Everyone wants to know: what is the difference between Crossfit and Turblence Training? Well, lets take a look at some pros and cons:

Pros:

• Provides you with free, intense workouts that help you lose fat, gain strength, and boost your athletic abilities.
• Recommends sound nutritional guidelines
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) provides a great tutorial for beginners trying to get into Crossfit
• Crossfit Forum is free, and is relatively beginner-friendly
• Promotes the use of Free Weights and Bodyweight Training as opposed to Machines
• Provides detailed instructions for each movement they use
• Credited for workouts that helped transform the “300″ crew
• Best training programs for professional athletes and military personel
• Crossfit Journal costs only $25 per year

 

• Too advanced for average individuals and complete beginners
• Potential for injury is too great
• Recommended frequency for workouts is too high
• Not the best program to increase lean muscle mass
• Not recommended for obese or overweight individuals
• There is no clear-cut answer to the development of the articles
• Too random – workout schedule makes no sense
• Former Crossfit trainers complain of “cult” mentality
• Founder of Crossfit is extremely out of shape
• Crossfit trainers are expensive

For time:

• 225 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
• 50 Pull-ups
• 225 pound Deadift, 12 reps
• 40 Pull-ups
• 225 pound Deadlift, 9 reps
• 30 Pull-ups
• 225 pound Deadlift, 6 reps
• 20 Pull-ups
• 225 pound Deadlift, 3 reps
• 10 Pull-ups

Pros:

• Perfect training program for men and women of ages 14 to 75.
• Able to get individuals who are even 300+ pounds into great shape
• Very clear cut, simple approach to training
• Uses minimal equipment. Most workouts only require your bodyweight.
• Full support from Trainer Craig Ballantyne via Members Forum
• Craig Ballantyne is in great shape
• Minimal Risk of injury
• Does not promote steady state cardio
• Does not recommend machines
• Extremely safe method of training with controlled intensity
• Recommends the use of Free Weights and Bodyweight Training
• Saves you money on trainers
• Saves you money on gym membership
• Saves you money on training equipment at home

• You have to pay for it.

1A) DB Bulgarian Split Squat – 8 reps per side
No rest.
1B) Spiderman Pushup or Pushup – 10 reps per side or 15 reps
Rest 1 minute & repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #2
2A) Inverted Row or Beginner Inverted Row – 12 reps
No rest.
2B) 1-Leg Deadlift – 12 reps ====>>>> (see photo)
Rest 1 minute & repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Triset #3
3A) Stability Ball Rollout – 10 reps
No rest.
3B) Cross-Body Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side
No rest.
3C) Side Plank – 30 second hold per side
Rest 1 minute & repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 trisets.

I like to use some Crossfit workouts in my regular training, although at a much lower intensity level. In the forums and material presented on their website, they do not give you any guidelines to use when scaling the workouts to meet your intensity level.

The biggest mistake you can make is to perform the Crossfit workouts as is. You will need to modify them slightly based on equipment you have access to, training level, and level of mental strength.

The Turbulence Training workouts on the other hand, can be taken as is. There is no guesswork. All the information is provided to you. If you need to make them harder, simply add another set, more reps, or add weight.

Craig Ballantyne also shows you how to make a workout more easier. Turbulence Training was developed with the average individual in mind. Crossfit was developed with the athlete in mind.

It’s up to you to make your decision. But, I recommend Turbulence Training for the average individual. Click here to try Turbulence Training for just $4.95.

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:

• Click here for Turbulence Training Original workout Review
• Click here for Turbulence Training ab Workouts
• Click here for Turbulence Training for Muscle Mass
• Click here for Turbulence Training Bodyweight Only Workouts
• Click here for Turbulence Training for Women

Image by d_vdm

Last Month, I presented the first month of the 12-week Advanced Strength Program. This month, the first change we will be making is in the movements. The Front Squat will be replaced with the Back Squat, and the Bent Over Row will be replaced with the Bench Press. There will also be a bit of rearranging of exercises.

• The Deadlift will move to Workout A along with the Back Squat and Bench Press
• The Push Press will move into Workout B along with the Overhead Squat and Power Clean

The purpose of these movement is to:

1. Train different parts of your body
2. Provide a slightly different stimulus, but not enough to completely confuse and shock your body (the goal is gradual, but consistent progress).

