bench press 250 lbs for 1 rep and the same guy is on top of you.

Now, his bodyweight of 170 lbs is about 70% of your bench, meaning that you’ll be able to bench him up and down for at least 15 reps before starting to lose strength and tire out.

Make sense now? Good.

Now let’s say you’re strong, but you’ve never trained or don’t know how to train your cardiovascular system (pay attention, TUF Heavyweights).

What do muscles need to recover after they’ve been spent?

If you guessed OXYGEN, you win

The second key: is to get blood to the muscles. This is where your cardiovascular system comes in.

Your heart has to be fit enough to pump blood quickly to the muscles that need it.

To develop your heart to do this you need to increase the amount of blood it pumps with each beat in 2 ways: increasing the volume of blood the heart can hold and increasing the % of blood the heart pumps out with each beat (heart strength).

Dreaded traditional steady-state cardio training improves the volume of blood, while strength training and hard interval training improves the strength of the heart.

[One note - heavyweights have more trouble with cardio because they have more muscle mass to get blood to, and their hearts aren't proportionally bigger compared to smaller guys, but that's no excuse for what we've been seeing on TUF]

The third key: in the process is that your muscles need to be efficient at extracting the oxygen from the blood and getting rid of the waste products developed from contracting.

This is where specific local muscular endurance training comes into play, where the muscles are forced to recover faster through progressively longer sets and shorter rest periods.

The fourth key: is that your lungs need to be able to efficiently take oxygen from the air and they have to be trained well enough to avoid fatiguing.

This is a relatively new concept but there is some good research that shows that specific respiratory muscle training can improve endurance. I just make sure to incorporate different lengths of hard intervals to get the lungs working at high levels, but I’m looking into trying respiratory muscle training myself to see if it’s really beneficial. I’ll let you know the results.

So now you understand that cardio requires general muscular strength, and it also requires a 3-pronged attack to make sure you’ve got all your bases covered from a cardiovascular point of view.

Make sure you’re not leaving yourself exposed by neglecting any of these important aspects of your physical fitness, and you’ll be sure to keep going if the fight goes the distance.

Thanks Eric. When you go to Eric's site he has a couple of freebie downloads for you. Go check it out it could take your fat loss, conditioning, strength and health to new levels.

Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning Talk to you soon Jag252

Strength and Conditioning Circuit Training Workout With Complexes

2010-04-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Last time I told you about Eric Wong the MMA trainer and creator of Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning. Some of the comments I've got from you are, But Joe I don't want to be a fighter and I get that it's not about being a fighter.

Just take into consideration the strength, cardio capacity and the low body fat levels of the fighters. Now I don't know about you but wouldn't most of us want to have that kind of body and conditioning? And yes ladies I'm talking to you too.

The results of following these type's of workouts are low body fat percentage, incredible energy and strength. and I think we could all agree that is something we are all striving for here. Go into it with an open mind and give the workouts a try I think you will be very happy with the results.

With that let me hand it over to Eric check out the workout and video and see if this workout won't give you peak conditioning.

Complex workouts blow any other conditioning circuits out of the water, because they properly train the energy systems for peak power endurance while including important movement patterns for MMA.

So if you haven’t tried one yet, give this one a shot…

I created this circuit for Joe, a fighter who’s getting ready for his first fight on April 23rd…

His fights are only one 3 minute round, so he doesn’t need a ton of gas in the tank but he’s gotta be able to maintain a super high pace for those 3 minutes…

Enough talk, watch the workout jump in and try it out…

Here are the workout details…

1.MB back toss, breakfall, flat body roll, retrieve x 2

2.Alternating inverted row x 6

3.Clap pushups x 6 - repeat the above for 2 TOTAL sets then…

4.MB side toss, lateral shuffle retrieve x 2

5.KB swings w/toss x 6

6.Kick pushups x 4 - repeat the above for 2 TOTAL sets, then…

7.1 set of Squat jumps x 6

8.1 set of high MB catch, front slam, sprawl x 4

And that’s all she wrote!!!

The key to making this work for you is knowing when to do it, how to progress it, how many times to do it per week and how to integrate it with strength training… You’ll learn all of this and more in my Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning Program:

Strength And Conditioning <---- go to Eric's sight and check it out he has a couple of freebies you can download.

Strength and Conditioning A Cardio Circuit Training Workout

2010-04-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

I have something a little different for you today. I met a guy named Eric Wong recently. Eric is a trainer for MMA fighters. I know your not a fighter but stick with me here. If you have ever watched an mma fight you probably have seen the strength, conditioning and physique of the fighters (ladies this IS for you too).

In talking to Eric I decided to pick his brain a little about the workouts and training fighters do. So he gave me a copy of a workout he uses and I figured you could benefit from it.

If you're training consistently, then sometimes, the concrete walls of the gym can be a little boring. Especially when the sun is shining and the weather is perfect. When this is the case, knowing a few simple bodyweight exercises and the location of the nearest park can re-energize your workouts. Try the following circuit but I'll warn you, it may be simple, but it's far from easy.

This circuit is great because you combine core work, pushing, pulling, and sprinting, which gives you complete development. I consider this an Anaerobic Endurance workout, and would schedule it 6 weeks or farther out from a fight or competition for one of my MMA athletes.

The first thing you need to do is find a park with monkey bars or a swing set. Use a pyramid scheme, meaning that for each set, I start at 8 reps, then drop a rep until you get to 1 rep. If you're a beginner, you might want to start at 5 reps.

This circuit consists of the following exercises:

Chin-ups

Hanging leg raises

Sprinting

Clap push-ups

So do 8 chin-ups, followed by 8 hanging leg raises, sprint a distance that lasts about 20 seconds, then do 8 clap push-ups (or regular push-ups if you can't clap). Keep your rest times at a minute or less, and go hard! When I'm training fighters, I monitor everything. So if you take more rest, write it down. The next time you do this circuit, do the same number of reps, and decrease the rest time. This is how you make progress, and is a missing link in many people's workout routines.

Go to Eric's site Ultimate Strength and Conditioning and get your Free report Crazy 8's bodyweight circuit training workouts

Strength and Conditioning: A Bodyweight Fat Burning Workout

2010-03-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

I got this workout from Chris Lopez of The Turbulence Training Kettlebell Workout program. It's a killer so start out slowly but when you get it down it is a great fat burning workout

Push-up, Burpee, Pull-up Combo

I filmed this after practice last night since I got about 10 emails asking what this was in my previous post.

This is by far one of my favorite "combo" exercises. At the studio I used to train at, they had one of those Keiser racks where the chin-up bar was 9 1/2 feet high. There were only a few trainers at the gym who could do this combo on that rack because you had to be able to jump (yes, I was one of them).

This chin-up bar isn’t nearly as high (maybe 8 1/2 feet), but is still just as effective.

Thanks again to Chris Lopez go check out my review of the Turbulence Training Kettlebell Workouts

6 Fat Burning Workouts

2010-03-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Escalating Density Training Fat Loss Solution: Lose 1/2% Fat Per Week With NO Dietary Changes! By Alwyn Cosgrove, CSCS and Charles Staley, MSS

Since the inception of the Escalating Density Training system, one of the most common inquiries we receive at the office is "When are you going to write about EDT for fat loss?"

How about right now?

As it turns out, EDT is perhaps the simplest and most effective training technique available for body composition training. I was recently talking to my colleague Alwyn Cosgrove, owner of Results Fitness Training in Newhall, California has been using EDT-inspired training programs to facilitate rapid losses in bodyfat with his clients for several months now.

In fact, Alwyn claims an average loss of 2% bodyfat per month with no dietary changes at all. However, there is a price to be paid for quick results, and this program does exact a heavy toll. Cosgrove joking refers to it as "Rambo training" - it’s not for wussies. I agree, but at the same time, this is about as fun as hard work can be. Have a look:

The Program

This EDT cycle is simple, brief and yet quite brutal. You’ll perform (3) 15-Minute "PR Zones" where you’ll attempt to accumulate as many total reps as possible and then improve upon that number every workout (see "EDT Loading Parameters" for more details).

Each and every workout you know how long it’ll last and you also know exactly what you need to accomplish. It’s that simple. Here’s your program, make exercise substitutions if equipment or injury restrictions warrant.

* Monday *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Chins

A-2: Hack Squat

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Rows

A-2: Seated Leg Curl

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Overhead Press Machine

A-2: Incline Board Sit-Ups

* Wednesday *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Dips

A-2: Back Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Incline Press Machine

A-2: Leg Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press

A-2: Reverse Trunk Twist on Ball

* Friday *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Dumbbell Deadlift

A-2: Push Press

Rest: 5 Minutes

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Preacher Curl

A-2: Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Rest: 5 Minutes

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A-1: Standing Lateral Raise

A-2: Prone Ball Roll

COSGROVE: Note that you can also reduce the rest periods between PR zones thereby further increasing the density. I also prefer to have a bigger rep "buffer." In regular EDT, I allow 20% more reps before I increase the loads.

In Fat Loss EDT, I don’t increase the loads until you perform 30% more reps. I think the higher volume helps with fat loss (this assumes a good load selection initially). Another rule I use is that the eccentric phase should be controlled, the concentric should be accelerative.

EDT Loading Parameters

For those not yet familiar with EDT’s unique loading parameters, here are the nuts and bolts:

Escalating Density Training is based on the concept of doing more and more work from workout to workout. Therefore, it’s critical that your exercise biomechanics (i.e., technique) is consistent on every workout. If you perform strict curls on one workout and loose form the next, you aren’t really doing more work (for the arms at least!)

I recommend 10-15 minutes of light to moderate cardio, followed by 10-15 minutes of light stretching on ìoffî days for the purpose of promoting active recovery and reducing soreness.

Each workout in this cycle consists of (3) PR Zones of 15-minutes duration separated by a short (5-minute) rest periods. In each PR Zone, you’ll generally perform two exercises, for a total of 3-4 exercises per workout.

In each PR Zone, you’ll typically perform two antagonistic exercises in alternating fashion, back and forth, using the same weight for all sets, until the PR Zone has elapsed.

After warming up the first exercise(s), select a load that approximates a 10RM for each exercise. Ideally, the weight used for each exercise should be equally difficult.

Sets/Reps/Rest Intervals:

This is where EDT is truly unique. Most people will find it most productive to do higher repetition (but not maximal effort) sets and shorter rests at the beginning, and then gradually progress to fewer reps per set and longer rest intervals as fatigue accumulates.

As an example, you might begin by performing sets of 5 with very short (10-15 second) rests. As you begin to fatigue, you’ll increase your rest intervals as you drop down to sets of 4, then 2, and as the time limit approaches, you might crank out a few singles in an effort of accomplish as many repetitions as possible in the time allotted.

NOTE: Do not perform early sets to failure, or even near failure. My recommended starting point is to do 1/2 of what is possible (e.g., 5 reps with a 10RM weight) at the beginning of the time frame. As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.

Progression: Each time you repeat the workout; your objective is to simply perform more total repetitions in the same time frame. As soon as you can increase the total number of reps by 20 percent or more, start the next workout with 5 percent more weight and start over. Similarly, if you manage to improve upon your last performance (for the same workout) by 40 percent, then you’ll increase your weights by 10 percent on the next workout.

PROGRESS ACCELERATION TIPS:

I like amino acids as the post workout meal – an hour later I have a shake with fiber when training for fat loss.

Aerobics: avoid like the plague – they cause you to lose muscle, and they help you to become more efficient at burning fat. So how would you like your fat burning machinery to get smaller and more efficient when you are trying to lose fat ? Thought so.

For the EXTREME RAMBO HARDCORE ADDICT: Do EDT using hybrid lifts – see below. Another very cool yet brutal tip is to do TWO 15 min periods in the workout but perform TWO EDT workouts per day. Brutal but it’ll carve you up.

* Day One: *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A1 Alternating max lunge

A2 Seated Cable Rows

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

B1 Step Up

B2 Push up-prone tuck combo

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)

C1 DB Squat and Press

C2 Close Grip Pulldown

* Day Two: *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A1 Bulgarian Split Squat

A2 Push Press

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

B1 SHELC

B2 Seated Row to neck

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

C1 Good morning squat hybrid

C2 Incline Db Press

* Day Three: *

First PR Zone (15 Minutes)

A1 Deadlift

A2 Pullover

Second PR Zone (15 Minutes)

B1 Lateral Lunge and touch

B2 Arnold Press

Third PR Zone (15 Minutes)

C1 DB Swiss Ball Crunch

C2 Bent Over DB Row

Fuel For EDT

To maximize the effectiveness of this EDT fat-loss program, employ the following nutritional strategies:

1) Reduce consumption of refined carbohydrate (breads, pastas, white rice, potatoes, grains, cakes, cookies, etc.) to a bare minimum, especially later in the day.

2) Virtually all meals should contain a fiber source, expect for post-workout meals, which should ideally be a fast-absorbing protein/carb shake. Check out a cool product called Fiber Smart. This is a unique, dietary fiber made from flax seeds and other top quality ingredients to support proper function and health. It also contains Acidophilus and Bifidus to promote a health bacterial balance and amino acids to support a healthy digestive lining.

2) Eat every 3 hours for a total of 5 to 6 meals per day. No exceptions. Schedule meals as if they were appointments with yourself, because that’s what they really are when you think about it.

3) Calculate or estimate your lean body mass (total weight - fat weight) and eat one gram of animal-source protein per pound of lean bodyweight per day, divided into 5 or 6 meals. For an individual who weighs 200 pounds and is 15% body fat, this would mean 170 grams per day, which would equate to 5 meals containing 34 grams of protein per meal.

4) Hydrate! My recommended water intake is 60 percent of your bodyweight in pounds, converted to ounces, per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 90 ounces of water per day.

5) Watch out for "hidden" sources of fat and sodium such as various salad dressings and condiments.

6) Educate yourself on the caloric value of what you eat. If you’re not losing weight (fat) you’ll need to eat slightly less calories, and/or increase caloric expenditure (via exercise). There may be some trial and error at first as you learn more about how many calories you’ll need to create an energy deficit. COSGROVE: this is key. Violate this rule and you are toast.

7) Develop strategies to cope with difficult situations, such as family get-togethers and going out to eat. COSGROVE: Fast food? Yes - it’s called grilled chicken sandwich. Fries, no.

8) Virtually all breakfast cereals are to be avoided - they almost always contain high levels of calories, sugar and non-existent protein and fiber content - the worst possible type of food. COSGROVE: the only cereal you can have is oatmeal. Nothing else.

9) Some saturated fat is OK, but it’s easy to take in more than you realize - be careful with salad dressings, condiments, grilled meats, fried foods, Chinese food, gravies, etc.

10) Stop analyzing everything to death and get down to basics - it’s not that difficult to figure out how to eat right. Which brings us to...

11) Staley on "simplexity": OK, let’s get down to brass tacks here - EAT LESS! I’m often asked about the fat loss value of various foods like grapefruit, cider vinegar, etc. My patented response is "Any food will make you lose weight- if you eat too little of it."

A little trick is in order here - the next time you feel hungry, instead of giving in to it and feeling deprived, tell yourself "OK- this is good - it’s a sign that I’m doing the right thing." Trick yourself into believing that being hungry is desirable.

12) Here’s what Cosgrove has to say about cheating:

If you cheat: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT change your next meal. I see many clients who overeat at one meal and then under eat at the next meal as a kind of "payback." All you did now was screw up TWO meals.

If you cheat: get right back on track. A lot of people think after cheating - I’ve blown it - so I might as well REALLY blow it! Let me ask you - if you get a flat tire do you get out of your car and slash the other three? Hey, you have a flat tire - might as well have four, right?

13) Cosgrove on hunger: Hunger is a sign that your body is lacking in energy. At this point your body will use stored fat as a fuel source. It’s a good thing. While I agree with Dr. Eric Serrano that calories are not created equal - it’s tough to argue that eating less calories will cause anything other than weight loss. It’s the law of thermodynamics.

If you want to lose fat quickly and believe me Escalating Density Training will take it offf fast. Make no mistake the workouts will bust your butt (but in a very good way). I have been using Edt for about 2 months now and after 30+ years of working out I am adding more lean muscle, I am lean and tight and my cardio capasity is going through the roof.

Go To my review of EDT and get more info. And don't forget to get your 5 free videos from charles on how EDT works. Click here NOW Escalating Density Training

When Strength And Conditioning Aren't Enough Part 3

2010-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Subject: "Could you defend yourself in a prison shower room?"

If you weren't on Jeff Anderson's "strange" webinar last night, you missed a hot one!

Jeff is a Master Close Quarters Combat instructor and really let loose with some "how-to" techniques for ensuring that...

...if you're EVER confronted by a violent attacker

...with no way to escape

...in the company of a frightened loved one

...outsized, unarmed and outnumbered

...that YOU could QUICKLY and EASILY destroy your attacker in a matter of mere SECONDS!

So I'm sorry if you missed it.

