Turbulence Training for Female Strength

The newest monthly workout is here...

"Turbulence Training for Female Strength
Get Lean & Do Your First Chin-up"

...featuring the exact program I used with a Hollywood TV & Movie actress to help her do her first chin-up.

So if you are a fit female (or trainer of fit females!) that wants to increase her chin-up and push-up power with only dumbbell and bodyweight exercises, then this 8-week program is for you.

And you get it for only $19.99.

NOTE: This isn't a beginner's program...

While I've added some interval training to the program (my client didn't have time to do any intervals because of her 14 hour overnight shooting schedule), this isn't a beginner's fat loss program.

But if you have a chin-up in site, and you're an intermediate lifter, you'll have great success with this program.

Here's what "Alias" star Rachel Nichols said about the workouts...

"Being able to do a chin-up is a big deal...at least to me, anyway. I had always wanted to do (at least) one and although I am in good shape, I could never quite get my chin above the (chin-up) bar. I know, I know, chin-ups are hard - especially for women - but after working with Craig 2-3 times a week for 6 weeks, I achieved my goal and not only executed a chin-up, but could also do sets of full push-ups - something else that had always been difficult for me. Craig's workouts, although challenging, were never too difficult - I didn't dread going to the gym and I wasn't overly sore after our sessions. Much like my trainer in LA, Craig's workouts were always different: the exercises, the circuits, the weights...the combination of elements always varied and, therefore, I never got bored or felt like I was in a workout rut. I honestly think that if my schedule had permitted me to see Craig 3 or 4 times a week for the 6-week stint that I was in Toronto, I would have been doing 10 chin-ups by the time our final session arrived."
Rachel Nichols

Get started today, the price goes up on Saturday at noon.

Click HERE to get started

Strong = good,
CB

P.S. The program is only $19.99 till Saturday, Nov. 4th, at noon.
Get started with this 8-week program today, and you'll be doing your first chin-up before Christmas.
go here >>> Get started today!

P.P.S. It's also part of the TT Membership...
Click HERE for more info on becoming a TT Member.

Nutrition Calorie Counter

Something I dug up from an old www.cbathletics.com newsletter...

Counting calories is usually not necessary, but sometimes a more concentrated effort with respect to diet may be necessary. Don't sabotage all your hard work with poor dietary choices. Most food packages provide a detailed nutritional analysis such as the # of total calories, # of grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrate, as well as the vitamins and mineral content.

Following is a list of the number of calories in common foods:

Alcohol (beer or 1-ounce shot) = ~ 150 (does not include mix!)
Apple = ~ 100
Bagel = 200
Banana (1 large) = ~ 100
Cheese (1 ounce/small cube) = 150
Chicken breast (4oz/40g)= 175 (35g PRO)
Deli meat (4 slices turkey/beef) = 100
Egg = 74 (6g PRO)
Egg white= 12 (3g PRO)
Gatorade (355ml)= 120
Ham (3 ounces) = 150
Juice (1 cup) = ~ 125
Peanuts (10) = 45
Pop (12 ounces/1 can)= 150
Potato (8 ounces)= 200 (5g PRO)
Rice (1 cup) = 250 (6g PRO)
Steak (3 ounces) = 135 (17g PRO)
Tuna (3 ounces)= 100
Vegetables (1 cup raw)= 25
Yogurt (125g/1 cup)"fat-free" = 175
Yogurt "sugar- and fat-free"= 75
Orange = 60

And some scary fast food info:

FAST FOOD CALORIE COUNTS (with fat grams and fat % in brackets)

Burger King

Double Whopper w/ cheese
= 960 (63g & 60% fat)

Medium fries
= 400 (20g & 45% fat)

Onion rings
= 310 (14g & 41% fat)

Hamburger
= 330 (15g & 41% fat)


McDonald's

Quarter pounder w/cheese
= 530 (30g & 51% fat)

Big Mac
= 530 (28g & 48% fat)

Fries (super size)
= 540 (26 & 43% fat)

Hamburger
= 270 (10g & 33% fat)

McNuggets (4)
= 200 (12 & 54% fat)

Fries (small)
= 210 (10g & 43% fat)

Egg McMuffin
= 290 (13g & 40% fat)



Subway (6-inch)

Tuna
= 519 (32g &55% fat)

Turkey
= 273 (4g & 13% fat)

Club
= 300 (5g & 15% fat)

Meatball
= 408 (14g & 31% fat)


Taco Bell

Taco salad
= 860 (55g & 58% fat)

Chicken soft taco
= 223 (10g & 40% fat)

Soft taco supreme
= 270 (15g & 50% fat)


Wendy's

Big Bacon Classic
= 610 (33g & 49% fat)

Grilled Chicken sandwich
= 290 (7g & 22% fat)

Large chili
= 310 (10g & 29% fat)

Single burger
= 360 (16g & 40% fat)

Fries (small)
= 260 (13g & 45% fat)


You should also be using www.fitday.com to track your nutrition.

Of course, Dr. Mohr's Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines will help as well. His report is one of the many bonuses you get with the www.turbulencetraining.com package.

Workout Q'n'A

"If what you are doing is not moving you toward your goals, then it's moving you away from your goals." - Brian Tracy

Q: Should I do intervals before weights?

Answer:
No.

If you go in that order, you will be too tired to perform your strength training well enough to make maximum changes in your body.

Do strength training before intervals. I can't think of a situation where you should do the reverse.


Q: I've read that I should be able to do the same weight for rows and chest presses. If I can't, does that mean I have a muscle imbalance?

Answer:
You can't expect to row the same weight as you bench. The reason you bench more is because your body is supported. It's not because of muscle imbalances.

It's difficult to compare your bench press weight and your barbell row poundages due to the nature of the movements. Same with the DB press and DB row.A better way to assess your program balance is to take a look at the number of exercises, sets, and reps that you do for pushing and pulling.

If you do nothing but chest presses and pulldowns, then you run a greater risk of shoulder injury. Instead, you should include a variety of rowing exercises (using different grips and methods of resistance) in your weekly workout plan.

For example, inverted bodyweight rows should be a staple in everyone's program - whether as a warm-up exercise or main workout exercise. DB rows, wide-grip seated rows, and barbell rows are just 3 of the many row exercises you could use.Of course, I like to think that I do a darn good job of balancing the pushes and the pulls in your TT workouts.

Q: Craig, are there any studies out there that shows that a body weight circuit like the one in your DB-BW manual can increase VO2max?

Answer:
Not that I know of, but resistance training can increase VO2 (a measure of aerobic fitness). So, it wouldn't surprise me if the bodyweight circuits can also increase your aerobic fitnessObviously, the less fit you are, the greater your chance of increasing your aerobic fitness using any method of exercise.Take note, interval training can greatly increase aerobic fitness (you don't need to do long cardio to increase your fitness, or fat loss, but you knew that).

Interval training increases aerobic fitness by increasing the aerobic metabolism enzymes in the muscle (peripheral factors), rather than increasing the performance of your central factors (heart, lungs). So if you did some bodyweight intervals that provided enough of a training response to overload the enzymes of the muscle, then yes, you could increase your aerobic fitness that way.

Long story, but yes it is possible. But would bodyweight circuits increase Lance Armstrongs VO2, I doubt it.

NOTE: Oct. 31st is your last day to get this workout.
Click HERE for the DB-BW Fusion Fat Loss Workout

Q: Can I use your TT for Mass at home with only dumbbells?

Answer:
No, sorry, any of the Mass or Muscle programs needs barbells and cable rowing stations.I will try and put together a TT for Mass program that can be done at home with only dumbbells, but right now, not sure if i have what you need.Sorry.

Another NOTE: Oct. 31st is the last day you can get the TT for Muscle 8-Week Muscle-Building Workout HERE.

Q: I've been running 4-5 days per week for a while now, mostly easy runs of 30-60 minutes. I'm very interested in trying the TT workouts because they seem to get a lot done in a short amount of time and with minimal equipment. However, I'm not sure how to combine them with my running.Should I still do the interval workouts after each strength workout, or maybe just do the strength portions alone along with my running? I'm thinking that 4-5 days of running with an additional 3 interval cardio workouts would be way too much for me.Any advice? Thanks.

Answer:
First, there are many ways you can structure this, it depends on a) The fat loss goals you haveb) Your fat loss response to interval training vs. aerobic trainingSince most people that use TT do so because they don't have a lot of time to exercise, I prefer to stick to the interval training done either after the strength workout, or on alternating days.

Intervals are more effective than slow cardio for fat loss. So unless you really, really, really need or want to do the longer runs on your off days, stick with the interval workouts.

Q: I don't have Olympic bars at my gym. Would you ever recommend sometimes using the Smith for any exercises (Squats, Split Squats, Bench Press) to switch things up or do you believe that dumbbells are always superior?

Answer:
Split squats are fine, every other exercise you mention is much better when done with a dumbbell.

Keep it simple,
CB

P.S. The September & October monthly programs are going, going, gone...
To the Member's section.

