Do You Really Need “Cardio” Workouts?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

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

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

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need “cardio” exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it. However, I’m not only questioning it, I’m going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I’ve spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I’ve seen it all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV. Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you’re not concentrating enough on what you’re doing, plus you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

I challenge you to give the “traditional cardio” a rest for a month or two, and start training the way I explain in my internationally-selling Truth about Six pack Abs Program, and see how you start getting leaner, more defined, and your six pack starting to show through what used to be stubborn stomach fat deposits.

interval training

Weight Loss for Women At Home

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

A woman’s workout should consist of leg raises, biceps curls with
soup cans, and triceps kickbacks with water bottles.

Can you believe that silliness?

Neither can I, but that is what passes for “professional fitness
advice for women” these days.

I could see this info being accepted in the 1930’s (maybe?), but in the year 2007? Please…

Does anyone really believe that biceps curls with water bottles is going to prepare women to carry their children to bed, a bag of heavy groceries in from the car, or swing a sledgehammer during home reno’s?

No way. You need real-world workouts and fat loss advice. Not fluff.

Am I the only one that finds those types of recommendations
disrespectful to the physical capabilities of women? You’d think
that Linda Hamilton’s chin-up scene in Terminator 2 would have turned the tide of female fitness, or perhaps Demi Moore’s GI Jane.

I’ve watched women get fit fast at almost any age with Turbulence Training. In fact, we’ve had girls from 18 to 82 years young kickin’ butt with Turbulence Training.

Today, I want to share the story of a classic “supermom”, you know the mom with 3 active kids that has to drive them everywhere, eat on the run, and still find room for workouts. Her name is Brandy Kirton, and she’ll show you how real women train, eat, and find the time to do it all with proper planning.

CB: Brandy, tell us about your past exercise and nutrition experiences. At what point did you find out about Turbulence Training and what persuaded you to start using it?

BK:
I started working out back on high school. I’m 30 now.

I became a personal trainer for a few years in my early 20’s. So I learned a lot about nutrition and weight training. I have been in great shape and not so great shape in the last 10 years. I think I found Turbulence Training just surfing the web and decided to give it a try. I was desperate to lose weight after my 3rd kid.

CB: And how was this a change from what you had done in the past?

BK:
I was doing 30 minutes of cardio and then lifted for 30 mins
3 to 4 times a week. That was if I actually could make time.

I would not work out if I knew I couldnt get it all in. I would
think, “What’s the point of 20 mins?”.

CB: What kind of results have you achieved with Turbulence Training? And is there anything else, besides the results, you love about the Turbulence Training programs?

BK:
I love how it changes every month so I never get bored. I also love that I have no excuse about not having time to fit it in.

My results have been great. I am getting toned up and consistently loosing inches. I also have a lot more energy.

CB: Do you workout at home or in a gym?

BK:
I have to work out at home. No time to get to a gym.

CB: Has Turbulence Training had a positive impact on your lifestyle?

BK:
Turbulence Training has made a huge impact on me. I dont feel like it takes up my whole day or get bored of the same thing day in and day out.

I feel strong and love the daily emails. It helps me stay motivated.

I work full time, have three kids 9, 5, and 11 months, and a
husband. My older two kids play every sports so there really
is no extra time.

I have to get up at 5:30 to work out before they wake up but its
worth it. I feel great after I am done and no matter what happens that day I have already got my work out in which feels great.

CB: Do you have any social support? If so, how has this helped
you?

BK:
My mom comes over in the mornings to work out with me. I need that accountability so that I don’t sleep instead. Its hard to get up but I always feel so much better when I do.

CB: What are your daily obstacles and temptations that you have to avoid with respect to nutrition and training? And what
strategies do you use?

BK:
With all the practices, games and running around I have to do its hard not to grab McDonald’s with the kids.

I try to either bring food with me or wait until I get home. If I
have to eat out I do try and find grilled chicken or subway.

CB: How do you plan your nutrition?

BK:
I have to go shopping on Sunday to stock up on all my healthy
food. Otherwise I will eat whatever I can find which usually is not good for me.

CB: Thanks Brandy, keep up the great work.

****
The message is clear. Plan, prepare, commit, and be consistent.
Brandy didn’t use any magic pills or potions to succeed, she simply found a great workout plan, and did what she had to do.

As a supermom, Brandy practically has to create time out of thin air in order to do her workout, but again, she knows what she has to do and she does it. She’s committed. She has social support. She knows the correct options for eating on the run.

She has made the effort to plan for the obstacles (lack of time,
workout motivation) that we all come across. And by doing that,
she’s cleared a simple path to success.

And she doesn’t waste time in the gym with slow, boring cardio
workouts. Instead, she sculpts her body in half the time with the
Turbulence Training workouts.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

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 TurbulenceTraining

Barbell, Kettlebell, and Dumbbell Complexes to Take Your Body to a New Level of Hardness and Conditioning

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs

If you’ve been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, “complexes” may be just what you’ve been looking for.

