By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
FIGHT FAT HERE!
If you've been struggling to get flat, sexy abs and burn belly fat
with traditional workouts, then you are going to love these 5 weird
abdominal exercise and diet tips.
Over the last 13 years as a trainer and athlete, I've been studying
every expert and research study I can find about the best way to get
flat abs.
Today, you'll discover 5 weird tips you might not know when it comes
to getting a flat stomach and firm abs.
#1 - The best interval training work-to-rest ratio for losing belly
fat might be 1-to-1.5.
In an Australian study, researchers found that doing intervals for
8 seconds followed by 12 seconds of rest resulted in significantly
more belly fat burning than long slow cardio.
Now I know that 8 seconds on and 12 seconds off sounds a little
annoying (just try doing that on a machine), but the good news is
that these researchers found that going for 24 seconds followed by a
36 second rest works just as well for boosting fat burning hormones.
#2 - Dr. Chris Mohr's #1 weird diet tip is...
I just finished up a fat loss nutrition interview with Dr.
Mohr and he told me that his simple, yet slightly weird #1 diet tip
for fat loss is...
"Get almost all of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables."
I really liked that tip because I've been telling people this for
years, and it's part of the Fat Loss Foundation you'll discover in
my Simple Nutrition manual & DVD.
#3 - You need to be able to do a Plank exercise for 2 minutes.
Dr. Stuart McGill, the world's leading expert on low back health,
says in his book that a person with fit abs should be able to do a
plank exercise for 2 minutes straight.
If you can't do the plank for 2 minutes, then you need to lose belly
fat and you need to get an abdominal workout DVD program that works
your abs properly.
Here are the best abdominal exercises DVDs you can get:
GET YOUR DVD HERE!
#4 - New research shows that supersets training burns more calories
than traditional straight set resistance training.
And that's exactly what you'll get in every short, burst exercise
workout.
The short, burst superset programs save you time (getting you done
in half the time of a traditional resistance workout) while helping
you burn more fat.
#5 - To see your abs, a man will need to be close to 10% fat and a
woman will need to be at about 16% fat.
Of course, the more muscle you have, the easier it will be too see
your abs, so you'll still be able to see a 4-pack on muscular guys
when they have 12-13% fat.
But the bottom line is that you need to use the Simple Nutrition
plan combined with the short, burst exercise workouts to burn
belly fat to see your sexy abs.
BONUS Tip - A great way to work your abs harder than normal planks
is the Stability Ball Plank.
Research reported in Men's Health magazine reported this exercise to
be 30% harder on your abs than a regular plank.
And last Friday I used an interesting technique with this exercise
that caused my abs to be sore for days. But that's another story for
another weird abdominal exercise article - coming soon!
Remember, for the best flat abdominal exercises and belly fat burning
circuits, you need the TT for Abs Home Exercise DVDs & Simple
Nutrition plan from this website:
FIGHT FAT HERE!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The TT Abs Bootcamp Workout (and Big 7 Fat Burning Circuit)
This is just 1 of the new 31 TT Bootcamps workouts, and specifically,
this is Part 2 of 3 for the TT Abs Bootcamps series by Craig Ballantyne.
It's called "Abs Endurance" because of the endurance nature of the
abs circuit at the end of the program, but like all TT workouts, it
is a total body fat blasting program.
REMEMBER - Train at your fitness level...take extra breaks if you
need them. Do only one round of each circuit if you are have not
been exercising recently.
Train safe, train smart, and have fun.
Enjoy!
TT Bootcamps Workout #8 - Abs Endurance: Part 2 of the Abs Bootcamps
Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Bodyweight Squat
- Stick-up
- Kneeling Pushup or Pushup Plus
- 1-Leg Hip Extension (20 seconds per side)
- Plank (40 seconds)
- Side Plank (20 seconds per side)
- Run in Place
- Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.