"I just got my TT membership a week ago and I'm surprised to see the amount of information that comes with the membership! The wealth of information in here is just mind-boggling and I'm happy that there are some female specific ones in there that I can get my significant other on! Thanks CB!"
Ji Jin Lim

"CB, I can't thank you enough. Not just for all the great programs that you put together that have been fundamental for my different training phases. Or for all the great supplementary information that you provide in the TT Membership Program. But for the direct line that this program gives me to you. With it I feel totally confident that no matter what doubts, needs or questions come up I can write you an e-mail and will get a prompt and helpful response."
Gean Viner
Click HERE to get your TT Membership
...or email me for your preferred customer discount.

Alwyn Cosgrove Interview

This week, I'm interviewing one of the most famous fat loss trainers in North America, Alwyn Cosgrove. I recently saw Alwyn speak at a personal trainer's seminar, and Alwyn showed study after study supporting his fat loss programs.

Today Alwyn will his approach to fat loss in greater detail. This is Part 1 of a 3-part series. Part 2 will be in my www.TurbulenceTraining.com newsletter next week. It will deal with nutrition and the psychology of weight loss.

First, a little more about Alwyn (pronounced Allan!)...

Alwyn Cosgrove is a superstar in the world of physique transformation for men and women. He's trained champions in multiple sports and winners of multiple 12-week body transformation contests. Alwyn owns and operates a training facility in Santa Clarita, California and he's also written his own fat loss book called "Afterburn".


CB: What is the significance of adding circuits as you sometimes do? Are you always using total body sessions or do you sometimes use upper-lower splits?

AC:
I tend to use split routines from the get-go, however I split the work based on movement patterns not on muscle group.

If the goal is fat loss I don't use upper and lower body splits - although regardless of goal I tend to favor the non-competing supersets system that we both use.

As the client progresses I feel that they start to increase their loads in their exercise and need more rest between sets of the same exercise.

e.g. originally:
1a: Squat: one minute of work (e.g. 10 reps) with one minute of rest
1b: Push ups: one minute of work (e.g. 10 reps) with one minute of rest.

Between sets of squats I have 3 mins of rest (rest + push up time + rest) but if I'm doing three sets of each I'm still getting all the work done in 12 mins - one set every two minutes. My ACTUAL rest time is short - but my practical rest time is 3 mins, and my work density is one set every two minutes.

Eventually though we use heavier loads and need more rest - but here's how we do it:

1a: Squat: one minute of work (e.g. 10 reps) with 45s of rest
1b: Push ups: one minute of work (e.g. 10 reps) with 45s of rest.
1c: Seated Row: one minute of work (e.g. 10 reps) with 45s of rest

So now I have 4 min 15s of rest between squats (45s rest + push ups + 45s rest + row +45s of rest). I can definitely go heavier with my legs having that much longer of a rest.

If I do three sets of each it takes me 15 mins and 45s. But I'm now getting NINE sets done in that time or one set in 1 min 45s. I've increased my practical rest time but I've also increased my work density. So I can go heavier AND get more work done in the same time when compared to the original program.

And just a reminder - we're talking about fat loss training here - I'm not talking about optimal hypertrophy or strength routines.


CB: You talk about the "Afterburn" being a massive metabolic disturbance (aka - what I call "turbulence") being applied to the muscle. Can you explain why this metabolic disturbance matters and simply, what it is?

AC:
Quite simply if you work out every day for an hour - you'll do seven hours of work.

But there are 168 hours in a week. 7 hours (a significant commitment that few people have time for) is actually only 4% of your week. Do you really think that you'll make a difference with fat loss based on a 4% investment? No way.

So we have to focus on the OTHER 23 hours of each day - the entire 168 hours in the week.

The bulk of the calories your body burns comes from your resting metabolic rate (RMR). If we can turn that number up slightly - then we can make a big difference in total fat lost.

Now if we took that hour of exercise that we spend every day and could create a disturbance in RMR that would last (and as I mentioned earlier - studies have shown increased EPOC from a single workout 38 hours later) - then we are affecting the bigger picture.

Just by doing the math - forget about the workouts and the diet for now - if I could increase RMR only 25 calories per hour, every hour - that would end up being 600 additional calories per day - or 4200 calories burned per week. That should result in over a pound of fat loss per week before we even talk about the calories burned during the workout, the caloric deficit from the diet, the thermic effect of feeding, etc etc.

For fat loss - what you do in the workout is irrelevant - we are looking solely at a stimulus to drive EPOC up. Interval training and resistance training do that very well.

Steady state aerobic work, particularly at low intensities doesn't do that as well - so it's not the first tool we turn to.

Look at this study...

"Fat loss following 15 weeks of high intensity, intermittent cycle ergometer training"
Authors: Trapp EG and Boutcher SH University of New South Wales , Sydney , Australia
The study found 3 x 20 mins of intervals for 15 weeks resulted in more
fat loss than 3 x 30-40 min of aerobics at 60% V02 max.
The interval training group lost about 3 times as much fat.


CB: Without spending too much time going over your thoughts on aerobic training for fat loss, is there a time you would ever use aerobic training?

AC:
Of course. I use it with deconditioned people - I've used it heavily myself since my transplant, and I use it with athletes needing to develop their aerobic system.

Aerobic exercise is very beneficial - please don't misinterpret my thoughts on the matter - it's just been overemphasized for fat loss. Does it work? Of course. Is it the BEST program (which is what people pay me for)? No.

For fat loss - I don't use it too much. It doesn't burn very many calories when compared to interval training and does little to increase EPOC - which is the biggest key in fat loss programming.

I do use aerobic training as part of a "stubborn fat" protocol that Lyle McDonald introduced me too, but realistically that type of training only applies to a small percentage of people. I don't believe most people have stubborn body fat as much as they need a longer period of fat loss training and dieting.

Additionally - very occasionally you can have a client eating well, doing metabolic resistance work 3-4 days per week and intervals 3-4 times per week, and because of time constraints (e.g. a show/photo shoot/ movie is coming up) - you need to burn some more calories.

Under circumstances like that, it's impractical to add another weight training session or another interval session - so we add 1-2 steady state aerobic sessions.


CB: What's your favorite interval method and duration - has anything stood out in your experience as being more effective than other methods? And do you have any uniquely effective interval methods?

AC:
I think the Tabata Protocol holds some merit (20s on 10s off for 8 rounds) to just crank metabolism - but it is better for conditioning and athletic performance than for fat loss. But as with most things - it's a useful tool in your arsenal.

Last year I experimented with a bunch of different work to rest intervals. Basically what I found is that the best fat loss results seem to come with 30 to 60s of work and 60-120s of rest. As much as I played around with it - I couldn't really come up with anything that stood out as being superior.

As far as uniquely effective intervals - I think the future of fat loss training is going to move away from traditional cardiovascular based intervals and move towards, tabata stuff, bodyweight circuits, complexes, and strongman type medley's with the same loading parameters.


CB: What's more important - exercise fat oxidation or 24-hour energy expenditure? Why?

AC:
24 hour energy expenditure.

If I take a workout and burn 300 calories from fat (ie very low intensity work), that's 300 calories burned.

If I take a 30 min workout and create enough metabolic disruption so that you burn even ½ a calorie extra per minute, (and studies are showing an elevated EPOC for 38 hours), - then I'm looking at another 720 calories for the next 24 hours PLUS the calories burned in the original workout.

Focusing on what is burned DURING the exercise session is massively short sighted. That type of thinking has its roots in the mythical fat burning zone. I hope we don't have to go into that.

CB: We don't, no worries. Alwyn has a lot of great information on his website.

>> Alwyn's site & more about his programs


Part 2 next week where Alwyn discusses where most nutrition plans go wrong....

And do low-carb diets work?

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
http://www.turbulencetraining.com/

Monday Workout

Squat workout - nice way to start the week.

Yesterday the clocks went back an hour...but no one told my dog. So he got up an hour early today...and therefore my entire day feels like it is an hour ahead.

So I went to the gym an hour early today. Here s what I did...

1) Squat (3x2) - 385

2a) good morning (3x8)
2b) ring chinups (3xMax)

3a) Close grip 3-board Bench (3x12)
3b) Zercher squat (3x10)

Not bad - felt decently strong on squats although not the strongest I have ever been. But its coming

Hope you are making progress as well

C

7 Mistakes You Are Making

Seven Mistakes You Make When Trying to Lose Fat

1. You fail to consider the consequences of your actions.

Alwyn Cosgrove once wrote, "I get my clients to think, "Will this help me or not? Is this a positive step or not?"

If you can see that every action that you take is either helping you lose fat or stopping you from losing fat, then you will start to make better choices. So remember that everything you put in your mouth is either for or against fat loss. And every exercise choice you make is either for or against fat loss.

"Get that", Alwyn says, "and you're a hit."

2. You neglect to control your insulin and blood sugar levels - 2 key factors in determining whether or not the body fat will come off.

If you eat processed foods you are guaranteed to elevate your insulin & blood sugar levels. If you do that, your body sends the message, "Store fat!", and you won't make any fat loss progress. So avoid white-flour based bakery products, sugary drinks, and almost any carbohydrate snack that comes in a bag or a box. In addition, avoid eating an excessive amounts of carbohydrate at any meal.