If you’ve never heard of “complexes” before, the basic concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete a “set”, you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another and repeat the sequence several times to complete a “set”. It’s basically like performing a routine, instead of just mindlessly performing a typical “set”.

This type of training is excellent to work a huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of training is amazing, as you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a sequence a mere two or three times.

If I had to venture a guess, I’d have to say that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well, due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But that’s just my guess.

I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and you might start to forget what’s next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer barbell complex that really gets me fired up:

Example Barbell Complex

1. high pull from floor (explosive deadlift right into upright row in one motion);
2. barbell back to thighs, then hang clean (explosively pull bar from knees and “catch” the bar at shoulders);
3. barbell back to floor, then clean & jerk;
4. barbell back to thighs, bend over, then bent over row;
5. barbell back to thighs, then finish with Romanian deadlift

Use a weight that you can still handle for your weakest lift of the bunch, but keep it heavy enough to challenge you. Try to repeat the sequence 2-3 times without resting… That’s 1 set. You could progress over time on this routine by increasing the amount of times you repeat the sequence in each set, or by adding sets on subsequent workouts before eventually increasing the weight.

For example, say you completed the above complex with 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 3 sets in today’s workout. Next time you perform the workout, try to do 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 4 sets. Once you successfully complete 5 sets with 155, increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs next time, and drop back to 3 sets. This is a great way to make improvements over time, while cycling your training volume.

Now I’m going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. If you don’t have a kettlebell, you can use a dumbbell, but I’d highly recommend picking yourself up a kettlebell… very convenient to have around when you want to bang out a quick intense workout at home without going to the gym.

I’ve been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that they’ve dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical capabilities. If you’re not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years. Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious results. Learn more info and pick up one of your own body-hardening kettlebells here.

I’d recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym, without any other equipment necessary. Or a kettlebell can just be a great alternative workout to incorporate into your routines once or twice a week. Either way, it opens up a whole new world of training for you.

Example Kettlebell Complex

1. one arm swing
2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;
3. one arm overhead squat;
4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;
5. bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press

As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with each arm. That’s one set…and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3 to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your sequence reps. If you’re not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!

Since dumbbells are more accessible to most people than kettlebells, now I’ll show you how to put together a good dumbbell complex.

Example Dumbbell Complex

1. upright row with each arm separately then both together
2. front lunge with one leg, then the other
3. back lunge with one leg, then the other
4. curl to overhead press
5. keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat

Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions explained with the barbell complexes work great with the dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days.

For example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, K-bell or D-bell complexes Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and bodyweight drills on Saturday; then Monday would be K-bell or D-bell complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!

For more killer full body training routines and a fully comprehensive nutritional analysis for developing the body you’ve always wanted, don’t miss out on my internationally best selling program with users in over 150 countries, The Truth about Six Pack Abs.

Interval Training Workouts Prove to be More Effective Than Long Slow Cardio

by Aaron Ivey
When it comes to measuring athletic performance and endurance performance, the maximal rate of oxygen absorption into the muscles (VO2max) is the most recognized test.  Greater VO2max usually means you are in greater cardiovascular condition.  This can become an advantage in sports as well as in everyday life.  You may not be competing against another team or opponent, you may be competing with your own body.  So what is the best way to increase your VO2max?  Researchers in Norway may have the answer.

They examined 4 different types of exercise protocols ranging from aerobic training to high intensity interval training.  Each group trained for 8 weeks 3 times per week.

Group 1 trained for 45 minutes of running on the treadmill at 70% of their maximal heart rate.

Group 2 trained at lactate threshold (~85% of maximum heart rate) for 24.25 minutes.

Group 3 trained using intervals at 15 seconds of high intensity (90-95%) of heart rate maximum for 47 repetitions.  The total time of the training for this group was the same as for group 2.

Group 4 trained using 4 sets of intervals for 4 minutes at 90-95% of heart rate maximum.  This group rested for 3 minutes at 70% of heart rate maximum in between each repetition.

The Results:
The VO2max in groups 3 and 4 increased by 5.5% and 7.2% respectively.  Groups 1 and 2 showed no significant improvement in VO2max.  Another interesting finding was that the volume of blood that the heart pumped with each beat increased with groups 3 and 4.

So, there you have it!  Research, again, suggests that interval training is more effective for improving aerobic endurance than traditional long slow steady cardio training.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39 no4 Ap
2007 pp 665-671

interval training

3 Functions of the Abdominal Muscles – How They Really Work!
Aaron Ivey ATC, CSCS

With so many gadgets and gismos bombarding our television, internet, and health clubs, how do you know what exercises work the best for abdominal training?  In order to understand which exercises we should do we need to understand how the abdominals really work.  This article outlines the purpose of the abdominals and what they were designed to do.