TT Strength Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 5 minutes
- Bulgarian Split Squat or Forward Lunge or 1-Leg Deadlift (30 seconds per side)
- 1-Arm KB or DB Press OR Elevated Push-ups (30 seconds per side)
- Optional if you have equipment: DB Row or Bodyweight Row
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Big 7 Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Jumping Jacks
- Prisoner Squat
- Spiderman Climb Pushup or Close-grip Pushup
- Band Row or KB Row or Cross Crawl
- Diagonal Lunge (20 seconds per side)
- Inchworm
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Depletion Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Total Body Extension or Jump Rope
- Cross-Body Mountain Climber
- Reaching Lunge (30 seconds per side)
- Squat Thrusts
- Shuttle Run or Run in Place
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Total Body Abs Endurance Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 5 minutes
- Pushup Plank
- Get-up (30 seconds per side)
- Optional: Stability Ball Plank
- Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.
Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break - 10 minutes
Hope you enjoy that workout.
And if you want Parts 1 & 3 of the TT Abs Bootcamp series plus all
31 new TT Bootcamps workouts, Just click here to visit this website
You'll get 31 total body workouts - including the 3-part TT Booty
Bootcamps program - that you can do with minimal equipment (and even
use in your own bootcamps if you are a trainer).
this is Part 2 of 3 for the TT Abs Bootcamps series by Craig Ballantyne.
It's called "Abs Endurance" because of the endurance nature of the
abs circuit at the end of the program, but like all TT workouts, it
is a total body fat blasting program.
REMEMBER - Train at your fitness level...take extra breaks if you
need them. Do only one round of each circuit if you are have not
been exercising recently.
Train safe, train smart, and have fun.
Enjoy!
TT Bootcamps Workout #8 - Abs Endurance: Part 2 of the Abs Bootcamps
Warm-up (20 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Bodyweight Squat
- Stick-up
- Kneeling Pushup or Pushup Plus
- 1-Leg Hip Extension (20 seconds per side)
- Plank (40 seconds)
- Side Plank (20 seconds per side)
- Run in Place
- Rest 1 minute and repeat 1 more time.
TT Strength Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 5 minutes
- Bulgarian Split Squat or Forward Lunge or 1-Leg Deadlift (30 seconds per side)
- 1-Arm KB or DB Press OR Elevated Push-ups (30 seconds per side)
- Optional if you have equipment: DB Row or Bodyweight Row
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Big 7 Circuit (20 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Jumping Jacks
- Prisoner Squat
- Spiderman Climb Pushup or Close-grip Pushup
- Band Row or KB Row or Cross Crawl
- Diagonal Lunge (20 seconds per side)
- Inchworm
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Depletion Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 10 minutes
- Total Body Extension or Jump Rope
- Cross-Body Mountain Climber
- Reaching Lunge (30 seconds per side)
- Squat Thrusts
- Shuttle Run or Run in Place
- Rest 2 minutes before repeating 1 more time.
Water Break - 2 minutes
TT Total Body Abs Endurance Circuit (30 seconds per exercise) - 5 minutes
- Pushup Plank
- Get-up (30 seconds per side)
- Optional: Stability Ball Plank
- Rest 1 minute before repeating 1 more time.
Cool-down, Stretching & Water Break - 10 minutes
Hope you enjoy that workout.
And if you want Parts 1 & 3 of the TT Abs Bootcamp series plus all
31 new TT Bootcamps workouts, Just click here to visit this website
You'll get 31 total body workouts - including the 3-part TT Booty
Bootcamps program - that you can do with minimal equipment (and even
use in your own bootcamps if you are a trainer).
Labels:
burn belly fat,
fat burning,
fat loss,
turbulence training
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
How Many Calories Do You Need to Burn for Fat Loss?
By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training In a Hurry? Click Here
If you depend on classic aerobic cardio for fat loss, you
probably spend 30 minutes on a machine trying to burn a set number
of calories.
But does that work?
Does burning 500 calories per day cause you to lose 1 pound of fat
per week?
Well, according to science, it should. But if it did, you probably
wouldn't still be reading this article.
Back in the day, I used to write a column on fat loss myths for
Men's Fitness magazine. Here's a classic weight loss topic I covered.
Myth: I need to burn 500 calories each workout to lose fat.
