The question is…do you really need to perform lots of cardio in order to lose fat? Or is there another, better way? Last week, someone asked me if I was “anti-cardio.”
I’m not “anti-cardio.” If anything, I’m “anti-traditional cardio.”
Anyone who is trying to get into good shape or lose unwanted body fat believe that all they need to do is tons of cardio in order to achieve their dream body.
There are many people out there that are extremely lean that rarely ever go out for a long, slow and steady jog or do any sort slow, steady cardio. So what do these people do? They do something known as Turbulence Training. No, this isn’t some super secret form of training.
It’s a simple training style developed by trainer Craig Ballantyne which combines High Intensity Interval Training with Intense Super Set Weight Training. Here’s the problem with cardio: It’s great for beginners who’ve never done any cardio before. Anything new will get you results fast.
However, as your body gets used to your workout, you stop getting results. So, people just decide to make their workouts longer. Next thing you know, you’re spending 2 hours a day working out, 5 days a week just for a measly.5 lbs of fat loss per week.
There’s a better way. But, in order to find that better way, you need to ask yourself: what is cardio? Is it really just all about pumping mindlessly on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike?
Nope. “Cardio” is all about getting your heart pumped and geting you huffing and puffing. Cardio exercise is any type of exercise or any activity that strengthens your cardiovascular system.
That is exactly what Turbulence Training workouts do: they raise your heart rate and force your body to work harder. When your body works harder, you boost your metabolic rate.
Your metabolic rate is a measure of how fast your body burns calories. The higher your metabolic rate, the more fat and calories you will burn. Here’s a quick sample of what a Turbulence Training superset feels like: Take a dumbbell and press it over your head for 10 repetitions.
Now drop your arms to your sides, and without resting, hold the dumbbells and perform 10 squats. Now, you can rest for 1 minute. Notice how face your heart rate is pumping. If you are using a challenging weight, you will find your heart rate has increased to about 80-90 % of the maximum recommended rate.
This simple superset will make you feel as if you just ran a 100-meter long sprint. This may look like just basic strength training, but it’s so much more!
You can replace your tradiational cardio with these types of superset routines, saving your lots of time and energy. Of course, you’ll be burning off tons of fat in the process!
If you’re really serious about gaining muscle mass and losing fat, then you need to check out more of Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training workouts.
Want more muscle mass? Turbulence Training workouts, developed by Craig Ballantyne, are some of the best workouts to help you pack on more muscle mass.
Here is a sample workout: Start off with a bodyweight warm up with ten Y squats, ten push ups, eight diagonal lunges, and ten inverted rows.
According to Craig Ballantyne, a warm up is the most important part of your workout. This is because it pumps the blood and increases circulation, which will give you more energy to do the work out.
After your bodyweight warm-up, Craig Ballantyne advises you to warm up before each superset with a light set. Here are some things you must know before starting the workout:
A superset is where you alternate between two exercises with little to no rest in between each set.
A tempo of 2-0-1 means that you lower the weight use a 2 second count, and raise the bar with a 1 second count.
Now here’s the workout
In the 1st super set, do dumbbell presses for six repetitions with 2-0-1 tempo. Use heavy weights and rest one minute, & then move to the DB rows for six repetitions.
Rest two minutes and then repeat the cycle two more times for total of three supersets.
You will need a spotter in the last set. Take 2 min rest. Then perform 8 decline pushups with a 2-0-1 tempo.
Take thirty seconds rest, and perform V chins for eight reps. Grip the v-grip and let the palms face each other. Pull yourself up to the bar until you chest comes to the bar level.
If you are not strong enough to get the chest up to bar level, then do the best that you can. Lower very slowly. Rest for another one minute and repeat twice.
In the last superset, do 10 Incline Dumbell Press and follow it with the Barbell Rows for 10 repetitions.
As you can tell, this is an upper body workout. Do lower body work out another day.
Don’t do too much cardio with you muscle building workouts, or else it will hinder your mass gains.
If you’re really serious about gaining muscle mass and losing fat, then you need to check out more of Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training workouts.