But...Jeff ALSO released word on how you can get a copy of his ENTIRE new course that covers these tips and MORE!

His new program is called "Street Fighting Uncaged" and it's at:

Real World Self Defense

...but a word of WARNING here!

This is NOT "karate" or some fluffy "kid stuff"!

The techniques Jeff covers are even considered "illegal" in even the most brutal cage-fighting matches.

So if you have a weak stomach...do NOT click on the link I just gave you!

For example, here are some of the extreme self defense tactics Jeff covers:

========== What You'll Discover ==========

* How to "drill" into soft tissue spots like an oil rigger to cause instant and uncontrollable panic in your attacker and shut down his ability to fight! Page 27

* A 3-inch "hidden-in-plain-sight" target that no one - not
even elite spec ops soldiers - recognize as one of the most debilitating spots on the human body! (Yet the one simple move I'll show you on pages 29-30 is so easy to pull off that even a 6-year old little girl could leave an attacker in a bloody mess, screaming in pain! No joke...no hype!)

* A strange "split-second/instant pain" move that requires absolutely no skill or practice to master...and works even BETTER against bigger attackers with some meat on their bones! (You can even test it on YOURSELF!) Pages 42-43

* The "ripping technique" that's as easy as opening a bag of potato chips...but will make everyone watching turn their heads in shock (including your opponent's friends who may be thinking of jumping in to join the fight)! Pages 46-47

* How to deliver an "under the radar" crushing blow so quickly and efficiently that it will ruthlessly dislocate joints and tear ligaments so that you can tear into the next assailant or escape with your life. Page 33

====================================

See what I mean?

These are NOT the types of moves you want to teach "little Johnny".

But they're EXACTLY the kinds of "no-nonsense" techniques you NEED if you're ever suddenly and brutally attacked by a violent criminal (or just some drunken loser in a parking lot or bar!)

Don't waste any time!

Go and check out the entire program NOW at:

Real World Self Defense
You (and those that you protect) will be glad you did!

Jag252

When Strength And Conditioning Aren't Enough Part 2

2010-03-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

I just wanted to give you a short reminder about tonight's Free webinar. I also have a copy of an e-mail Jeff sent me that will give you a little more insight of what you will learn tonight.

Subject: Fight Night Q&A...

Personal email from Jeff Anderson to me... About Tonights FREE Webinar

----------------------------------

Absolutely freaking AMAZING!

Normally I get about 300-500 registrants for one of my webcasts.

But for Thursday's "Cage Fighting For The Streets" event, we already have over 2,000 people registered!

I actually shouldn't be surprised. I know that the same guys who are lifting weights in the gym are ALSO the same guys who are watching MMA fights on TV like UFC.

The problem is, those matches only show a FRACTION of what you need to know in order to defend yourself in a real fight.

Anyway, a bunch of you who have been kind enough to let your subscribers know about the event have also been receiving a few questions so I thought I'd cover some of the most important:

Real World Self Defense <= Sign Up Here It's FREE

===================================
Question 1. "Are these complicated martial arts?
===================================

NO! These are NOT your typical "karate kicks" that take forever to learn.

What I'm going to be going over is both the "psychology of violence" as well as REAL hardcore self defense techniques that they don't usually show in martial arts schools.

So a WARNING here...these techniques are NOT for those looking

for fluffy "feel good" karate chops! Don't bring a weak stomach. ;-)

===================================
Question 2: "Do these moves require classes and lots of practice?""
===================================

NO! Prison inmates and street criminals DON'T "practice" with their buddies. They simply KNOW how to "fight dirty"...and WIN!

The techniques I'll be going over on Thursday's broadcast do NOT require you to be a mixed martial arts champion or even big & strong.

They're meant for "Average Joe's" who don't have time to go learn complicated self defense moves but realize that they're at a disadvantage unless they know some nasty stuff that the "enemy" has already mastered.
===================================

Question 3: "Is this just for MEN or can WOMEN use these techniques?"

===================================

Guys are "into" this stuff more than women are...

...but women NEED to know these same tactics!

Women are already at a disadvantage because they're typically not as strong as guys.

That's why these techniques DON'T rely on your size or strength!

So if women are taking martial arts classes down at the local stripmall, they're most likely learning the WRONG way to defend themselves from a mugger or rapist.

I'll be showing them the RIGHT way on Thursday!
===================================

And here's the REGISTRATION PAGE one more time to sign up for the FREE event:

EVENT: "Cage Fighting For The Streets!" Extreme Self Defense Tactics

ANYONE Can Master...FAST! When: This Thursday Night @ 9:00pm Eastern

To RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW, go to:

Real World Self Defense <= sign up here

When Strength And Conditioning Aren't Enough

2010-03-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have something very different for you today. It has to do with protecting you and your loved ones. A Free webinar is being given by Jeff Anderson and it is about What to do if you are faced with a situation of defending yourself and family from street violence. Please read this whole post it costs nothing for the webinar and you Will learn something that could save yourself or a loved one from street violence.

Do you watch MMA "cage fights"? (Guys Only)

Mixed martial arts "cage matches" (like UFC and Pride) are the fastest growing sports phenomenon in the world. 2 men locked in an octagon cage - "no holds barred" - kicks, throws, chokeouts...anything goes!

Originally created to pit one martial arts style against another, it quickly became a "proving ground" for everyone from wrestlers and boxers......to bar room brawlers!

So why has the sport of mixed martial arts risen so rapidly?

Is it the gladiator-style competition?

Is it an overload of male hormones?

Perhaps it's just that we love the sight of blood?

Nah...it's much DEEPER than that!
===========================

It's because you're a MAN... ...and men are EXPECTED to be able to fight!

===========================

Here's what I mean...

As a guy, you are HARD WIRED - genetically and hormonally - to WANT to possess superior fighting skills.

Going all the way back to when we were all "clan members", running around in nothing but sabre-tooth loin cloths, we HAD to fight.

* We fought to protect our clan from other invaders!

* We fought to be the "alpha male" of our clan and call the shots!

* We even fought for MATING RIGHTS with the local "cave-hotties"!

Fast forward to TODAY and you'll realize that we haven't progressed all that far when it comes to fighting.

===========================

What if this happened to YOU...

===========================

Let's say that you're out with your wife or girlfriend and as you're walking back to your car from dinner, you're approached by a couple of vagrants who approach you for money.

Could be a harmless request...

...or it could be a setup
If you're not prepared to QUICKLY take BOTH of these guys out in just a matter of seconds, you could find yourself on the ground bleeding while your female companion is left at their mercy!

===========================

If you're thinking... "That would NEVER happen to me!"

Well, you're simply delusional!

===========================

It happens EVERY DAY to fine, upstanding citizens like yourself who don't go out looking for trouble...it finds THEM when they're least expecting it!

Now, I'm not trying to scare you. Fact is, most guys have their heads stuck in the sand and will NEVER do anything to prepare themselves to protect those they love.

They're the ones who criminals spot right away as "easy targets" because they look, walk, and act like "victims".

But then there are those who know what it REALLY takes to defeat someone in a real "street" self defense scenario.

And I'm NOT talking about putting on your white pajamas and belt and going down to the local McDojo strip mall karate school and practice complicated kicks next to a bunch of 8-year olds.

I'm talking about...
===========================

How to fight with the ruthless tenacity of a caged animal!

===========================

The kind of fighting that's known ONLY by vicious gang members, prison inmates...and battle-hardened soldiers!

If any of these describe YOU, then you can probably stop reading right now...you already know what I'm talking about.

But if the only fight you've ever been in was the pushing match in high school or one or two slug fests with some wise guy at the bar...

...then you're SEVERELY underqualified to protect yourself or your female companion when you're face-to-face with a BIGGER, STRONGER, more experienced attacker!

Fortunately, all that's about to end THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!

===========================

FREE WEBINAR INVITATION!

===========================

Extreme Self Defense Tactics For Real World Violence!

When: This Thursday Night @ 9:00pm Eastern

To RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW, go to:

Extreme Self Defense For Real World Violence

=========================

Trust me...if protecting yourself and those you love is important to you (I know it is!), then you're not going to want to miss this free event.

You can attend from ANYWHERE in the world and you're going to walk away with REAL "self defense tactics" known only by the most vicious criminals and battle-hardened soldiers.

And check out what's going to be covered:

* Head-to-head analysis of mixed martial arts "cage matches" and your ability to survive a violent attack on the street!

(This is gonna piss some people off!)

* How to quickly "open up" even the most skilled fighter...then take him off his feet and finish him off in

SECONDS!

* The #1 weapon used in real bar fights and gang attacks that you'll never even see coming...and how to launch your own counterassault that will render it completely useless!

(Hint: it's NOT a knife, a gun, or even a broken bottle. It's WORSE!)

* LARGER ATTACKERS! You know something they don't...and it gives you the power to use their size and strength AGAINST THEM to make sure they hit the ground...HARD!

Here's the link one more time to register for your seat now:

Extreme Self Defense For Real World Violence

=========================

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW, go to:

Real World Self Defense

=========================

I'll be there...I hope you will be to!

Joe

P.S. You owe it not only to yourself, but also to those you

PROTECT (like your wife, girlfriend, kids, etc.) who rely on you

to keep them safe!

It doesn't cost a thing and the strategies that are revealed on this webcast WILL make you a better fighter than 95% of the guys out there who THINK they know how to handle themselves in a real fight!

They know NOTHING! YOU will!

Go NOW to sign up at: Real World Self Defense

=====================

Talk soon!

Joe

Building Muscle Get New Muscle Gains Free Download

2010-03-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just recently I was hanging out with my good friend and fitness model (from Canada) Vince Del Monte. I met Vince a few years ago and we’ve remained very good friends.

I don’t know if you if you’ve ever met him, seen his videos or his pictures but he’s pretty much the “go to guy” for muscle building advice in our circle of friends and online fitness community.

You may know Vince as the guy who was once called “Wimpy Skinny Vinny” and gained 41-lbs of muscle in 6-months then went on to become a National Fitness Model Champion and author.

What you may not know is that Vince couldn’t crack 190-lbs and hit a crazy rut after – probably very similar to your own rut. 190-lbs became his “limit” and according to the experts – a plateau he should have accepted as “normal” and not questioned.

But over the last 2-years, Vince has made a DISCOVERY!

That discovery helped him gain an ADDITIONAL 20-lbs of lean muscle the past 2-years. He contributes busting through his plateau to his discovery of the “The 12 Anabolic Targets” (which works for beginners, intermediate and advanced lifters alike).

The BEST NEWS: he wants to hook you up with all twelve of them absolutely free in his brand new 36-page report: The 12 Untapped Targets To Ignite New Muscle Gains.

No catch except that the report is coming down in 72-hours.

You can get it here: Click here for your FREE Download The 12 Untapped Targets To Ignite New Muscle Gains

And this is not a sales pitch for something new and shiny… it’s a KILLER content that reveals 12 untapped targets you must hit if you want to ignite new muscle on your body.

You’ll love this! You’ll be able to unlock the target of your choice later today when you hit the gym.

Provide him your BEST email address to make sure this makes it into your hands:

The 12 Untapped Targets To Ignite New Muscle Gains <- click here I’ve been using Target #8 Positions Of Flexion Training whih is hitting the muscles from 3 different angles. And it’s been keeping my workouts fresh and stimulating. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, male or female, I’m absolutely certain that you will learn some new information that will help you blow beyond your genetic potential. The 12 Untapped Targets To Ignite New Muscle Gains ⇐ FREE
download
To your new muscle,
Jag252.

Try This Circuit Training Fat Loss Workout

2010-03-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Fast and Effective Dumbbell Conditioning Fat Loss Circuit
Most people feel that they don’t have time to perform conditioning workouts or fit fat loss sessions on top of their normal strength training.

This is definitely not the case. High intensity, resistance training circuits are designed to get the most impact in the shortest amount of time.

" Benefits of Resistance Training Circuits "

■ high lactic acid => natural GH response

■ rapid fat loss

■ increased metabolism

■ muscular strength endurance

■ mental toughness

* How Do You Design a Fat Loss Circuit Training Workout? *

Pick an implement and get to work. It is that simple. It could be your own bodyweight, kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, sandbag, medicine ball, thick ropes, Olympic plates or even a combination of any of these. The idea is to move quickly between exercises and complete the circuit. As you become better conditioned you can perform the circuits for multiple runs, ie. hit the circuit, rest briefly and then hit it again.

* How Do You Increase the Intensity of the Circuit? *

■ perform more runs through the circuit

■ perform more reps for each exercise in the circuit

■ increase the weight of the sandbag

■ decrease the rest time between runs

■ increase the tempo (duration of concentric or eccentric phases)

* Here Is The Dumbbell Fat Loss Circuit Training Workout *

1a) DB Front Racked Squats

1b) DB Front Racked Backward Lunges

1c) DB Hammer Curls

1d) DB RDL’s

1e) DB Military Press

1f) DB Laterals

I would like to thank Jim Smith for this great fat loss circuit training workout and Jim is a strength coach, lecturer and author of numerous innovative strength manuals.

Why should you listen to him? Jim has trained athletes from many sports and at various levels.He is an expert author for Men’s Fitness magazine and a member of the Elite Fitness Q/A staff. Jim is also certified as a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Go to Accelerated Muscular Development for more on Jim's Fat Loss and muscle building programs.

A 20 Minute Fat Burning Workout

2010-03-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have a pretty intense cardio and fat burning workout for you today. This workout comes courtesy of Mike Geary of The Truth About Abs program. Let me tell you this is a pretty intense workout. If you are in good condition give it a shot, if your conditioning isn't quite up there yet just increase your rest time.

Again pretty intense but very effective. The most interesting part is you are only doing 2 count them 2 fat burning exercises for the entire 20 minutes.

Before I show you my 20-minute "simple insanity" workout... make sure you grab your copy of the brand new Truth About Abs Online Video VIP Access before the 70%-off deal expires on Saturday March 13th:

Ok, so I had a workout this week where I only had about 20 minutes at the gym because I had to get out of there to make sure I had time to meet an appointment after my fat burning workout.

Since I only had 20 minutes, I knew this had to be a super-focused high-intensity fat burning workout.

You'll never believe the SIMPLICITY of this workout, while at the same time, being one of the most intense workouts you could imagine.

No cardio. No sissies for this one!

Here's what I did for 20-minutes straight:

--Alternated Dumbbell squat & presses with pullups.

That's it... plain and simple!

So I would do a set of HEAVY dumbbell squat & presses, followed immediately by a set of pullups... then back to the squat & presses, and so on... for 20 minutes... with very little rest in between sets!

This combo works great because you're working the entire opposite muscle groups for one exercise while you're resting the muscle groups worked on the opposing exercise.

And you don't even need a pullup bar to do this super-effective fat burning combination. You could alternate the dumbbell squat & presses with bent over dumbbell rows if you don't have access to pullups, or can't do pullups.

As simple as this fat burning workout sounds -- just 2 compound fat burning exercises supersetted with each other for 20 minutes straight... it is pretty damn intense if you do it right!

Sometimes, when you have a time restriction on your workout, this helps to assure that you make your work the maximum possible intensity since you know you have a time limit. Although I don't do this style of workout all of the time, it is a nice challenging variation to keep the workouts fresh and keep the results coming.

Give it a try sometime if you're strapped for time and need a good idea for high intensity fat burning!

Wow that's some intense fat burning workout! Thanks again to Mike Geary.

Did you try it yet? Well what are you waiting for?

Go ahead and make sure to grab your access to the new Truth About Abs Online VIP Access Videos (70%-off deal expires on saturday March 13th)...

Enjoy!

Fat Burning Exercises Step By Step Results Training

2010-03-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Good Morning,

I wanted to let you know about an email I got from Mike Geary of The Truth About Abs program. Mike now has a special package of his fat burning abs program on video. Online video instruction as opposed to just reading a manual takes the guess work out of whether you are doing the fat burning exercises correctly.

Step-by-step EXACTLY how to do each exercise. One of the MOST important aspects of your fat burning success will be making sure that you do every fat burning exercise with correct form.

Inside the Truth About Abs Online Video VIP Access Area you'll also find:

•How to burn body fat and get lean lower abs faster by learning all of the unknown tricks on how to maximize your results from these extrememly effective fat burning exercises

•View every single exercise and example workout program via the online VIP Video Access.

•You also have the option to download any and all of the fat burning exercises and workout videos to your iPod!

•Every warm-up routine

•Every abdominal routine

•Every full-body fat burning workout routine

•The "Secret Weapon Fat Burning Exercises"

•Reduce your risk of injury by having one of the top Personal Trainers (and Physical Therapist) in the industry take you through perfect form on each exercise.

The Truth About Abs program is one of the best fat burning programs available today. If you are not familiar with it it isn't about doing endless ab exercises. What it is is about doing total body Fat Burning exercises in total body fat burning workouts.

Don't be fooled hopefully you know you can't spot reduce fat. You will never see you rabs by doing ab specific exercises. By doing total body fat burning exercises will you finally see your abs.

