Short Workouts, Big Fat Loss

So many questions on TT, so little time. Here's a Q'n'A session all about the benefits of Turbulence Training.

Q: Craig, could you explain to me why long slow cardio doesn't really work for fat loss and how your system of training has helped thousands of people shed fat and gain lean muscle?

CB:
First, let me clarify my opinion of "cardio" and "aerobics". I know slow cardio can work for fat loss, but those who get the most benefit are often young, heavily muscled males with time on their hands and genetics on their sides.

They can workout 6 or 8 hours per week and have lots of muscle so even if they lose a bit, it won't matter.

But for people that only have 2-3 hours total exercise per week and want a buff body, rather than a skinny, weak physique, I have found that slow, traditional cardio is not the way to go.

Slow cardio is just not efficient for overweight women (i.e. those
that use it most!), and slow cardio works less the longer you use
it. You'll hit a plateau pretty fast with a cardio-only approach.

Those are my observations.

And realize that when I talk about training for fat loss, I'm
almost always talking about getting the most results in the least
amount of training time - because that is the population I deal
with. I don't work directly with fitness models that have 8-10
hours per week to train. Things might be different there,
especially the closer you get to the competition.

But for real life, slow cardio is one of the last places I would
turn for fat loss help.

And because there are millions of men and women out there with little time to train but a real need to lose fat. Because there are so many of these people out there that have relied on slow cardio in the past, when they switch to the Turbulence Training approach, it's an almost overnight success story. Hence the high volume of great feedback we have on the program.

Q: We live in a very fast paced society. People don't have the extra time for anything these days, especially long workout sessions. Can people get real results with training programs that only take 10-30 minutes?

CB:
Certainly - as long as their nutrion is correct for 167.5 out of
168 hours per week.

That's right, nutrition is the real key to fat loss. With training,
all you need to do is apply a relatively small amount of
high-intensity exercise to your muscles and you'll sculpt them or build them, whatever your goal.

High-intensity exercise (strength training and interval training)
ramps up your metabolism more than slow, marathon cardio training sessions.

And with training, there is a diminishing return on every set. So
you can't expect 4 sets to be twice as good as 2 sets. As long as
you get in 1 hard set, you are on the way to fat burning and
bodysculpting. Then just add volume as needed and as you have the time.

Q: Can you explain "turbulence" and how it ties into real fat loss and body transformation?

CB:
What happens is this...

During high intensity training, you apply "turbulence" to your
muscles. That causes muscle/protein breakdown and glycogen
depletion (which can be called "cellular disruption").

This increased cellular metabolic activity results in "afterburn" -
that is, the burning of more calories after high-intensity exercise
than you would have burned after low-intensity exercise such as slow cardio.

So even though you might burn more calories during a slow cardio workout (say 500 calories) compared to during an equal length high-intensity Turbulence Training workout (say 350 calories), you will burn a lot more calories after the high-intensity training session.

The net result is more calories burned in the 24 hour period with high-intensity training. Combine that with the muscle-sculpting benefits of strength training, and you'll have a better body in less time. Guaranteed.

Q: I have female clients that struggle with the notion of training with resistance because they think they will get bulky...how does you TT system work with women and what kind of results have you seen?

CB:
There are a couple of simple changes you can make to avoid "bulking up".

First, let me state that generally, muscle growth is the result of
training with enough volume at the right intensity, and eating a
high-volume of calories.

Obviously, the calorie volume should be low on a fat loss program.

Next, we aren't using split routines (i.e. where you train one body part per day), so generally we are using only one exercise per muscle group. That cuts down the volume by 2/3 in most cases (as split routines often use 3 exercises or more per muscle group).

So we've eliminated the volume to avoid excess muscle growth, but kept the intensity high to reap all the benefits of Turbulence.

One other method I use in my workouts to avoid "bulking up" females is bodyweight training. There are many tough bodyweight exercise that provide low-risk Turbulence. Women love the variety in bodyweight training.

Q: Can people do your system in their homes with limited equipment and be just as successful?

CB:
Absolutely. The TT fat loss programs were designed for home gyms equipped with only a bench, an exercise ball, and dumbbells (and a pullup bar for those that are strong enough).

That's it. I designed the workouts for home gyms (as well as to be done in busy gyms) because that is how the real-life clients I deal with have to workout.

Q: Craig, I have done your workouts and they have kicked my butt, but I also left feeling better and with more energy then I had before I started. Is this a normal response you get from people that use your system?

CB:
Yes, definitely, although it can also be said of exercise in
general.

Regardless of what exercise method you use, simply moving should increase your mood and energy - essential at this time of year as the glow from the holidays recedes and the Northern hemisphere enters its winter dormancy.

Q: What are your recommendations for keeping the fat off during busy times of the year, such as the holidays or vacations?