There are many people who are unable to go to a gym to train because they can’t afford it. So here is a circuit training workout that can be performed with just a single dumbbell. The exercises I’ve chosen are easy to perform and everyone can afford buying just one dumbbell. So start today and get back into shape; even without going to the gym.
The Exercises:
Dumbbell One Armed Step Ups
Face a bench and stand. Hold a dumbbell in your hand. Place one foot on the bench and press down so that your body will be brought up and then place the other foot.
Then step down. Now change feet and repeat the same exercise. Also change hands while holding the dumbbells after few reps.
One Dumbbell Golf Squat
Hold a dumbbell with both hands. Squat low and make sure that the dumbbell is in between your legs.
Twist your torso, and while doing this squat back up. Drive the dumbbell to the right shoulder. Make sure the arms are straight. Alternate sides and repeat.
One Armed Dumbbell Crunch
Lie down on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in front of your body. Make sure the other hand is in a neutral position.
Crunch upwards and keep the dumbbell in a position over your head. You will feel this position in your upper abs and oblique’s. This is a very effective exercise.
One Armed Dumbbell Curls
Hold a dumbbell to the side of your body with one hand. Curl the dumbbell toward your shoulder while bending the elbow.
Stop when you reach the top position. Slowly bring the dumbbell down, and repeat this on the other way.
One Armed Dumbbell Split Squat
Don’t confuse with a lunge. Unlike lunge where you bend forward and down. In this you place a foot in front of another and have a split stance.
Just squat up and squat down in this position. This requires far more balance than the lunge.
This may be up to ten times harder than it when it is performed just with a single dumbbell.
The Workout:
5 rounds of:
Dumbbell One Arm Step Ups, 10 repetitions each side
One Dumbbell Golf Squat, 10 repetitions alternating sides
One Armed Dumbbell Crunch, 10 repetitions each side
One Armed Dumbbell Curls, 10 repetitions each side
One Armed Dumbbell Split Squat, 10 repetitions each side
For some more great dumbbell workouts, grab this free manual:
Enter your Name and Email Below for the Bodyweight and Dumbbell Workouts, then hit “Submit”:
It is very easy to setup a dumbbell workout for beginners. Craig Ballantyne, founder of Turbulence Training, suggests that you always need to start with some sort of warm up.
A warm up is important because it sets the rhythm for the work out. When you perform a warm up your pulse rate goes up and this sets the tone for the workouts that you are going to perform after the warm up.
If you want to know the difference, do a workout session with and without warm up and you can see the difference for yourself.
A basic body weight warm up is preffered. Craig Ballantyne states that spending five minutes on treadmill is no better than a body weight warm up.
In fact it is true. Only your heart is trained by the treadmill. However, your muscles also get warmed up with a body weight circuit.
After the warmup, perform three – four supersets of non competing muscles.
A non-competing superset is when you perform 2 exercises after each other with very little to almost no rest in between sets. “Non Competing” means that the exercises train opposing muscle groups such as back and chest.
One example of a non-competing superset is performing a dumbbell chest press followed by the dumbbell bent over row.
Craig also likes to alternate between lower and upper body movements. He also advises you to perform the hardest exercise first.
This is because you will be able to finish off the hardest exercise when you’re fresh.
You also have to perform the exercises using the same weight. This is well explained with the following example:
During a superset, you will be forced to keep two dumbbells with you. So if you need to use about 50lbs for Dumbbell Squat, but cannot manage more than 30 lbs for a Dumbbell Chest Press, too much time will be lost in between the exercises grabbing the 30lbs dumbbells.
You can better avoid this if you try to match up exercises where you can use similar poundages.
Another solution, suggested by Craig Ballantyne is to alternate between a body weight and dumbbell movement.
Follow these basic instructions and you will see results for yourself. If you’re skeptical of this form of training, then grab one of Craig Ballantyn’s free workouts:
Enter your Name and Email Below for the Bodyweight and Dumbbell Workouts, then hit “Submit”:
It’s very difficult to build up lean muscle mass . You need the proper combination of regular diet, exercise, & hormonal processes. It is a known fact that women do not secrete the same quantity of testosterone which men do to build up the kind of hefty muscles that men hold.
