Do NOT Train to Failure

Back in my final year of my Kinesiology degree at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, I performed a study that proved you did not need to train to failure.

And to add to that, I have a great article for you showing why you should AVOID training to failure. It's written by one of my best friend, Jason Ferruggia, who has one of the best strength training sites on the net.

As Jason says, "The single most important concept for people to understand is that strength is a skill and you need to treat it as such."

Read why here:

=> Truth about training to failure

Now sometimes I get carried away and forget that rule, but today I had a very smart workout:

1A) Depth Jumps
1B) Box Squats - 315x3x3

2) Glute-Ham Raise

3) DB Step-up

4) 1-leg calf raise

I really hustled through exercises 2-4.

Next week I switch up my program. In addition to the exercise changes, I will also be moving my squat workout to 1st in the week, and my deadlift to the 3rd workout of the week. And I'll be sticking with the 4 day per week program.

If you haven't already, check out my daily diet and workout plan here (apparently my fridge is really clean)

=> Craig Ballantyne's Daily Diet

This will also show you what I eat before and after training. There are a lot of comments there too, some good discussion.

Speaking of diet, I want you to undertake a 6-Week experiment for me. It will really help your fat loss.

The 6-week Experiment

Write down everything you eat for the next 6 weeks and record how you feel after you eat these meals. Make the connection between food and mood/energy. Do this short experiment to help you eat better for the rest of your life.

Finally, today's kick-butt mindset tip from me:

No matter how busy we are and no matter how difficult it is, somewhere out there is someone who has it worse, and they've made it work. So if they can do it, then we can find a way to do it too, no matter what "it" is.

Kick butt and stay strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS - Never too early...

...to start thinking about post-Christmas fat loss and Body Transformation. The 10th Turbulence Training contest starts on Dec 26th.

=> Transormation Contest #10