Now let me end with this Mike is offering a 70% discount on the fat burning video training with 2 different packages to chose from so go right now and check it out.

Fat Burning Online Video Workouts

Fat Burning Exercises Small Steps Can Get It Done

2010-03-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

Good Morning,

A friend sent me this little tidbit I wanted to share with you. If you are on the fence about starting a fat burning workout read this it's short and sweet. The lesson to take from it is that simple small steps can make a big difference in your body fat percentages.

Joe I read a very interesting article recently and wanted to pass it along to you. In this study, a group of hospital employees were asked to make one small change in their daily routine.

At the end of 12 weeks, here were the results:

1. body fat decreased 2%
2. waistline measurement decreased 2%
3. lung capacity increased 9%
4. diastolic blood pressure decreased 2%
5. LDL cholesterol decreased 4%

Pretty impressive considering these were only the "average"
of all the results. So what was the magic protocol here?
The ONLY thing these individuals did differently was to
take the stairs instead of the elevator each day.

Just goes to show you the power of that one simple choice
can make.

Fat Burning Tips 10 Keys To Fat Loss

2010-03-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

10 Things You Can Do To Lose Fat Without Even Trying

1. Eat smaller more frequent meals - not only is your metabolism
boosted every time you eat something, your body can more
efficiently process smaller meals. Instead of having 3 large
meals in a day, try to break them up into 5 or 6 smaller meals.
You can even make the same things - just save half and eat it a
bit later.

2. Drink more water - regular water intake helps to flush away
waste products and keeps you hydrated, which is critical for fat
loss.

3. Be inefficient - do you need to go to the kitchen to get a
couple of things? Break it up into to two trips even if you can
do it in one. Being inefficient like this can easily double your
activity level, burning calories without even trying.

4. Eat more protein - sources of protein include foods such as
chicken, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, lean red meats, etc. Your body
burns more calories processing protein than either carbohydrates
or fats. Protein also helps to support your muscle tissue, which
burns calories all day long!

5. Take the stairs instead of the elevator - any time you can
add in a little more physical activity, do it. This doesn't mean
you need to slog up 20 flights of stairs. Even a flight or two
done regularly will add up.

6. Don't let yourself get really hungry - when you get extremely
hungry you will have a much greater tendency to overeat when you
do finally get something to eat. As well, because your body is
starting to go into starvation mode, it will be much more likely
to hold onto whatever you give it.

7. Order small portions at restaurants - it's tough to order
small french fries when "supersizing" your order is such a great
"value." Take note, however, your real savings will occur in the
calories that don't end up on your backside. You can also
immediately request a container and put half your meal into it
right away.

8. Eat more fiber - fiber is very filling. By eating more fiber
you will find yourself full sooner. This feeling of fullness will
last a long time as well.

9. Wait 20 minutes between servings - your brain takes at least
20 minutes to register that you're full. By waiting that long,
you'll give your brain a chance to realize that you probably
don't really need any more food.

10. "Cheat" on your diet - one thing I always make my clients
promise is that they will cheat on their diet. The only thing I
ask that they do is to cheat ONLY when they have planned to cheat
(you can also call it a "free meal" if cheating doesn't sit well
with you). By planning when you are going to eat the foods you
crave, you take back control of your eating habits. It's very
empowering!

This way you no longer "give in" to your cravings. You "reward
yourself" for sticking to proper nutritional habits. Do this once
or twice a week and you will feel far more in control of your
eating.

Cardio Workouts Do Your Cardio Workouts Measure Up?

2010-02-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

Do You Really Need "Cardio" Workouts?

Are cardio workouts or weight training more effective for losing fat...

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I've been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I'm back posing the question to you... Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you'll see in a minute that I'm not really "anti-cardio", just "anti traditional cardio".

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need "cardio" exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it.

However, I'm not only questioning it, I'm going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I've spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I've seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is "cardio"?

Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call "traditional cardio". Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, "cardio" exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I'm not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it's cardio. I don't care if you're holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise...it's still conditioning your heart.

Let's take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn't matter if you're not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you'll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren't burning, heart racing, and you're gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you're not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well (saving you time!).

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity...something that can't be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV.

Reading or watching TV while you workout is a joke!

Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you're not concentrating enough on what you're doing, plus you're probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

Lean Muscle Gains And Rock Hard Abs

2010-01-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

So how many more hours this week, month and year are you going to spend on that treadmill? Is this really the best way to lose stomach fat and get rock hard abs? Gain lean muscle, be more energetic and healthier? No! You need to use total body exercises in short but intense workouts. You are spending and wasting way to much time!

The old ideas about spending countless hours week in and week out with long cardio workouts on a machine are proven to be ineffective. Do you want to add some lean muscle (remember the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism)? Do you want to lose stomach fat and get rock hard abs?

Total Body Exercises Should Be 90% of Your Workouts:

This is the most effective way to workout whether your looking to lose stomach fat, get rock hard abs or build your biceps. Let's make no mistake here hard work is required, extreme fitness demands that your workouts are intense. Total body exercises build muscle and lose fat faster.

Total body exercises work your whole body, get in workout and get done plus shorter workouts prevent burnout which is inevitable with those marathon cardio sessions.

So if you are ready to lose stomach fat, have rock hard abs, be stronger, more energetic and healthier, here is all there is to know about total body exercises:

Total body exercises saves time. The biggest plus is having to go to the gym less; 3 total body workouts a week (if your training at maximum intensity) will do the trick.

Your weight training workouts should be done in 45 minutes or less. That's just three to four hours per week. With total body workouts, it is all about the quality of exercise you do and not the quantity, or the amount of time.

Total body weight training workouts should be done three times per week. Add in 1-2 interval training workouts on your off days.

The Light Weight High Rep Myth:

In your weight training use heavy weight and low reps (4-8). Another falacy is using light weights and high reps. This type of training does not burn fat at a higher rate. You want to lose stomach fat and get rock hard abs? Use heavy weights and keep your rest periods short.

3 - 5 total body exercises are enough per workout. As an example:

1A) deadlifts
1B) Incline Dumbbell Press

2A) Clean and Press
2B) Burpees

Keep workouts short. Keep your rest between exercises short. Weight training affects the natural homones of the body connected to muscle building and fat loss.

Let me see shorter workouts that are proven more effective for muscle gains or fat loss seem's pretty much a no brainer. Marathon hour plus workouts or total body workouts of 45minutes or less that get you quicker and better results. I know what I chose how about you?

You can do this workout based on time blocks, meaning set a timer for 15-20 minutes(shorter if your a beginner) see how many reps you get in the time frame.

Turbulence Training 2010 Fat Burning Frenzy

2009-12-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Yesterday I told you about the Turbulence Training $1,000 transformation contest by Craig Ballantyne. Today I wanted to give you a sample of what Craig has in store for all the turbulence training members for 2010. It will be the year for permanently getting rid of that excess bodyfat.

That all being said here is what Craig has in store for his turbulence training members.

2010 is going to be a big year for you…partly because of the amazing 24 Turbulence Training fat burning and body sculpting programs coming your way.

These workouts - like TT Addiction and TT Adrenaline - are going to be so cool, so fun, and so effective that you’ll have your best year ever.

Two programs will be released each month - and the tentative schedule is below…

Sit back and check out my calendar for 2010…I’ve got a few trips planned I wanted to tell you about, but mostly I couldn’t wait to get you pumped up for these amazing workouts that are on the way…

And if you aren’t already a TT Member click the link

Now for all the cool stuff you’ll experience with me in 2010…

January 2010

We’re going to kick-off the New Year with a special audio program…I’m recording it this week, and it will be one of the most powerful motivation and inspirational fat burning audio programs you’ve ever heard.
To go along with the motivation, TT Members also have access to the January programs already. You can now download “TT 2K10″ and the “TT Beginner Total Torso Training” programs in the member’s area.

Then on January 15th, that’s the last day to enter the 7th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. That’s your chance to win up to $1000 just for losing your belly fat.

And right after that I’ll be in Tampa Bay, Florida for Joel Marion’s first ever Transformation Domination Live event. I’ll be leading a TT workout on the Saturday morning. See you there.

Speaking of Transformations, you’re going to get a bonus 3rd workout this month called “TT Transformation“. Based on the most popular programs used by our contest winners (including TT for Buff Dudes & Hot Chicks), this is going to be an instant classic.

Finally, to finish off a busy month, I hope to launch the TT-TV program. We’ve filmed a few really cool episodes, but we have so much going on they haven’t been edited yet…but soon, I promise.
February

Look out Miami, because I’ll be there for the Super Bowl and back again two weeks later…The Super Bowl weekend is going to be insane, and I’ll be filing workout and video reports from South Beach. Look for me on TV - you never know.

Then on February 14th, we’re going to celebrate Ballantyne’s Day with some type of crazy Turbulence Training promotion…I’ve got 6 weeks to come up with something good…

And then there are the TT Workouts of the Month:

1) TT Adrenaline
2) TT 15-minute KB Express

What’s TT Adrenaline all about? Well, it’s about skyrocketing your adrenaline of course, and that is just one hormone in the body that helps the fat burning process…you’re going to love Adrenaline.

March

I’ll star the month in Washington, D.C. - at my friend Yanik’s seminar - and finish the month with a quick work trip to Vegas (low-key, I’m sure). After all, I have to prepare for some big news happening in April…

But first, big workout news for March:

1) I hope we’ll release the first “follow along” Turbulence Training DVD workout set. We’re just finishing up filming the TT for Abs Follow Along programs, and it should be ready for you sometime in March. Hopefully earlier.

2) The first TT workout of the month will be the follow up to another TT classic, so look for the “The Big 6 Circuit” to help you burn fat with a fast circuit workout - featuring a new, explosive 6th component.
3) The TT Bootcamp 2K10 Program will feature all new NO-equipment bootcamp workouts and more tips to help personal trainers help more clients achieve maximum body transformations and fat burning.

April

So my big plans for April are to move to New York City for 3 months…I found a real good deal on a sublet in the Upper West Side so it will be a fun little adventure.
Maybe Bally the Dog can get a role on Broadway.

Again, I’ll be filing lots of video and workout reports from the Big Apple, plus researching what the gyms and fitness experts there have to offer…and of course, commuting out to Wachtung, New Jersey to train at The Renegade Gym with Jay Ferruggia.

And to add to the excitement, the 7th TT Transformation Contest will be finishing in mid-April, so we’ll be crowing a Men’s and Women’s Champion.

Nothing in the TT world is more rewarding than reading the essays that come in with your entries. I just want to thank you for all the effort you put into your Transformations - it’s really cool to see how hard you work and the powerful changes you go through. So thank YOU!

And to give back, you’ll be getting two awesome workouts in April:
1) TT Addiction (trust me, it’s healthier than it sounds)

2) TT Booty for Life 2K10

May

Well, for everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll all have Spring Fever and be ready to kick-off the “unofficial” start to the summer with big holiday weekends?

So will you be ready? I hope so, especially with all of the great workouts on the way…

Plus, the 8th TT Transformation Contest SHOULD be a go for May…unless something changes, we’ll keep rocking 3 contests per year…stay tuned for details.
I’m not sure how I’ll be rocking out my first Memorial Day Weekend in the USA, but I know you’ll be rocking these two workouts:

1) TT Hardcore 2K10 - The sequel to one of the top 3 most popular - if not THE most popular - TT workout of all time…can I top the original? I guess we’ll find out…

2) TT Bodyweight Cardio 3.o

June

Well, my little NYC adventure will be coming to an end, and hopefully I worked enough to create the TT Certification…that’s the plan…so keep kicking my butt to get this done.

I even had this cool logo made, so I better use it for something.

When I finally get back to Toronto, I’ll be heading to my good friend Vince Del Monte’s wedding…should be a great time…lots of fitness experts there celebrating, and I’m sure we’ll be filing some (embarrassing) wedding videos for everyone to enjoy. Congrats to Vince and Flavia, looking forward to your big day.

And don’t worry, you’ll be getting some good gifts in June as well:

1) TT Bodyweight Bodybuilding 2.0

2) TT Hybrid Trisets Fat Burning Workout

July
Well, I’m not sure if I’ll be doing much in July, just relaxing back in Canada and enjoying the finals of the World Cup. You’ll be getting…

1) TT for Runners

2) TT for Meatheads “Old School”

Wow, could these programs be any different? But both are in high-demand…so I know you’ll be looking forward to them.

August

I am officially out of ideas as to what I’m going to be doing for the rest of the year, so I’m just going to pump you up with the names of the coming workouts…For August, you’ll get…

1) TT 2K10 Abs

2) TT 3-Day Depletion Workouts

September

1) TT Gain Muscle Lose Fat 2K10

2) TT Female Bodyweight Bodysculpting 2K10

October

I might be taking a Secret Agent Trip this month, I’ll let you know - if I’m allowed - when I confirm…but the workouts should be:

1) The TT Bodyweight 500 2K10
2) DB Mass at Home 2K10

November

1) TT Yoga (I’ve been trying to do this for over 8 months…hopefully I get this one done by November…or sometime in 2K10)

2) TT Tempo Training
December

1) TT 15-Minute Express 2K10

2) TT Christmas Circuits (I have no idea what these will be, but it sounds cool, right?)

Whew…

And that brings us back to planning for 2011…(I’ve already got 7 programs listed out for 2011).

BUT…

Is there anything that you’d like to see this year or next?

Please let me know in the comments section below.

Looking forward to your best year ever in 2010,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
PS - Don’t forget…

…the Half Price TT sale ends this week.

Click Here to Get Turbulence Training for 50% off

You’ll also get the January TT member’s programs too!

And for those of you who like kettlebell training don't forget The Kettlebell Revolution where Kettlebell training and Turbulence Training meet.

How To Lose That Holiday Fat Gain

2009-12-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know that Craig ballantyne of Turbulence Training is starting his new $1,000 fat loss transformation contest. here is the email with the details Craig sent me. If you are not familiar with Turbulence Training click the link to go to my review.

Wondering how you're going to lose those holidays pounds?

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

I have the solution.

First, the 7th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest starts now
and you can win up to $1000 just by losing your belly fat.

Second, because I want to kick-off the 7th TT Contest with a huge
bang, I've decided to extend the $4.95 TT Member's trial offer for
the rest of this week.

You'll get access to the TT Member's forums and the NEW TT workouts
I've created for December and January, including:

- The TT 15-Minute Express Workouts
- TT 2K10 (new advanced program)
- TT Beginner Total Torso Training (will be added this Wednesday)

And you get ALL of that for LESS than the price of a fancy Starbucks
mega-coffee.

Now sure you could go back to a busy commercial gym and hire a
"fresh out of college" inexperienced personal trainer for $60 an
hour, but why bother when you can get personal advice from me,
social support from men and women all over the world, and 2 new
Turbulence Training workouts every month?

And you can try all of that for only $4.95 for 30 days.

Click here to try the TT Member's forums and NEW Turbulence Training
workouts - and possibly even win $1000 - with Turbulence Training:

=> http://www.turbulencetraining.com/ttmembers/
You can lose that 7-15 pounds you gained over the holidays fast with
Turbulence Training. In fact, some of the past contest winners have
lost over 33 pounds in just a few short weeks.

Plus, you can win up to $1000 in the Transformation Contest just for
losing your belly fat.

Click here to take advantage of this amazing fat loss offer:

=> http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com/ttmembers

That's all you have to do to get started losing fat today!

And post your personal workout and nutrition questions on the TT
forum and I will answer those for you within hours.

It's the perfect way to start your body transformation and kick-off
the New Year to make 2010 your best year ever!

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS - Still not sure?

No worries, I understand your skepticism, so I want to remind you
that there is NO RISK to you when you give the TT Member's area a
try.

After all, TT Members is guaranteed to help you lose fat (and if for
any reason you are not satisfied - or if your financial situation
changes - you can cancel at ANY time and no future payment will be
required). At TT Members we're here to support you, not stress you.

Click here to take advantage of this amazing, no-risk fat loss offer:

=> http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com/ttmembers

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

Here again is the link to my review of Turbulence Training

4 Useless Exercises You Probably Do

2009-12-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

4 Common But Useless Fattburning Exercises

You may be wasting your time in the gym or at home if you are trying to shape your body or get rid of bodyfat.

Most people are. That is when it comes to exercise for getting rid of bellyfat and getting into better shape.

I was in the gym today (nothing new... ; ) and I saw all 4 of these exercises being performed by various gym members (again... nothing new.)

And they are useless for 99% of the people on the planet.

Here they are...

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USELESS EXERCISE 1: Walking Dumbbell Lunges

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Okay ladies, this one is for you... although I see guys do this exercise as well.

This is where you take a pair of dumbbells and kneel with one leg, then the other, and so-on, walking around the gym as you go.

The idea behind this exercise is to work the butt, and to some extent the thighs... but it's a joke. It's something invented by trainers who should know better.