Instead, women secrete high levels of the hormone estrogen. The main reason behind the difficulty that women face while loosing weight is that oestrogen is a hormone that stores fat. Focusing on building lean muscle mass will actually help women with this problem.
We’ve already gone over why women should not be afraid of lifting weights. You won’t build the big, buff bodies of men just be a few sessions of weight training. When you build even 1-2 lbs of muscle, it will have a dramatic, and different look on you then it would a men. Women who lift weights tend to have long, lean sculpted muscles the help them improve their body composition. This is because increasing lean muscle mass this will help women increase their metabolic rate.
The rate at which your body burns calories is called the metabolic rate of your body. Therefore, the greater your metabolic rate, the more calories you burn at rest. It is good to maintain some muscle rather than fat as muscles are more metabolically active than fat. This means that muscle needs more calories than fat to maintain or sustain them. So concentrate on building lean muscles in order to burn fat.
Weight training helps you more to shape your physique. This is done by body builders all the time. As mentioned earlier, women can learn something from the body builders and it is needless for them to have worries about building huge muscle.
It is quite easy to develop a basic dumbbell workout. All that you have to do is choose three to ten exercises that train your body and organise them into a routine. This simple and a straight method is enough for beginners.
Craig Ballantyne has but together a great, simple program called Turbulence Training. In this program, he shows you how to effectively burn fat using basic weight training and interval training methods. Click here for more information.
Do you love training arms, but don’t have much time to train them? Well, Craig Ballantyne, creator of Turbulence Training has 3 different systems you can use at the end of your regular workout to add in additional arm exercises.
These workouts are super short – and even take you as little as 3 minutes to complete. There are 2 ways you can approach these workouts:
Add one of the systems to the end of your workouts, 3 days per week
Combine all three systems together to form one, 9-minute arm workout (may be a little longer with rest periods).
Here are the three arm workouts:
3 minute Arm Workout #1: 5×5 Method
You will do dumbbell curls and dumbbell tricep extension. Choose a weight where you can pump out 8 repetitions. But instead of 8 repetitions, you will do 5 repetitions of each exercise.
Alternate between the two movements for 5 sets. Here’s what the workout looks like written out:
Dumbbell Curls, 5×5
Dumbbell Tricep Extension, 5×5
3 minute Arm Workout #2: 4×6 Method
This method is similar to the first one. Choose a weight where you can perform 8 repetitions, but perform 6 repetitions. Perform 4 total sets. Here is a sample routine:
Barbell Bicep Curl, 4×6
Incline Dumbbell Tricep Extension, 4×6
Remember, no rest between the exercises until all sets are complete.
3 minute Arm Workout #3: 2×8 Once again, a pretty straight forward routine. Choose two exercises where you can perform 8 repetitions, and actually perform 8 repetitions. Rest 30 seconds between the superset, and repeat one more time.
Here’s a sample routine:
Incline Dumbbell Curls, 2×8
Tricep Rope Extension, 2×8
30 Seconds Rest
There you go! Add these arm workouts to your compound workouts, and you’ll be on your way to developing a lean, athletically looking body.
Craig Ballantyne has developed hundreds of fitness programs that revolve around the basic concepts of Turbulence Training.
To get an overall introduction to Turbulence Training, you should grab the original Turbulence Training manual. The manual includes everything you need to get started on your fat loss journey. There are workouts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced trainees. If you go through each program separately, in a few months you’d have literally transformed your health and physique. Click here for more information.
For individuals who have had some experience with exercise or even Turbulence Training, then Craig has numerous other workouts specifically designed for women, muscle mass, bodyweight only, abs training, and more.
You need to make the decision today: Are you going to continue to follow pointless, boring workouts and never get any impressive results, or you going to take a chance and try some trully unique ideas using Craig Ballantyne’s workouts? Start today with either one of the Turbulence Training workouts:
Want some high intensity training programs you can do at home that are guaranteed to get you six pack abs? The only place to turn is Turbulence Training.