Truth:
Possibly one of the worst inventions for fat loss was the
calorie-counting monitor on treadmills, elliptical machines, and
stairmasters.
Because of these, millions of men and women now obsess about the
number of calories burned per session. You've probably even been
one of those people, watching it creep up ever so slowly during a
slow-cardio session. All the while knowing that you can wipe out a
30-minute, 300-calorie treadmill session with one fell swoop of the
Krispy Kreme hand.
Too many people are brainwashed into thinking that if they don't
burn 300-500 calories per session, then they won't lose fat. After
all, that is what you've been told time and time again in those
fluffy fitness/fashion magazines.
The problems with this approach to fat loss are numerous. First
off, it's difficult to say if the calorie counters are even
accurate. A story on CBS news showed that cardio machines
overestimate calorie burning by up to 20%.
Next, depending on slow cardio for advanced fat loss is relatively
useless and at the very least, inefficient. It takes a long time
for you to burn a lot of calories and one study showed that men who
only used cardio training for weight loss ended up with a reduced
resting metabolism. You are basically undoing the calorie burning
by depending only on cardio. On the other hand, guys in the same
study that used strength training didn't suffer a reduced metabolic
rate.
So what is the solution to burning fat in a faster, more efficient
method? The answer is to use strength and interval training to burn
fewer calories in less exercise time, but with a more intense form
of exercise.
Your body will burn more calories after exercise (when you use
intervals) than it does after you do slow cardio and your
metabolism will stay high. Some experts refer to this as the
afterburn effect. How do you do intervals? Well, you could sprint
for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds and repeat that for 6 sets -
using the bike preferably or treadmill if you are experienced with
it.
Within that short time frame the intervals will cause your muscles
to go crazy with activity (I call it a metabolic turbulence). This
crazy metabolism boost causes lots of calorie burning after
exercise to get your body back to normal. The result is you would
end up burning more fat and more calories in the post-exercise
period as your body tries to get things under control.
Now there is one time where you'd want to count calories, but that
is when you are counting up and determining how many calories you
eat per day. Again, you can wipe out an entire workout's work in
less than a minute simply by eating garbage. Without some structure
and discipline to your nutrition, there is nothing that even my
programs can do to help you lose fat.
So exercise nutrition control and interval training. These are the
two anti-calorie counting methods that will help you lose fat and
get lean.
For Further Information and an exciting opportunity, Click Here
Author, Turbulence Training In a Hurry? Click Here
If you depend on classic aerobic cardio for fat loss, you
probably spend 30 minutes on a machine trying to burn a set number
of calories.
But does that work?
Does burning 500 calories per day cause you to lose 1 pound of fat
per week?
Well, according to science, it should. But if it did, you probably
wouldn't still be reading this article.
Back in the day, I used to write a column on fat loss myths for
Men's Fitness magazine. Here's a classic weight loss topic I covered.
Myth: I need to burn 500 calories each workout to lose fat.
Truth:
Possibly one of the worst inventions for fat loss was the
calorie-counting monitor on treadmills, elliptical machines, and
stairmasters.
Because of these, millions of men and women now obsess about the
number of calories burned per session. You've probably even been
one of those people, watching it creep up ever so slowly during a
slow-cardio session. All the while knowing that you can wipe out a
30-minute, 300-calorie treadmill session with one fell swoop of the
Krispy Kreme hand.
Too many people are brainwashed into thinking that if they don't
burn 300-500 calories per session, then they won't lose fat. After
all, that is what you've been told time and time again in those
fluffy fitness/fashion magazines.
The problems with this approach to fat loss are numerous. First
off, it's difficult to say if the calorie counters are even
accurate. A story on CBS news showed that cardio machines
overestimate calorie burning by up to 20%.
Next, depending on slow cardio for advanced fat loss is relatively
useless and at the very least, inefficient. It takes a long time
for you to burn a lot of calories and one study showed that men who
only used cardio training for weight loss ended up with a reduced
resting metabolism. You are basically undoing the calorie burning
by depending only on cardio. On the other hand, guys in the same
study that used strength training didn't suffer a reduced metabolic
rate.