If you want to build and tone your butt, exercise one leg at a time. Lunges are a great exercise for this, but save your energy. Do them on a Smith Machine or with a barbell. Work one leg at a time, too. Do not alternate legs. This just wears you out aerobically before it has a chance to get to your glutes.

Here's how I perform lunges: On a Smith Machine, with pretty heavy weights... one leg at a time. I will do 2-3 sets, or do them in my 7 Minute Body-style workout fashion. I will finish one leg (and one butt cheek) before moving to the other leg.

Why? Again, to focus on the muscle more intensely and to avoid turning a leg/butt workout into a cardio session.

Jon Benson covers exactly how to work the butt area for the best results in 7 Minute Body and 7 Minute Muscle, found right here:

click.here ----- > 7 Minute Muscle

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USELESS EXERCISE 2: The Sit-up

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I'm shocked that people still think sit-ups done the old-fashioned way actually work the abs. Even worse, most people have been fooled into believing this actually helps get rid of bellyfat.

Nonsense. Bellyfat is burned off when you have a good nutrition plan and through general exercise, not using exercises for the abs. Ab exercises are fine, but guess what?

I never train my abs more than 3-5 minutes. Today my ab workout took 3 minutes and 12 seconds to complete. And my abs are sore!

But without the nutrition plan, forget it... I'd never SEE my abs at all. I'd just have a nice wall of muscle with a bunch of flab covering it up.

The best nutrition plan for abs is The Every Other Day Dietplan, found here:

click.here ----- > The Every Other Day Diet

The best exercises to do for the actual ab muscles are hanging leg raises, done slowly, crunches (if you do them right)... and that's really all you need.

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USELESS EXERCISE 3: The Bench Press

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I'm going to get a lot of flack from the guys out there who love to bench, but I'm here to tell you that this exercise for bodyshaping is all but worthless.

Why? Because most people are not built right body-wise to bench press on a flat bench with a barbell. I am not, that's for sure.

Bench presses work if you have short arms, a relatively short torso, and your shoulders are genetically strong.

Protect your shoulders and really work your chest by doing incline dumbbell presses with your palms facing OUT, not in toward your head. This protects the rotator cuff, a part of the shoulder that is often injured using barbell bench presses.

Combine this with a good cable fly or press movement and you're set. Again, you only need about 7-14 minutes of chest work tops to get the job done.

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USELESS EXERCISE 4: Most Cardio Exercises

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Yep... saved the best for last.

Here's a fact: Most cardio (bike, treadmill, glider, whatever) is a waste to time... UNLESS you do it at the right time with the right nutrition plan.

The calories you burn from cardio will be easily negated simply by eating a bagel! Hardly effective for getting rid of bodyfat. Weight training and/or resistance training at home or with your body weight, as covered in 7 Minute Muscle, is your best bet for exercise that burns-off mega-calories and keeps on burning long after the exercise session is over.

Here's how to use traditional cardio wisely:

1. Do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach;
2. Keep your heart rate down to 75% of your max (220 minus your age x .75 will give you this number, at least approximately);
3. "Burst" for 2-3 minutes in your session up to 85-90% of your max heart rate.
4. OR, do cardio right after weight or resistance training when your heart rate is already elevated and your blood sugar is lower. Your body burns blood sugar first during exercise.

Cardio for most people only needs to be performed 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes. The only time I break this rule is when I want to get my bodyfat below 10%. Then I will do more, but only using the rules above.

Hope this saves you a ton of time with your workouts.

Enjoy your holidays!

Joseph

P.S. You can get both books, The Every Other Day Dietplan and 7 Minute Body, for a big-time discount by going here and watching this presentation:

click.here ----- > The Every Other Day Diet

Jag252

Build A Muscular Chest Innovative And Results Producing Workouts

2009-12-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I told you about Nick Nilsson's new book "The Best Chest Exercises You've Never Heard Of". Well, the response has just been TREMENDOUS.

If you are having trouble building your chest muscles you may need to change your approach. Nick Nilsson has come up with a solution to your chest building problems. As Nick always say's it's all about results.

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Innovative Chest Building Exercises

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And Nick told me the most frequent comment he's been getting about these exercises...

"How do you come up with these insane exercise?" (and yes, people DO use the word insane when they write him!)

Here's his response:

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"Well, to me, it's all about results. I don't create exercises just for the sake of creating exercises. They've gotta have a purpose and they've gotta get RESULTS.

Sometimes I take equipment and look at it in completely different ways. Where one person sees a bench press machine, I see a shoulder press, a leg press, a calf raise machine, curl machine, row machine.

Sometimes, I'll challenge myself to work every single bodypart while limiting myself to just one piece of equipment.

And then there are times when I just say what the 'heck' and go all mad scientist and just see what happens.

The real key to remember is that these crazy exercises I come up with aren't crazy for no reason...they're extremely targeted to their purpose, whether it be increasing the resistance on a bodyweight exercise like the push-up (i.e. my Rack Weighted Push-Up exercise), or focusing on the peak contraction position of the pec using a free-weight-only exercise (i.e. my Lying Side Dumbell Flye exercise).

Plus, I want you to have FUN when you're in the gym, while getting better results! You're going to put a lot more effort into things and have a WAY more motivation to train hard when you're trying new things and having a good time doing it.

I have to say, the #1 thing people tell me after using the exercises from my books is that their motivation to train simply went through the ROOF! Some people have literally had to STOP themselves from spending too much time at the gym because of how much they're enjoying the new exercises!

---

That pretty much says it all!

And the cool thing is, you can actually check out and try out three exercises that Nick mentioned above (the Rack Weighted Push-Ups and the Lying Side Dumbell Flyes) right on his site - no need to sign up for anything!

So if you want to build a GREAT chest and the regular exercises just aren't getting the job done, you really have GOT to check this book out:

Get Results

Sincerely,

Jag252

Chest Training Explosion

2009-12-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hi,
I wanted you to know about a new product out for building your chest muscles. It's by Nick Nilsson and is called The Best Chest Exercises You Never Heard Of.
Nick is a very innovative guy when it comes to taking an old standard exercise putting a new twist on it making it more effective.

Check out the sample exercises at Nick's site and you will see what I mean.

So if there was just ONE bodypart that you really wanted to improve...one bodypart that ALWAYS ends up first in your training routine...what would it be?

I think chances are pretty good that it's your CHEST!

I mean, having that thick gladiator-like chest just screams power and strength (unless you're female, of course, then you want to work your chest for a whole different reason!).

So if you're in a chest training rut...gains on bench press have come to a screeching halt...or maybe you're just plain bored with your chest training right now...

I've got some EXCELLENT news for you!

And if you like insane, new exercises that will not only give your muscles a shock but ELECTRIFY your motivation to train hard again...I've got even BETTER news for you...

Nick Nilsson (a.k.a. the "Mad Scientist" of exercise) has just come out with a new book called "The Best Chest Exercises You've Never Heard Of."

I think the name says it all :)

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Want to know more right now? Click here to check it out:
Building Your Chest Muscles

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So here's the deal...

Right now, Nick's just released this book and is only charging $29.95 for the full 53-exercise book. This is just DIRT CHEAP for the sheer volume of innovative exercises you'll find in it. Exercise descriptions, pictures, even an entire VIDEO LIBARY that you'll have full access to so you know exactly how to perform every exercise.

If you've got access to free weight and bodyweight and a few basic pieces of equipment, you'll be able to use the VAST majority of these exercises.

And here's the cool thing...Nick has posted THREE sample exercises taken directly from the book right on his site for you read to and try out RIGHT NOW. No need to sign up for anything - just go the site and learn 'em.

I think he thinks once you've tried these samples, you'll be hooked...

Me? I think he's right...

Go check it out here:

Building Your Chest Muscles

Sincerely,

Jag252

P.S. When you get to the site and read through the sample exercises, you'll notice he's got a sign-up box where you can actually sign up to get ADDITIONAL exercises. Definitely sign up for this - he told me he's also going to be sending out even MORE sample exercises to the people who do.

Chest Training Workouts

Your Fat Burning Workout How To Burn Fat Faster

2009-12-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fat Burning Workout How To Burn Fat Faster

By the end of this article you will have the information you will need to set up your own fat burning workout.

Let's look at How To Burn fat and Your Fat Burning Workout.

Fat Burning Fact

In order to burn one pound of fat, you have to create a total caloric deficit of 3,500 calories. Aim for 500 calories a day so that you total the 3,500 calories over the course of one week.

Many people underestimate just how long it can take to burn fat and calories contained in many of their favorite foods. For three minutes of eating pleasure, you may have to spend an extra hour working out. For fat burning, look to make small changes in your diet.

In order to burn fat, however, you must be in a caloric deficit, which you can do by reducing the number of calories you eat each day or increasing your energy expenditure through exercise. For fat burning fast do a combination of both.

Your Fat Burning Workout - Burn Fat Not Muscle

Fat Burning Fact: the more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolism. The higher your metabolism equals more fat burning.

When it comes to your fat burning workout what's your first thought? cardio training. Good for fat burning but there is more to it. Cardio training with circuit training and interval training is great I highly recommend them for a fat burning workout. To get the permanent results in fat loss we want don't under estimate weight training.

Weight training for fat burning boosts your metabolism during and long after your fat burning workout is over. Weight training will help you not only maintain but gain lean muscle, creating an increase in metabolism and fat burning.

Cardio training will only cause a short rise in metaboliism for an hour or two after your fat burning workout, burning less calories compared with weight training.

Overdoing cardio will decrease your lean muscle, your metabolism can slow down decreasing your fat burning efforts.

Weight training will help change the way you look, replacing fat with muscle, changing your body composition.

A weight training fat burning workout is a great alternative to cardio and will give you better, more visible results...

Your Ultimate Fat Burning Workout:

* Do 3 weight training workouts a week.
* Concentrate on compound exercises squats,deadlifts, presses, rows etc.
* Do 3-5 exercises 3-5 reps and 3-5 sets per
* Do 2-3 Interval training/Circuit training workouts a week
keep your fat burning workout to about 20 minutes.

while cardio may make you lose weight, weight lifting will help you lose body fat, altering your body composition.

Weight training will help change the way you look completely, giving the impression that you’ve replaced fat with muscle and are actually working at improving your body and changing your body composition.

A Cardio And Fat Burning Workout

2009-11-30T07:53:00.000-08:00

Cardio And Fat Burning Workouts Time Is Short

Okay so that's how many hours this week on the treadmill doing your "cardio and fat burning workouts"?____ (fill in the blank) Really, and how's that working out? Yeah I couldv'e guessed. If you are spending more than 3-4 hours a week and not losing 1-2 pounds of fat your wasting your time.

In a second I am going to show one of the most effective and efficient cardio and fat burning exercises there is. But first.

Are you using any of these workouts for fat burning and cardio?

* Weight Training
* Kettlebell Training
* Interval Training
* Circuit Training

If not then you need to start and if you are and not seeing the results in fat loss then you need to up your intensity.

Let me give you one of the best cardio and fat burning exercises I know (and truth be told if you were to do it as I tell you it is a workout by itself).

The Kettlebell Snatch (Can be done with a dumbbell but a kettlebell is much more effective). First let me tell you how to do it.

Proper start position for the kettlebell snatch, stand up straight and push your butt out as you bend over. Make sure to bend your knees slightly and to keep your back flat. Look forward and grip the kettlebell really hard and keep your body tight. Flex your butt and abs as hard as you can.

In one smooth motion, swing the kettlebell back between your legs and quickly reverse the swing forward. As the bell swings forward snap your hips and keep the kettlebell close to your body. Use the momentum to drive the kettlebell overhead.

Cardio and Fat Burning Workout With the Kettlebell Snatch. This is how I have been using the snatch you may have to scale back depending on your conditioning. Follow my lead here and you will Burn fat like you can't believe.

Set #1 Do 1 rep each arm
Set #2 Do 2 reps each arm (I'm sure you see where this is going)

Continue up to 15 reps each (or whatever your conditioning allows) Oh wait you thought you were done? Wrong!

Set #16 Do 14 reps each arm
Set #17 Do 13 reps each (yep all the way back down)

Like I said that's your whole workout that day a cardio and fat burning workout with one exercise. Total time well that depends again on your conditioning but for the best cardio and fat burning 15-20 minutes 2-3 times a week.

The kettlebell snatch is such an effective exercise. Use it with intensity which is how you should approach all your workouts. Add in 2-3 days of weight training, switch out with some interval and circuit training and check you out the cardio and fat burning machine.

Check out my website Fat Burning Diets And Workouts for more workout and diet articles.

Fat Loss Rebellion: 3 Rebel Fat Loss Tips

2009-10-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

You know what?

I like "weird."

I've always been a bit on the fringe side of the fence if you know what I mean.

A bit of a rebel.

So were guys like Einstein, Mozart, and Picasso. Not that I'm putting myself into their category of genius by any stretch... but I love their approach to life.

BE BOLD...OR GO HOME.

Makes sense to me. This life it too darn short for anything less than being bold.

That means taking some risks here and there. That means taking action while the others are content to sit on the couch being the same person they were yesterday.

And the day before...

And the month before...

And the year before.

Do you want to live your years like that? Or do you want to dive into life? Be the greatest "you" possible?

Then be a bit of a rebel.

Here's some "rebel tips" for fatloss I think you'll enjoy...

REBEL TIP 1
Flip The Food Pyramid Upside-down

The USDA's Food Pyramid is an utter joke. It's origins stink up the joint, let me tell you.

First, the grain industry was in a pinch when the Food Pyramid was created. And wouldn't you know it... the grain industry increased their "contributions" (read: bribes) to certain politicians to get placement atop the pyramid... or in this case at the very bottom. The "foundation" if you will.

Just think about this for a moment:

The USDA wants you to eat (gasp) MORE starch than vegetables? More bread than fruits, lean meats, and hormone-producing fats?

Are they NUTS??

Yes... they are nuts. (Which, by the way, are no where near the foundation... nuts, that is.)

You'd be better off flipping the sucker upside-down.

That would look like this:

40% of your cals from healthy fats 30% of your cals from protein 30% of your cals from carbs

Roughly, that is.

Sounds... rebellious, right? Well it is.

Too bad I have the science (and the abs) to back it up.

If you want a system laid out for you, then go here:

Check Out The Fat Loss Rebellion<-- click.

REBEL TIP 2
Cardio Is Not Smart-ee-o

At least the way the so-called "experts" want you to do it.

Look: This isn't rocket science. Just walk into any gym...take a look at the folks who only do cardio work for 45-60 minutes every day.

Do they look any different from year to year?

Let me save you some time: NO. They do not.

Cardio (unless you are into endurance sports) is a waste of energy done this way. First, it increases your carbohydrate cravings. For most people that's not a good thing. Why? Because cardio at this pace burns mostly SUGAR, not bodyfat.

What do you want to burn?

Exactly. Bodyfat.

Finally, cardio is no where near as efficient as resistance training at dissolving bodyfat... and certainly not even CLOSE to resistance training when it comes to shaping lean muscle and getting the look all these cardio bunnies are after.

Now, I 'do' have a rebel cardio trick... and it takes 9-15 minutes 2-3 times a week to perform.

That's it. And you get ALL the benefits heart-wise of long-session cardio.

Combine that with some brisk walking and my overall fitness plan and presto: No more bodyfat.

Here's what is cool: I put my new in-home version of this resistance-based workout online for a few days at a major discount... but it's only for people who pick up this:

The Fat Loss Rebellion<-- click.

This is completely illustrated with photos too... and you do not need anything but resistance bands and perhaps some cheap dumbbells to do this in-home. Or you can use the gym-based workouts (included with videos.)

Train like this just 3-5 days a week and you can kiss long, boring cardio goodbye.

REBEL TIP 3
Do Not Overwork Your Abs

Here's a mistake I see most people make in the gym: They do endless sets of crunches, leg raises, and (gasp again) sit-ups... all geared toward seeing those toned abs they want.

Guess what?

Waste of time.

In fact, it's worse than that... it can literally shut down your recovery ability. You'll slow your progress in the gym (or at home)... and your fat-burning too.

And you may give up your plan entirely because of it.

Here's the brutal truth: Ab 'muscles' are easy to build. It only takes about 3 minutes 2-3 times a week... that's it.

( Note: I included my "3 Minute Abs" in the fitness book I just told you about... it's only for those who get EODD though... )

The muscles are not what make your stomach flatter... it's the nutrition plan folks.

You're just building muscle underneath layers of bodyfat... not good.

I do very little direct ab training. When I do it's usually 3-5 minutes tops 2 days a week. And my abs are... well... good. : )

I rely on resistance training and my special "favorite foods dietplan" to get and stay lean.

More about it all here:

Fat Loss Rebellion<-- click.

So be a rebel.

Thumb your nose at the establishment and step out on your own.

Trust me: You'll be a leader in every sense of the word if you do.

Fat Loss Rebellion<-- click.