3. You train like it's the 80's.

Yes, I know. Eighties music is popular again. But that doesn't mean ineffective training methods from the 80's like light weights, low intensity steady state cardio, moderate-intensity aerobics classes, and endless low-intensity ab work should also make a comeback.
That type of training should stay buried in the back issues of cheesy muscle magazines. Stick to the Turbulence Training approach for efficient and effective body changing routines.

4. They don't take 30 minutes to plan their next day's food intake.

If you fail to do this, you will set your fat loss efforts back by a minimum of 48 hours. Without a good meal plan, you are left to hunt and gather food in the modern world. And that's a recipe for fat loss disaster.

Without a plan, you are bound to eat some processed junk food. You will lose the fat burning benefits from yesterday's workout and it will take until the end of the following day to get back on track. 48 hours wasted.

5. You don't eat enough vegetables.

We can thank John Bernardi for making it common knowledge that you should eat fibrous vegetables at every meal to assist your fat loss efforts. By doing so, you'll control your blood sugar and insulin - thus supporting the optimal hormonal situation for fat loss.

6. You screw up their hormones with poor lifestyle choices.

If you are out boozing and staying up late on the weekend, you are shutting down your fat loss and messing up the optimal hormonal environment for fat burning. I will talk a lot more about the optimal hormonal levels for fat loss, as I believe this is the underrated key to building your best body ever.

7. You don't plan or record your training sessions.

If you are still going to the gym without a plan, then you are going to have a hard time losing fat. And if you aren't recording your workouts and eating habits, then you aren't losing as much fat as you probably can. To fix this mistake, start by getting on track with Turbulence Training. It's guaranteed to get you lean.

Fix these and you will succeed,

CB

P.S. The TT Membership is your plan...
With over a dozen monthly workouts, and 16-week manuals for mass, fat loss, women, and bodyweight training, you have the exact workouts you need to reach your goals.

Click HERE to become a TT Member.

"I have spent years--YEARS--going to the gym 5 or 6 days a week, using a standard bodybuilding-type workout. My gains were flat, and my shape pretty much unchanged for the past couple of years. I stumbled upon Turbulence Training on an internet board and just had to try it--after buying the initial program, I loved it enough to pay for a TT Membership. I recently finished the 8 week "booty for life" program and let me tell you--my "booty" is a bit more perky than it was two months previously. I highly recommend Craig's works--they work."
Tina Kinsley

"In a store full of magazines promoting the secrets to fat loss, on the internet with 10000+ hits for exercise and fat loss when typed into Google, Craig's programs stand head and shoulders above the rest. Craig's programs are based in sound science, not flavour of the month/here-today-gone-tomorrow routines. Craig is honest and to the point and, like all the reputable voices/books/e-books/sites out there, he'll tell you there are no short cuts. But we're all pressed for time so wouldn't you rather do what do in the gym and have it make a difference? Well then, try what this guy is offering...because it's fun, it's refershingly different, and, most importantly, it works!! Keep it coming CB!!! P.S. Alwyn Cosgrove and Tom Venuto are two others that I like - no BS, these guys give you the straight goods!!
Stuart M. Phillips, Ph.D. Associate Professor, McMaster University

Click HERE to become a TT Member.

7-Day Simple Guide to Fat Loss

With all of the confusing, complex, and contradictory fat loss information we receive these days, it's tough to decide what's the best approach for you and your goals.

So to clear the confusion, I've been bringing you 7 tips every Sunday to help you lose more fat in less time over each upcoming week. Here are this week's guidelines.

Monday
As I've mentioned before, I believe it is very important to always try to improve your performance. Improving your physical performance will improve your physical appearance.
So keep a record book for each of your main exercises - how many pushups you can do, your cardio interval settings, how much weight you use for wide-grip seated rows, etc, etc.

If you are a beginner, setting a record might simply mean using a higher level on the cardio machine for 1-2 minutes, or doing 2-3 extra pushups per set.

For the advanced fat loss program, it might mean using 2.5 more pounds per dumbbell in your split squats, or extending your intervals by 5 seconds per sprint.

Tuesday
Plan to get 30 minutes of activity. For beginners, walking is acceptable. It helps you recover from Monday's workout and simply improves your overall health. Advanced fat loss programs might use a bodyweight circuit on this day.

By the way, you only have 2 more days to get the October monthly 8-week workout that gives you a couple of bodyweight circuits to use in place of intervals.

Click HERE to get it before it is gone on Nov 1st!

Wednesday
Perform your regularly schedule TT workout. And if you haven't already, purchase a new cooking appliance, such as a grill or steamer to help you prepare healthy, nutritious, low-fat protein sources or high-fiber, nutrient rich vegetables in a convenient manner.

Healthy food preparation is a SMALL effort for a LARGE reward.

Thursday
30 minutes of activity, anyway that you can get it. And then at dinner, try a new source of lean protein, such as salmon, bison, or ostrich (or switch back to lean, red meat if you've only been chowing down on chicken).

Friday
Another great TT workout. And at some point during the day, recruit a new member into your social support group (remember when I spoke about how important this is?), such as a new workout partner or healthy-eating nutrition buddy. This will add strength to your commitment. If they succeed, research shows you have a better chance of succeeding as well.

Saturday
30 minutes of activity. It's the weekend, find something fun to do with a friend. I like to start the weekend with a circuit of 6-8 bodyweight exercises from my 6-month bodyweight manual. I also start with a lot of upper body mobility and warmup exercises from the Inside Out DVD and Magnificent Mobility DVD.

Get those DVD's here & improve your posture & warmup

And make sure to check in with your social support group, and then spend some time re-reading your TT manual to make sure you are eating and training according to the TT guidelines.

Sunday
Get another 30 minutes of exercise nice and early to start your day. Then plan your shopping list, head on to the grocery store or even better a fresh, open market and get your weekly produce and lean protein sources.

7 days to a better body,

CB

Lose 20 pounds of fat the simple way...

"I've just received Craig's 6 Month Body-Weight Training Manual and am thoroughly impressed. I have used some of Craig's other Turbulence Training programs and have progressed steadily to better health and a better body. Recently I have used his TT for Fat Loss program and lost 20lbs of fat while increasing my lean body mass and getting much stronger. As with the other programs the amount of information and direction in his bodyweight manual is outstanding. Not only does Craig guide you through his work outs, he offers nutritional advice, lifting tempos and exercise descriptions with visuals to help with form. With the amount of information in this program it would be almost impossible not to succeed. I can hardly wait to get started with bodyweight training and reap the benefits of Craig's expertise."
Rick Dunseith

Saturday Workout

Quick arm workout.

Also did chins again (4th day this week) and got 3 more than I did yesterday. So I hit 18 today, I think I've done 20 once in the past. The high-frequency chin program seems to be working. So far.

I followed that up with some dumbbell curls and triceps pressdowns. Thats it. 10 minute workout. Just for fun.

CB

Bodybuilding is Dead

Bodybuilding is dead. Or so they say.

But the truth is, bodybuilding isn't dead. It simply needs to be fixed. And it's true, the old-school bodybuilding programs certainly weren't perfect. They were often designed by and for guys using Vitamin S, and far too often led to some nasty overuse injuries of the elbow and the shoulders.

But there still are a lot of benefits that we can take from the basics of bodybuilding to help our workouts. Look at old-school bodybuilding - squatting, deadlifting, lifting heavy weights in the standing position with their abs braced - all of these worked the abs harder than people standing on a ball and lifting 10 pounds.

And fixing the high-volume, overuse bodybuilding programs is easy. Back in September I put together an 8-week TT for Muscle program that cut the number of workouts down to 4 per week, while getting guys stronger and bigger.

And I extended the availability by a month, but this treat's only available till Oct 31, then on November, it's gone. It will remain in the TT member's section after that.

Click HERE to get the TT for Muscle 8-Week Workout

Why not roll with the holiday season, and build some big time mass while the feasts are here?

The mass-building 4-day per week workout will take your muscle gains to the next level.

Eat healthy and put on muscle,
CB

P.S. Next week...the new monthly workout is out...
And it's the 8-week workout-by-workout guide I used with a Hollywood actress to help her do her first chin-up.

It's called: TT for Female Strength - How to Get Lean & Do Your First Chin-up

You can get it November 1st...or if you were a member, you would have received it last night.

Plus as a TT Member, you'd also be able to download all of these monthly workout manuals. (To order each of these manuals separately would have cost you over $200...so as always, the TT Membership remains a huge deal).

Click HERE to become a TT Member.

September 2005 Monthly Workout: 4-Week Fat Loss Plan
October 2005 Monthly Workout: Bodyweight TT 4-Week Workout
November 2005 Monthly Workout: Mass-Building Workout
December 2005 Monthly Workout: Ultimate Holiday Fat Loss
January 2006 Monthly Workout: Busy Gym Fat Loss
February 2006 Monthly Workout: TT Fusion Fat Loss
March 2006 Monthly Workout: TT Athlete Bodyweight Manual
April 2006 Monthly Workout: TT Fusion Muscle Building
June 2006 Monthly Workout: TT Hardcore Fat Loss
July 2006 Monthly Workout: TT Bodyweight Summertime Workout
August 2006: Turbulence Training for Women 4-Week Program
Sept 2006: Turbulence Training For Muscle 8-Week Program

All of these are in the TT member's section...