So what is the solution to burning fat in a faster, more efficient
method? The answer is to use strength and interval training to burn
fewer calories in less exercise time, but with a more intense form
of exercise.
Your body will burn more calories after exercise (when you use
intervals) than it does after you do slow cardio and your
metabolism will stay high. Some experts refer to this as the
afterburn effect. How do you do intervals? Well, you could sprint
for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds and repeat that for 6 sets -
using the bike preferably or treadmill if you are experienced with
it.
Within that short time frame the intervals will cause your muscles
to go crazy with activity (I call it a metabolic turbulence). This
crazy metabolism boost causes lots of calorie burning after
exercise to get your body back to normal. The result is you would
end up burning more fat and more calories in the post-exercise
period as your body tries to get things under control.
Now there is one time where you'd want to count calories, but that
is when you are counting up and determining how many calories you
eat per day. Again, you can wipe out an entire workout's work in
less than a minute simply by eating garbage. Without some structure
and discipline to your nutrition, there is nothing that even my
programs can do to help you lose fat.
So exercise nutrition control and interval training. These are the
two anti-calorie counting methods that will help you lose fat and
get lean.
For Further Information and an exciting opportunity, Click Here
Sunday, February 14, 2010
7 Step Detox Diet
Hi,
It's about that time of year.
This is when folks slowly start dropping off from their workout
program, or cheating on their diet.
And for a lot of folks, weekend eating - particularly SuperBowl
weekend eating - is to blame.
When some folks binge eat, they go looking for a "detox diet",
thinking that will reverse all their mistakes.
But I'm not here to recommend that...no way.
Instead, I have an amazing article - perhaps his best article ever -
from fitness expert Craig Ballantyne about a simple 7-Step Detox
Diet that you can easily follow everyday...
...so that you never need to do an extreme 7-day or 2-week cleanse.
Here's Craig to tell it like it is:
I just got back from the SuperBowl and got a chance to sit in the
front row right in the endzone. It was really cool, and I also got
a chance to see "The Who" live in concert at half-time.
But, while I was there, I had a few extra "non-compliance" meals
than normal, so it got me thinking about detox diets.
I have a pretty strong opinion about detoxing, and I put together a
simple 7-step detox diet plan that you can easily follow so that you
never have to do a 16-day detox ever.
You see, my biggest "beef" with the entire theory of "detoxing" is this...
It is simply NOT possible to EVER detox your body.
Why?
Because it's such a vague statement.
What does "detox" mean?
How do you measure "detoxification"?
What do you even define as toxins?
And when do you officially become "detoxed"?
The answer is, "You don't."
It's impossible.
After all, every single second of every day your body produces
carbon dioxide, which is a toxin.
And if you have deep belly fat, research shows that this "visceral
fat" is constantly releasing inflammatory toxins into your blood.
Every second. The more fat you have, the more toxic you are.
Plus, every breath you take includes pollutants.
And even the water that you drink may contain "toxins".
So....what's the real deal on detoxing?
Listen, while every "expert" is out there arguing about tiny little
details and "gurus" are trying to sell you on detoxing so they can
sell supplements, the TRUTH is that you really just need to know a
few steps to avoid getting toxic in the first place.
In my opinion, the #1 factor in living a "low toxin life" is simply
to keep as much garbage out of your body in the first place, rather
than depending on a 3-day, 7-day or even 16-day detox to be healthy.
So what do I do to prevent "toxin build-up" in the first place?
Well, I live the Turbulence Training Lifestyle of course, including
my "7 Step Detox Nutrition Plan":
1) Start each day with a blender drink of berries, spinach or other
greens, raw nuts (such as walnuts - rich in healthy fats), and other
ingredients packed with antioxidants and healthy fats.
2) For lunch, have a large green salad with spinach, beans, broccoli,
peppers, avocado, onions, etc.
3) Eat an organic apple a day. Certain fruits (i.e. apples, peaches,
cherries, and strawberries) and vegetables have a higher exposure to
pesticides, and you should choose organic when possible.