CB:
Start your day with your workout, so that you don't get pulled into something later on that will cancel it out. Even if all you can do is a bodyweight circuit, do so safely, but with a high intensity.

There is a huge variety of bodyweight exercises you can do...these will boost your metabolism.

Beyond that, stick to your nutrition as much as possible. That
means tossing (yes, literally throwing out the junk that surrounds you) excess calorie sources away when they are not warranted. Don't keep stuff at your work desk.

Enjoy quality food at parties, but not while you go through
a regular workday.

And don't fret if you only have 20 minutes to do a workout. Now
that you know intensity and quality are more important than volume, you can be satisfied with working hard for a short period of time.

Make your workouts fun, enjoy your treats in moderation, and stay active with family activities where appropriate - don't leave a big ol' "butt imprint" on your couch or beach chair.

Do all of this, and you'll be riding a huge wave of motivation into
the new year where you can really kick butt on your fitness goals.

Sincerely,

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Simple Tricks To Save Money While Losing Weight

Lot's of dieters right now are talking about how hard it is to eat healthily now that they don't have as much money to spend on food as they used to. Yes, the economy has hit everyone hard, but eating healthy on a budget is still very easy with a little know how. In fact, buying healthier foods can actually help us save a lot of cash.

All it takes is for you to keep track of your expenses. Have you ever kept a record of how much you spend on food every week? Most people don't. If you do this, you naturally save pennies.

Start tracking all of your food expenses. This includes any kind of food you eat – trips to the donut shop, meals from restaurants, pints of beer at the pub etc. As time progresses, saving money on food will just get easier and easier. You will able to see your average expenses per week and per month.

When you do this, it opens your eyes to where you are spending money on unnecessary foods. Then, you can start making wiser choices.

Here's a few examples, for each doughnut you buy from the bakers, you could buy say a whole box of cereal bars for only a little more than the cost of one doughnut. So, if you ate one cereal bar from your box each day rather than buying a doughnut a day, you'd save a lot of money and lose a lot of weight!

Here's another example, you total up all your expenses and notice that you buy 5 sandwiches a week from a sandwich shop. You could spend less money on a loaf of wholemeal bread, fresh salad and healthy sliced meat. Then you could make 5 sandwiches from home for the same cost of 2 sandwiches from the sandwich shop.

Major savings can be made in supermarket shopping. One method to save is to buy fruits and vegetables in bulk quantities as this gives you a better price. A word about vegetables – avoid trimmed vegetables as they tend to cost more.

Things like potatoes, garlic, ginger and onions are relatively cheap and carry strong health benefits like strengthening the immune system.

With regards to meats, do not buy boneless meat as this will be more expensive. Avoid red meat as much as you can and opt for white meat. This is easier on the wallet and the heart.

If you eat high calorie foods for your breakfast, changing to a healthier breakfast can help you save a lot of pennies. If you eat fried bacon and eggs for breakfast, you'd be a lot better of financially and health-wise if you bought things like oatmeal and whole wheat muffins instead.

If you are going to eat things like pizzas and burgers, make these at home and avoid eating out at restaurants. The kind you can make at home will be a lot healthier than the types you would get in restaurants. Also, if possible, try to invite your friends around more often instead of going out to pubs. We all know how our wallets can get drained quickly when we go to pubs often.

Believe it or not, eating healthily can actually be a good way to save money. Keep track of your food expenses and you'll be surprised at how much you can save by cutting out the junk and buying healthier alternatives. A great diet that you can lose weight with and you can save money on is The Lunch Box Diet by Simon Lovell. In fact MSN reported that this diet could save you hundreds per year if you stick to it.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Six “Little-Known” Muscle Building Tips Part 2

So you think you have heard everything there is to know about muscle building? If you have read everything, tried everything and heard everything about muscle building but still resemble the silouette of a Calvin Klien model instead of a buff fitness model than I promise these next three 'little-known' muscle building tips will accelerate your muscle gains immediately!

4. Never Train More Than 2 Days Consecqutively

But the bodybuilding magazines say to split up my program into 5 seperate days... Yes, I am more than familiar. I call these 5 day splits 'drug programs.' They treat your body simply as a 'muscular system' and neglect the other systems such as your central nervous system, hormonal system and immune system. Each of these systems have a unique part in muscle growth. Not to mention that these 'drug programs' only work if coupled with a few thousand dollars a month on drugs.

Just because you trained your chest on Monday does not mean your immune system, or hormonal system or central nervous system has FULLY recovered. What happens when you return to the gyn NOT FULLY recovered? Will you be able to lift more weight?

