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The Best Cardio Intervals for Fat Loss: Part 1

Supertraining — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Is there really a best interval training system for fat loss?

Do intervals really work as well as regular cardio for fat loss?

I’m going to cover these, and many more questions in Part 1 of your lessons on interval training.

But this is not just interval training 101. Today, you’re going to leave this email with a graduate degree in interval training for fat loss.

I’ll answer both questions upfront before the lesson begins, and I’ll give more details on each as we go along:

Conservatively, intervals are at least as effective as regular aerobic training for fat loss. Personally, I believe intervals are far superior. And there is no denying that intervals allow you to get your workouts done a lot faster than slow, boring cardio workouts.
I have to admit, there is no best interval training program for fat loss. But that is a good thing, because there are so many ways that you can change your interval training to keep your fat loss results coming week in and week out.

By changing your training program every three to four weeks, you are using one of the key principles of Turbulence Training –
variety. It is essential to change your workouts this frequently, otherwise you might suffer from a dreaded fat loss plateau.

And if that is the case for you now, I’ll show you dozens of alternative interval training workouts you can use to kick-start your metabolism and fat loss.

Now what many people don’t know, or perhaps just fail to recognize, is that interval training is not just for advanced fitness superstars. No way. In fact, intervals are an effective and perhaps even the most effective method for beginners to get fit and lose fat.

First you have to understand that interval training is based on relative performance. While my intervals would be much too hard for a beginner, my intervals would be a joke for Lance Armstrong.

So even for those men and women that are just dipping their toe into the fitness waters for the first time in months, years, or dare I say, decades, they too can do interval training.

If you are a beginner and you can walk at 3.3mph for 20 minutes, then your intervals will start at a walk at 3.6mph for 30 seconds to a minute. That is interval training.

It doesn’t have to be high-intensity, sprint-to-the-death activity.

Instead, just increase the intensity slightly more than you can normally handle, and do so for a short time, and intersperse that with periods of easier exercise for twice the duration.

So if you did 1 minute at 3.6mph, drop down to 3.0mph for 2 minutes. Do that up to 6 times, and you’ve had yourself an interval session.

Now for those of you that have been doing only slow, traditional cardio, switching over to interval training 2-3 times per week is going to be the fat loss equivalent of throwing a lit, gasoline soaked rag on a pile of dry kindling.

Here’s why…research has given us a lot of evidence that intervals are superior to traditional cardio. First, a study from Laval University in 1994 compared interval training to aerobic training – straight up – over a 12 week training period. Subjects that used interval training had better results. They lost more fat. You can’t argue with that.

And second, interval training causes metabolic turbulence – also known as boost in your metabolism. Due to the high-intensity nature of intervals, there is more "turbulence" applied to the muscle. That means more muscle breakdown and more adaptations in the muscle.

Now I know that sounds very technical, but all you need to understand is that when all this extra activity goes on at the muscle level, it requires a lot more energy to return your muscle back to normal (i.e. to get out of turbulence and back to a normal resting state).

And when your body uses more energy, it means, in laymen’s terms, that you are burning more calories.

So it’s important for men and women not too get hung up on the calorie counters in the gym. First, because the calorie count of the workout is not the only factor in determining fat loss (intervals burn far more calories after the workout – more on that later).

And second, a report on CBS showed that the calorie counters on some machines are often significantly inaccurate.

Doesn’t that boil your blood when you think back to all those times you did slow, boring cardio and patiently watched the calorie counter creep up to your goal of 250, 300, or even 400 calories? And who knows if that was even accurate?

With intervals, you can forget about the calories on the machine. Just work hard, do the intervals, then leave the gym and let your muscles continue burning calories on its own while it recovers from exercise.

OK, time is up, so I’m going to leave off here for Part 1.

I apologize, you don’t have your Master’s of Science Degree in Interval Training yet, but you will after Part 2.

So your homework between now and next week’s class is to start incorporating interval training into your fat loss program. For beginners, see the outline above. Make sure to include a 5-minute specific warm-up and cool-down.

And if you truly did just peel yourself off the couch last week and you have not exercised in years, I insist that you see a doctor before you take up any exercise program. Believe me, you’ll thank yourself for it.

For more advanced fitness levels, let’s start with 60 second intervals.

Do a 5-minute specific warm-up, then exercise for 60 seconds at a slightly harder than normal cardio pace.