Lose 10 Pounds Of Fat In A Month

2009-10-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Are you still stuck on the marathon aerobics workout nonsense?

Have you ever lost 10 lbs of Fat in a Month? I'm not talking weight loss I'm talking Fat Loss( there is a difference) but you knew that already.

Let me introduce you to circuit training. Read through this whole article use the sample workout at the end and you will be on your way to losing around 2 lbs of fat a week. As long as you are also eating clean but that is another article.

Many people simply don't get what circuit training is and that it can be beneficial for anyone. The reason most people don't get it is beacause some of the so called trainers out there don't teach it correctly.

If you have fallen for the marathon treadmill workouts will burn fat fast lie don't feel bad. You, me and thousands of others have also. But we are done with that now. Right?

"What is circuit training"?

The purpose of circuit training is to keep you moving by only allowing you to take minimal breaks between exercises. If you absolutely must rest( this will be based on your conditioning level), you can take 30 seconds to walk around and then start again. Whatever you do, don't stop moving.

Circuit training is completely different than traditional weight-training programs, but can provide a much greater boost to your metabolism than plain cardio. Circuit training, works because it causes you to keep pushing your body aerobically, while still challenging you anaerobically.

The Misconception About Circuit Training

If you're like many men, you probably think that circuit training is something a woman does with really light weights. This is probably because you associate no rest periods with light weights, and if you are trying to increase your strength, you likely think you need to be lifting as much weight as possible.

However, muscle responds to the total tension produced. If you use lighter weights, but are able to get in more sets during a certain period of time, you will produce the same -- if not more -- total tension and will stimulate your muscles to grow.

Try the follow program; you'll see, it will give you a run for your money.

Circuit Training benefits

First, it allows you to work your aerobic system while simultaneously working on your strength. Since you are constantly progressing through the workout, you will keep your heart rate up, getting much more out of it than guy who mindlessly logs all those miles on the treadmill.

Second, due to fewer rest periods, you will increase the amount of testosterone you release, which serves to help your muscles grow. While it is true that if you were to perform long aerobic sessions, your testosterone level would drop and you would start to release cortisol (which causes the body to break down muscle tissue), this workout won't take that long to complete. Therefore, you won't reach the time required to start this cortisol-releasing process.

Finally, since you will move through this workout quickly, you won't have to spend long hours in the gym, and you will be able to spend your time doing the things that you never seemed to have time for when you were making the gym your second home.

Try out this sample workout and decide if you still think circuit training is for girly men

The Sample Circuit Training Workout

This circuit training workout consists of 5 different exercises to be performed a total of six times. Perform 10 reps of each exercise before moving on to the next one. Once you have completed all six exercises, start the sequence over again.

Over time, you can gradually increase your number of reps to 20 per exercise; however, this is intense, so start slowly.

1) Mountain Climbers. While in the push-up position bring your left knee up to your chest, now do the same with the right leg. You may need to practice these a little to get a rythem and feel for mountain climbers. A great bodyweight exercise.

2) Pushups. Remember to keep your hands approximately at chest level in order to target the proper muscles. You may not know this (most people don't) but to really do push-ups correctly and get the most out of them keep your elbows close to your body.

3) Squats. You don't need to use weights ( but use them if you have them); If not do prisoner squats clasp your hans behind your head and squat down below parallel.

4) Barbell, Dumbbell or Kettlebell Cleans A fantastic total body workout in one exercise. One of my personal favorites.

5) Burpees. Start in a standing position, squat down and place your hands on the floor. Kick your legs out behind you, hold for a second, then bring your legs back to your hands. Next, explode off the floor, straightening up at the waist and jumping as high as you can. Land and bring your hands to the floor once again; this is one rep.

After completing all 5 exercises rest per your conditioning level( absolute begginner 90-120 seconds you will have to judge this for yourself). Work to decrease your rest times.

a final note

Since this workout does not target all of the muscles in your body, it is still best to include a normal strength-training routine in your program. This will keep your body balanced and ensure you are still strengthening all the muscle groups.

Circuit is a great thing to include in your workout when you are feeling like you are reaching a plateau or you're just ready to try something new to kick-start your metabolism and kick your workout up a notch.

Since it is quite intense, only perform it twice a week and be sure to take at least one day off in between. To progress and keep stimulating your body, try incorporating different versions of each exercise, such as one-hand pushups or clap pushups, and turned-out squats or squat jumps.

Hopefully, by set five of this program, you will have a newfound respect for circuit training.

Get A Flat Stomach With Kettlebell Exercises

2009-10-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Get A Flat Stomach With Kettlebell Exercises

For years fitness “experts” have been telling us to do endless crunches and sit ups to get a flat stomach.

Combine that with the latest low fat diet and hours upon hours of slow boring cardio and - BANG! You Instantly get a flat stomach, right?

So then what is the answer to how to get a flat stomach then? Kettlebell Exercises!

It’s amazing how, if you say something over and over and over again, people - even the most well-informed and educated people - will believe it as the truth.

But as Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolutionists we know better, right?

So when I get asked, almost on a daily basis, how to lose body fat and get a flat stomach, my answer seems to confuse the “general population”…

1. Perform full-body exercises.

2. Train your abs the way they were meant to be trained (by forcing them to stabilize your torso, not move it or rotate it).

3. Use some form of interval training instead of long boring cardio.

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF ALL…

4. Eat REAL, clean food focusing on fruits & vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats limiting grains and refined carbs to a minimum.

That about sums it up in a nutshell and it doesn’t get any simpler than that.

When it comes to training with kettlebells, getting that flat stomach is easy if you follow the rules above.

And one of the best kettlebell exercises to get that flat stomach is the Turkish Get-Up or TGU.

Simply put, TGUs involve you laying on the ground holding a Kettlebell vertical with one arm and then performing a series of movements to get you standing upright.

It sounds simple enough, but rest assured, if you use a heavy enough kettlebell and use proper technique, it’s as hard a kettlebell exercise as they come. And it will challenge you like no other Kettlebell exercise out there.

There are 2 variations on how to perform the TGU. Take a look at the video below and see which variation suits your abilities best.

Remember, we train with kettlebells to simplify our lives and to give us an alternative to going to the gym and wasting the precious time it takes for us to drive, park, change, etc, etc. Time that can be spent doing more meaningful and impactful things - like spending time with our families & friends.

The truth about kettlebell training to get 6 pack abs and a low % body fat is that our results aren’t so much dependant on what we do IN THE GYM, but what we do the other 23.5 hours in the day.

Are we getting enough sleep?

Are we able to handle our stress levels? (Notice how I said, “handle” and not “eliminate” stress. Fact is that stress is a part of life and it’s next to impossible to completely eliminate stress. Learning how to properly handle stress is more realistic.)

Are we eating whole, natural foods?

Don’t get me wrong, exercise plays a vital role in getting lean. After all, it’s still just a matter or calories in vs. calories out - of EAT LESS, MOVE MORE.

But if you’re using Kettlebell exercises and training at least 3 times per week, then, from an exercise standpoint, you’re on the right track to get that flat stomach.

I would liketo thank Chris Lopez of the Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution for this article on how the TGU and kettlebell exercises can help us get a flat stomach and lose that extra body fat.

Strength Conditioning And Health Fat Burning With Trans Fat?

2009-09-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

We all know that trans fats are horrible for your health right? But what if I told you that there is a specific type of trans fat that's natural (not man-made) and actually helps you to lose fat faster and build lean muscle?

Well, check out the excerpt from my new program that I co-authored called "The Fat Burning Kitchen" below:

"...Not many people know this fact, but CLA is actually a natural form of trans fat, but it is FAR different than the artificial trans fats from hydrogenated oils that are so deadly and that you hear all of the negative information about. CLA is actually one of the only healthy trans fats in existence.

CLA is a natural form of healthy trans fat that occurs in the fat on the meat, and in the dairy from ruminant animals such as cattle, bison, deer, goats, sheep, kangaroo, etc. CLA in natural form has been shown to help in burning off abdominal fat and also maintaining or even building lean muscle.

Warning: do NOT use CLA supplements as they contain an artificially created form of CLA that is a different CLA isomer compared to the natural CLA isomer that's found in meats and dairy from ruminant animals. The CLA isomer found in CLA supplements can have negative effects in the body and is more similar to an artificial trans fat. The only form of CLA is that going to benefit your health and help you to reduce body fat is the natural CLA isomers from grass-fed beef, bison, venison, etc or from grass-fed raw milk or cheeses.

Also, grass-fed meats and dairy contain 3-5x the CLA of grain fed meats, so avoid your typical grain-fed grocery store meats.

So that is the reason why I focused more on red meats such as grass-fed beef and bison during this 23-day cutting cycle instead of chicken, turkey, or fish -- because the extra CLA can really help in accelerating fat loss and preserving lean muscle..."

There you have it... there actually IS such a thing as a healthy trans fat... bet you didn't know that!

This was an excerpt from my brand new program I just co-authored with an extremely knowledgeable nutrition expert named Catherine Ebeling.

The program is called "The Fat Burning Kitchen".

Because this is our launch week... you can grab the program for half price this week only. The price will double in a few days at the end of the week.

Also, I wanted to really knock your socks off with this program, so if you grab a copy this week, I even decided to throw in a special bonus section that gives you every single nitty gritty detail of how I just went from 10.2% bodyfat down to 6.9% bodyfat in only 23 days while I prepped for a photo shoot recently.

This is advanced stuff for when you might have an event such as a wedding or a beach vacation coming up and you need to knock off some significant bodyfat in only 3-4 weeks time frame. There's nothing unhealthy here... but these techniques are definitely "amped up" from the norm.

When I say nitty gritty details... I'm talking everything, including specific spices, teas, nutrients, exactly what I ate, carb/protein/fat ratios and how I manipulated timing of nutrients to accelerate fat loss.

Seriously, we did the body comp tests and I went from 10.2% BF to 6.9% BF in only 23 days. I'll be sharing the pics on my blog in a week or 2, when I get the finals back from the photographer.

You'll find out all of those details of how I did this in the bonus chapter if you grab a copy this week.

check it out:

The Fat Burning Kitchen

Get your copy today so you don't miss out on the half price special.

Also I have posted from The Fat Burning Kitchen here 2 Fat Loss recipes

Talk soon, Jag252

Chest Training Tips And Secrets

2009-09-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Subject: 3 cool "CHEST TRAINING SECRETS"!

Hi

This week promises to COMPLETELY change your workouts...forever!

Why?

Well, unless you're living under a rock, you've probably seen
the daily contest my friend Jeff Anderson is holding on his
blog at:

Click Now
Jeff (aka - the "Muscle Nerd" is giving away $100 every day
to someone who posts THEIR best "training secret" in the
"Comments" section.

Yesterday was "Chest Training" day and, get this...

...there were 166 "chest training" tips!

Then he's holding a LIVE Online "TV show" every single night
this week to discuss how to train a single muscle group AND
announce the winner.

Today is "Back Training" day and I wanted to ask YOU to go
and:

1. Check out all the great training tips that are posted
there already; and

2. Enter YOUR best "back training secret" into the "Comments"
section so you can possibly claim the 100 BUCKS yourself!

You have to have "V.I.P. Access" just to even SEE the blog
but it doesn't cost anything.

You can sign up at:

Click For V.I.P. Access

Just to show you some of the cool tips that are getting
posted, here are 3 CHEST TRAINING TIPS from Monday:

=====================================

Chest Training Tip #8 from Gordon!

=====================================

"For the flat bench press, push through the top of each rep.

It will only be a few extra inches, but your shoulders
should come OFF of the bench.

Goes for bar or dumbells.

You may find you need to lower your weight at first but this
will add that full definition we are all looking for in the
pecs."

=====================================

Chest Training Tip #16 from Jason!

=====================================

"This is a tip i got from my buddy...

You do pushups, but at the bottom, bounce 5 times.

Finish your push up after that, and repeat 5 times.

Next, move your arms in to shoulder width and repeat.

Next move your arms in again so your hands are almost
touching and repeat.

Great for your triceps too!"

=====================================

Chest Training Tip #1 from Jeff!

=====================================

To work INNER CHEST for some "cleavage", once you get done
with your bench press sets, grab a single heavy dumbbell.

Wrap both hands around the handle while laying on a flat
bench and do "partial reps" of about 8-12 inches at the
top of the movement.

Go for 8-12 reps and really SQUEEEEZE your chest together
throughout these "mini reps" to get a final burn in your
inner chest fibers

=====================================

Pretty cool, eh?

Imagine 166 of these waiting for you at:

Click For V.I.P. Access

Go and grab a notebook and pen to jot down those tips that
you can add to YOUR workout.

PLUS...put in your OWN "back training" tip for today's
posts and check out the LIVE TV SHOW tonight to see if you
won the $100, ok?

Good luck!

Jag252

Interval Training Killed The Cardio Workout

2009-09-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Interval Training Killed The Cardio Workout

Thankfully we have a better way for fat burning than spending hours on a treadmill. RIP old cardio. Welcome Interval Training.

Stop doing the slow boring cardio workouts for fat burning and switch to shorter, more effective interval training for fat burning and weight loss. This will help you get more fat burning results in less workout time.

Research proves that interval training is better than cardio workouts for fat burning, weight loss and fitness.

* But what is Interval Training? *

Interval training is when you do a period of hard work followed by a period of easy work. Although I do prefer weight training, bodyweight exercises or kettlebells for interval training, you can also use the treadmill to do interval training/ fat burning workouts.

A good time to do your interval training is immediately after your strength training session. That way you only have 3 full training days per week.

Interval training can also be done on your off days of strength training.

After you've finished your strength training workout, you'll move into the interval training workout. Start by warming up for 5 minutes at a progressive pace and then you are going to go 45 seconds at a hard 8.5-9/10 intensity level, followed by 90 seconds at an easy 3/10 intensity level.

For another interval training workout, you'll again start with your 5-minute warm-up, but instead of 45 seconds, you will do 60 seconds of hard work followed by 90 seconds of recovery. This time your hard interval training will not be as difficult at it was in the first fat burning workout I described, but still at a pretty good pace that allows you to do 60 seconds of hard work.

As a side note, you always want to be able to finish your interval training and fat burning workout. If you can't, then you need to bring the intensity down.

When you come down to your recovery interval, it should always be at the same intensity, and always be very easy. So, no matter which interval training/ fat burning workout you are going to be doing, you will always come back to the same easy level intensity for your recovery period. Again, you are going to repeat the intervals in the workout up to six times and then finish off with a cool down.

Interval Training better results for So Interval Training means fat burning, lean muscle and fitness. Let's see shorter workouts better results? Sounds pretty much like a no brainer.

Learning Permanent Weight Loss! Part 1

2009-09-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Learning Permanent Weight Loss! By Will Brink

I have a great article for you today. It is a very in depth look at how you can learn for yourself about fat loss and diet plans and whether they will work for you. Not for the short term but to get you permanent results.

This article is by Will Brink a respected author, consultant and trainer. I have had to split this article in half it is a long read. But it is very important for anyone looking for permanent weight loss. So here is part 1 Jag252

Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a science guy who likes to quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, bodybuilding, and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.

For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It’s not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein?

To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will attempt to change all that.

There are some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and ways of viewing a diet program that will allow you to decide, once and for all, if it’s the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and you should be under no illusions this is another quick fix, “lose 100 lbs. in 20 days,” guide of some sort.

However, if you are sick and tired of being confused, tired of taking the weight off only to put it back on, and tired of wondering how to take the first steps to deciding the right diet for you that will result in permanent weight loss, then this is the article that could change your life…

Do you need to be a scientist to apply what you will learn here? No. A mind reader or clairvoyant? No.

A nutritionist or medical doctor? Not at all. What you need to be is open-minded and willing to learn a few key concepts that will allow you to sort through the confusion.You will be able to apply what you learn here to any diet you are considering and decide if it makes sense, once and for all!

The process, however, is neither easy nor quick per se, but I never promise you either of those things…This article does not look at specific diets but will teach you to take a logical approach and apply some common sense to choosing a nutritional plan for life long weight loss.

If you are willing and able to make a paradigm shift, then let’s proceed.

Does your diet pass “The Test”?

What is the number one reason diets fail long term; above all else?

The number one reason is…drum roll…a lack of long term compliance. The numbers don’t lie; the vast majority of people who lose weight will regain it - and often exceed what they lost. You knew that already didn’t you?

Yet, what are you doing to avoid it? Here’s another reality check: virtually any diet you pick which follows the basic concept of “burning” more calories then you consume – the well accepted “calories in calories out” mantra – will cause you to lose weight. To some degree, they all work: Atkins-style, no carb diets, low fat high carb diets, all manner of fad diets - it simply does not matter in the short term.

If your goal is to lose some weight quickly, then pick one and follow it. I guarantee you will lose some weight. Studies generally find any of the commercial weight loss diets will get approximately the same amount of weight off after 6 months to a year.

For example, a recent study found the Atkins’ Diet, Slim-Fast plan, Weight Watchers Pure Points program, and Rosemary Conley’s Eat Yourself Slim diet, were all equally effective.