The abdominal muscles provide 3 basic functions: stabilization, rotation, and deceleration.  Let’s look at each of these individually.

1.  Stabilization:  We all know that in order for a tree to withstand powerful winds it must have a strong trunk.  This allow for the branches to move in the wind and yet the tree stands firm and rooted.  Our abdominals are no different than the trunk of a tree.  It is no wonder that we oftentimes refer to the abdominal muscles as our trunk.

When the abdominals contract it helps to stabilize and stiffen our trunk so that our arms and legs can perform their function.  With weak abdominals we run the risk of injuries to the back and the extremities.  Many times I have seen injuries to athletes that resulted from weak abdominal (core) muscles.  Once good stability was reestablished, the athlete’s injury was able to heal.

2.  Rotation:  I think this is one of the most obvious ones.  Our abdominal muscles rotate our trunk.  Forceful rotation of the trunk, shoulders and arms comes from the hips and abdominal muscles.

3.  Deceleration:  The abdominal muscles slow down rotation, side bending, and most importantly, hyperextension of the back.  For example. you are playing basketball and your team mate throws the ball above your head.  You reach up to grab the ball and are forced to bend backwards.  If your abdominals are strong enough you will be able to avoid doing a back handspring and folding in half.

Abdominal muscles also help to slow down rotation of the legs.  There is some evidence (and my personal opinion) that a strong core can help to prevent ACL injuries.

So remember, don’t waste your time with machines and exercises that don’t train the abdominal muscles the way they were designed.  Now that you have a better understanding of how the abdominal muscles truly function, it will be easier to design a training program that is effective.

Train the Movement Not the Muscle – Isolation vs. Complex Exercise in Strength Training

by Aaron Ivey – Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

As a strength training specialist, I get questions from friends and clients all of the time about the best way to train.  I find that most of the questions, though genuine in their motivation, miss the most important benefits of strength training – function.  One of the most popular questions goes something like this:

“Aaron, what is the best exercise to isolate my ___________ (any variety of body parts – biceps, triceps, abs, adductors, etc)?”

No matter what body part they insert into the question my response is usually – “Why is it you want to isolate?  Do you want to be a bodybuilder?”  Most of the time the answer is no.

So the first thing that they need to understand is that our body wants to work with the greatest number of muscles possible.  It is more efficient and effective.  The complex movements that our muscles create are achieved through the contraction of multiple muscles at one time.  Some are more dominant than others with certain movements while others serve as joint stabilizers or accessory muscles.  This article is meant to show how utilizing complex (multi-joint) movements is more effective and functional for sports demands as well as every day life and activities.

Isolation exercises are meant to train the body to use only one specific muscle group.  In the long run this creates a body that works in a very non-functional way.   In other words, in a way that is not natural.  This can lead to injury and overuse type injuries because the muscles are not working together to create a movement.  Instead, you have a bunch of individual muscles that, instead of a powerful, functional movement, create a jerky motion that doesn’t work well.

I have seen many people over the years suffer an injury that was created because of an isolation exercise.  A significantly fewer number of injuries, if any, are caused by doing complex movements.  Complex movements also create a more lean, muscular, and functional body that is better able to generate power and strength by working together to produce force.

If you look at any sport that requires strength, speed, power and agility you will notice that it requires complex movement patterns.  Take a football or soccer player for example.  They don’t train with isolation exercises.  They are performing too many complex movements to waste their time doing bicep curls or leg extensions – neither of which will effectively make them more prepared for their sport.

Some examples of my least favorite isolation, non-functional exercises include:
•    crunches,
•    leg extensions,
•     hamstring curls,
•    bicep curls,
•    tricep extensions, and
•    the worst of all the abduction / adduction machine.
None of these exercises truly prepare the body for daily movements or much less athletic demands.

Some complex exercises that I like include:
•    Squats and their variations
•    Lunges (multidirectional)
•    Deadlifts
•    Step-Ups
•    Push Ups
•    Woodchoppers
A variety of different exercise routines can be created around these basic exercises.  Upper extremity movements can be added to create a total body workout.  Just 3-5 of these exercises in a circuit routine can be a real butt kicker.  Basically any exercise that trains more than one muscle group at a time is a great complex exercise.  Complex movements like these also train your abdominal muscles the way they were meant to be trained.

When you are considering what exercises are going to be best for you, remember to train movements with complex, multi-joint exercises and leave the isolation to the bodybuilders.  You will create a more functional and healthy body.  For more ideas about how to create a functional body that not only works well but looks even better, I suggest you check out the book The Truth About Six Pack Abs by Mike Geary.  He does a great job at outlining the best way to make your exercise routine effective and fun.

interval training

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Truth About Six Pack Abs

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

Truth About Six Pack Abs

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at…

Truth About Six Pack Abs Program

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Is Your Exercise Routine Keeping You Fat & Unhealthy?

by Rob Poulos, founder of Fat-Burning-Furnace.