4) Eat RAW snacks only - of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Try using
this one simple rule and limit all of your between meal snacks to
raw fruit, raw vegetables, and/or raw nuts and I promise you'll drop
the pounds because you'll be full on a smaller number of calories.
5) Drink Green Tea (2-3 cups) and filtered water (3 liters) instead
of beverages that contain calories or chemicals.
6) Limit animal protein intake to only 2 servings per day. On most
days, I'll one of the following: an "after workout" chocolate milk,
organic eggs in the morning, or occasionally I'll have high quality
meat at dinner.
You don't need to be a full vegetarian to live a longer life, but
you should probably avoid eating meat 5 times per day, like people
in Chicago.
(Hey Chicago, don't get mad at me for that...it was a born-and-raised
Chicago native who told me 5 servings of meat per day was the
average Chicago meat consumption.)
7) Minimize or completely eliminate alcohol intake.
While research does show that for men, up to 2 drinks per day may
help cardiovascular health (and for women, up to one drink per day),
I'm not about to recommend you start drinking.
After all, if you go above those limits, you start to destroy your
health...and you risk addiction. Alcohol killed my father, and I
don't want to see the same thing happen to you. Tread cautiously
with the booze.
So that's it. A simple 7-Step Detox Diet Plan.
By the way, it goes without saying that you should avoid:
- cigarettes
- trans-fats
- excessive amounts of sugar
- refined grains
- and 7-11 nacho cheese
Right?
Of course.
And you should be exercising to lose the belly fat...using proven
methods, such as interval training - which is proven to beat long,
slow cardio when it comes to burning dangerous belly fat.
Plus, you should be using Turbulence Training resistance supersets
to burn more calories and sculpt your body.
If you've never used Turbulence Training, you can try it out today
for less than the cost of a Superbowl hot dog.
Click here to get Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks
Simply follow those 7 nutrition guidelines and use the short TT
workouts to cut out as many toxins from your body - without detoxing.
Stay strong,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
PS - I also believe you should avoid toxic relationships...
...so you need to take a hard look at the people you surround
yourself with in life.
Do you have the right work friends?
Are you in the right relationships?
Do you spend enough time with the right family members?
Or are they toxic too?
Remember - you need social support for success in life and in fat
loss...so surround yourself with positive people, like the good
folks on the TT Member's forum.
If you need to dump the toxic folks and get positive social support,
we'd love to see you on the forum and help you out.
You will get a free 3-month TT membership access to the forum when
you try out Turbulence Training for only $4.95 today:
Click here!
Please click that link to get started losing fat & getting rid of
the toxic baggage in your life.
It's about that time of year.
This is when folks slowly start dropping off from their workout
program, or cheating on their diet.
And for a lot of folks, weekend eating - particularly SuperBowl
weekend eating - is to blame.
When some folks binge eat, they go looking for a "detox diet",
thinking that will reverse all their mistakes.
But I'm not here to recommend that...no way.
Instead, I have an amazing article - perhaps his best article ever -
from fitness expert Craig Ballantyne about a simple 7-Step Detox
Diet that you can easily follow everyday...
...so that you never need to do an extreme 7-day or 2-week cleanse.
Here's Craig to tell it like it is:
I just got back from the SuperBowl and got a chance to sit in the
front row right in the endzone. It was really cool, and I also got
a chance to see "The Who" live in concert at half-time.
But, while I was there, I had a few extra "non-compliance" meals
than normal, so it got me thinking about detox diets.
I have a pretty strong opinion about detoxing, and I put together a
simple 7-step detox diet plan that you can easily follow so that you
never have to do a 16-day detox ever.
You see, my biggest "beef" with the entire theory of "detoxing" is this...
It is simply NOT possible to EVER detox your body.
Why?
Because it's such a vague statement.
What does "detox" mean?
How do you measure "detoxification"?
What do you even define as toxins?
And when do you officially become "detoxed"?
The answer is, "You don't."
It's impossible.
After all, every single second of every day your body produces
carbon dioxide, which is a toxin.