If you are not able to lift more weight than guess what happens to your level of fitness? It certainly will not go up because you will be depleting your energy reserves further into a deep, dark hole called 'over-training.' If you can not lift more weight or 'out-do' yourself from your previous workout than how do you expect to create any NEW muscle? It is literally impossible. Taking a full rest day every two days will minimize the chance of overtraining and ensure your energy reserves are replenished.

5. Go Home If You Are Not Stronger Than Last Workout

Multiple choice question:

Q. You train your chest on Monday and you averaged 4 sets of 8 with 225 pounds on bench press. This workout would be considered a personal best. Your following chest workout, let's say five days later, you come to the gym with great anticipation to out-do your last workout. To your disappointment you discover that you can barely do 4 sets of 8 with 185 pounds this week. What happened?

A. Your body had not fully compensated from the previous workout and required a longer recovery period.

B. Who cares! You toughed it out and made the most of the workout.

C . Complain to the gym owner that his weight plates are messed up and you want a refund on your gym membership.

If you picked A than say hurray and pat yourself on the back. The rational decision would be to admit the recovery error, assess the factors that could of resulted from not fully recovering (did you take all your supplements, did you sleep enought, did you follow your nutrition plan etc) and plan for success next time. This is the 'trial and error' process.

The emotional and irrational trainee would take option B and slug it out. Consider what is actually happening when you take this approach to your workouts:

1. You will be using weights within your threshold so your muscles will simply laugh back at you because there is no new unaccumstomed stress on your muscles. Remember, your muscles only grow if you give them a reason to.

2. You will be training in the hole and prolong the period of time that it takes to come out of the hole and supercompensate.

3. You will have no new muscle to work with because you have not fully recovered or grown bigger so it will be literally impossible to lift more weight or more reps.

4. You will be using your precious energy reserves, that could be going towards building muscle, instead to fueling an useless workout.

5. You will lose motivation and grow frusturated and confused because of your lack of progress.

This is a very tough and mature training decision one must face. After commencing a workout, if you discover after a few sets that you are on tract for a crappy worout than I would suggest to drop the workout and go home. Plan to come back the next day. If your goals are to simply train to train, than you will probably not follow this rule. However, if your goal is to get huge muscles and pack inches of new muscle onto your frame than this is a critical training decision.

To ensure your trip to the gym does not go in complete vain – have a flexibility session to make use of the time and than try and pick up the cute receptionist phone number on your way out!

6. Find a mentor

What does this have to do with muscle building? Everything – finding a mentor can make all the difference in how much muscle you build! If you plan on becoming successful in the gym than surround yourself with someone who has already walked the path. Would you agree that the quickets way to achieve success is to find somone who has gone before you and done what you want to do – and model them.

So why do millions of fitness enthusiasts wander aimlessly following generic advice in text books, magazines or websites? Although these methods of learning can provide a theoretical perspective, they are absent in accountablity, a formal system, time and financial comittment and assessment of performance.

A wise mentor will guide you step-by-step of the way with a formal system that includes a higher level of comittment and accountablity on your part. You will be required to fulfill tasks, change habits, meet deadlines and perform at a higher level than you would without a mentor.

The premise of having a mentor is that he has been there and done that. He has walked in your shoes and will give you the appropriate advice in a timely fashion. If you do not perform and follow the advice than you are wasting the mentor's time and he will 'fire' you! If you do perform and follow his advice than you will be successful and build the muscle you deserve in less time!

Serioulsly consider hiring a fitness coach, a personal trainer or anybody who has done what you wish to do and be prepared to elate the same results!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Six Pack Abs- The Secrets To Getting Yours

So I went downstairs last week and turned on the television to see one of those infomercial products which promises to build 6-pack abs. Have to say it makes the product look great. You have those amazing transformations where they go from being fat to showing off an amazing set of abs in a stupidly short time!

It all sounds fantastic doesn't it! Well it would be fantastic if it actually worked. These ads, as much as they are fun to watch, drive me up the wall! The majority of these companies are ripping you off and mocking your knowledge. Yet we still all buy them. Heck when I first started out I bought them.

But today, I want to clear this up for you and help you understand exactly what you need to do to get that all elusive six pack and a toned set of abs. So let's get rocking!

So Why Have You NOT Got Six Pack Abs?

Well to start off with, you may actually have a 6 pack, but quite simply, you just don't know it yet! For six pack abs, the most important part of your routine is the fat shredding. See, If you have layers of fat on top it doesn't matter, you won't be able to see any abs!

For a male, you need to bring your body fat percentage down to around 5-8% whilst women should look to bring it down to between 10-12%. So exercising those abdominal muscles with these machines may help build up a little muscle in that area, but it doesn't do the most crucial thing, burn the fat on top!

Now I am not saying crunches and abdominal exercise are NOT important, because they are (they make the six pack muscles bigger and increase your metabolic rate which destroys fat while you rest) but what I am saying is that you can't ignore nutrition and cardio as they play the MOST vital role in getting that elusive 6-pack.