The following is a sample Turbulence Training routine developed by Craig Ballantyne, specifically for abs:
Turbulence Training workouts revolve around supersets. A superset is where you perform two exercise back to back with little to no rest in between each set.
For the first superset, you will alternate between a Pullup with Knee Raise and DB Chest Press. Perform 2-3 sets of each movement, rest 1 minute between each superset, then move straight to the next set of supersets.
Perform a set of DB Reverse Lunges, followed by Decline Spiderman Pushups. A spiderman pushup is where you bring one knee up to the side to touch your elbow during each repetitions.
The decline spiderman pushup is where you place your legs on an elevated surface, which boosts the difficulty and engages your abdominals. Rest 1 minute between each supersets.
After 3 sets, move on to the abdominal circuit. The Abdominal circuit consists of a Hanging Leg Raise, Kneeling Cable Crunch, and Cable Chop. If you do not have access to a cable machine, then you can perform Stability Ball Roll outs and Cross Body Mountain Climbers.
Here’s what the whole workout looks like:
TT Lower Abs Workout A
1A) Pull-up with Knee-up
1B) DB Chest Press
2A) DB Reverse Lunge
2B) Decline Spiderman Pushup
Ab Circuit – NOTE: Do only one circuit in Week 1.
A) Hanging Leg Raise
B) Kneeling Cable Crunch
C) Cable Chop
Home Gym Alternate Ab Superset
A) Stability Ball Rollout
B) X-Body Mountain Climber
Craig Ballantyne has developed hundreds of fitness programs that revolve around the basic concepts of Turbulence Training.
To get an overall introduction to Turbulence Training, you should grab the original Turbulence Training manual. The manual includes everything you need to get started on your fat loss journey. There are workouts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced trainees. If you go through each program separately, in a few months you’d have literally transformed your health and physique. Click here for more information.
For individuals who have had some experience with exercise or even Turbulence Training, then Craig has numerous other workouts specifically designed for women, muscle mass, bodyweight only, abs training, and more.
You need to make the decision today: Are you going to continue to follow pointless, boring workouts and never get any impressive results, or you going to take a chance and try some trully unique ideas using Craig Ballantyne’s workouts? Start today with either one of the Turbulence Training workouts:
Here’s a great dumbbell and bodyweight home workout routine from the original Turbulence Training manual, 2K6 workout A. Workout A is an upper body routine. You’re going to start off with an easy warm-up circuit.
Perform this 2 times with no rest in between each exercise, and 30 seconds rest between each circuit:
Bodyweight Squat, 10 repetitions
Close-Grip Pushups, 8 repetitions
Stability Ball Leg Curl, 12 repetitions
After the warmup circuit, you’re going to do a warmup superset using two of the movements from the actual workout. Perform 6 repetitions of Dumbbell Incline Presses using 75% of the weight you use normally.
Move straight to Dumbbell Rows without resting. Once again, use just 75% of the weight. Rest 1 minute and use your normal weight to perform a superset of DB incline press and rows, 3 times.
Rest 1 minute between each superset. After 3 sets, move onto superset #2, which consists of 8 chinups and 8 repetitions of Dumbbell Chest Presses.
Do no rest in between each set, but rest 1 minute after the superset. After 3 supersets, finish the strength portion off with a set of close-grip pushups for 25 repetitions, followed by Dumbbell Rear-Deltoid Raises for 10 reptitions.
Perform 3 supersets, resting 1 minute between each superset. After the strength workout, perform 20-25 minutes of Interval training. Here’s what the entire workout looks like:
Warm-up Superset:
1A) DB Incline Press – 6 reps using 75% of your real weight
1B) DB Row – 6 reps using 75% of your real weight
Rest 1 minute
Superset #1:
1A) DB Incline Press, 6 reps
1B) DB Row, 6 reps
Rest 1 minute, total 3 sets
Superset #2:
2A) Chin-up, 8 reps
2B) DB Chest Press, 8 reps
Rest 1 minute, total 3 sets
Superset #3:
3A) Close-Grip Pushups, 25 reps
3B) DB Rear Deltoid Raise, 10 reps
Rest 1 minute, total 3 sets
20-25 Minutes of Interval Training
One of the best ways to help you with your intervals is to use the GymBoss Interval Timer. It costs just $19.95, and you can program it to help you keep track of any sort of intervals you may use. Click here to grab yours today.