Friday Workout

Ok workout today, pistols and chins are improving. Bench is a little week. A long way off from my personal best last summer of 315.

1) Bench Press (3x3) at 255

2a) Deadlift (3x10)
2B) Pistols (3x7)

3) Chinups (1xMax)

4) DB Side Bends (3x10)

Thats it.

CB

10 Ways to Improve Your Health

Something I came across on my site www.cbathletics.com

This is from an old Men's Health magazine...

Men's Health magazine staff put together 100 tips for men to improve their health. You can read this article in the July/August 2003 issue or online at this link: www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,6916,3-0-0-531,00.html

Here are the top 10 tips…
1. Eat Macadamia nuts. These nuts reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol because of their monounsaturated fat content. (CB says, almonds and walnuts will also help).
2. Eat an apple a day.
3. Drink 2 cups of tea per day.
4. Consume a variety of fruit each day, including grapefruit, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and strawberries. All of these were identified in studies to help heart health. (CB says - they really should have included vegetables as well).
5. The American Heart Association recommends that you eat fish twice per week.
6. Snack on 1 ounce of pumpkin seeds each day.
7. Include tomato sauce and salsa at your meals. (CB says vegetables as well!)
8. Be physical every day. Go for a walk on the days that you don't go to the gym.
9. Meditate - Find a way to incorporate meditation into your daily schedule.
10. Read for half an hour each day, preferably out loud, perhaps to your kids.

CB

Alwyn Cosgrove Fat Loss Program Truth

Fat Loss Program Truth - from Alwyn Cosgrove

Alwyn Cosgrove is a superstar in the world of physique transformation for men and women. He's trained champions in multiple sports and winners of multiple 12-week body transformation contests. And you've probably used one of his programs from Men's Health or Men's Fitness. Alwyn owns and operates a training facility in Santa Clarita, California.

Here's a reprint of one of Alwyn's famous articles on the problems with fat loss today. Are you ready for the facts about your fat loss program?

More Alwyn Cosgrove go to >>>>> His site
******

This week I have heard more excuses as to why people are not losing fat than I have ever heard in my life. I have literally heard people tell their trainers - "I am following the nutrition program exactly, but instead of an egg white omelet for breakfast, I have a muffin and a latte". Hmmm. Not "exactly" the same is it?

So I thought this would be a good time to share some of my 'wisdom' for those of you still looking for the magic pill.Having worked with hundreds of individuals over the years and as a trainer, magazine writer and lecturer to other fitness professionals I am amazed how often I am asked "What are the secrets to fat loss?"I can vividly remember doing a photo shoot at our gym with a male client who had lost 85lbs of fat and now had a nice six-pack to show for his efforts.

My own gym members came up and asked me what his "secret" was. THERE'S NO SECRET.

They seemed to think I'd given him the "real" information and had withheld it from them! He's been given the same advice as I give to everyone else - he just chose to follow it a little more closely.

Fat loss is not under the control of the magic fat loss fairies. It's based on simple changes in behavior.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to launch into an Alwyn Cosgrove rant. Those among you who are politically correct and easily offended can stop reading now. And if any of the rest of you are offended, then I'm sure there is a new diet book that will tell you exactly what to do to achieve fat loss nirvana (hint - you have to eat less, fat boy, tends not to fill up a 300 page diet book). So put down your copy of "Eat Right for Your IQ" and listen up.

To lose fat:

Eat less calories than you burn.

Yes, there are some factors that can make this a little more difficult - metabolic type, medical disorders, food sensitivities, medications, sleep patterns, etc. But these are the minutiae - the small details. Even if you adjust or control for every single other variable in your body and your environment - if you consume more calories than you burn - you are going to gain fat.

Here are a few basic truths that no one really wants to hear:

Think about the foods you are about to consume. Are they going to bring you closer to your goal? Or will they make you feel like crap and take you farther away from what you want? Yeah I know that when you were younger, before you had kids, you could eat blah de blah de blah and not gain weight. Too bad - times have changed.

And I know your friend can eat whatever he or she wants and is in great shape. Yay for them, sucks for you. But no amount of whining will change the fact that you need to work to get your butt in shape.

Stop rushing your meals - eat slowly. This will give your body a chance to actually realize that you've eaten, and register that you are full. It takes 20 minutes for the satiety mechanisms to kick in. Give your body a chance to tell you that it's full before you cram another 500 calories in your pie hole.

Eat smaller portions. Unfortunately you cannot eat unlimited amounts of the food you would like and still get lean. Sorry. Second helpings? I seriously doubt it. Appetizers, main course and dessert? You're kidding me.

Make correct meal choices that contain appropriate servings of protein, carbs and fats. I love the new "low carb diet" options at most restaurant chains now. A steak with melted cheese on the top. That's not a diet food people. I also saw a low carb buffalo wings option. The difference? No carrots to dip in the blue cheese. Like that's your problem - too many carrots in your diet.A big ass bowl of pasta? That's what marathon runners eat the night before the race. If you have a marathon planned tomorrow then go ahead. If not - you don't need the calories.

"You are what you eat" is a true statement. And it wouldn't surprise me to find out that some of you have eaten a fat bastard or two in your time. Are you a lean piece of meat - or a saggy nasty sausage?

If certain foods are a "trigger" for you and you cannot eat them sensibly, then you have to give them up. I have known very few people that can eat their "trigger" food and not end up blowing their diet. Once you "pop" you can't stop right? Usually one cookie means the whole bag. So you can't be trusted. Don't have them in the house.

You do not need something sweet to finish your meal. This is a conditioned response from your childhood days when cleaning your plate meant ice cream. 'Need' something sweet? Do you realize how much you just ate? You don't need anything. Dessert is not a psychological need for survival. It is just a bad habit. Habits can be broken. You do not need the cheesecake.

Do not buy junk food. If it is there - you will eat it. If you have a craving for candy and there's none in the house - it's highly unlikely you'll get up and go to the store. You'll just sit your ass back down and finish watching American Idol.Oh, and buying the junk food "for the kids" is an absolute bullshit excuse. The kids do not need the cheezy poofs either. In fact, in my opinion, the childhood obesity epidemic has been caused by parents buying shit for their children. It's essentially child abuse plain and simple. Depriving your kids of crap is a good parenting decision.

If you screw up a meal - do not, I repeat DO NOT try to adjust the next meal to "make up for it". All you did then was screw up two meals. If you overeat at meal number one - just get back on track. Immediately. Because thinking "Well, I've blown it now so I might as well REALLY blow it," is akin to getting a flat tire as you drive down the freeway and getting out and totaling your car.

Cookies, doughnuts and muffins are crap food choices. You can't ever justify eating them on a regular basis. And low carb, fat free cookies, doughnuts and muffins are still crap - don't kid yourself.

Yes you can eat fast food. It's called grilled chicken sandwich or a turkey sub, Jarod. Fries? No. And you do not need to supersize for an extra 50c.

Yes it's hard. You want to look great? Nothing tastes as good as lean and buff feels. It's true. This week I've heard "It's too hard - I want an easier diet". What that means is "I'd rather eat crappy foods than look or feel any better. I have made a conscious decision to get fatter because my love for junk food is a more powerful love than my desire to get lean." It's unfortunate but you will have to work for the body you want.

Little changes add up. Switching from a glass of orange juice every morning to a cup of green tea will save you 100 calories per day (this is without including the antioxidant and thermogenic benefits of green tea). That adds up to over ten pounds of fat loss per year.

Little discrepancies add up too. A Big Mac meal is about 1500 calories. You'll have to walk 15 miles to balance that out.

If you aren't a fat loss expert - hire one. Or follow a plan written by one. I wrote a 16 week all inclusive fat loss program called AFTERBURN that includes diet cardio and weight training. If you don't like that option I have an online fat loss training program. Using either of these approaches means you CANNOT fail. You just need to follow the program. I'm amazed how many people STILL ask me how they can get single-digit lean. The info is out there people.

This is by no means a complete list but I think you're probably getting the point. There is no secret to fat loss. At any one time your body is either getting leaner or it's getting fatter. You just need to adjust the balance. In today's world it just takes a little effort on your part.

But if you want to eat whatever you want you have two choices:

Move a lot. A LOT.

Gain weight, get fat, accept it and stop complaining.

And if you want to look great, the keys to fat loss are (from my politically incorrect colleague Lyle McDonald):

Change your eating habits: so that you're eating less.

Change your activity patterns: so that you're expending more calories.

Repeat: Keep doing this over a long period of time.

Forever: Newsflash, you don't EVER get to go back to your old eating habits unless you want to get fat again. To maintain weight loss means maintaining at least part of the changes you made to 1 and 2.

It really is that simple. If you are not losing fat it's YOUR fault. It's not mine, it's not your trainer, it's not your husband, wife, kids or your boss - it's YOU. There are 168 hours in each week - no matter who you are. Maybe you train for three of them. That leaves 165 for you to completely blow it.