See these infomercial companies make it seem like their product alone is the reason for the transformations shown! No they are not, if you read the small print they say things like "whilst following a solid nutrition and exercise plan".

Well duh! If you are following a solid nutrition and exercise plan you will get the results without these "wow so freaking amazing" infomercial products!

The other thing is, doing the same exercise week in week out won't work either, because your body gets used to it, which means your muscle gain and fat loss results will slow down before you can ever get to those amazing beach body abs.

So How Do You Get That Six Pack Then?

You need a solid program that has the following:

a) A solid cardio routine, including interval training to shred that fat right off
b) A weightlifting routine, which works the abs as well, where you do 6-12 reps per set, with the heaviest weight you can possibly use. This builds your abs ready for viewing pleasure!
c) A solid nutrition routine which leads to fast fat loss and a 6 pack to be proud off. You are looking to eat lower carbohydrates and fat, and slightly more protein!

If you mess up one of the above you mess up all your results.

There We Have It...

Follow these small simple tips and you can achieve 6 pack abs that will have hot girls drooling over you!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Learn How To Build Muscle In 4 Simple Steps

Are you sick and tired of everyone telling you a different way to build muscle? Are you unhappy with how you look in the mirror? Are you frusturated with your slow progress in the gym? Are you ready to learn five simple steps that will teach you how to build muscle safely and effectively?

There is a good chance that you are not maximizing one of these four steps. Your problem and solution lies in correcting these essential steps before you have any chance of building a muscular and lean physique.

Get read to learn how to build muscle in four simple steps, in less time, without any drugs and without bogus supplements.

Step #1

Committ to lifting weights at least three to four times per week. Your goal is to stimulate your muscles with resistance (stress) which results in your muscles growing bigger to avoid the stress from occuring again. Once you go home, let the muscle heal through nutrition and rest, it will grow bigger and you will repeat this process again. Ideally you should hit your muscles once every 72 hours so you could perform 2 upper body workouts per week and 2 lower body workouts per week.

Step #2

Focus on eating at least 5-7x a day with balanced meals from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. If your goal is to build muscle than you should be eating at least 15-18 x your current body weight. Your carbohydrates should equate about 45% of your intake, your proteins should equate about 35% of your intake and your fat should be the remaining 20% of your intake. You should focus on over half of those meals being solid whole food meals and the remainder can be liquid meal replacment shakes.

Step #3

You should focus on stretching at least half the amount that you lift weights. One of the biggest mistkakes I see is people training, training and training with out any stretching. Stretching helps restore normal length to the tissue and if you are constantly training, your muscle tissues will shorten and big to perform weaker and slower and have a higher incidence of injuries. So if you are lifting weights 4 hours in the week, at least an additional 2 hours should be dedicated to stretching. You must counteract the shortening of the muscle tissues that occurs with weights or else you are a injury screaming to happen.

Step #4

Avoid supplements that have not been around for longer than 3 years. I learned this phisophy from an Australian strength coach who recommended not trying any supplement until it has been around at least 3 years to pass the test of time. This will make your life much easier and help you avoid all the marketing hoopla in the latest fitness and bodybuilding magazine. If you follow this rule, you will discover only a small handful of supplements still standing. Here are the ones you should not go with out: a high quality multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, powdered creatine and a protein powder. These products will cover your nutritional basis for health, healthy body composition, strength and muscle mass.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Learning The Muscle Fiber Types

Choosing the best type of workout program that will stimulate the muscle fiber type that will get you the results you're looking for is extremely important.

Unfortunately, all body building programs are not created equally when speaking in terms of muscle fiber types.

While you can't differentiate between muscle fibers from your outside appearance, on the inside of the muscle tissue body, there are three main different fibers present.

Type A Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers

The first type of muscle fibers are known as Type A Fast Twitch and are responsible for the most forceful contractions generated, however, will fatigue the fastest.

For example, if you were to perform an all out set of 3 reps for bench press, you would predominately be using these type A muscle fibers.

They tend to have very large motor neurons and very low mitochondrial density. They also have a low oxidative capacity, meaning they will not be able to utilize oxygen very well. It is for this reason that they are not suited to endurance type of activities, because during these exercise variations, oxygen must be present in order to sustain the muscular contractions.

The major type of fuel that these muscle fibers are going to rely on is creatine phosphate and stored muscle glycogen (glucose). They will not utilize stored body fat at all due to the fact that they are only able to continually contract for between one and about 20 seconds.

Type B Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers

The next muscle fiber is also classified as a fast twitch muscle fiber but not to the extent that type A are.

This muscle fiber type is mostly utilized in activities that are relatively short in duration, but are not at an all out pace.