Follow that with 90 seconds of exercise at a very easy pace. (Don’t exercise too hard in the recovery period – that is one of the biggest mistakes people make with interval training!). Repeat this sequence for 3 more intervals (let’s just do 4 intervals for your first session).

Through trial and error, find an intensity that allows you to work to near fatigue – but not complete fatigue, there should still be some "gas" left in the tank – by the end of the 60 second interval.

In the next newsletter, I’ll discuss at least 6 different interval durations and when you should use them, as well as the best interval training methods – and don’t miss when I expose the most ineffective machine in the gym.

Hint – It is also the most common machine these days, yet I’ve yet to see a single person change their body by using this machine for their cardio and intervals.

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

>> Click here to download the Turbulence Training 4-week ebook or Click here to download the Turbulence Training Sample Fat Burning Workout.

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat – Get Lean and Jacked Workout A

Editor — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:00:32 +0000

Superset #1:
Workout A is going to start with a classic exercise from the Turbulence Training Archives called the The Triple Press. This requires you to start in the shoulder press position (seated) and you are going to work your way down the bench into 3 different positions. You want to do 6-8 reps in the first position.

Drop the bench down half way and do another 6 reps. Youve gone to your weakest position to a stronger position.

Next, drop the bench down to the flat (also your strongest) position and do 6 more reps.

Move immediately to the inverted bodyweight rows with an overhand grip. Pull yourself up and squeeze your shoulder blades while keeping the movement nice and controlled.

Superset #2
Well start this superset with pushups. You will do 2 reps short of failure. If you dont know your maximum number, simply stop before you know you are at the end. You dont have to train to failure all the time.

Position your hands in front, slightly wider than shoulder width apart and slowly lower yourself down and drive back up. If you lower yourself slower, your reps will decrease.

Move immediately into barbell rows. Take the bar off of the rack and position your feet just about hip width apart. Push hips back with the bar at arms length and tuck your elbows up as high as you can, squeezing the muscles between your shoulder blades for 8 reps.

Rest and repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets

Superset #3
For this upper body blast, were going to pair chin-ups with dips. These are 2 classic bodyweight exercises that dont just work your back and chest, but will work your arms as well.

Perform chin-ups with an underhand grip, slightly narrower than shoulder width apart. Hang down for the start position. Pull yourself up so your chin is above the bar. Lower yourself down in 4-counts, aiming for 6 reps. If you cant pull yourself up, only do the lowering phase. Get a chair or get a boost up and then slowly lower down.

Move immediately into dips. Remember, when you do dips, you will bring your knees up to your chest to move your center of gravity forward. This takes some of the stress off the rotator cuff. Pull your knees up, lean your chest forward, drop for a 3-second count down and drive back up. You will aim for 2 reps short of failure for these.

Abs Superset:
Finish your upper body blast with an abs superset. You wont do any intervals at the end of the workout this time.

The first exercise is a classic Stability Ball Rollout with a 5 second rolling out phase for 10 reps (1 minute to do the set). Stay upright and count down for 5 counts. You will have a nice strong stretch and contract abdominals to come up. You will perform these at a very slow pace.

The last exercise is called a Cross-Body Mountain Climber. You will start these in the pushup position and taking your opposite knee to the opposite elbow, alternating sides. Keep your body in a straight line as much as possible. You will do 10 reps on each side.

Rest and repeat superset 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Visit Turbulence Training to get your FREE sample fat burning workout. Click here to get started: http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

>> Click here to download the Turbulence Training 4-week ebook or Click here to download the Turbulence Training Sample Fat Burning Workout.

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat – TT Meatheads IV: Get Lean and Jacked Workout B

Editor — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:00:23 +0000

We’re going to do a lot of different things in this workout starting with the first exercise.

This isn’t your classic superset format. You will be doing dumbbell forward lunges, performing all reps on one side before switching to the other for all reps on that side. You will do these for 8 reps on each side.

Take a minute rest and repeat this set 2 more times for a total of 3 sets.

Next, you will move into a barbell squats and back extensions.

Barbell back squats are next. Your legs will be a little tired from the last set, so you won’t use your maximum weight for these. With the bar positioned at chest height, step underneath it with a relatively close grip (unless you have shoulder mobility problems). Take the bar off the rack and step back with a medium stance with feet slightly wider than your shoulders. Keep your chest up, head forward and up and drop your hips down and back, then drive back up.

For Back Extensions, lie down on the ball with your feet in a shoulder width stance for good support. Position your hands behind your head and keep your chest up as you raise your body up. You can also use a back extension chair if you have access to one.

Rest for 1 minute and repeat that set 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Next, you will move into a kettlebell 500 circuit as the interval portion of this program. You will only do 3 exercises, but you will perform 500 total repetitions.

First, start with kettlebell swings for 200 reps with as few sets and as few rests as possible. If you are a woman, under 18 pounds is a good place to start. If you are a man, and haven’t been training, you can start out with the 18 pounds as well. If you are more advanced, you can use a heavier weight, but be conservative with it if you are starting out.

Start with the kettlebell down at arms length, push your hips back and swing back and up. Drive back and up with your hips. Mental fatigue and your grip may slow you down, but make sure you finish the 200 swings.

Move into a superset of bodyweight squats for 200 and stability ball jackknives for 100 reps.

For Bodyweight Squats, feet are just farther than hip width apart, arms straight out in front of you. Push your hips back as you squat down. Do 200 reps and break them up as needed. You can also break these up into a superset fashion with the Stability Ball Jackknives in as many reps as you can.

For the Stability Ball Jackknives, put your hands on the floor with your feet balanced straight out on the ball. Pull your knees into your chest and back out. You will do a total of 100 reps.

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat – TT Meatheads IV: Get Lean and Jacked Workout C

Editor — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:00:54 +0000

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat – TT Meatheads IV: Get Lean and Jacked Workout C

Were going to start out with 1 superset and then move into a kettlebell circuit.

Superset #1
Were going to start with Deadlifts paired with a 1-arm standing shoulder press.

For the Deadlifts, position yourself in front of the bar with your feet just about hip width apart. Put your hands on the bar with an overhand grip. Sit back while keeping your chest and head up and the bar is right up against your shins. Stand upright, nice and strong and slowly lower back down for a 1-second pause. Each time you go down, you will rest for 1 full second. Do 8 reps.

For the Shoulder Press, hold the dumbbell at your shoulder with your palm facing toward your head. Drive up and back down for 8 reps on each side. Rest 1 minute and repeat this superset 2 more times.

Superset #2
This is the kettlebell 555, which means there are 555 repetitions in this circuit to finish out workout C.

Start with 100 kettlebell swings. Go as hard as you can, but you can use a lighter kettlebell for this if you need to. Stand with feet slightly wider than hip width apart. Drive back through your legs and hips and back up. Try not to use the grip too much. Just use your hands as hooks on the kettlebell. You should be getting all of your power through your hips. Do these for 100 reps, breaking them down however you need to do them (50 x 2, 20 x 5).

Next, you will do 100 Prisoner Squats and 50 Stability Ball Jackknifes.

Prisoner Squats:
Position your hands behind your head, elbows back, keeping your head up. Squat down. You will do 100 reps of these, again, breaking them up into different increments if you need to.

Stability Ball Jackknifes:
Position your hands on the floor with your feet on the ball. Use your abs to pull your knees into your chest. You will do 50 reps of these (breaking them up if you need to).

Next, you will move into another set of bodyweight squats and pushups.

For Bodyweight Squats, you can position your arms out in front of you, across your chest or down at your sides. You will do 100 reps (breaking them down into whatever increments work for you).

Next, you will do pushups. Position your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart for 105 reps. Again, break them up into increments if you need to.

Then you will finish the entire workout with another 100 kettlebell swings for a total of 555 reps to finish up the program.

Handstand Pushups in France

Editor — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:00:24 +0000

People have been asking how I do my “handstand” push ups and so I’m going to do some in front of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France.

So there’s my new personal best of 4 handstand push ups in front of the Museum of Modern Art.

Everything You Need to Know About Interval Training for Fat Loss in Brussels

Editor — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:00:25 +0000

People always ask me what the best form of interval training is and basically, when it comes to fat loss, it just doesn’t matter. As long at you are doing some form of interval training and you’re doing it consistently, then that’s what matters most.

So, you may have heard people talk of the Tabata training where you go really hard for 20 seconds and then follow that with 10 seconds of easy recovery and repeat that cycle for 8 times.

That’s fine, but what I want to convey is that there is nothing magical about Tabata when comparing it to say 30 seconds hard, and 60 seconds easy.

Personally, I prefer to follow the latter training outline because it’s a lot easier to do with machines. We need to understand that at the end of the day, it’s going to give you the same results.

Some people may want to finish their interval training portion of the workout faster, and in that case, you may want to follow the Tabata method. If you’re doing 20 and 10 for 8 cycles, then that’s only 4 minutes! A quick yet super effective workout.

You may have also heard about the research on interval training showing 3-6 minutes of exercise per week, is as good as training much longer. What these people did, however, is sprint on a bike for 30 seconds, and then they rested up to 4 minutes.

Sounds a lot shorter than it is, but the bottom line is, you need to work really hard for short periods of time. This will allow you to gain the benefits of much longer cardio sessions.

Free Kettlebell Workout

Editor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:00:05 +0000

I’m Chris Lopez, certified Turbulence Trainer from www.kettlebellworkouts.com.

After a bodyweight warm-up, we’ll start with some front squats. Hold the kettlebell tight to your body, drive your hips back while keeping your abs braced and get down low on your squat so that your upper legs break parallel.

The next exercise you will do is around the world. Keep your back straight, your abs and glutes tight and pass the bell from one arm to the other, resisting rotation. It is very important to keep your abs braced and glutes tight because what you are trying to do is pass the bell around without rotating. Keeping your abs braced is key for this exercise. Do this in both directions.

Next you will move into 2-handed swings. Keep your back straight and abs braced. Only use your hips to drive back. Your arms are just along for the ride. Don’t try to lift the kettlebell with your shoulders. This is the proper way to perform 2-handed kettlebell swings.

Next up are overhead reverse lunges. Keep your abs braced. This is a great upper and full body exercise.

Last exercise is a 1-arm swing, doing 5 on each side and alternate this for a total of 15 on each side.

How to Take Body Transformation Contest Photos

Editor — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:00:44 +0000

You’ll need…

1) A newspaper
2) Good lighting
3) A comforable outfit that shows off your body and will be able to show off your transformation
4) A measuring tape
5) A scale to take your bodyweight

And that’s pretty much it. Also, make sure to print out your structured workout program so you are ready to get started with a professionally designed workout program.

Bodyweight Workouts with TT Members Oct. 07 BW Workout

Editor — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:00:22 +0000

Here is a great bodyweight warm up to start out a workout. You’ll find that this warm-up as a couple more exercises than you may be familiar with in a warm-up, but the goal is to have you better prepared for your actual workout.

So to start out, you’ll begin with a Y-Squat. Place your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands up in the Y position. Next, push your hips out, squat down, and then drive up and repeat. Be sure to keep your hands back throughout this exercise.

Next is the Push up exercise or Kneeling Push ups if you’re a beginner.

From there, you will go against the wall and do the Stick-up exercise. So with your hips, elbows, wrists, shoulders, and head against the wall, lift your shoulders up over head and then back down. This is a great exercise to warm up your upper back and increase your shoulder mobility.

Next, is the Mountain Climber exercise. From a push up position, bring one knee up to your chest and back out, alternating sides. Keep your hips low and brace your abs.

After that exercise you will follow with the Forward Lunge exercise. Take a step out, drop your hips straight down, and drive up with that lead leg. Alternate sides.

Once you have done all reps for the lunge, immediately go into the Waiter’s Bow exercise. This movement is very similar to the Romanian Deadlift or a Goodmorning exercise. So, grab a skin fold from your low back with one hand and place the other across your chest. Next, push your hips back, with a very slight bend in the knee, while keeping your back flat and head up, and then come back up. If you have tight hamstrings, then you will feel a tight pull in your hamstrings.

The final exercise in the warm-up is the Spiderman Climb. So, from a push up position, bring one foot up to just outside your hand and then back down and alternate sides.

So, you will go through all of those exercises without rest, then rest for 30 seconds and repeat one more time.

Now, that you done your warm-up you’re ready to jump into the actual workout. In this workout you will find there are a lot of dumbbell exercisese, beginning with a superset of dumbbell Push Presses paired with a Front Loaded Forward Lunge.

For the first exercise, place the dumbbells at shoulder height with palms facing outward. Next, do a little dip and then drive straight up. So, it’s not just an overhead shoulder press because you will take some of that momentum from the dip to really drive up.

Immediately after all your reps are completed, place one dumbbell/kettlebell/medicine ball/plate in both hands at chest height and then lunge forward, dropping straight down and then driving up with the lead leg. Alternate sides or do all reps for one side. By adding the weight to your front position, your torso will have to work harder to maintain the upright position.

The next superset will pair dumbbell Romanian Deadlift with a Stability Ball Mountain Climber

For the deadlift, place the dumbbells in front of your thighs and then push your hips back as you slide the DBs down and close to your legs, while keeping your back flat and then squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to come up.

From there, you will go right into a Stability Mountain Climber. So, place your hands on the stability ball, keep your body in a straight line with your abs braced and bring your knee up to your chest and out, alternating sides.

In the final superset of this workout, you will pair a dumbbell Row with Elbow out with a regular Chest Press.

For the row, place one hand and knee on the bench. Now, with your back flat and your palm facing your feet, row the dumbbell up to your abdomen with your elbow out to the side. Do all reps for one side and then switch to the other.

Immeditately from there, you will go right into the chest press. So, press the dumbbells up and in, and down and out.

That’s it for the weight training portion of this workout, but now you’ll move on to interval training to finish off the workout.

Bodyweight Workouts with TT Members Oct. 07 BW Workout Part 2

Editor — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:00:29 +0000

In the third superset of this workout, you will pair two ball exercises back-to-back. So the first will be Stability Ball Jackknife Rotations with Stability Ball Leg Curls.

For the jackknife rotations, you will get in a regular jackknife position ( feet on the ball, elbows on the bench), but instead of bringing your knees into your chest, you are going to go up to one side and then out, up to the other side and then out. So, just keep rotating to work your obliques a bit more.

From there, you will go immediately into the leg curls. So, on the floor, place your heels up on the ball, bridge your hips up and then curl the ball in and out. You want to make sure that you do not let your hips sag at all during this exercise and so your body should be in a straight line from knees to shoulders when the ball is curled in. Repeat this superset three times and head on to the next one.

In your last superset of the workout, you will pair Spiderman Push ups with 1-Leg Hip Extensions. For the push ups, you want to get into a regular push up position; however, as you come down you will bring your knee to your elbow and then back out, alternating sides.

Immediately afterward, you will turn over and lay on your back, with one leg raised in the air. Next, with one knee bent, squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to bridge your hips up. Repeat all reps for one side and then switch.

Instead of using interval training to finish off this workout, you will do Dumbbell, Kettlebell, or Medicine Ball Swings in its place.

To start out, hold the DB in front, and then push your hips back and squat down, and then use your hips to swing the DB back up to chest height. For this exercise you will do six rounds of 15 repetitions with a 30 second rest in between.

Okay, on to the next workout. To start out you will do Dumbbell Squats and pair that with Shoulder Press Push ups.

Holding the DBs at your sides with feet shoulder-width apart, push your hips back and squat down to parallel, and drive back up.

Immediately from there, go into the push up exercise, where you’ll place your feet up on the bench and your hands down on the ground relatively close to the bench. Pike your hips up high in the air and then drop down to the floor and push up, using as much of your shoulders in this exercise as possible.

In the second superset of this workout, you will combine Dumbbell Incline Presses with Dumbbell Renegade Row.

So, with the bench on an incline, perform a regular chest press, pushing the DB’s up and out and down and in.

From that exercise, you will go down into a push up position with each hand holding on to a dumbbell. Next, you will pick up one DB and row it up to your abdomen, while maintaining your body in a straight line and minimizing rotation. This is a great combination of the pushing and pulling movements.

This will be a bit of a challenge, especially after just doing the chest presses, so take a little extra rest if you need it. Repeat this superset three times in total.

You will finish this workout off with one of the hardest single leg exercises, the Assisted Pistol Squat or 1-Leg Squats, and pair it with Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises.

If you’ve never done the 1-legged squats, then you can use a band or a cable with a heavy weight to help with your form. Do 8 repetitions for each leg and then move immediately to the next exercise.

For the DB raises, bend your knees slightly, lean forward and keep your back flat while bringing the dumbbells out to the sides. You want to squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of this movement and return in a controlled fashion.

That’s it for this workout. Finish off with an interval training portion for a great fat loss workout