Craig Ballantyne has developed hundreds of fitness programs that revolve around the basic concepts of Turbulence Training.
To get an overall introduction to Turbulence Training, you should grab the original Turbulence Training manual. The manual includes everything you need to get started on your fat loss journey. There are workouts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced trainees. If you go through each program separately, in a few months you’d have literally transformed your health and physique. Click here for more information.
For individuals who have had some experience with exercise or even Turbulence Training, then Craig has numerous other workouts specifically designed for women, muscle mass, bodyweight only, abs training, and more.
You need to make the decision today: Are you going to continue to follow pointless, boring workouts and never get any impressive results, or you going to take a chance and try some trully unique ideas using Craig Ballantyne’s workouts? Start today with either one of the Turbulence Training workouts:
Not everyone has the luxury of training in a gym with a row of dumbbells at their fingertips. Not everyone has the luxury of training at home with a few adjustable dumbbells.
Most people have just a pair of dumbbells in their homes. Others have just one dumbbell in their homes (like me). I grew up with just one dumbbell. I figured out how to train with it, and so can you.
In fact, having one dumbbell isn’t so bad. It makes you more creative. You realize you have the chance to think outside the box. Because of my lack of resources, I’ve become very good at thinking outside the box to make life more convenient for me.
I no longer need fancy gadgets or the latest fashionable items to make my life meaningful. I take what I have and use. Live within my means. And my means, I assure you, are very humble.
So, lets get on with it! The following are some great exercises you can use to train with just one dumbbell:
Dumbbell One Armed Hanging Snatch
Stand with one dumbbell held in one hand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Hold the dumbbell so that your arm is hanging straight down between your legs, with your palm facing inward, towards the back of your body.
Squat down until your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Hold the other arm off the side for balance, or behind your back. Use a pelvic hip thrust to explosively push up out of the squat and lift the dumbbell in a straight-line motion towards your head.
Bend your elbows as you continue to lift the dumbbell towards your head, keeping the dumbbell close, but not too close, to the body. Keep raising the dumbbell up and past your head until you arms are straight out above your head.
From this position, reverse the motion, and bring the dumbbell back to starting position. Make sure to lower yourself back into the squat position.
Dumbbell One Armed Hanging High Pull
This movement is exactly the same as the snatch, however you stop the movement as the dumbbell gets close to your chest. Think of it as an explosive upright row. Make sure to squeeze your lats as you bring the Dumbbell to the top position.
Dumbbell One Armed Step Ups
Stand facing a bench, chair, or sturdy object with a dumbbell in your hand. Place one foot on the bench, press on the bench with the foot to bring your body up and place the other foot on the bench.
Now both feet should be on the bench. Step down with the initial foot, and follow up with the other foot. Now, step back up with the second foot, and follow up with the first foot.
So basically you’re alternating between which foot you step up with first. Because the one dumbbell will off-set your center of gravity, this movement will be tougher and will engage your abdominals more then the two-dumbbell version.
Make sure to switch hands with the dumbbell every few repetitions.
Dumbbell One Armed Military Press
This is a fairly simple exercise to execute. You will most likely need to start off at a lighter weight then you would using two dumbbells. Hold a single dumbbell with one hand up to your shoulder.
Press the dumbbell over your head. Pause, and return to starting position. You can either do this movement seated or standing. Each version has its own advantage and disadvantage.
One Armed Clean and Press
Here’s another explosive movement. Start off the way you would performing a snatch or high pull. Perform the movement as if you would a hang snatch, however, instead of returning the dumbbell back to starting position, rotate your elbow so that it’s facing in front of you.