For example, if you were to sprint 100 meters, you'll be using mostly type A. If on the other hand, you are to do a running interval at about 80-90% of your max capacity for 30 seconds, this would utilize the type 2A more.

Some of the characteristics of the type B muscle fibers are that they still have a large motor neuron (not as large as Type A though), they are on the intermediate scale as far as being resistant to fatigue, and they have a high degree of mitochondrial density.

These muscle fiber types are also able to use oxygen to a great extent, as demonstrated by their higher resistance to fatigue and longer duration of contraction abilities.

Slow Twitch

Finally, the third type of muscle fiber that you have in your body is classified as slow-twitch.

This is the muscle fiber type you would use if you were to run a marathon or any other extended duration, medium-to-low intensity activity.

These muscle fibers have a very high ability to resist fatigue and have a large oxidative capacity.

They are also relatively slow to contract, therefore you cannot expect a great deal of force generation from these muscles, and thus, will not be intended for exercises requiring a high degree of power.

They are very high in terms of mitochondrial density and have a large number of capillaries running throughout their bodies. This is to enable sufficient oxygen to get to the muscle tissues so that they can carry on the extended duration of muscular work they are intended to do.

These are also the muscle fibers that will also rely more on fat as fuel, as opposed to strictly using carbohydrates or creatine phosphate.

Training The Muscle Fiber Types

So, now that you're familiar with the three major classes of muscle fiber types, it's time to recognize how you would train each effectively.

Since type A are your primary force generators, if you wish to get a higher performance from them you'll need to train using exercises that require you to max out your effort for a short period of time.

Think sprinting at full speed, 1-5 rep sets for lifting, and any type of plyometric activities.

Next, to train your type B muscles fibers you'll want to slightly decrease the force with which you are to contract while simultaneously increasing the time over which you contract ever so slightly.

For example, perform 30-45 intervals repeated ten times with about a minute or a minute and a half at a low to moderate pace. For your weight training activities, aim to target the 6-10 rep range to utilize the fact these muscle fibers have a higher oxidation ability.

Finally, to improve your slow twitch muscle fibers, think endurance. This type of fiber will usually require the greatest amount of time to train for improvement because you'll want to focus on simply going 'longer'.

If you're a runner, try and run longer. If you're a biker, bike longer. If you're a swimmer, swim longer – you get the point.

This type of muscle has the ability to go for extended periods of time so this is exactly what you want to train it to do.

So, next time you are trying to sort out your training plan make sure to take the various muscle fiber types into consideration.

Doing so will allow you to make the most out of your training program so you get the exact results you're looking for.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

Cardio is NOT the Key to Fat Loss

Do you have questions about Turbulence Training? How it works? What's in the workouts? Or even what does it mean?

Recently one of the UK's top trainers, Paul Mort from
PrecisionFitness.co.uk, interrogated me on the Turbulence Training system. Here's our q'n'a...

Q: First, can you tell us the basics about Turbulence Training?

Answer:
Turbulence Training is the result of years of study in the gym and in the research labs and library. From personal experience, I've found there is only one way to get the most fat loss and workout results in the least amount of time - you must increase your training intensity.

With the right workout, you can get more fat loss results in less
workout time. Period. That is the one and only goal of this
training program. A better body in fewer workout sessions, and
shorter exercise bouts.

That means:
a) Shorter interval workouts instead of long slow cardio workouts

b) More challenging strength training exercises, such as advanced bodyweight exercises and some traditional strength training free weight exercises

If you have two hours to spend in the gym everyday, you can feel free to stick to the same relatively ineffective and inefficient
program of long cardio and light weights. But if you are like most
men and women and have 45 minutes (or less) on only three days of the week to workout, then Turbulence Training will work wonders for you.

Male or female, almost everyone I see in traditional fitness centers could benefit from increasing the challenge in their workout. And they can also benefit from getting in and out of the gym faster.

So that's what led me to Turbulence Training. It's simple, no B.S., no-fluff, just-the-basics, results-oriented training. You don't need fancy gym machines or even an expensive gym membership. If you have a bench, a ball and some dumbbells at home, you are set.

Q: Okay so we're clear it's a e-book training program package that will melt bodyfat fast, what makes it so effective?

Answer:
Most people are so darn hung-up on burning a specific number of calories on a cardio machine, that they don't care how long they spend in the gym.

But big deal. If you burn X calories over 30 minutes in the gym
doing cardio, but don't boost your post-exercise metabolism, you're wasting the other 23.5 hours to burn a lot more calories.

And that's what happens with slow, steady workouts that never
change. Sure you burn a few calories in the gym, but there is no
"turbulence" on the body to increase your metabolism outside of the gym.

Instead, by using challenging strength training, and choosing
intervals over monotonous cardio, research has shown that your post workout metabolism is significantly greater. And an increased metabolism for an entire 24 hour period is what gives people results.