Other studies comparing other popular diets have come to essentially the same conclusions. For example, a study that compared the Atkins diet, the Ornish diet, Weight Watchers, and The Zone Diet, found them to be essentially the same in their ability to take weight off after one year.

Recall what I said about the number one reason diets fail, which is a lack of compliance. The lead researcher of this recent study stated: “Our trial found that adherence level rather than diet type was the primary predictor of weight loss”

Translated, it’s not which diet they chose per se, but their ability to actually stick to a diet that predicted their weight loss success. I can just see the hands going up now, “but Will, some diets must be better than others, right?”

Are some diets better then others? Absolutely. Some diets are healthier then others, some diets are better at preserving lean body mass, some diets are better at suppressing appetite – there are many differences between diets. However, while most of the popular diets will work for taking weight off, what is abundantly clear is that adhering to the diet is the most important aspect for keeping the weight off long term.

What is a diet?

A diet is a short term strategy to lose weight. Long term weight loss is the result of an alteration in lifestyle. We are concerned with life long weight management, not quick fix weight loss here. I don’t like the term diet, as it represents a short term attempt to lose weight vs. a change in lifestyle.

Want to lose a bunch of weight quickly? Heck, I will give you the information on how to do that here and now for no charge.

For the next 90 to 120 days eat 12 scrambled egg whites, one whole grapefruit, and a gallon of water twice a a day. You will lose plenty of weight. Will it be healthy? Nope. Will the weight stay off once you are done with this diet and are then forced to go back to your “normal” way of eating? Not a chance. Will the weight you lose come from fat or will it be muscle, water, bone, and (hopefully!) some fat? The point being, there are many diets out there that are perfectly capable of getting weight off you, but when considering any eating plan designed to lose weight, you must ask yourself:

“Is this a way of eating I can follow long term?”

Which brings me to my test: I call it the “Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?” Test. I know, it does not exactly roll off your tongue, but it gets the point across.The lesson here is: any nutritional plan you pick to lose weight must be part of a lifestyle change you will be able to follow - in one form or another - forever.

That is, if it’s not a way of eating you can comply with indefinitely, even after you get to your target weight, then it’s worthless.

Thus, many fad diets you see out there are immediately eliminated, and you don’t have to worry about them. The question is not whether the diet is effective in the short term, but if the diet can be followed indefinitely as a lifelong way of eating.

Going from “their” way of eating back to “your” way of eating after you reach your target weight is a recipe for disaster and the cause of the well established yo-yo dieting syndrome. Bottom line: there are no short cuts, there is no free lunch, and
only a commitment to a lifestyle change is going to keep the fat off long term.

I realize that’s not what most people want to hear, but it’s the truth, like it or not. The statistics don’t lie: getting the weight off is not the hardest part, keeping the weight off is!

If you take a close look at the many well known fad/commercial diets out there, and you are honest with yourself, and apply my test above, you will find most of them no longer appeal to you as they once did.

It also brings me to an example that adds additional clarity: If you have diet A that will cause the most weight loss in the shortest amount of time but is unbalanced and essentially impossible to follow long term vs. diet B, which will take the weight off at a slower pace, but is easier to follow, balanced, healthy, and something you can comply with year after year, which is superior?

If diet A gets 30 lbs off you in 30 days, but by next year you have gained back all 30 lbs, but diet B gets 20 lbs off you in the next 3 months with another 20 lbs 3 months after that and the weight stays off by the end of that year, which is the better diet?

If you don’t know the answer to those questions, you have totally missed the point of this article and the lesson it’s trying to teach you, and are set up for failure. Go back and read this section again…

By default, diet B is superior. Teach a man to Fish…

A well known Chinese Proverb is;Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

This expression fits perfectly with the next essential step in how to decide what eating plan you should follow to lose weight permanently. Will the diet plan you are considering teach you how to eat long term, or does it spoon-feed you information? Will the diet rely on special bars, shakes, supplements or pre-made foods they supply?

Let’s do another diet A vs. diet B comparison. Diet A is going to supply you with their foods, as well as their special drink or bars to eat, and tell you exactly when to eat them. You will lose – say – 30 lbs in two months.

Diet B is going to attempt to help you learn which foods you should eat, how many
calories you need to eat, why you need to eat them, and generally attempt to help teach you how to eat as part of a total lifestyle change that will allow you to make informed decisions about your nutrition.

Diet B causes a slow steady weight loss of 8 -10 lbs per month for the next 6 months and the weight stays off because you now know how to eat properly.

Recall the Chinese proverb. Both diets will assist you to lose weight. Only one diet, however, will teach you how to be self-reliant after your experience is over. Diet A is easier, to be sure, and causes faster weight loss than diet B, and diet B takes longer and requires some thinking and learning on your part.

However, when diet A is over, you are right back where you started and have been given no skills to fish. Diet companies don’t make their profits by teaching you to fish, they make their money by handing you a fish so you must rely on them indefinitely or come back to them after you gain all the weight back.

Learning Permanent Weight Loss! part 1 check back soon for part 2

Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies. His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors. Will is the author of the popular e-books, both acommpanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.

Train Like An Athlete To Lose Belly Fat

2009-09-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Train Like An Athlete To Lose Belly Fat

If you want to lose belly fat this year, then you need to forget about long, slow cardio workouts and use a new way to burn fat. One of the best ways to lose belly fat is to start training like an athlete.

Here's the best way to do your fat burning athlete workouts to lose fat in a short amount of time - without a gym membership.

In 2009, you'll see more and more trainers and fitness magazines showing people how to exercise like a power athlete to burn fat (using methods like bodyweight exercises and interval training).

The emphasis will be on training to improve your performance, and by doing that you'll improve your physique. On the other hand, only "dinosaur trainers" will continue to rely on non-athletic, ineffective ways to burn fat and lose belly fat such as long, slow cardio.

However, there is a right way and a wrong way to train like an athlete for fat loss. It's sad to see poorly educated trainers having their clients jumping on concrete or doing athletic exercises in the wrong order that could lead to injury. When doing a "Fat Burning Athlete Workout", your program must follow a specific order.

You must start with a total body warm-up with bodyweight exercises, such as bodyweight squats, total body ab exercises, single-leg movements, and bodyweight pushing and pulling. You'll even use dynamic mobility exercises like high knees, butt kicks, and dynamic stretching to prepare your muscles for athletic fat loss.

Here is a Beginner Fat Loss Workout For You

Then the real workout begins with power exercises, such as sprints, jumping, or agility techniques. You might even use kettlebells or medicine balls in these short, burst power exercises. You'll do this after a thorough bodyweight preparation phase, but before you get tired from resistance training (and never do your power exercises after training if you want to improve your athletic performance).

After training to increase speed and athletic power, an athlete's fat loss program will move to resistance training to help build and sculpt muscle and add strength for even more power performance in the future.

But you won't spend a lot of time here, just the basics. This is not a bodybuilding, high-volume, isolation exercise type workout. This isn't the time or place for that. Your fat burning athlete's resistance exercises will be squats, presses, pulls, and single-leg movements.

You can use bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells to get stronger and sculpt your muscles. Most workouts will consist of supersets and low to moderate reps, but you might do some high-rep strength-endurance work with bodyweight circuits to finish off.

By now, the athlete's fat loss workout is almost over, and you'll finish with short sessions of interval training to burn fat and improve sport-specific and real world fitness.

Research shows you can boost aerobic and sprint performance with intervals, and really, who ever jogs for 45 minutes in the real world? We need sprint fitness to climb three flights of stairs and carry groceries, instead. And that's what you get from resistance workouts and interval training.

There's one more thing you must know. You need to set a goal of hitting one personal best in every fat burning athlete workout you do. For example, if you did 2 chin-ups in your last workout, your goal should be to hit 3 chin-ups in your next workout. Or you might set a goal of doing an extra 5 seconds in the plank or side plank exercise, or running an extra 3 seconds in each interval at the same speed.

You can find hundreds of different "personal bests" to hit in your program, but just focus on achieving one personal best each workout. That's all you need to consistently ensure you'll be burning fat over time. Each time you improve your performance, you'll start burning fat and sculpting your muscle better than last workout.

Working out like an athlete will give you the best looking, and best performing body that you've ever had!

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked fat burning workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Craig's weight loss workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig's bodyweight workouts help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

Train Like An Athlete To Lose Belly Fat

Turbulence Training And Kettlebell Training Extreme Cardio

2009-09-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 7, 2009

Turbulence Training And Kettlebell Training Extreme Cardio

I have some really exciting news today. It is as they say a match made in heaven. Turbulence training and Kettlebell training together. If you read my posts you know I am a big believer in both Interval training (turbulence training and kettlebell training.

But what happens when you combine this revolutionary piece of fat burning exercise equipment with the world’s most powerful and popular home workout fat loss system – Turbulence Training?

The answer is rapid fat loss at any age using the Turbulence Training and Kettlebell training Revolution Workouts.

You’ll be able to workout ANYTIME, ANYWHERE with the NEW Turbulence Training Kettlebell training Revolution Fat Loss System in your favorite location wearing your favorite clothes while listening to your favorite workout tunes…and you’ll still get better results than any machine could ever give you - GUARANTEED.

As you know, Turbulence Training has been used by thousands of men and women through Craig Ballantyne’s website and online videos, plus millions of men and women who have read about Craig’s programs in Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Women’s Health, Oxygen, and even Prevention magazine.

Well now Craig Ballantyne and Chris Lopez have brought them both together. So without further babbling from me I'll let Craig take it from here.( and check out the video of Chris and Craig at the bottom of the page)

Why a Turbulence Training Kettlebell Training Workout?

I got this question a lot last week, 53 times to be exact, but folks want to know...

"Why are you putting together a Turbulence Training and Kettlebell training workout program?"

And the answer is simple.

I just didn't like what was out there for my Turbulence Training members.

Every program seemed to be competing about how "hard-core" it couldbe...but I don't care how hard it is, I just want it to work and be appropriate for TT readers.

So all those other guys bragging about how their program will make"you sick" and "so sore you'll want to go to the hospital" can keep their programs.

Instead, I decided to certify the first Turbulence Trainer, Chris Lopez, and I went to him for Kettlebell Workouts because I know he has been using them for years with his clients.

So today, I want you to meet Chris Lopez, creator of the TurbulenceTraining Kettlebell Workout Revolution.

Check it out
=> Chris Lopez & the Kettlebell Workouts

And don't forget you'll be able to use his workouts in the 6th TT Transformation Contest that starts today!

Welcome to the Revolution,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS - Can you believe Chris is younger than me and...

...already has 4 kids with a 5th on the way (his first boy!).

Find out why Kettlebells are so great for busy folks like you and him:

=> http://kettlebellworkouts.com/meetchrislopez

http://kettlebellworkouts.com/meetchrislopez

3 Simple Exercises for Back Pain

2009-09-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

3 Simple Exercises for Back Pain
by Robert Chu, PhD, L.Ac.

Perhaps you've had a hard day, you had to shovel the walk, dig your car out of the snow, mailed a few heavy packages, are carrying around some extra holiday weight, or had to take your in-laws around town. You're tired, and it feels like your back is about to go out.

To keep your back in supple working order, you can simply do a few exercises that will help loosen you up and restore your posture. You should do these before running to your pain relievers or muscles relaxants. You don't even need a personal trainer or gym membership to do them, and they will prevent a visit to the doctor. A few relaxed sets of these exercises can immediately make you feel better.

These golden exercises include knee bends, waist twists and hip rolls. Doing these three treasures is a great way to get the blood moving, release endorphins and help you detox, all of which keeps the back in shape and pain away.

Since these simple exercises deal with moving the major muscle groups including the core stabilizing muscles, you can do them anytime with varying degrees of difficulty--adjusting as you get more accustomed to doing them.

The exercises promote blood circulation and release muscle tightness and spasms. Done regularly, they will increase your health and fitness levels, helping to tone your body. You will feel warmer and they will even help aid digestion, as the exercises assist the moving action of the intestines to move your bowels to aid detoxing.

Detoxing is important when considering pain, as toxins in the blood and muscles creates inflammation and pain.

Exercise 1 — Knee Bends: Do some gentle, relaxed knee bends. If you have knee or back issues it is best to do them with the assistance of a chair, table or desk. Stand in a relaxed shoulder-width position and place your hands on the support. Tighten your stomach muscles and exhale while bending your knees and going down as far as you can without falling or straining your knees. Inhale while standing up. Do 10 of these, and then move onto the next exercise.

Exercise 2 — Waist Twists: With your hands relaxed at your sides and with feet a shoulder-width apart, simply start swinging your arms right then left, patting both hands on your lower back as they reach around. This will massage the kidneys. Be sure not to swing or pat too hard, just in a relaxed easy motion! Breathe naturally and relax. Simply do a count of 10, and then relax.

Exercise 3 — Hip Rolls: Stand back away from your support and stand with legs at shoulder-width apart. Tighten your abdominal muscles and put your hands on your hips. Imagine you have a hula hoop, or are doing the hula, and rotate your hips clockwise 5 times, then rotate them counter-clockwise 5 times. Be sure to relax and smile and breathe naturally with this exercise.

The complete series of these golden exercises takes about 2 minutes to complete. Initially, try to do the exercises 3 times a day. Take an exercise break, rather than a coffee or cigarette break, and you'll be delighted on how good your low back will feel.

Click Here To See A Video On Back Pain Relief and Get Your Free Back Pain Relief Guide

Kettlebell Training: Total Body Conditioning

2009-09-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Doing kettlebell exercise workouts are a total body conditioning workout done with a very simple and cost effective tool. In case you didn't know a kettlebell looks like a bowling ball with a handle attached to it.

Kettlebell training goes back many years. The russians are most known for using kettlebells in all of their training in the 1940s, kettlebell exercise workouts became the countries national sport. Whether you're trying to build or tone muscle, increase your metabolism, or burn fat, you should generally incorporate a cardio routine with some form of strength training.

Kettlebells use the whole body as a unit. One movement (swing, clean and press, snatch, squat) engages many muscles (legs, core, upper body), as a results many calories are used up. In short period of time it is possible to burn hundreds of calories. Kettlebell training can be time efficient, incredibly intense and effective (and fun) workout yes I did say fun.

How do women benefit from kettlebell training?

Fat Loss (kettlebells provide intense fat burning workouts)
Strong bones and joints (load-bearing workouts)
Strength without bulk
Endurance and stamina of marathon runners (without the running)
Muscle balance and function (promotes proper body mechanics)
Confidence to handle anything that life throws your way

Kettlebell training allows for superior strength gains without adding big muscle size gains.. Yes, you can have strong lean body and look like a woman. Kettlebell training can help.

One or two kettlebells are all that you need. You can train at home, or go to outdoors and get some fresh air. Kettlebell training is a form of training that will not only improve the appearance of your physique, it will give you strength and mental toughness that you did not know was even possible.

Kettlebell exercise workouts provide an intense full-body workout in an incredibly short period of time. Most workouts finish in less than 30 minutes and leave you drenched with sweat and gasping for air. Most traditional personal "trainers" recommend lengthy cardio and resistance sessions for up to 6 to 8 hours a week. A week's worth of kettlebell exercise workouts equal only a fraction of that and you get much better results.

If you are a woman that want's to lose weight and tighten up your glutes, quads,abs and arms use on a regular basis kettlebell exercise workouts featuring kettlebell ballistic exercises with some low rep kettlebell training strength exercises and you are all set.

The Kettlebell Swing is exactly what it sounds like your swinging a kettlebell from between your legs up to chest height. The kettlebell swing may be the single most effective exercise you can do for total body conditioning.

Total Body Workouts: Shorter Workouts For Extreme Fitness

2009-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

I just finished my sixth hour on the treadmill this week with four more hours to do. Is this really the best way to workout? No! Try doing total body workouts. You are spending way to much time! Those marathon workouts are proven to be inefficient.

Total Body Workouts for Extreme Fitness

Many people think about building muscle as having nolife outside the gym and devoting hours in the gym like a monk in a monastery. Perhaps the only way to lose unwanted body fat, chisel your body into a hot muscular physique is by spending hour after hour over the rusty iron day in, day out and year in, year out.

Total Body Workouts:

This is the most effective way to workout whether your looking to lose fat or gain muscle. Although hard work is required, extreme fitness demands one to do intense maximum effort workouts. Total body workouts can make you progress faster and it easily fits in your schedule. This is very convenient if you are looking forward to achieving extreme fitness but find it hard to hold on to a single workout routine.

Genuine total body workouts are done by athletes with the goal of developing maximum muscle contraction using heavy weights, makes room for full recovery so one can actually grow and continue to train hard plus it also prevents burnout which is inevitable due to excess training.

So if you are is ready for extreme fitness, here is all there is to know about total body workouts:

total body workouts are a time saver. The biggest plus about having the whole body trained all at once is probably having to go to the gym less frequently; perhaps around two to three times for every seven days would be enough.