And if you have deep belly fat, research shows that this "visceral
fat" is constantly releasing inflammatory toxins into your blood.
Every second. The more fat you have, the more toxic you are.
Plus, every breath you take includes pollutants.
And even the water that you drink may contain "toxins".
So....what's the real deal on detoxing?
Listen, while every "expert" is out there arguing about tiny little
details and "gurus" are trying to sell you on detoxing so they can
sell supplements, the TRUTH is that you really just need to know a
few steps to avoid getting toxic in the first place.
In my opinion, the #1 factor in living a "low toxin life" is simply
to keep as much garbage out of your body in the first place, rather
than depending on a 3-day, 7-day or even 16-day detox to be healthy.
So what do I do to prevent "toxin build-up" in the first place?
Well, I live the Turbulence Training Lifestyle of course, including
my "7 Step Detox Nutrition Plan":
1) Start each day with a blender drink of berries, spinach or other
greens, raw nuts (such as walnuts - rich in healthy fats), and other
ingredients packed with antioxidants and healthy fats.
2) For lunch, have a large green salad with spinach, beans, broccoli,
peppers, avocado, onions, etc.
3) Eat an organic apple a day. Certain fruits (i.e. apples, peaches,
cherries, and strawberries) and vegetables have a higher exposure to
pesticides, and you should choose organic when possible.
4) Eat RAW snacks only - of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Try using
this one simple rule and limit all of your between meal snacks to
raw fruit, raw vegetables, and/or raw nuts and I promise you'll drop
the pounds because you'll be full on a smaller number of calories.
5) Drink Green Tea (2-3 cups) and filtered water (3 liters) instead
of beverages that contain calories or chemicals.
6) Limit animal protein intake to only 2 servings per day. On most
days, I'll one of the following: an "after workout" chocolate milk,
organic eggs in the morning, or occasionally I'll have high quality
meat at dinner.
You don't need to be a full vegetarian to live a longer life, but
you should probably avoid eating meat 5 times per day, like people
in Chicago.
(Hey Chicago, don't get mad at me for that...it was a born-and-raised
Chicago native who told me 5 servings of meat per day was the
average Chicago meat consumption.)
7) Minimize or completely eliminate alcohol intake.
While research does show that for men, up to 2 drinks per day may
help cardiovascular health (and for women, up to one drink per day),
I'm not about to recommend you start drinking.
After all, if you go above those limits, you start to destroy your
health...and you risk addiction. Alcohol killed my father, and I
don't want to see the same thing happen to you. Tread cautiously
with the booze.
So that's it. A simple 7-Step Detox Diet Plan.
By the way, it goes without saying that you should avoid:
- cigarettes
- trans-fats
- excessive amounts of sugar
- refined grains
- and 7-11 nacho cheese
Right?
Of course.
And you should be exercising to lose the belly fat...using proven
methods, such as interval training - which is proven to beat long,
slow cardio when it comes to burning dangerous belly fat.
Plus, you should be using Turbulence Training resistance supersets
to burn more calories and sculpt your body.
If you've never used Turbulence Training, you can try it out today
for less than the cost of a Superbowl hot dog.
Click here to get Turbulence Training for less than 5 bucks
Simply follow those 7 nutrition guidelines and use the short TT
workouts to cut out as many toxins from your body - without detoxing.
Stay strong,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
PS - I also believe you should avoid toxic relationships...
...so you need to take a hard look at the people you surround
yourself with in life.
Do you have the right work friends?
Are you in the right relationships?
Do you spend enough time with the right family members?
Or are they toxic too?
Remember - you need social support for success in life and in fat
loss...so surround yourself with positive people, like the good
folks on the TT Member's forum.
If you need to dump the toxic folks and get positive social support,
we'd love to see you on the forum and help you out.
You will get a free 3-month TT membership access to the forum when
you try out Turbulence Training for only $4.95 today:
Click here!
Please click that link to get started losing fat & getting rid of
the toxic baggage in your life.
Labels:
detox,
detox diet,
interval training,
stop binge eating
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