It's like putting money in the bank. It makes you more money even while you sit at home or sleep! That's the power of a more
challenging workout.

And Turbulence Training workouts, and other "challenging" workouts are always exponentially more enjoyable than staring at a TV (or worse a wall) when "doing your time" on a cardio machine. You can get this great "metabolic turbulence" in a boot camp, with bodyweight, at home with dumbbells, or even in a busy gym.

Nothing is more effective than Turbulence Training if you only have 45 minutes, three times per week to workout.

Q: In my opinion, resistance training, both with free weights and bodyweight is the key to losing bodyfat, for our readers that are still unsure about this could you give me your opinion on my this statement?

Answer:
Strength training is just one key for fat loss, it is essential to
maximize your metabolism, and it is absolutely, positively
paramount to building the best body of your dreams.

For those that doubt, start with bodyweight training. Not only is
this method of strength training effective at helping you sculpt
your body, but it is also empowering to your self-confidence and
100% applicable to your daily living.

Everything from carrying groceries to "seks" will be easier if you are stronger in the bodyweight exercises. Your mobility and stamina will increase, so that you will be able to carry your children to bed easier, you will be able to do yardwork with less fatigue, and you'll literally improve your "zest for life" simply from mastering your bodyweight strength.

All of these benefits without touching a single free weight...but
if you do go with free weights, you'll take your fitness to an even
greater level.

Research from the 2001 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine showed that female subjects boosted their post-exercise metabolism to a greater level when they did 8 reps per exercise, rather than 12 reps.

So low rep, strength training is best for boosting metabolism. It
will get you more results in less time because it will continue to
work while you recover.

Q: I'm always telling people that aerobic exercise is useless for fat loss, does you agree with this? And why?

Answer:
Aerobic exercise is certainly inefficient for fat loss.

By that I mean, the benefits pale in comparison to the fat loss you can achieve in less time with interval training. Most people would be able to cut their workout time in half simply by using intervals rather than aerobic exercise.

Now I've witnessed a few people lose fat and maintain a beautiful body with aerobic exercise, but these have been limited to: young University-aged males that also did 4 days of heavy strength training, who had no "life" stress and plenty of time on their hands to train up to 10 hours per week (not counting recreational sports).

But does that sound like your average gym-goer's lifestyle?

I doubt it. If it does, where do you live? I want to move there!

So next time you go to the gym, do this admittedly un-scientific
test...Take a visual survey of the "cardio" area and the strength
training area. Where are the best bodies?

In the strength training area, no doubt.

And in fact, we can also find a lot of beautiful bodies in the Yoga
and Pilates area. Why? There's certainly no "fat burning" cardio
zone going on there. So what gives?

Nutrition.

Nutrition is the #1 factor in fat loss. It trumps any fat loss
program, no matter how good it is. Yes, even my beloved Turbulence Training will not be 100% effective if someone continues to eat chips and pints as their meals.

That's why I spent almost 500 quid to have Dr. Christopher Mohr put together an easy-to-follow, healthy, fat loss nutritional guidebook to go along with the Turbulence Training workout package. It has diet plans for both men and women.

So Paul, getting back to the original question.

There are far more efficient ways to change your body.

Eat for fat loss, and do some form of strength training to sculpt
your body. When you take care of your nutrition and eat according to Dr. Mohr's guidelines, your body will be like modeling clay in your hands...and the exercises you choose to do with sculpt it. If someone continues on with aerobic exercise, the improvements will be negligible.

So that's why you don't see cardio in my structured program. If
someone wants to do a family bike ride or play a game of football on the weekend, by all means go ahead. But it is far too
inefficient to get put in my main workouts.

Q: What about somebody that isn't a member of a gym? Can they still benefit from Turbulence Training?

Answer:
Absolutely. As mentioned earlier, all you need is a bench, a
Stability Ball (aka - Physioball), and a set of dumbbells. A pullup
bar would be a bonus, if you are strong enough to use the pullup
and chinup exercises.

I've done many of the bodyweight exercises outside, as obviously you don't need any equipment to do many of the novel ab, leg, and pushing exercises. Heck, I bet you use many of the exercises in your boot camps and you know how little equipment is needed for a hard workout.

Think back to the days before the glitzy chrome-and-machine gyms.

People were still able to get fit with free weights andbodyweight.

And good nutrition certainly doesn't need a gym membership.

Q: And lastly, I meet a lot of people who seem to have tried every diet going, tried classes, gyms and DVDS, what makes Turbulence Training different from these?

Answer:
Most people train in their comfort zones. And while a lot of
programs require a lot of effort (those classes are no joke), most
programs lack an effective level of intensity.

By intensity, we are talking about working closer to your maximum level of effort.