If you are not good at self discipline then hire someone who will make you accountable. Until then realize that the choices are yours. Getting really lean is not difficult in terms of knowing what to do - it's doing it that makes the difference.
*****
More Alwyn Cosgrove go to >>>>> His site

CB Says:
Thanks Alwyn (pronounced Allan).

So that's it from the best trainer in Southern California, the hotbed of lean bodies. Check out his e-books if you want to continue learning how to lose fat and gain muscle.
CB

P.S. An exclusive new interview with Alwyn...

Will be in Monday's edition of the newsletter from www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Sign-up today to read the latest fat loss research and info from Alwyn.

Thursday Recover

My upper body was beat-down from Wednesday's workout...so all i did was some foam rolling for upper back, adductors, IT Band, and vastus medialis (ouch). But each time I squat I can notice the improvements I've made in 2 weeks of consistent rolling. Unfortunately, the annoying tension i have in the upper back remains, mostly because my posture sucks. I need to take the advice of Bill Hartman in the 2-part interview i posted on this blog earlier this week.

I've also been using a tennis ball for some more concentrated self-massage on my calves and peroneals. These are tight, but in just 2 short sessions (10-20 rolls on the right/painful spot) has made a huge difference. It's almost hard to believe. The improvement has been that quick.

Its still painful to roll on the right spots, but its better.

For some good exercises on using the tennis ball, go here:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1259323

CB

Preventing Shoulder Injuries: Part 2

Shoulder Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation: Part II

Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and strength & conditioning coach in Indianapolis, IN. A lifetime athlete, Bill was a top ten finisher in the National Junior Olympics in the javelin, which he continued along with football at the collegiate level. He was a graduate with distinction at Purdue University and received his degree in physical therapy from Indiana University.

Click HERE for part 1 of this interview


CB: The rotator cuff gets hurt in a lot of people. So what should people avoid and what methods are most useful in rehabilitating this injury?

BH:
I think we've hit on a number of things to avoid. Let's talk about rehabilitation.

The biggest tool I have in my toolbox other than exercise is Active Release Techniques. This is a manual soft-tissue treatment technique developed by a chiropractor, Dr. Mike Leahy. This technique has been so effective for me, I can't tell you how many times a patient or client comes to me literally unable to reach overhead because of pain and leaves with full range of motion of the shoulder in only 1 treatment. Yes, I said one. Many times they can get full resolution of pain in 3 treatments. For more information, go to www.activereleasetechniques.com.

Like I mentioned above, exercise is the key to rehabilitation. We can certainly do a lot with manual techniques, but it's the exercise that will restore ultimate function back to the shoulder.

If I had to pick only one form of exercise, it would be PNF. These are diagonal movement patterns that include all the major motions of the upper extremity.

The great thing about the PNF patterns is that we can work on flexibility and strength at the same time. We can load them with manual resistance, with bands, with dumbbells, or with cables. The adaptability fits right along with the philosophy of getting the most for your time and efforts.

The symptoms will ultimately determine what course of action to take. Sometimes pain is so great that I have to initiate rehab with simple single plane shoulder exercises or isometrics.

CB: Is it better to use traditional isolation exercises (i.e. external rotations) or multi-muscle exercises such as wide-grip rowing and other rowing variations? And are external rotations done with tubing ineffective because of the problems with the strength curve?

BH:
This question was answered in a recent journal. Multiple joint, multiple muscle exercises win hands down for strengthening the entire shoulder girdle including the rotator cuff. That's not to say that isolation exercise should never be utilized. There's no such thing as a perfect program.

Sometimes you have to plug the holes with an isolation exercise or two.

External rotations with tubing have a place, but you do have to understand how it loads the muscles. Because the tension increases as the tubing is stretched, the highest tension will be where the external rotators are already shortened and can't produce maximum force.

There are a couple of tricks to get around this issue: One trick is to put the tubing under tension and hold the arm fixed while you actively change the position of the body to produce the rotation of the shoulder.

The other is to perform partial range of motion exercises at a relatively narrow range of band tension. For instance, you only move the arm 2-3 inches at end range at a certain tension, then shift the body so that the same tension occurs at the mid range of motion, and then shift again so that the same tension occurs at the beginning of the range of motion. This method isn't terribly efficient, but it does have a place in rehab.

I really like to use tubing or bands at the end of rehab to perform faster activities to restore elasticity and to train the stretch-shortening cycle. I do this with my healthy throwing or overhead athletes as well.

CB: What strength training adjustments or "pre-hab" techniques can the average athlete or lifter use to avoid shoulder injury?

BH:
Most athletes or lifters just don't know how to train or program properly. It seems that everyone thinks they're doing things correctly, but I'm sure you've noticed that you typically spend an entire training cycle just teaching a client how to perform even the simplest of exercises. So the number one prevention technique is to learn the proper execution of the exercises.

The next most common cause of shoulder pain in lifters is training too much, too heavy, and too often. I blame the muscle magazines for this one. I appreciate all the bravado that goes with the whole bodybuilding thing, but seems that each guy has to try to outdo the next guy in training intensiveness to prove his manhood. The unfortunate result is that you have generation after generation of lifters who think that if you don't take every set to failure, every workout, and then train every day, you won't make progress.

A simple plan for most lifters is to progressively increase intensity and reduce volume over a period of 3 or 4 weeks and then reduce both for a week. Most lifters are amazed at how much stronger and how much more muscle they gain simply by reducing volume, modulating intensity, and programming a little recovery into their programs. Folks need to understand the delayed training effect. And guess what…no shoulder pain to boot!

If you can balance training volumes of pushing and pulling exercises, you'll actually need very little "pre-hab" (see the answer above about basic exercises and cuff strength). Again the primary areas that I see with shoulders even in decent training programs are relatively weak lower traps and internal shoulder rotation range of motion issues.

CB: Can you give some more information on basic prehab exercises?

BH:
These are pretty standard for emphasis of scapular muscles. Very rehab/prehab. If you've got someone with "normal" shoulder mobility who can do some limited overhead work, these may not be necessary. You find that Olympic lifters who do overhead squats and snatch grip overhead work have very strong scapular muscles. The problem is that most folks sit on their asses to much or have postural issues that preclude the overhead stuff. Thus, you need to do these. Are you doing any directed at serratus anterior?

CB: So what are your thoughts on overhead pressing?

BH:
After talking with Dale Buchberger who does a great deal of lecturing on shoulder issues (good video at http://www.swis.ca/ BTW) and doing a bit of follow-up, I've started to shift away from a great deal of true overhead pressing for my clients(maybe I'm just getting old?). It certainly puts a great deal of repetitive strain on the weakest structures of the gleno-humeral joint.

Obviously, if you have a competitive weightlifter or strongman competitor, you have to do them in training.

The drawback for not doing them I've found is the necessity to do more direct work to the scapular stabilizers like low traps and serratus anterior and the trunk. I do use a lot of PNF patterns which does require an overhead reach, but the direction of loading is more directly into the G-H joint rather than on the anterior-inferior capsule.

Another way around the issue a bit is to use jerks rather than true presses. You still have issues with the loading of weaker structures overhead but you bypass some of the loading through the mid range of motion. I still have a couple of guys and a gal that do jerks and power snatches, but they have never had any shoulder problems and the loads are nowhere near maximal.

I wouldn't do any overhead pressing with anyone with a history of shoulder pain, history of repetitive throwing (pitchers and quarterbacks), someone who compensates for a lack of flexion/abduction with lumbar extension, someone who lacks sufficient upward scapular rotation(or outer depending on the way you were taught), or someone with a tight posterior capsule/tight external rotators.

There's certainly more detail we can get into if you like. There will certainly be some that can overhead press and never have any shoulder issues. They are few and far between because of the need for adequate range of motion and stability. Even the push press and jerks may cause problems depending on what condition your shoulders are in and technical issues.

Like I said before there are some who will be able to do just about anything without difficulty.

CB: What about golfers? How do they avoid shoulder injuries that otherwise keep them off the course?

BH:
Technique, technique, technique! If golfers would just take some time and work with the best teaching pro they can afford, they would experience a lot less shoulder pain. That goes for any overhead athlete, too.

It always seems the strength and conditioning coach gets the blame when someone gets injured which is rarely the case.

Well is must be the strength coaches fault because all athletes have perfect technique, right?

Wrong.

Think about how many times a golfer swings a club during in a week. Then look at how many reps they perform in a week's time. One of my golfers hits no less than 1,000 full swings in week and usually more. His total reps in his strength training sessions for the week are less than a third of that. Now I'll guarantee that his strength training technique is top notch, but I can't say the every swing is perfect. Where's the greatest potential for overuse? Do I need to answer that?

Aside from technical issues, you know how I feel about flexibility. The shoulders play a very important role in generating clubhead speed much like a pitcher in baseball. The shoulders go through the largest range of motion of any joint in the body during a swing, so if there's a lack of flexibility in the shoulders, better break out the ice packs.

I've even seen some x-rays of a golf with bilateral impingement of the shoulders as a result reduced range of motion. He was banging the humerus into the acromion so hard that he had created a divot in the humeral head!