The majority of fitness enthusiasts and exercisers today still rely on long duration moderate paced aerobic exercise as their primary routine to attempt to burn fat fast.  But recent studies have shown that this is a big, I mean big mistake.

In fact, you could say that the whole aerobics explosion of a few decades past was one of the biggest mistakes in the health and fitness industry.  Why?

There are several reasons, but I’ll focus on the two main issues here.  When you exercise at a moderate pace for extended periods of time (as in the typically recommended percent of your target heart rate), your body is burning fat during the exercise.

While this may sound good, it’s actually bad news.  This sends a signal to your body to keep a certain amount of stored fat available for your next workout.  You’re essentially telling it that it needs fat available to burn, ‘because you’ll be doing this exercise again.

So while we may be burning some calories during this exercise, after the exercise is over, our body begins storing up some fat for the next workout.  Obviously not what we’re looking for in terms of maximum ability to burn fat fast.

The other big concern with moderately paced aerobic exercise performed several times per week is that it trains your body (heart, lungs, muscles, etc.) to become efficient.  Again, this may sound good, but what is actually happening is bad for long term health.

You are working only within your existing aerobic limits, without improving your aerobic capacity.  This is important because your aerobic capacity is what determines how your body responds in times of physical, emotional, and mental stress.

If you reduce your capacity for work, as you do in this type of exercise, you’re reducing your long term health, no to mention a poor chance of burning fat.

The good news is, you can reverse these effects by instead focusing your workouts on high intensity resistance training, with workouts that last 15-20 minutes on average, and can only be performed 2-3 times per week.  These workouts will burn carbohydrates instead of fat during the workout, and will cause your body to use its fat stores to replenish the burned carbs over the next 24 hours, after the workout is done!

This type of work will also increase your reserve capacity and thus your ability to handle all types of stress, leading to lasting health and fitness…and 24/7 fat burning.  Nice!

But the exercise must be performed correctly to be effective, and that means using sufficient intensity, and keeping your rest periods between exercises and sets down to 60 seconds or less.

The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method know this, and are reaping the benefits.  When you think about how little time you have to spend compared to the typically recommended methods to get these fat burning and health creating results, it’s almost magical.

Thanks Rob for that article.  That about it for today. Hope you’re having a great one!

Stay lean,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder – TruthAboutAbs.com

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Interval Training – Challenge Any of the 3 Energy Systems

At the root of all training routines is the need to make the body more efficient at producing energy for your given activity, whether that is a sport, general health or life.  If you are not training specific to the energy requirements of your activity you may be wasting your time.  This article will look at what those energy systems are and give a better idea of what you may need to do to challenge those energy systems.
All of the body’s energy requirements are supplied by a chemical called ATP.  The breakdown of ATP produces an enormous amount of energy but the body can not store a large quantity of it.  It must replace the ATP that is used in a fast and efficient manner.  It does this in 3 major ways.  Though protein can be used to produce energy, it eventually ends up in one of the 3 major pathways and will not be discussed.
1.  Creatine phosphate system (PCr) – By far the fastest source of energy, the PCr system will only sustain energy requirements for a matter of seconds, not usually more that 10-15 seconds.  Think of the tip of a match, it will only burn for a few seconds but is enough to start the next system.  The PCr system is will suited for high intensity, short duration activities.  It can operate independent of oxygen supply (anaerobic).
2.  Glycolytic system – This system is somewhat like the kindling of a fire.  The glycolytic system relies on carbohydrate breakdown to “rebuild” ATP.  This carbohydrate is stored in the muscle and liver as glycogen.  The breakdown of carbohydrate can sustain energy requirements for a much longer period of time than the PCr system, up to 2 minutes according to some sources, and can also function without oxygen (anaerobic).
Two end products are produced through the glycolytic process: pyruvate and lactate.  The production of pyruvate is known as slow glycolysis and can be combined with oxygen to produce more ATP.  The production of lactate is known as fast glycolysis and can later be converted to pyruvate.
3.  Oxidative system – This may be compared to the oak log on the fire that can burn for a long period of time but takes some time to get started.  The oxidative system can use pretty much any substrate (fat, carbohydrate, protein) to rebuild ATP molecules.  It takes a much longer time but is very efficient.  The processes involved in the production are very complicated and are outside of the scope of this article.  However, this is the system that burns the fat that we want to get rid of.
Simply put, our energy systems are very similar to the building of a sustainable winter fire.  First we need a fast source of energy to ignite (a match), and slightly longer source to continue the fire (the kindling) until the logs will burn and put out the heat (the log).  To learn how to train these energy systems so that they will become more efficient go to training your energy systems.

interval training