Sure, a set of 15 repetitions to failure for triceps pressdowns is
tough, but it's not truly intense. Compare that to doing a set of 8
pushups - which for many people is much more intense - and now you are using your entire body a lot harder. Thus, the turbulence on the body is much greater. And your body will have to work harder after training to recover - and that's what increases your metabolism - and allows you to burn fat all day, rather than just for 20-30 minutes.

And dont' worry, even if you can crank out dozens of pushups, there are a few variations in the Turbulence Training program that will give even the savviest gym veteran an intense workout.

The same goes with the cardio vs. intervals. If you switch to
intervals, you'll notice changes in days. And that's not hyperbole. I've heard it time and time again from TT users...they feel and see changes within 48 hours once they switch their workouts and start using the TT Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.

Stay consistent with the plan, and you're gold!

Sincerely,

P.S. Don't forget...

As one of your bonuses for ordering Turbulence Training, you'll
receive a 4-week bodyweight program with beginner, intermediate, and advanced versions. These are great workouts for holiday and business travel, so you don't have to stress over missed workouts.

"Craig's Bodyweight Turbulence Training program lets you use your body as the most comprehensive home gym available. In turn the results are like nothing else out there. What really impressed me was his inclusion of a self assessment that lets you monitor your own progress so that you keep getting stronger and leaner without any wasted time. If going to the gym ever feels stale, I immediately switch to Craig's Bodyweight TT program to get and stay in shape."
Anthony Belza, Strength Coach, Toronto

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

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

 

 

The Skinny Guy's Guide To Gaining Weight

How would you like to learn how to gain weight fast?  If the title of this article caught your attention, there is a good chance you are sick and tired of not seeing the weight on the scale budge.   Most likely you just got home from the Mandarin buffet and still can't budge the scale.  You could live on McDonald's and Pizza Delight and your Ferrari style metabolism would simply burn it off.  In a world that is obsessed with losing weight – you are interested in gaining weight! 

Are You Sick and Tired Of People Telling You How To Gain Weight?

It probably sounds like this:

"All you have to do is eat, eat, and eat some more to gain weight..."

"Weight gain is just a matter of eating..."

"You just gotta overload your metabolism to gain weight fast..."

"You can't build a house without the bricks and mortar for gaining weight..."

Don't throw me to the wolves quite yet. There is certainly truth to these statements and some of these analogies can prove quite powerful. I think I'm even guilty of preaching a few! But the problem with this advice is that it's usually followed up with the same old regurgitated blah, blah, blah advice that only tells you what to do and does not reveal real-world, practical how-to action-steps.

If you are someone who has struggled their entire life, trying to pack on extra muscle mass and still consider yourself underweight, then you are not alone. I was once skinny and underweight myself...

People, predispositioned to skinniness, are commonly referred to as "hard gainers." This is the cool way to label your scrawny frame despite the fact that your body turns into a Number 2 pencil when you wear yellow!

It's Not Totally Your Fault You're Skinny

In the skinny guy's defense, the reality is that you have been cursed with traits like Lamborghini-type metabolism, giraffe like limbs, and the strength of a senior citizen. You have to fight with every bone in your body to do something about your small frame and to keep up to your male buddies who seem to grow muscle just by sneezing – those muscle freaks piss me off just as much you!

Even though you might think your genetic deficiencies have sentenced you to a life of frailty and surprised looks when you tell others you lift weights, I am living proof that hard gainers with very 'muscle-unfriendly genes' can fight back against their genetics and gain muscle weight. I defeated my skinny genetics just after college and I am about to show you four tips that helped me climb from a 149 pound weakling to a rock hard 190 pounds in six months.

Trust me, no body has worse genetics for building muscle and gaining weight than an ex-long distance runner who abused his body with 60-80 miles of running a week (for over 10 years).

Skinny Guys Must Play By A Different Set Of Rules

If you are underweight, than your first step to gaining weight is to understand that you must play by a different set up rules. I have said this before and will say it again,

"Taking advice from someone who can gain muscle weight easilyis like taking money advice from someone who inherited a fortune or is making money illegally."

You must think outside the box and give up the excuse of being a "hard gainer." It is time to stop listening to all the naysayers who have told you that is impossible to gain weight because of your genetics. Regardless of what you have been led to believe, you do have the potential to build an impressive physique that turns heads and even intimidates!

If you have read this far, I am guessing you are ready to longer resemble a microphone stand! You are prepared to overload your metabolism for muscle growth, to ensure you are never referred to as 'underweight' or 'skinny' ever again. Start following these simple steps and don't be surprised if you gain an extra ten pounds of muscle weight in the next four weeks.

Simple How To Gain Weight Action Steps To Start Growing Like A Skyscraper!