The double whammy is that if there is a lack of flexibility in the hips or spine, the shoulders tend to get overused even further in an effort to compensate for the lack of flexibility elsewhere.

The shoulder is an amazingly complex joint and we really only scratched the surface. I hope I've been able to provide a little insight to help prevent what could be a very serious injury. And remember if you've had any shoulder pain associated with training get checked by a health professional and take measure to eliminate and prevent it.

Thanks for the opportunity to share info with your readers!

CB: Thanks Bill. But we're not done yet. What impact do compound exercises and Olympic Lifts have on the shoulder joint?

BH:
I wish more therapists would see the advantage in the big muscle approach (the article just came out in JOSPT so hopefully someone will read it).

I would certainly prefer to be able to do more overhead work because it saves time and is just plain more effective, but most of my people don't have the scapular mobility and most have tight posterior capsules and tight external rotators. I just won't load shoulders like that. There's usually an anterior instability as well, so overhead work loads the anterior/inferior capsule making that worse. Then the biceps tendon is rotated posterior to the most superior aspect of the glenoid. Then you have another anterior force into the anterior/inferior capsule based on the direction of the tendon pull.

I have a kid now whose humeral head shifts forward so much that in full shoulder flexion or abduction you can see his humeral head push forward in the axilla. He's wondering why he has an impingement and pain with overhead work!?

The nice thing about Olympic lifts is that you don't load the shoulder so much in the stretch position because the leg-drive. Of course, if there are any shoulder issues, I focus on pull variations. The "pull under" can cause one helluva impingement.

CB: Thanks Bill for all this great information. Watch for more of Bill's stuff on www.grrlAthlete.com (he contributed to our fat loss book ShapeShift) and in Men's Fitness magazine.

Turbulence Training Workout Q'n'A

More q'n'a this week as I help you refine your program to squeeze every last little bit of fat loss from your efforts. I know how hard you are working in the gym, so you can't let your nutrition mess you up.

Sometimes we cheat too much, and other times we are fooled by what we think is good nutrition. I have an interview with Dr. John Berardi coming soon...

On to your questions...

Q: The people I work with are always giving me a hard time about my healthy lifestyle. We recently had a company function where a drunk senior colleague gave me a really hard time about my healthy eating and my choice to not drink a lot at the event. This guy has a lot of pull at work, and I am worried his attitude is not only going to impact my workout goals, but also my standing in the company.

Answer:
Like everyone, you work with a bunch of idiots.

Seriously, if this is how they treat you because you choose not to get wasted at company parties, or order something healthy at a lunch meeting, then how can you expect them to treat you fairly for your career?

I would start looking for a new job yesterday (secretly, of course) and get out of this company ASAP.

I wouldn't be surprised if you told me the company is not doing as well as it could. Why would it after all, with this type of attitude and those employees running the scene?

I can't stress enough how important social support is in helping you reach your goals. Do the best you can to surround yourself with positive contributors.

Q: I start my day with a shake consisting of fruit juice and milk. Is this a good idea?

Answer:
I could think of a lot worse things to start your day with.

However, I could also think of a lot better things.

This shake has the potential to rapidly increase your blood sugar and then rapidly decrease it as well. That could leave you tired and/or hungry. Exactly the opposite of what we want our meals to do for us.

It is okay for a post-workout meal, but not as a normal breakfast. You should focus on eating fruit, rather than drinking juice, so that you get the benefits of the fruit fiber. I would also choose another protein source besides milk, and leave milk for my post-workout drink. Even yogurt is a better substitution.

Make sure that you get more fiber in early in the day, as this helps to control appetite and blood sugar over the rest of your day.

Q: I am a 50 year male, I work out regularly. I have read that to gain weight/ bulk up I need to do less cardio or NO cardio at all. But I find that I gain too much additional weight in my stomach/mid section. Whats your opinion - in order to gain muscle without ab fat - simply do more ab work? And check my diet?

Answer:
If you are 90% perfect with your diet but still find that you are gaining too much extra fat when gaining muscle, you might consider adding in some bodyweight circuits first. Then consider intervals.

Ab workouts themselves won't do anything for your problem.

The bodyweight circuits are best because they also offer a strength stimulus in addition to a calorie burn stimulus.

This program uses bodyweight circuits in place of intervals

Q: I've got a question about fish oil supplements and have done some research on them. Do you use them and recommend them purely for health benefits or is there something about the fatty acids that helps you shed body fat and increase metabolism, too?

Answer:
I say health only, others (such as Dr. Berardi) think it might help lose body fat. I am far from convinced, but we'll see what Dr. John Berardi has to say in the future interview...

Q: Also, one of my clients lost about 16 inches from her body in 2 months and then told me she has been taking an 'Ultra 90' supplement, which is nothing more than collagen protein and a couple other 'inactive ingredients.' Their website is simply 'Ultra90.com' if you want to check it out? Have you ever heard of it -- do you think there's anything to it?

Answer:
Give yourself more credit and zero credit to the physical properties of the supplement.

Pills don't do anything for fat loss...but the seductive marketing power of "fat loss pills" is amazing, isn't it?

The marketing, and more likely, the fact that its human nature to want to believe in a magic pill, can convince everyone that the magic pills are responsible for the fat loss, and not all the hard work and good eating.

Too many before and afters, and too much marketing money thrown into the magazines. We've all been fooled at one point, I'd bet.

But if you haven't already checked this out, visit this link to see how easy the transformation can be done... and remember that next time you see one in a magazine or on TV.

Q: Your TT programs always have intervals after weights. Isn't it better to do cardio before weights?

Answer:
There's no reason why doing cardio before weights would be better...and honestly, there's really only one reason to do weights before intervals.Fatigue.

Intervals fatigue the leg muscles, leaving them too tired to do the strength training to the best of your ability.

Further, the overall general level of fatigue from intervals might leave someone too tired to do their best on strength training. So strength first, intervals second.

There's no magic increase in fat burning from doing things either way, but if you want to get the most out of your lifting, you should do strength training first.

I don't make the physiology rules, I just follow them,

CB

P.S. Get faster answers to your questions...
By becoming a TT Member. I'll answer all of your emails ASAP. I just don't have the time to do that for all non-members.

"Craig, I am so impressed with how you conduct your business, your professionalism, quality and responsiveness is really unequaled. You are truly the best kept secret in the fitness world."
Bobby Logan, CT

"The pass is worth it just to be able to get input from you."
Kevin Larabee

Click HERE to read about the over 30 programs you get when you become a TT Member.

Wedenesday clean up Workout

Workout

Total body workout #2 for the week.

A bit annoying in the gym, but eventually it cleared out.

1) Clean n Press (5x5) - just 155lbs

2) Chins (1xMax) - 2 more than last week - so progress being made

3a) GHR on ball with weight (3x10)
3b) BB row (3x8)

4a) Kneel Cable Crunch (3x15)
4b) EZ curl (3x8)

Not bad.

CB

workout

Tap-Out! Combat Conditioning Secrets

My friend Jason Ferruggia has just released his huge training manual for MMA athletes, wrestlers, etc.

It's a great manual that is simply great for athletes of all kinds.

Here's more info...

Discover The Little Known, Rarely Used Training Secrets Of An Elite Combat Coach...And Immediately Develop The Lethal Combination Of Jawbreaking Knockout Power, Blinding Takedown Speed And Endless Endurance Guaranteed To Render Your Opponents Completely Helpless!

Attention mixed martial artists, wrestlers and fighters:

Introducing Combat Conditioning Secrets; the ultimate training system for combat athletes.

Jason Ferruggia will wake you up BIG TIME with Combat Conditioning Secrets. It is this kind of thinking and on target training that will take you to the next level at warp speed. The information in this manual is a must have for the serious mixed martial artist!

"I have known Jason for quite some time so it doesn't surprise me to see such in-depth material from him. I say "Why make the mistakes and experience the pitfalls that others have when you can learn from someone and get on the fast track to success from Day 1? Be ready to kick some serious ass once you start utilizing these methods!"
Zach Even - Esh
UndergroundCombatTraining.com

Click HERE for more information

How to Avoid Shoulder Injuries: Part 1

How to Avoid Shoulder Injuries: Part I

Bill Hartman is a physical therapist and strength & conditioning coach in Indianapolis, IN. A lifetime athlete, Bill was a top ten finisher in the National Junior Olympics in the javelin, which he continued along with football at the collegiate level. He was a graduate with distinction at Purdue University and received his degree in physical therapy from Indiana University.

Bill has worked with athletes at all levels in a number of sports and is probably best known for his athletic approach to the physical preparation for golf. He is also an Active Release Techniques Practitioner, a cutting-edge soft-tissue treatment technique, with certification in spine, upper extremity, and lower extremity treatment. Bill has certifications with the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and with USA Weightlifting as a Sports Performance Coach. Bill provides seminars on sports training and fitness, writes for national publications and websites, and is featured in "Inside Out: Upper Body Warmup DVD".

CB Recommends! Click HERE to get the DVD

CB: Bill, why do the shoulders get injured so often in athletes, lifters, and everyday people?

BH:
Well, for starters it's a naturally unstable joint. For a joint to have the ability to circumduct (move the arm in a large circle) like the shoulder does, it has to be unstable. The shoulder is not like a ball that's surrounded by a socket like the hip. It's actually more like a golf ball sitting on a tee. So the shoulder joint relies heavily on the connective tissues to maintain stability.

There's also a very limited space between the humeral head and the acromion called the subacromial space. In this subacromial space are the rotator cuff tendons, biceps tendon, and the subacromial bursae. During movements that involve the elevation of the arm and external rotation of the arm this space gets even smaller (i.e. throwing).

Movements that involve high force, high speed, "unsafe" motions, and repetitive movements, as well as postural adaptations can result in altered muscle recruitment patterns and/or abnormal amounts of instability which, in turn, result in impingement of the subacromial structures.

Repetitive impingement can then result in pain, tendonitis, tendonosis, bursitis, and at worst a tear.

These things rarely produce pain immediately but changes in joint position and function occur over time. It's pretty common to hear a client or a patient say, "I've done this for years and never had any problems before." Most incidents that seem to be the cause are more like the "straw that broke the camel's back" in that enough "wear 'n' tear" has taken place to finally produce symptoms and injury.

CB: What can be done to avoid shoulder problems?

BH:
It seems to be a matter of minimizing those activities that promote negative adaptations to the joint related to range of motion, strength, and posture. Being aware of those activities that will promote these adaptations is a great start.

For instance, folks who sit a great deal as part of their day, such as students, truck drivers, or desk jockeys, have challenges to their posture. Prolonged sitting can result in a kyphotic or rounded back posture. This posture forces the shoulder girdle into protraction (shoulder blades move apart). With time, tissues adapt, shorten or lengthen, or muscles get used to functioning in a restricted range of motion and limit flexibility. This can alter the mechanics of the shoulder joint and result in impingement.

If we're talking training issues, avoid behind-the-neck pressing and behind the neck pulldowns; they are not great exercises for shoulder health. Not only do they load the anterior and inferior portions of the shoulder capsule, but in the behind-the-neck position the biceps long-head tendon is rotated toward the posterior aspect of the shoulder joint because of the external rotation. This creates an anterior force when tension is created in the biceps. Over time, this will promote anterior instability resulting in impingement.

You may also want to avoid exercises that involve elevation of the arms with internal rotation like upright rows or dumbbell lateral raises with the pinkie finger higher than the thumb. I actually use these movements as test of shoulder health during assessments.

If you must do overhead pressing exercises, you may want to consider using squat jerks, split jerks, or push presses. These exercises limit the loading of the shoulder through the critical midrange arc of the shoulder joint during elevation.


CB: What should we do to take care of our shoulders?

BH:
Don't grow up to be a baseball pitcher, don't lift weights over your head, and sit up straight like your Mom always said.

Seriously though…Pay attention to your posture. What I tell my clients is to correct posture every time the check their watch or a clock for the time. A simple correction actually approximates what's called anatomical position. Sit or stand up as tall as possible with your arms at your sides with the palms forward.

Work to maintain your shoulder's range of motion. The shoulder should be able to rotate about 170 degrees from full external rotation to full internal rotation. If you can't reach behind your back and touch the opposite shoulder blades without straining, you need to work on your range of motion.

Don't forget the little muscles in your training. There was a study a year or two ago that assessed weight trainers shoulder motion and lower trapezius strength. What they found was that weight trainers had stronger absolute lower trap strength than controls, but when they corrected for body weight, the weight trainers were actually weaker.

The external shoulder rotators tend to need some attention as well. We have a heck of a lot more muscle that internally rotates the shoulder than externally rotates it. Be sure to keep them strong.

Don't work through shoulder pain. There is a reason you're having pain. In fact, there could be multiple causes. If pain persists more than a few days, consult with a health professional. Don't try to treat yourself.

CB: Thanks Bill. In Part II of this interview, Bill goes in-depth on methods to strengthen your shoulder to avoid future injuries and he discusses the nasty rotator cuff injury.


Get the Upper Body Warmup DVD and learn MORE from Bill

Improve Your Cholesterol

Workouts & How to Improve Cholesterol

Many readers are interested in more information on how to control their cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar.

So let's start with cholesterol first...

Now all these years people have been worried about high cholesterol levels. But in addition to lowering bad cholesterol, a new study shows that high levels of GOOD cholesterol should also be the focus of our efforts.

In fact, your levels of HDL could be the most important determinant of your risk for heart disease.

First, some definitions...

LDL (low-density lipoprotein): LDL is also known as the "bad" cholesterol. It is the cholesterol that builds up in your arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease.

HDL (high-density lipoprotein): HDL is also known as the "good" cholesterol. It helps clean out LDL from your arteries, and can decrease your risk of heart disease.

If your HDL is not above 40 mg/dL, then you need to improve it and have it checked every year.

TC (total cholesterol): This is the total amount of cholesterol in the blood, including LDL, HDL, and VLDL.

If your total cholesterol is 240 mg/dL or greater, you have a greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

TC:HDL-C ratio: This is called the "total cholesterol to HDL ratio." It is used to give doctors an idea of how much total cholesterol a person has relative to the HDL level. The ratio is calculated by dividing the total cholesterol by the HDL. It is a good measure of heart disease risk.

Okay, now onto the latest findings...this recent study published in the American Heart Journal found that patients that had higher HDL levels had a lower risk of heart attacks. More specifically, people with higher HDL (by 10 mg/dL) had an 11% decrease in heart disease risk.

Okay...so what does that mean? Do everything you can to increase your HDL!

First, you need to get your HDL levels checked...so visit your doctor. And always check with your doctor before making big changes to your nutrition and exercise plan...especially if you are overweight, or otherwise at risk for lifestyle diseases.

Second, a good place to start improving your cholesterol levels is to simply lose weight and to start an exercise program (both aerobic exercise and resistance training will improve cholesterol levels).

And when it comes to achieving healthy cholesterol levels, here are many more specific actions that you should take:
- Eat 6 small meals per day rather than 2-3 large meals.
- Eat a handful of almonds per day (make sure they are not roasted in hydrogenated oils!)
- Eat more fiber by eating almonds, fruits, vegetables, and oatmeal - Get a minimum of 35g of fiber per day.

I'm always trying to increase my vegetable intake...from eating raw vegetables to cooking another vegetable with each meal, do your best to increase your colorful vegetable intake.
- Reduce your intake of saturated fats
- Eliminate all trans fats from your diet
- Build muscle mass. There's some evidence that strength-training exercises that build muscle mass can also improve HDL.
- Do intervals - these might be even more effective than regular cardio for increasing HDL
- Both Green Tea and fish oils might help improve cholesterol levels (by both increasing HDL and lowering LDL), but research is not conclusive.

Helping you get healthy,
CB

P.S. Nutrition is key for health and fat loss.

That's why I've included a bonus report dedicated to Nutrition with each TTFL Order.
"Craig, thanks to the TT Nutrition guidelines, I woke up the next morning and already saw improvement in my whole body! Unbelievable. I can hardly wait to see my physique after 2 weeks of Turbulence Training."
Arthur Capone, Bartender, NYC
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

"At mid-life, pushing 300 pounds, and highly skeptical of quick-fixes, I learned of Turbulence Training at CB Athletics and decided it was a program which made sense. It's about hard work, sensible eating, and getting stronger. I found the efficiency of the program to be appealing. In less than an hour, 3 to 4 times per week, the workouts are manageable on a busy schedule. It produced not only weight loss of close to 60 pounds; my strength increased rather dramatically. I have recommended the program to many men who are seeking an efficient, yet demanding, program for fitness and healthy eating."
Todd Thompson

"I will not forget what you have done for me, my blood pressure is getting better, I am eating better and looking better."
Joe Hallman

Tuesday Recovery Workout

Today I did one set of every exercise from the Inside Out Upper Body Warmup, followed by lying on the foam roller to get some extension in my thoracic spine (because it spends all day in flexion due to sitting at the computer), and then some foam rolling for the legs. Also, several long walks with the dog.

Click HERE to get the Inside Out DVD

CB

Nutrition Fat Loss Debates

The "Great" Nutrition Debates
by Dr John M Berardi, CSCS
JohnBerardi.com

While displacement foods (unhealthy foods that fill us up, knocking healthy foods out of our diets) are probably at the root of many of our health and body composition crises, what I call "displacement debates" have also become a real problem in today's information age.

For example, the average North American barely knows what a carbohydrate, protein, or fat is, yet when they hear well-respected experts at the ADA recommend high carb diets and the highly (though not universally) respected Atkins group recommend low carb diets, they get so confused and frustrated they ultimately do little or nothing proactive to improve their health.

This argument is an example of a displacing debate: an academic argument that pushes the more important problems out of the public discourse. For the average North American, following either the ADA recommendations or the Atkins recommendations would go a long way toward improving their health. But instead of suggesting that people just do something, these groups continue to bicker about who's right at the expense of an ever-growing obesity rate.

Below I've presented six of the interesting displacing debates I've heard argued lately. Hopefully by discussing them I can put to rest the idea that these issues are of critical importance to your overall health and body composition. I'd like you to understand that these represent small, fine tuning details which are only relevant to a small percentage of the population, if that. On the whole, these debates do more to confuse and paralyze people than to encourage them to take their health into their own hands.

The Top 6 Displacing Debates

1. Fruit is Bad
Now?We all know fruit provides fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low glycemic index carbohydrates, so it should be no surprise that many experts recommend eating a few servings of fruit each day. Heck, this notion has even been turned into a clichéd rhyme:

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

Yet some experts out there actually suggest that fruit might be bad for us! That's utter nonsense. So, imagine you're someone with a lifetime of eating habits that are less than optimal (for some of you, it might not be so hard to do) and you're exposed to this debate. What do you do? Well, nine times out of ten, you figure that if there's a chance fruit is bad for you, you might as well stay away from it -- probably better to reach for a Big Mac instead. After all, it does taste better.

What to do? Eat the damn fruit - but, as with everything else, don't overeat!

2. Raw? Organic?
Speaking again of fruits (and vegetables), it's recommended that the average person consume two pieces of fruit and three servings of vegetables per day as a bare minimum. I recommend 10-15 servings per day. Yet most North Americans (athletes included) consume far less than the standard recommendation of five servings of fruits and vegetables.

However, rather than simply recommend more fruit and veggies (no matter how you can get them, for any fruits and vegetables are better than none), experts spend their time fighting about canned fruits and veggies vs. raw fruits and veggies. And then they fight about raw fruits and veggies vs. organic fruits and veggies! Sure, I agree that raw, organic fruits and vegetables are best since they probably have a higher micronutrient count, but let's face the facts: any fruits and veggies are better than none!

So again, imagine you're someone with a lifetime of bad eating habits and you're exposed to all this bickering. What do you do? Well, you'll probably avoid the fruits and veggies, wait for the experts to finish dueling it out, and reach for a Snickers bar instead.

What to do? Get sufficient fruits and vegetables in your diet before worrying about whether they're organic or not. Once you've done that, worry on.

3. Raw Milk vs. Regular MilkWhat about milk?
In my opinion, it's not necessary, doesn't always "do the body good," and should be minimized in the diet (although I see no need for total elimination unless you're lactose intolerant).

However, if we could simply get more people to drink milk instead of sugary soda, we'd have less obesity and disease. But instead of focusing on healthy behaviors, experts will bicker on and on about regular milk vs. raw milk. Of course, all this does is serve to draw negative attention to milk and away from the other healthy decisions people could be making.

Sure, if it were possible to get raw milk that was guaranteed aseptic, it would be better than processed, pasteurized milk. But faced with the confusion, what do you, the hypothetical sub-optimal eater, do? Well, nine times out of ten, you avoid both kinds of milk and drink another Coca-Cola instead.

What to do? Limit milk, and drink calorie-free beverages like water and green tea instead.

4. Tap Water vs. Bottled Water
Speaking of beverage consumption, people are dehydrated because they drink too little water while drinking too many caffeinated, diuretic drinks (coffee, soda, and alcohol). Dehydration leads to all sorts of health problems for the inactive, not to mention the decrements in athletic performance seen in dehydrated athletes.

But rather than simply promoting the heck out of water consumption, experts will bicker on and on about tap water vs. bottled water. Sure, good quality bottled water is usually a better choice, but don't be one of these people who stay away from tap water, forget to pick up their bottled water, and simply remain dehydrated.

What to do? Drink sufficient water first; worry about the source later. (Of course, you may want to avoid drinking out of puddles next to pig farms in Uganda.) Put a water filter on your tap or buy one of those filter jugs you store in your fridge and be done with it.

5. Glass vs. Plastic
And how about the bottles the water comes in? That's right, the glass vs. plastic debate. Just the other day, I was recommending that a group of my athletes pick up some Tupperware so they could whip up all of their meals and shakes in the morning. It's easy to make a good food choice during the day when you've got all your good food with you, pre-cooked, pre-wrapped, and ready to be eaten.

After the talk, one of the athletes came up to me and told me he avoids Tupperware altogether because of the potential leeching of xenoestrogens into his food. When I asked what he uses to store his food in, he told me he doesn't even preplan his meals. He also told me he needed to lose fifteen pounds and that he was overweight because his nutrition sucked!

Buddy, I agree that glass containers may be marginally better than plastic, but for the love of God, pick up some plastic if it'll help you plan your meals! And this was a world-class athlete!

You can imagine how the average guy fares!

What to do? Plan your meals in advance, storing them in woven baskets if necessary. Buy the best containers you can afford. If you can get the glass versions, great; if not, the generic plastic ones will do just fine.

6 . Free Range vs. Extremely Limited Range Meat
Most weightlifters eat lots of protein and that's no mistake. One of the best ways to get all that protein is by eating a lot of protein and micronutrient-rich lean meat. Protein supplements are okay to supplement your diet, but real food should be your nutritional mainstay and there's nothing better than good ol' fashioned lean meat.

Since eating more protein can increase metabolic rate, improve your weight loss profile, increase protein turnover, accelerate exercise adaptation, and (when replacing dietary carbohydrate) decrease the chance of cardiovascular disease, it should be clear that most people would do well to increase their consumption of lean meat.

So imagine the dismay someone might experience when hearing that the experts are now bickering about the type of meat we consume. Many experts muddy the waters when discussing free range vs. grain fed meat, telling people that grain fed meat (the only kind you can find in many grocery stores in North America) is full of toxins, bad fats, and hormones.

Sure, free-range meat is probably a better choice, although there's little proof the supposed toxins and hormones actually get passed on to us. But again, imagine you're someone with a lifetime of eating habits that are less than optimal and you're exposed to all this bickering about lean protein. What do you do? Well, when you're afraid of the meat you have access to, you shy away from all types of lean meat and reach for another bagel. Bad choice!

What to do? Find the best meat you can by going around to various grocery shops and butchers. Owners of health food stores may also be able to help you locate the best stuff. But don't be afraid to eat the meat you find in your grocery store -- the reports of your impending death are greatly exaggerated.

These are just a few of the displacing debates gaining momentum in the nutrition world. Do your best to get past the marginalia, to get past the differences between all the new programs, and try to discover for yourself the basic principles all the successful programs seem to be built upon. Most importantly, when faced with a choice between two good options, one of which may be marginally better than the other, but both of which would be an improvement over what you're currently doing, just pick one and go with it. You can optimize later, as long as you make an improvement now.

There's no debating that.

Read more of Dr. Berardi's info HERE

Workouts to Keep Your Body Guessing

Fat Loss Workouts

You have to "keep your body guessing" to keep your workouts working. That's the classic phrase that goes around the gym, passed from one bodybuilder to the next as they try out new routines and techniques.

But does this old bodybuilder phrase hold true?
Well, I think it does.

And that's why I strongly recommend changing the variables in your training program every 3-4 weeks. Each month you should change the exercises, or switch up the sets and reps for each exercise, or try new training methods.

If you're going on 3 straight months of the same program, then I'll bet you're also going on 2 straight months of no results.

So you must change.

Even with your Turbulence Training programs, you have to switch the workouts up on a regular basis. Heck, that's one of the main principles of TT - Variety in training.

If you don't switch it up, your body will not change, adapt, or improve in order to handle the different workouts.

Here are some changes you should make...

Switch from long, slow steady cardio to interval cardio (although as a TT reader, I hope that you've done this a long time ago).

Change your interval program from 30 seconds to 60 seconds per interval. Or change your interval training method.

Or you might even be ready to take the next step, subbing in bodyweight circuits for interval cardio.

For your strength workouts, use heavier weights and fewer repetitions (increase the weight by 5% and decrease the number of reps per set by 2). Or sometimes do 4 sets instead of just 3.

Switch your program to unilateral movements only. Use only dumbbells.

Switch your supersets so that you pair a heavy dumbbell exercise with a bodyweight exercise (Like in the October monthly workout)

Always train safe of course!

Try something new on your off-days. Maybe you are really stressed out? Yoga can help. Start an easy yoga-class on off-days from your TT workouts.

Let me know how you change up your workout,

CB

If you want help designing some bodyweight circuits...

Get the October Monthly workout.

Click HERE to get started on a workout that doesn't need a treadmill or any other cardio equipment

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Monday Workout

Workout

Monday's workout was a return to the total body program.

Squat rack was in use so I started with my neutral grip chinups using gymnastics rings...so the performance was a bit lower - perhaps due to the freedom of movemenbt allowed by the rings...dunno just making excuses I guess

Also warmed up with some kettlebell swings, in addition to foam rolling and more drills from the Inside-Out Upper Body Warmup DVD.

Get the DVD here

1) Neutral chinups (3xMax)

2) Squats (3x4) - 355lbs

3a) Good Morning (3x8)
3b) Close-Grip Bench Lockouts (3x12)

4) Zercher squats (2x10)

Had to make myself leave the gym today. That's the result of finding a better gym at which to train. There are no cardio machines in this gym. Instead, the trainers were having male and female clients pulling the weighted sled. A much better, more applicable way to lose fat fast.

CB

workout, fat loss, squat