This is what you call a “catch.” When you pull the dumbbell off the floor, your elbow is towards the side. Simply rotate the elbow so that it’s pointing towards the front of your body.
This is the “clean” portion of the movement. At this point, the dumbbell should be at shoulder level. From here, simply perform a one-armed military press. Return to starting position.
One Dumbbell Golf Squat
Grab a dumbbell by the handle with two hands. Squat down low so that the dumbbell is hanging between your legs. Squat back up while twisting your torso and driving the dumbbell up and to the right shoulder.
Keep your arms straight throughout the movement. This is called the golf squat, because it almost feels like your swinging a golf club during this movement. Perform it explosively and alternate sides.
One Armed Dumbbell Crunch
Lay down on the floor as if you were performing a regular crunch. Hold a dumbbell straight out in front of your body. Keep your other arm in a neutral position. Crunch upwards, keeping the dumbbell above your head.
You should feel this movement in your upper abs and obliques.
One Armed Dumbbell Twisting Military Press
This is like the military press, except for the fact that you are twisting your torso. Twist to to the right and press the dumbbell over your head. Bring it back down to your shoulder as you face to the front.
Repeat and twist to the other side. Switch hands and repeat. This is another great movement that will help engage your abs.
One Armed Dumbbell Curls
Sometimes we all need some extra arm work. Hold a dumbbell with one hand to the side of your body. Bend your elbow to curl the dumbbell up towards your shoulder. Stop at the top position, and slowly bring it down.
Repeat on the other side.
One Armed Dumbbell Split Squat
This movement is often confused with a lunge. But, in a lunge, you lunge forward and down. In the split squat, you place one foot in front of the other in a “split” stance, and simply squat up and down in this position.
The movement requires more balance than a lunge, and will be ten times harder when performed with just one dumbbell.
For some great dumbbell workouts, check out the Gladiator Body Workout. Coach Eddie Lomax has done a great job of developing 6 high intensity 4-week programs that combine dumbbell and bodyweight exercises.
Have you been trying to pack on some muscle mass for quite some time with minimal to no results? Well, try this Turbulence Training for Reformed Meatheads workout developed by Craig Ballantyne:
Superset #1
1A) Barbell Squat – 12 reps (3-0-1) – with last set drop-set at 50-75%
No rest.
1B) Stability Ball Rollout or Ab Wheel – 10 reps (3-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.
Superset #2
2A) DB RDL – 12 reps (3-0-1)
No rest.
2B) Stability Ball Jackknife – 12 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.
Superset #3
3A) Barbell Forward Lunge – 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
No rest.
3B) Side Plank with DB Lateral Raise – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.
Bodyweight Intervals
Burpees – 10 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 rounds.
You’re going to start the workout off with some barbell squats. Instead of going heavy, start off with a moderate weight to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions. The bar should be set approximately chest height at the squat rack.
Step under the bar, knees bent, and abs tight. Make sure your feet are a bit wider than hip width apart. Keep your head looking forward. Do not look towards the ground, or else you’ll lose your balance.
Breath in deep, unrack and step back. Push your hips back and lower you body until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Pause, and come back up. After the barbell squats, perform stability ball rollouts or the abs wheel.
For the first week, go through each movement only once, then build yourself up to 3 sets. Once you’ve built up to 3 sets for the barbell squats, start doing drop sets. This is where you take off some weight, Craig suggests 30-40% off, and do more repetitions until failure.
The next superset is Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts and Stability Ball Jackknife. You can also substitute the Romanian Deadlifts with Dumbbell Reverse lunges. For the last superset, perform barbell lunges with side planks (with a twist).
For the Barbell Lunges, use 25% less weight than you normally do. Craig wants you go focus on a nice and strong step out, followed by a nice step back. If you feel wobbly at any point, then lighten the load and focus on form.
For the side planks, you’re going to grab a dumbbell and perform a lateral raise at the same time. Perform 3 sets of each of supersets (or as otherwise stated). You’re going to finish off the workout with some burpees.
Perform 10 burpees, and take a 30 second rest. Repeat 4 more times for a total of 40 burpees.