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

1. Double It Up

One of the most practical steps you can take is to double whatever you are currently eating in the kitchen right now. If you are eating one chicken breast per meal, then cook up two. If you are only eating two slices of bread, then make it four. If you are eating one handful of nuts, then make it two. If you are using only two scoops of protein powder, then make it four.

Most likely you are only a few dozen meals short of filling out your underdeveloped body parts and attracting the attention of that sexy girl at your gym. I assume you are already in the kitchen and have the food out. So would you agree, you really have no good excuse not to shovel down a greater percentage of calories by doubling it up?

2. Live Your Life Around Food

Sure, you know that you must eat every 2-3 hours, but how well do you execute? Set your clock on a countdown timer to go off every 2 and ½ hours so that you reinforce the habit of eating literally not a second late for each meal! Don't turn off the damn beeper until you start chowing down.

Ensure you are eating your first meal within 15-30 minutes of waking up - absolutely no later. This first meal of the day should always consist of REAL food to flood your body with quality nutrients. I question anybody's commitment to gaining weight if they are too lazy to wake up 15 minutes earlier to eat a real meal.

Lastly, don't be surprised if you are not gaining weight if you do not find yourself spending more time preparing food, more time eating food and more time cleaning your kitchen. You should notice you are spending more time in the grocery store and you should also notice a larger grocery bill each week!

3. Use BIG Eating Equipment

If you want to bulk, then you have to eat like Hulk. Do you think Hulk eats out of a small plate, or a small bowel, or a small cup? If you are aiming to get big and huge, you are going to require large amounts of food, most likely close to double of what you are currently eating.

So get BIG eating equipment! Get a BIG cup, get a BIG bowel, and get a BIG plate. Surround yourself with BIG. Most of the time hard gainers are nothing more than "under eaters." If you struggle to complete a meal, then a bigger serving on a bigger plate will look small!

4. Never Train Hungry

How many times have you woken up, whipped up a protein shake and than headed off to the gym? Or maybe you had a long afternoon and missed a few meals and then attempted a weight training workout after work?

I thought this was common sense to avoid, until a few of my skinny clients confessed that they were showing up for their workouts having only eaten a piece of fruit and some crackers within the entire day!

After dropping the 45-pound plate on my foot out of shock, they reassured me: they were not hungry.  I sometimes screamed back, "Yeah, that's because your metabolism is in starvation mode and shut right down, you skinny pencil neck!"

I understand that training in the morning is the only time for some, however, I recommend to aim for a minimum of at least three solid meals in your system prior to training. Or eat the biggest meal of your day immediately after your AM workout. Would you take your car out on a long trip with a half empty fuel tank? Not unless you wanted the car to die and you push it the rest of the way. So why would you take your body through a grueling training session on an empty stomach?

5. Eat Nutrient Dense Foods

Focus on caloric-rich foods that are loaded with nutrients.  Avoid foods with empty calories, which means there is little or no nutrient value in the calories you are eating.  Why would you consume a 500-calorie plus meal that is loaded with fat and sugar which does nothing but make you feel sluggish and soft?  Instead, eat a high caloric meal loaded with slow releasing carbohydrates,  proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber.    Here are some of the best choices:

Carbohydrates – Oatmeal, rice, breads, yams beans, potatoes, fruits and veggies. 

Proteins – Steak, chicken, lean beef, cottage cheese, whole milk, eggs and salmon.

Fats – Olive oil, flax oil, avocados, nuts and peanut butter. 

Extras (high calorie cheat food) – Ice cream, raisins, dried fruit and trail mix.

6. Drink A Carb And Protein Drink While You Workout

How hard is to sip on a calorie-rich drink during your weight training sessions?  Simply mix up a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein with one liter of water and you instantly have a few extra hundred calories per day.  Now have an extra workout drink before your workout and extra workout drink after your workout and that's easily an extra one pound per week.  Only use this technique if you are weight training at a very high intensity. 

7.  Live the motto, "Never Stop Eating"

Did I hear you say, "But I'll throw up if I eat all day?"  Maybe... Is it necessary?  Of course not.  But this is a part of pushing your body's threshold.  Don't worry, you will get used to it and your body will require more food as you gain more muscle on your body and your metabolism increases.  Just think that if you are not eating, then you are not growing, and if you are not growing then you are staying the same.  Is that what you want?

Conclusion

There you have it and as I promised, learning how to gain weight fast is quite simple.  Executing is a whole different story.  It will really come down to how truly committed you are to defeating your skinny genetics and gaining the muscular body you deserve! 

Here is my promise to you. You have the ability to gain at least another ten pounds of solid weight in the next four weeks by simply applying the advice above. If you are truly committed to your goals of gaining muscle weight and no longer being known as underweight, then I believe you will rise to the challenge and take action! Are you with me?

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION