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Weight Loss Transformation Secrets

7 Weight Loss Transformation Secrets

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

Millions of men and women want to lose weight because they are sick of their excess body fat and low energy levels. If that sounds like you, then you need to join the Turbulence Training weight loss transformation contest.

There's already been some powerful, emotional stories told in fitness magazines, and folks from all over the world are helping one another to finally change their bodies. Your weight loss transformation is going to be an amazing 12 weeks. So I thought this would be the best time to give you my Top 7 Transformation Tips to help you lose more weight in the next 12 weeks.

Here are my Top 7 Transformation Secrets that you can use to burn fat from all over your body with Turbulence Training.

Tip #1) Clean out the pantry

One of the biggest pitfalls in a weight loss program is added sugar and mindless snacking (especially between getting home from work and dinner).

Get rid of the junk. Toss it. Better the garbage can eats it than you do.

Tip #2) Stop doing slow boring cardio

Increase the intensity of your workouts and switch to interval training. And yes, even beginners can do interval training when using the metabolism-boosting short, burst workout system.

Tip # 3) Use professionally designed, structured workouts such as my Turbulence Training Workouts that have been featured in Men's Health magazine

You should be in and out of your short, burst workouts in less than 45 minutes, three times per week. On the other 4 days of the week, stay active, getting at least a 30-minute walk in each day.

Tip #4) Set up home gym with ball, bench, and adjustable dumbbells

That's all you need. If you are feeling frisky, you can add a pull-up bar to
your home gym.

But to change your body, you only need a little bit of equipment at home. You don't need an expensive gym membership or one of those colossal home gyms, or even a pricey bowflex.

Your body doesn't discriminate on price. It simply responds to the turbulence training you put on your body, and you can do that on the cheap.

Tip #5) Use short, burst Bodyweight Circuits at home instead of using cardio machines.

Choose 3 lower body exercises and 3 upper body exercises. Alternate between upper and lower body bodyweight exercises. Watch my youtube video on circuit training for more details.

Tip #6) Plan, shop, and prepare your food

Finding the right nutrition program is CRITICAL to success, and so is planning. You can't out-train a bad diet, but you can out-plan bad habits. So invest 2 hours on the weekend to prepare as many of your fat burning meals as possible for the week ahead.

Tip #7) Get Social Support

This is the most important Weight Loss Secret that no one pays attention to.

But the bottom line is...you can't do this on your own.

You need support from others to stick to your workouts, to make the right diet choices day-in and day-out and to have someone prop you up when you are feeling down and also to "call you out" when you are feeling like cutting corners.

Get social support on your side today with help from Turbulence Training.

Put these 7 Secrets to use today and you can lose 14-30 pounds in 12 weeks just like our past Transformation Contest Winners. And please refer your friends to the contest. You'll be supporting them and helping them change their bodies & their lives.

I can't wait to hear about your results in the Turbulence Training transformation contest.



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

Sandbag Training for Baby Boomers

While sandbag training has been associated with "underground" training because of its difference from traditional healthclub equipment, it is also an excellent fat loss tool.

For Baby Boomers, it can increase their energy levels while making ordinary activities around the house that much easier. Because every exercise works your midsection while your upper or lower body is working, it also makes for a very efficient, time-saving workout.

Putting long hours in at your job and keeping up with your kids or grandkids' sporting events and activities leaves little time for exercise, causing many to not even bother as they think hours and hours of boring exercise at the gym is required.

Not so!!

When you do strength training exercises that involves your large muscle groups and several joints, you can burn more calories. Go from one exercise to the next with little rest in between and you can get a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

This is the key to losing fat without taking several hours to do so.

Because sandbags have the tendency to shift when you lift them, it involves more work from your core to stabilize your spine, which is a good thing. This type of exercise can increase the strength of your midsection, protecting your low back from potential injury.

It also simulates some of the movements you do around the house or in your work or sport environment. I like to combine sandbag exercises with bodyweight movements like pushups, stepups, and lunges, as well as band and dumbbell exercises.

By combining these exercises in a circuit you can burn lots of calories and keep your metabolism elevated for several hours, which is the real key to burning fat for those with limited time to exercise.

So while they may not be found in most healthclubs, sandbag training is not just for intense, underground types - they work equally well for most Baby Boomers.

Coach Josh Henkin has created some great sandbags that I really enjoy using. Check out his website, Sandbag Exercises.

SandbagExercises.com

The 5 Best Fat Burning Interval Workouts

Check out what fat loss guru Craig Ballantyne has to say about interval training and why its superior for losing weight.

Long, slow cardio is not the fastest way to burn fat. Research shows that
short interval training workouts burn belly fat faster.

I was one of the first trainers to question long, slow cardio for fat loss
back in the late 1990's and I believe that traditional cardio is over-rated.

Interval training, or interval "cardio" if you want to call it that, is
much, much better for fat loss. It burns belly fat in half the workout time.

I figured this out just before the year 2000. Back in 1998-99, I was but a
lowly grad student, studying the effects of androstenedione (the supplement
taken by the mighty baseball player, Mark McGwire during his record-breaking
home run quest in '98).

In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of Applied
Physiology for any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the
supplement and go through a couple of weight training sessions. By February
of '99 I was stuck in the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy
radio-active isotopes.

And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I'd get there at 7am, and
record my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I
wasn't there, I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on
testosterone and training.

Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn't
sit well with me. But there I was, studing for a degree in Exercise
Physiology and left with no time for exercise. Or so I thought.

Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of "down-time"
while the lab's gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.

That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get
a workout in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my
studies to the workout, I could get maximum results in minimum time.

As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to
avoid the fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary
environment. And I also had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I
once was, so there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of
those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss plans that were popular at the time.

Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working
with athletes as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coach. I knew that
sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio, and I
knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you
can't increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).

So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio for fat
loss. I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in
the summer and fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed
winter fat in a short time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals
had to be the next step in the evolution of cardio.

The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of
time. I knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only
spend 15-20 minutes doing intervals.

I also understand that interval training sounds intimidating to a lot of
people, so I need to clear up how an interval training workout goes.

After all, I believe everyone can do interval training for fat burning. Even
beginners. For beginners who usually exercise for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph on
the treadmill, their interval workout would be to go for 1 minute at 3.8mph
and then recover for 2 minutes at 3.0 mph. That's it. Repeat 6 times. If you
are more advanced, you would use more intense exercise.

Interval training doesn't have to be sprinting for your life. It just needs
to start off harder than normal and progress from there.

Most folks hate cardio, so they are happy to use interval training as an
effective replacement to lose stomach fat. Here is my list of preferred ways
to do your intervals, ranked in order from best to worst, based on my
experiences.

1. Sprinting outdoors (Hill sprinting might be the absolute best method)
2. Kettlebell exercises
3. Bodyweight interval circuits
4. Treadmill running
5. Stationary cycle (upright cycling preferred over recumbant bike)

With those 5 Turbulence Training interval training methods, you'll burn fat
fast and never have to do cardio again!

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

3 Great Ab Exercises - Indirect Ab Exercises

Mike Geary of Truth About Six Pack Abs discusses some great exercises that work the abs for core stability while burning plenty of calories at the same time. Besides being very effective, this approach is also more efficient than doing 15 minutes of ab training on the floor.

Instead of the typical ab exercise routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc... I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs.

I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite ab workouts that doesn't include any direct ab exercises at all. It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows

1b. Front Squats with Barbell

1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of "reps".

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me... you'll feel it in the abs!

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.

This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you'll feel this one in the abs big time!

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor.

If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you've ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises. You'll see what I mean after you try it!

For more information on Mike's program The Truth About 6 Pack Abs, click here.

More Interval Training for Fat Loss

Sandbag training is a great way to lose fat, gain strength and increase your general fitness levels. Interval training with sandbags can be intense, but also fun at the same time.

I know, I know......I'm a bit of a sadist at times with my training, but you gotta keep it fun!

Here's a few words from the sandbag master Josh Henkin on burning off the extra holiday fat.

4th of July might be almost as abused as the winter holidays. The amount of greasy, fatty, and fried foods along with alcohol can be quite impressive by some individuals. Hopefully getting it out of the system and seeing the impact of the crazy weekend makes one very motivated to train! Yep, Monday seems to be New Years resolution day most weeks. Well, instead of jumping on the treadmill or the elliptical I have developed a system of training to help burn fat. Our sandbags seem to be a perfect vehicle for this training.

As I put the finishing touches on the new Sandbag Fat Loss course, I want to discuss one of the principles that help tremendously. As many of you know by now, interval training has been shown to be far more effective for fat loss than steady state cardio. Yet, sprinting and other forms of interval training do not seem realistic for many.

To get around having to be on cardio equipment or fight the elements, or bad running habits is to focus on big bang strength exercises. Our sandbags can be used for well over 200 drills and we can find a few to help that fat burning process.

This week I am discussing the value of density training and focusing on four exercises. I know, doing only four sounds insane! Hey, I didn't say these were four easy exercises. In fact, performing these four will hit every muscle from head to toe and everything in between. They focus on strength and power, mobility and stability. Watch this week's video on how to optimize density training to start burning off the hotdogs, beers, and other goodies you indulged in this past weekend!

SandbagExercises.com

Hill Sprints or Bike Intervals for Fat Loss

If you want to burn more calories should you do interval sprints up a hill or interval training on a bike? It depends - on both your goals and your health.

Running interval hill sprints or interval sprints on a flat surface is a great way to burn fat. Part of the fat burning effect comes from doing intense training with your large muscle groups - such as your legs and hips, and also from your chest and back.

This type of training burns a lot of calories and can keep your metabolism elevated for several hours after you are done exercising. Basically, you are doing a lot of work in a fairly short period of time.

Whether you are doing interval sprints or interval weight training, you get more work done without resting very long in between sets or sprints. You are obviously working fairly intensely when doing this.

Sprints can be hard on your joints if you have had past injuries or are past 40, such as myself. So they can help jump start your metabolism, but may need to be used sparingly to save your joints from all the pounding.

Since I live in Iowa, where it is cold and snowy for the Winter and sometimes wet and rainy - like the flood of 2008 - inside training is necessary, and this is where interval training on a stationary bike comes into play.

They are both very effective for fat loss, more effective than doing long, slow cardio exercise. So you can use either one or do both, depending on how healthy you are and whether you can get outdoors to exercise.

Right now it is Summer time and I like to be outside as much as possible, so I will do some interval training on my mountain bike. I will ride faster for periods of time and then coast or pedal slower, and then ride faster again.

So my training will change depending on what time of year it is. In the Winter I was doing more interval sled training because I couldn't be outside. I have a place that I can do interval sled pushes for about 20 yards before turning around.

Depending on how much weight is on the sled I will do shorter or longer pushes or sprints, depending on whether I am training for strength or fat loss. Because of past injuries, this is easier than lifting heavy barbells. Its also a lot of fun........ ya, ya I know I'm a bit of a sadist to consider this fun, but it gets results.