Another advantage of total body workouts is that you don't need to spend two or more hours of strenuous exercise in the gym for every session; you should only spend forty-five minutes to one hour in the gym for every session. So that's just three to four hours per week in the gym right? With total body workouts, it is all about the quality of exercise you do per session and not the quantity, nor even the amount of time you allot per session.

Total body workouts boost the cardiovascular system for extreme fitness. One must allot two to four sets for every body part into the one hour session. Jam packed with exercising, each one hour session then gets the heart and the rest of the cardiovasular system pumping and up to speed in a flash.

Now feeling pumped up, next find out what rules does one have to follow when engaging in total body workouts.

Total body workouts should be done three times per week. This is so easy isn't it? What is great about this is that there is time spared during rest days so that you could also do some cardio exercise sessions instead of depending on cardio execises one normally does at the end of each work out session which after all, are not at all very effective.

Heavy lifting is strongly advised. Contrary to popular belief, especially among athletes. It is not true that it is good to get trapped on training lightly than one actually could so as to conserve energy for the other body parts that will come later in the routine. What is true is that one cannot achieve optimal progress if one is not training heavy, no matter which program that person is doing.

One exercise only per muscle group. This is very easy to follow and is also important. Doing basic exercises which are also intense means you do not have to do another different exercise for that body part.

Keep work out short. Resistance training affects the natural homones of the body connected to muscle building. Intense exercising boosts the testosterone levels and long work outs increase those of catabolic cortisol. Sixty minutes of work out allows you to get the best of both worlds.

Now with this convenient and powerful total body workout regimen, you can now experience extreme fitness.

Let me see shorter workouts that are proven more effective for muscle gains or fat loss seem's pretty much a nobrainer. Marathon hour plus workouts or total body workouts of 45 minutes or less that get you quicker and better results. I know what I chose how about you?

Get Your FREE Fat Loss Certification Course From Jon Benson

2009-08-28T05:24:00.000-07:00

Subject: 2 FREE Fat Loss gifts to say thanks

Today I have not one, but two special gifts for you.

It's not very often that folks on the Internet say "thank you" to their readers. But that's what I want to do today...

.. to say "thanks for reading."

I know your time is valuable, and I appreciate lending some of it to me. I hope to continue to post and email on subjects you find interesting.

Here's a few "thank you" gifts for you.

Fitness pro Jon Benson recently sent this to me to give to you. I can give you freee of charge his 7-Day Personal Fat Loss Certification Course.

Don't let the words "Certification Course" get you too excited... Jon isn't handing out real diplomas! He just came up with a great idea: Each of us should become our OWN personal fatloss "expert". But in order to do that you need to discover how things really work. Jon separates the facts from the nonsense... and trust me, there's a heck of a lot of nonsense out there.

At the end of the course you get a freee copy of his in-demand book "The Radical Fatloss Blueprint." No cc-nums to enter either.. this is just straight-up freee gift for completing the course.

In that book you'll discover how to burn off up to 21lbs of unwanted bodyweight in just 21 days... safely and without losing muscle. In fact the hundreds of folks who have gone through the program have (all but two!) gained muscle over the 21 days.

It's utterly amazing... and you get the book and the course freee, as my gift to you.

Go here to register now:

FREE Fat Loss Certification Course

Enjoy the course, and thanks again for your readership.

P.S. I may want to add that Jon has to limit the number of people who go through the Course as he responds personally to almost every question you ask on the course Forum. So be sure to sign up freee today while it's fresh on your mind.

Building Muscle: Triggering Your Natural Testosterone Release

2009-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Research On Sex, Testosterone...And MUSCLE!

By The Muscle Nerd, Jeff Anderson

Obviously everyone who's ever stuck a barbell in their hand realizes the power that NATURALLY increasing your body's production of Testosterone and Growth Hormone (GH) is where it's at!

And here's a question I've been asked so many times, I've simply stopped counting...

"Does SEX actually LOWER testosterone...and your ability to build muscle?"

I mean we all know that raising your "T" levels can DRAMATICALLY increase your libido as well as pack on layers of thick new muscle, right?

So is your "love life" holding you back from some KILLER gains in the gym?

I mean, what about the "old school" BOXING rule of not having sex the night before your fight?

Was it because it took the "lion" out of the fighter? Made him WEAKER?

Actually, this was a question I recently took head on.

But I gotta tell you...

...it wasn't EASY finding an answer!

After tracking down several endocrinologists and urologists, all of them just shrugged their shoulders and told me they “didn’t know the answer”.

Damn!

You’d think guys who are supposed to be experts in healing erectile dysfunction and low testosterone levels would have at least a CLUE about this, right?

So I dug deeper...

...and called up a friend of his who is a a world-renowned researcher in hormone replacement therapy.

After a long discussion, here's what we came up with...

YES! Sex CAN reduce your testosterone levels AND your muscle gains!

I'll explain WHY in a second, but here's what's MOST important...

I'm ALSO going to give you the "secret" to not giving up your love life in order to have MORE MUSCLE!

Ok, follow along...

Testosterone is a VERY important hormone for gaining muscle.

We've established that.

Well in order for your body to optimize output, you MUST have enough of the mineral ZINC in your body.

Zinc is an essential nutrient for your internal “T-Factory” and your body uses it up very rapidly but doesn’t store very much in reserve.

Therefore, zinc must be replenished DAILY, but...

...our diets these days are naturally DEVOID of zinc due to our poor choices AND the degradation of our food supply from poor farming methods (don’t get me started!).

But here’s the kicker...

We men also lose zinc during SEX!

In fact, We lose up to 1mg of zinc for each “happy ending” we have...and even MORE while sweating (so sweaty sex is basically a “zinc SLAYER”! ;-)

Ok, so if you’ve been following along...

Sweaty Sex = Zinc Deficiency = Low Testosterone Levels = Less Muscle

Ok, now the solution (and NO...the answer is NOT to stop having sweaty sex! ;-)

First, testosterone is a “supply and demand” hormone so you’d damn well better be using a program that triggers natural “T” release.

Actually, this is the entire basis of my “Optimum Anabolics” program because I reveal a unique method for naturally increasing testosterone and growth hormone (as much as 1,00%) through what I call “natural hormone triggering”.

But the bottom line, you MUST be providing your body with the “NEED” to produce more "T".

Fortunately, having more sex ALSO creates a “need” for more "T" so it's just a matter of SUPPORTING your own natural production which I cover in DETAIL in my book.

(BTW...feel free to use this excuse with your partner if things have been a bit “slow” lately – “Really honey! It’s for my health!)

Next, make sure you’re supplementing with about 15-25mg each day of zinc picolinate.

It's best to take it at night on an empty stomach, right before you go to bed.

This will make sure you have adequate levels of the "raw nutrient" to optimize natural testosterone production...

...and of course, BUILD MORE MUSCLE!

Strength Conditioning And Health: Lower Blood Pressure Better Sex

2009-08-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Now THIS is interesting..." Lower Your Blood Pressure Be healthier And have Better Sex. Let me see here if you have high blood pressure (and we all know how dangerous to your health that is) we can lower it naturally.

High blood pressure is the “silent killer”. You know it's “good for you” to lower your blood pressure. You know you “should” do it....but face it:

... Lowering blood pressure is hardly exciting. In fact until now it's been a real drag.

So I'm going to let you in on a little-known fact about blood pressure that will get you off your back-side and JUMP all over this safe, natural approach to lowering your blood pressure quickly:

Men: High blood pressure can radically decrease your sex drive, your libido, and your ability to have and sustain an erection. And ladies, high blood pressure can DESTROY your sexual urges and make you feel like you are just “past your prime.”

So you will be healthier and have a better sex life(and no little blue pill) Seems pretty much of a no brainer to me.

[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you.]

Have you ever started out to do one thing but ended up doing something different?

Night and day different?

Remember how Post-It Notes were invented?

Some guy was trying to come up with a "permanent" glue.

Obviously he failed... and he considered it a failure... but 3M had another idea.

The guy was all of a sudden Joe Brilliant.

Well, I'm feeling a bit like Joe today.

But this is much more interesting to you than Post-It Notes...

It's about s - e - x... sorta.

Not dirty, I'm talking about couple's stuff here.

My new book just came out today about it.

But it didn't start off that way at all.

In fact ... get this... I was co-writing a book with medical researcher Frank Mangano on lowering blood pressure without meds... really.

So how did this big U-turn occur?

Okay, okay.... funny, true story:

I read this article from a medical journal about how "lowering blood pressure would help sexual-performance-problems."

Ding. The lightbulb went off in my head.

You see, lowering blood pressure is probably the most healthy thing you can do for yourself.

But face it -- it's really, really BORING.

I mean, who really cares about their blood pressure unless their doctor says, "Look, lower your blood pressure or you'll die in six months."

Then you care.

Are you with me?

I'm right and we all know it.

Heck, I was the same way.

I ignored my blood pressure for years until it hit stroke-level back in my 30s.

Then I could no longer ignore it.

I found every natural alternative possible... which led me to Frank's books... and they are the BEST.

So Frank comes to me and asks me to contribute to his very popular on-the-shelf book "The Blood Pressure Miracle" --

... and I said,

"Hey, guess what I just read?"

Since he's the researcher, I said, "Go see if there's any truth to this."

The results BLEW MY MIND.

Not only is there truth to it -- that, yes... lowering blood pressure not only extends your life but also extends your sexlife as well -- but WOW... it's a major player in everything from male-ED to females feeling "out of the mood."

It's crazy, but it's true.

It makes sense once you read this:

Lower Your Blood Pressure <--- Low Pressure Sex-System

Hang with me: It gets better...

So Frank digs up article after article on the subject of high blood pressure and LOW sexual-energy and performance... and we have a much more compelling reason to want to lower our blood pressure, now don't we?

But we wanted more.

I said, "Look Frank, I get a lot of emails about sex-after-30... people who want to feel more kick, more alive in that area of their lives... and above all, closer to their mates."

So... we decided to add another book on TOP of our book...

... a book on improving sexual-pleasure for couples only. "RevolutionarySex" is the name of it. My friend Alex Allman wrote it...and just like that we had two books instead of one.

But that's not all... ( told you... this story is interesting... ; )

THEN my friend Jeff Anderson comes out with his "homemade V" -- and guys, we know what "V" stands for.

Listen: V (little blue things) is really dangerous stuff. It really is. It RAISES blood pressure for one thing. For another it can cause addiction and memory loss.

But Jeff's version is all-natural, cheap (we're talking pennies instead of dollars per "pill" to make) and above all... SAFE.

So all of a sudden... THREE books (plus an audio)... so...

It became a System, not a book.

And the topic went from "lowering blood pressure" to ...

... How you can completely solve your sexual-performance-problems and increase your pleasure all by lowering blood pressure naturally without meds."

What a concept...

...and it WORKS.

Low Pressure Sex-System

Here are the advantages...

1. If you take blood pressure meds... and a lot of you do... your "kick in the stick" suffers. A lot. Some men suffer all the way, which lead them to taking the V stuff...

... and that stuff 'raises' blood pressure.

Bad, bad combo. Our System gets you off of that dangerous and expensive cycle of drugs and on to a natural, easy approach that also adds pleasure to your relationship.

2. Cheaper... by far... than meds.

3. Something you can read and do as a couple or as a single person.

4. You get healthy and you get your vigor back at the same time. Ladies too.

5. It's guaranteed-to-work... 60 days on us.

I'm very proud of this System. We put a lot of time, research and effort into it.

If you want a life freee from high BP and sexual-performance-issues and better health, then go here:

Low Pressure Sex-System

P.S. There's even more to this story --

We created an "Advanced Health and Relationship-Saver Kit" that comes with the most awesome self-hypnosis audios to help you relieve stress, lower pressure, increased your "drive", and more.

You can get the starter Kit or the Advanced Kit here:

Low Pressure Sex-book

Here's to your health... and your increased pleasure and enjoyment.

Strength Conditioning And Health: How Much Rest Between Sets

2009-08-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

How Long To Rest Between Sets

[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

A lot of my readers ask me how long to rest between sets while exercising.

The answer is: It depends on your goals.

If you are training to increase strength, I recommend resting a bit longer - up to two minutes for exercises like squats and heavy dumbbell work. But if you want to burn the most amount of bodyfat and gain lean muscle, I recommend resting for very short periods of time.

"The Iron Guru" Vince Gironda used to recommend leaving your hands on the bar between sets -- now THAT is short rest intervals! He would frequently rest only 15-20 seconds between sets.

This is similar to the strategy I use in 7 Minute Muscle -- very short rest intervals and very intense training. Smart, short, efficient. That's the way to go.

A good place to start is simply reducing your rest intervals by 10 seconds. No matter what workout you're using, decrease your rest by 10 seconds between sets. You may not be as strong on the last few sets (if you are training traditionally... if you use 7 Minute Muscle your rest is "built-in" and not an issue.) Over time you will work your way back up to the same amount of sets and reps but done in far less time.

This means more work output, which means more muscle if your nutrition is good.

This is the best way to train most of the time: Limited rest, intense sets, and short workouts.

They are the ones that produce results.

Go here for more information --

7 minute muscle <--- Short, effective workouts

Your Odd's Of Having A Heart Attack

2009-08-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Find Out If You Too Are At Risk

Want to know what your real odds are of having a heart attack?

How about a stroke? Diabetes?

Okay, this isn't sounding like a positive letter... but hang in there. It gets a lot better and more positive.

I was having lunch today with my CPA and my good friend Sherry Strong. Sherry's upcoming book is a must-read. I will let you know when she's ready to release it.

Since Sherry has been here visiting me in Dallas I have learned SO much about natural food preparation and what really causes disease.

Our conversation took a turn to "doctor's tests." I think most of them are worthless. Some are vital.

It's important to know the difference.

I'm going to give you the three tests you absolutely must take if you want to help ensure your future health in a moment.

But first, let me give you Sherry's argument to my third test.

Yes, we nutritionists argue sometimes. ; )

I'll let you decide. But statically it's far more accurate than any blood test... and get this:

You can do it at home for freee.

So far, are you with me? Good.

I'm going to go in reverse order, third test to last...

The third test is simply this:

Measure your waistline. Use a tape measure and do not pull it tight. Measure right below the navel.

Write down that number in inches.

Then measure your height out of shoes in inches. Write that down too.

If your waist in inches is more than twice your height you are FOUR TIMES more likely to have heart disease.

Four times. That's more predictive than cholesterol tests by far.

And a lot less expensive to boot.

Don't just read about this test -- DO IT. I'll give you something you can do ABOUT it if you fail this test in a second.

The great news is that this is one factor that is totally within your control.

Test number two: Know your SED rate. This is an inflammatory marker in the blood.

Test number one: Know your hsCRP and LP(a) levels. Both of these can be done as one test usually. Both are inflammatory markers as well as key indicators of heart health.

Go to your doctor and ask for these three blood tests. Usually they can be done all at once. Sometimes they are separate, but they are all crucial.

If you are thin and look healthy, listen to this:

You too can be Lance Armstrong or Jim Fixx....and not know it.

Lance and Jim looked like two of the healthiest men on the planet. Lance beat testicular cancer but came within an inch of his life. Jim died after a short jog of a heart attack very young in life.

Looks can be deceiving.

This is Sherry's argument -- and she's totally correct.

That's why I give you THREE (well, actually four) TESTS.

You see, it's virtually impossible to have a normal SED rate, a normal hsCRP level and a normal LP(a) level and be at imminent risk for any of these killer diseases.

Possible, perhaps -- but almost not.

So, if you look healthy and feel like a bazillion bucks, you still need to know your levels of these inflammatory markers.

If you are overweight or obese, you totally absolutely MUST do the waist/height test as well as the others.

You see, it goes both ways.

Some obese folks test out okay at the doc's office. Their cholesterol, blood pressure, and all typical readings are okay. Rarely does a doc run an hsCRP or LP(a). And rarely do they run a SED rate.

See the importance here?

Both the fit and the unfit can be at dire risk and not even know it.

Now, here's the solution:

A low-inflammatory nutrition and training plan, along with plenty of stress-free time.

I can help you with the first two things.

The third thing -- de-stressing -- is up to you. You may want to spend 30 minutes a day doing yoga, walking, meditating, praying, or whatever calms your MIND and BODY down.

Check it out:

Lance and Jim were both doing insane amounts of exercise... so much that they demanded insane amounts of high-inflammatory foods. Foods like processed carbohydrates for example.

And they both got sick. One of them died.

My good friend Dr. Steven Chase believes that 85% of cancer is preventable.

Re-read that: 85%. And he's an oncologist -- a cancer doctor.

And you know heart disease is 95% preventable... or did you?

But all of these killers, especially diabetes, demand a low-insulin, low-inflammatory nutrition and exercise plan.

Lance and Jim had sky-high inflammatory levels from all that exercise. It was literally TOO much exercise.

That's why so many marathoners die of heart attacks. They eat inflammatory foods and engage in high-stress exercise for too long of a time.

So, what's the answer?

1. Short workouts that are intense, effective, and enjoyable. Weights and cardio both, or in-home resistance workouts will work fine.

2. Longer "soft" workouts like brisk walking that helps de-stress the body and burn more bodyfat.

3. A nutrition plan that allows for your favorite foods at the RIGHT TIME of the day but also helps you burn bodyfat without activating your body's stress-producing hormones like cortisol...cool.

Most nutrition plans are stressful. Big mistake. Stress can cause you to hold on to bodyfat. Plus stress causes inflammation.

Most workout plans are either too easy or too intense for too long a period of time. My System is super-short (7-14 minutes a day, plus walks when you can.) This is enough to build all the muscle you need plus burn bodyfat when combined with the nutrition plan.

My System's nutrition plan is ideal if you are willing to "diet" for a day or two, then enjoy a day of eating "normal" foods.

Hey, no one is perfect. Anyone who has half a brain should know that not very many people (myself included) are willing to do without their favorite foods forever.

That's silly -- and it's not necessary to burn bodyfat.

In fact, my System 'demands' that you eat these foods at certain times TO BURN MORE BODYFAT!

Wild, isn't it?

It's the System I've used for years.

It's the combination of two books:

7 Minute Muscle + Every Other Day Diet

Get them both for one low price...

Go here:

7 minute muscle <--- Helps you pass the tests

Any of my three Upgrade Kits come with both books, a full year of support from me on the Every Other Day Diet group Forum, and so many bonuses I can't list them all.

This combo is something I am so very proud to share with you.

It's the ultimate System for lowering bodyfat, increasing lean muscle, lowering insulin, lowering inflammation, and ensuring your health.

Whether you are in shape or obese, this System is one that will work for you.

7 minute muscle <--- Helps you pass the tests

Training With Weight vs Weight training

2009-08-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Training With Weights vs "Weight Training"

Just a word of warning:

I will be using the term "bodybuilder" or "bodybuilding" to refer to anyone who wants to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat in this article.

That means you.

Yep... you are a "bodybuilder." That does not mean you want to look like a monster on stage and pose in front of thousands of people wearing nothing but your undies.

That means you want more lean muscle and less bodyfat -- that's it.

With that in mind, here's something you have to know:

Bodybuilders do not "lift weights" -- we "train" with weights.

We use weights as a tool like a sculptor uses a hammer and chisel.

The object of the game is not to lift some heavy weight from Point A to Point B and back. That's weight lifting. "Bodybuilding" is about making the muscle you want to change do all the work.

Here's two ways to do it:

1. Lower the weight and focus: Most people are just concerned with the lift itself. "Get this weight off of me!" seems to be the unconscious mantra. This will not get the job done. In fact you may end up looking bulky rather than sleek... or just not change at all. Instead, lower the weight slightly, slow the pace down (especially on the descent of the movement) and picture the muscle in your mind doing ALL of the work. Literally put your mind in the muscle. You will be amazed at how different the same exercise feels with this degree of concentration,.

2. Contract, hold, release: At the top of any movement, contract the muscle hard. Hold that contraction for a second or two, then release it and lower the weight slowly. This will not only cause faster muscle growth (that is a good thing) but also demand that you use less weight to get the job done. This means your joints -- shoulders, knees, elbows -- will last a lifetime. At 45 my joints are in perfect health. Protect yours at all costs.

Just remember: You are not just lifting weights when you train for muscle shape and "tone" -- you are a sculptor. Treat your tools and your body with that degree of care.

I cover many more tips on how to build lean muscle and burn bodyfat faster in my book "7 Minute Muscle".

Read more here:

7 Minute Muscle<--- more muscle in far less time

Strength Conditioning And Health: Squats Fast Track To Muscle Growth And Fat Loss

2009-08-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Squats to Skyrocket Your Muscle Growth and Fat Loss

Heavy squats are numero uno for helping your entire body gain muscle at warp speed as well as a great way to skyrocket your fat loss around the clock and speed up your metabolism.

Heavy leg work causes a surge in the release of your growth hormones like no other exercise can. The heavy weights sitting on your back tax the entire body intensely. Your legs and entire back side support the load unlike any other exercise.

You can squat with high reps or low reps, heavy weight or light weight. You can squat with various tools in various positions. A barbell or a heavy sandbag on your back is awesome for building muscle.

Muscle being added to your quads, hips, glutes, hamstrings, lats and lower back cover a large area of your body. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism revs, even when you are NOT training, helping you burn more calories around the clock compared to a weak, skinny individual (or fat and weak individual).

I have performed heavy barbell squats for heavy singles or up to 5 reps, I have also performed high rep back squats up to 50 reps! Talk about brutal!

Try throwing a sandbag on your back, walk 10 yards and squat 2 reps, repeat until you can no longer walk or until you squatted 20 reps.

This workout is not for sissies, only the strong and mentally tough will survive.

Try squats for heavy sets of 3, or several sets of 10, or 1 gut busting set of 20 – 30 reps. The high rep squats will leave you exhausted and wiped out on the floor for a good 10 minutes afterwards.

The question is, how badly do you want to pack on rugged muscle and transform yourself into a ripped and rugged beast?

If you want it badly enough, then I have the answer for you below.

Get the 12 Month Beast Training Program and Follow the Underground Blue Print for Packing on Mounds of Rugged Muscle and Serious Strength. Click HERE for Details.

Strength Conditioning And Health: A Total Body Workout

2009-08-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Whatever your fitness goals are muscle building, fat loss, cardio or all of the above keep your workouts short. There really is no need to do hour long marathon workouts. There is a better way.

If you have read any of my other articles you know I believe in doing total body workouts. Weight training, kettlebell training and bodyweight exercises are use3d in my workouts for adding variety to my workouts.

Let's face facts sticking to an exercise program is not easy. after a hard day at work sometimes the thought of going home to workout isn't that appealing. That's why I like to and always tell people to use variety in thier workouts.

By combining weight training, kettlebell training, bodyweight exercises whether you use all 3 in a workout or a combination of them really does stop the boredom of doing the same old workout all the time.

As an example I wanted to show you the workout I did yesterday. In this workout I used weight training exercises and bodyweight exercises in a modified complex workout. I often will structure my workouts to be done in comlexes.

What is a complex?

Complexes are pairing 2 or more exercises and doing a set of each before taking a rest. Normally I don't use more than 2 exercises per complex. That's my personal choice you may want to do more.

My 20 minute workout.

Complex#1

1A - Dumbbell Clean and Press - 4 sets of 5 reps 1 set of 4 reps - this is done with 2 dumbbells doing a clean before each press. This is one of my favorite exercises it is really a total body workout on it's own.

1B - Mountain Climbers - 1 set of 18 3 sets of 16 1 set of 14 - as soon as I put down the dumbbells I go right into mountain climbers.

Stand Alone Exercise:

2 - Deadlifts - 4 sets of 5 1 set of 4 - deads are another of my favorites and really get your whole body working. So I normally do these as a stand alone exercise.

Complex #2

3A - Dumbbell Rows - 4 sets of 6 reps - these are single arm rows a good lat exercise

3B - Pushups - 4 sets of 12 reps - yep plain old push-ups a very effective and neglected exercise (as are most bodyweight exercises

Well that was my 20 minute total body workout yesterday. Muscle building, fat loss and cardio work. remember on the complexes no rest in between exercises. Try to cut down on your rest periods as your conditioning increases.

Setting Your Fitness Goals And Motivation Keys

2009-08-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

Motivation Keys To Get Fit And healthy

"Knowing Is Not Enough; We Must APPLY.

Willing Is Not Enough; We Must DO."

To get fit and healthy takes a lot of work. With this blog I try to bring you what I believe are the best resources to aid you in your quest to get that six pack abs look.

People can sometimes find it hard trying to do the same routine each and every week. Which is why I preach to you about using variety in your workouts. Variety can help in keeping your mental focus and motivation high.

You see, the knowledge that you gain from reading through my materials is only one small piece of the puzzle. If you don't actually get up off your butt and TAKE ACTION, you'll get nowhere, and very fast.

Doing the same workouts over and over is a motivation killer. Eventually you get bored and stop doing your workouts. There are ways that you may be able to avoid this and continue on your quest to get fit and healthy.

The root behind the right motivation to get fit and healthy is why you even wanted to start at all. If you wanted so much to lose weight, add lean muscle and get that six pack abs look then that would be your primary motivation to follow an exercise and training program. Then all you need to do is to keep reminding yourself every day why you are doing what you do and what you want to get from it.

The 4 Keys and Motivation To Get Fit And Healthy

1) Knowing What You Want
2) Knowing Why You Want It
3) Know What The Cost Is Of Achieving Your Goal
4) Pay The Price For Achieving It

Are you REALLY committed to changing everything about the way you look and feel? Then take action. Get serious.
So let's start with what your inintial motivation was to get that six pack abs look. See which of these apply to you or add your own.

1) Be Healthier
2) Confidence having a tight, firm body can be a real confidence booster.
3) Have more Energy lets face it life today is hectic being physically fit can give you the energy to do anything.
4) Better Sex yeah I had to throw that one in. But it's true.

There are others of course but you see where I'm going with this.

One of the most important keys to sticking to your exercise program is having the proper motivation. In short, without the proper motivation you would not be able to stick to any fitness routine, long enough to achieve any results.

Motivation is something that does not happen in an instant. Motivation needs to be worked at. Just when you can find enough motivation, it can also be easy enough to lose. Remind yourself of what your motivation was to start with.

One way of reminding yourself of the what you are doing to keep the motivation up is learning to have a visual image of what you want to look like. If you want to get that six pack abs look, you might want to have a visual image of what you will look like after achieving your goal.

Another way to keep your motivation up while on an exercise program is by not doing it alone. Find someone with the same fitness goals you have. This way, you have someone who can give you the motivation to do better. Having a friend to work out with can help provide you with the necessary motivation that you need to keep going.

Another way to keep up your motivation is by keeping track of your progress. Try to have a record of your previous weight or size and try to keep track of the changes on a weekly basis to give you an account of the pounds that you have lost and the inches that have melted away due to your hard work on your goal to get that six pack abs look. Just by keeping track and being aware of the positive changes would even give you more motivation to do better and keep going.

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

You Fit And healthy

2009-05-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

How to live a life of Health and Fitness

With cancer cropping up left and right, people are suddenly becoming more conscious with what they eat and do with their bodies. Fad diets have become a craze and so are gym workouts and alternative exercise for the body. But despite being the in thing to do right now, some people still find it hard to start walking the road to a life of health and fitness. After all, when you have already lived a life of debauchery, it will be harder to convert and walk the other road even if it is not as less traveled by.

To help you, here are some of the ways that you can start with your healthy lifestyle.

1. Don’t smoke If you do not have the habit of smoking, good for you. Don’t try to start as you will only get addicted with the cigarettes and it will be harder to quit when that happens. It is not true that you can smoke and quite when you want to. It’s not. Once you become hooked into it, there is no turning back. If you are already part of those people who burn their lungs out everyday, the best bet is to make a commitment to quit. By doing this, you are already halfway to recovery. Make sure though that you are serious with your plans and you are not just doing it for any other reason than your health.

2. Lessen the junk One of the ways you can help keep your body healthy is to eat foods that are more natural and with less chemical content. Avoid eating junk foods like those huge packs of potato chips or binge on candies. You should also make it a point to lessen your intake of meats and consume more vegetables, fruits and seafood. This does not mean that you will forgo with meat altogether. You should still eat meat. The protein that it contains is important for some of the basic processes of the body.

3. Skip the Soda and even the iced tea As much as you can, drink water. This is the safest and healthiest drink there is. Sodas even the diet ones, are carbonated and contain high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates which can later be translated into fats. You can also try drinking green tea which can help in the digestive system. Iced tea may be tamer than sodas but these drinks also contain a lot of sugar which can pile up in the body. Stick to water and drink lots of it.

4. Stay active Another way to start living a life of health and fitness without having to shell out money and make lots of effort is to schedule an exercise routine every day. You can schedule it every morning when you wake up in the morning or do it at night after work. Whichever schedule you want to, make sure that you keep it to 30 minutes long to an hour. That way, you can exercise those muscles and avoid muscle pains. Exercise will also strengthen your bones and your body, promote better breathing and cellular activity, clear the brain and of course keep those extra calories out of the body. Thus, even if you eat a lot, you are not storing those fats and carbohydrates. You are expending them through your workout routine.

Tabata Training Never Say Only 4 Minutes Again

2009-05-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

Few things in life live up to their hype . But the Tabata Training method deserves its reputation. It's a simple cardiovascular-training routine that's been proven to improve performance and fitness in a very short time 4 minutes to be exact. Sound too good to be true? It's not, and if you give it a try, you'll quickly find out why.

ONLY 4 MINUTES YOUR THINKING THIS IS BULL!

The best way for me to answer that is anyone who has done Tabata Training and done it properly never again says ONLY 4 Minutes. It's that good and that Intense.

The Tabata Protocol--named after Izumi Tabata, Ph.D., a former researcher at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya--is an high intensity interval training workout developed by the head coach of the Japanese speed-skating team. (It's called a protocol because Tabata and his team took the speed-skating coach's workout and studied it to quantify just how effective it really was.) The workout consists of six to seven 20-second full-speed sprints interspersed with rest periods of 10 seconds.

In Tabata's study, the researchers found that guys who used the routine five days a week for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity (a measure of your body's ability to consume oxygen--the more oxygen you can take in, the longer and harder you'll be able to run) by 14%. What's more, it also improved anaerobic capacity (which measures your speed endurance, or the duration you're able to sprint at full effort) by 28%. So the Tabata Protocol is the rare workout that benefits both endurance athletes and sprinters--hard to accomplish. Consider: A study of traditional aerobic training--running at 70% of aerobic capacity for 60 minutes--for the same number of weeks showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of 9.5% and no effect on anaerobic capacity.

The key to the Tabata Protocol's effectiveness appears to be the short rest intervals between sprints. Conventional interval-training guidelines suggest keeping a 1:3 work-rest ratio. That is, your rest periods should last three times as long as the duration of your sprints. But the Tabata Protocol's work-rest ratio is 2:1, which means your rest periods are only half as long as the time you're working. And according to another Tabata study, that formula isn't just more effective than traditional aerobic training, it's also more effective than typical interval training. In that other study, Tabata and his colleagues compared their original protocol to a second configuration of intervals that consisted of 30-second sprints interspersed with two-minute rest periods. Despite the fact that this required subjects to sprint for more time at a higher intensity, the original Tabata Protocol still proved more effective at boosting both aerobic and anaerobic capacity.

QUICK RESULTS

On paper, Tabata Training offers a quick way to get fit in just four minutes of high-intensity work per session. But don't be misled: This regimen is grueling. It was originally developed for Olympic-caliber athletes, and Dr. Tabata reported that they were wiped out by the routine. It's worth mentioning that when testing the protocol--described as 6-7 sets--most of the subjects were exhausted after the sixth set of sprints and couldn't complete the seventh. So this style of training isn't for a beginner and should only be considered by someone who has a solid fitness base. That includes most Men's Fitness readers, but if you're just starting to work out or you're out of shape, start easy, rest three to four times as long as your sprint duration, and see "Assess Your Risk" on page 143.

TAKE THE TABATA TEST

If you think you've got what it takes, here's the drill. First, do a five-minute warm-up by running, cycling, or jumping rope for five minutes at about 40% of your full effort. For the intervals, work on a track, treadmill,Kettlebell Swings ,Barbell Front S1quats,Dumbell Thrusts , or a heavy gym bag, and alternate 20 seconds of activity at full effort with 10-second rest periods. Each sprint-rest combo counts as one interval. After the intense section, do a five-minute cool-down in the same way you warmed up. Try to do four intervals at first, then gradually work your way up to six. Repeat the workout three to four days a week.

Assess Your Risk

Get a physical exam before trying this workout if you re over 40 or have two or more of the following risk factors: a family history of heart disease, you re a smoker, you re sedentary, you re overweight, or you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

See Also

Tabata Training for an in depth look at Tabata Training and additional workouts

Strength, Conditioning and Health

Your Fat Loss Goals: Are You Missing These Elements?

10 Interval Training Workouts

Fat Loss Myths: 5 Myths And 5 Fat Loss Solutions

Hybrid Workout Week 6

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Building Muscle: Triggering Your Natural Testosterone Release

Strength Conditioning And Health: Lower Blood Pressure Better Sex

Strength Conditioning And Health: How Much Rest Between Sets

Your Odd's Of Having A Heart Attack

Training With Weight vs Weight training

Strength Conditioning And Health: Squats Fast Track To Muscle Growth And Fat Loss

Strength Conditioning And Health: A Total Body Workout

Setting Your Fitness Goals And Motivation Keys

You Fit And healthy

Tabata Training Never Say Only 4 Minutes Again