Just as last month, you will be steadily dropping reps and increasing the sets as the weights become heavier. But the shock factor will come on week eight when you drop your rest periods to 45 seconds. If you have been following the workout for 7 weeks straight using 60 seconds rest periods, then you should have built up enough conditioning to train with 45 seconds rest periods.

NOTE: Pay careful attention to what it does to your strength levels in the present, and in the future.

Here is the full program in detail:

Workout A:

• Back Squat
• Bench Press
• Deadlift

Workout B:

• Push Press
• Overhead Squat
• Power Clean

Week Five

Sets: 6
Reps: 4
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Six

Sets: 7
Reps: 4
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Seven

Sets: 7
Reps: 3
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Eight

Sets: 7
Reps: 3
Rest: 45 seconds

Download the free printable workout logs here.

If you enjoy this program, please subscribe to Shah Training for free. Click here for more info.

I’ve been making a HUGE mistake. I’ve been tracking my workouts, but not measuring them. Before I go any further, I should probably clarify two words: tracking and measuring. There is a difference.

Tracking is the recording of an event, in our case a workout.

Measuring is estimating by evaluation or comparison.

Image by jeysun35 When you combine tracking and measuring, you get progress. I have been tracking, but I have not been measuring.

Here is the major flaw: Each of my workouts is random, from week to week I perform a completely different workout than the week before, and my workouts rarely ever repeat.I had adopted this training style simply because I realized that I adapted extremely quickly with my workouts and could not stand the thought of performing the same workout week in and week out. However, this was before I had discovered fast, intense workouts. This was when I was doing some hybrid form of martial arts and bodybuilding. I didn’t know anything about metabolic conditioning or how to train with your bodyweight. All I knew was that you were supposed to stay in a gym for 2 hours and do “stuff” until the clock told you to leave (or someone from the staff).

To say that I have not been making progress is a false statement. I have. I see it in my movements. I see it on video. And I see it in the mirror. But all this “seeing” is dangerous. There is something about writing down your time and then comparing it to last weeks time with the same workout: it never lies. When you “see” things you rationalize your way into thinking that you are making progress. Or for some people, you rationalize your way out of making progress.

How do you know you are making progress?

This question was actually posed to me by my bodybuilding friend: “How do you know you are making any progress if you keep doing random workouts?” Good question, and one that I really couldn’t answer. I went to the Crossfit forum to pose the same exact question, and they referred me to their benchmark workouts. Benchmark workouts are simply workouts that are used to measure progress and appear in the Crossfit programming once or twice a week. For example, one of their workouts is Fran. This particular workout may be performed on, say, December 8th, 2006, and will not appear again until February 16, 2007. I’m just throwing out random dates here. But the point is that Fran will appear a few weeks apart, but they will have other Benchmarks within the weeks such as Barbara and Nate.

I have attempted to create benchmark workouts in the past. But honestly, at that moment I was not as familiar with Crossfit’s programming as I am now. I respect Crossfit, but I’m not sure if all their methods are a right fit for me.

I have two options in terms of measuring progress:

1. Create a training program based on five to six workouts per week, and repeat them for six weeks straight, attempting to make as much progress on them as possible. This progress can be measured by being able to complete the workout at a faster time, the amount of weight used in the workout, increasing reps, or increasing rounds.
2. Develop a series of benchmark workouts that appear in your programming each week along with a few other random workouts. Use these benchmarks as measures of progress.

Ok, so the second method is Crossfit. The first method I’ve actually seen on a few bodybuilding forums. People will choose one workout and then perform it along with their bodybuilding workouts as a form of cardio or conditioning. They’ll choose a goal, say drop total time by 3 minutes, and keep working on it until they reach their goal.

Hmmm…I think this time around I’m going to side with the bodybuilders.

I’ve decided to create 5 workouts, some of which I’ve done before, and work on them Monday through Friday. Each workout will have a set of measurement, a different one for each workout. For example, the Monday workout may be focused around time. The Tuesday workout may be focused on increasing weight. Etc. you get the point. I will try this for 6 weeks as an experiment, and then show you guys the progress I’ve made on this very website. Stay tuned!

Many females do not lift weights because they do not want to get big and bulky like a guy or like a big female bodybuilder. Instead, they want a toned body with the right curves in the right places. So in order to avoid getting big and bulky, many women either train with extremely light weights, or they do not lift weights at all.

In short, women are afraid of lifting weights. Females should not be afraid of weight lifting or of getting big and bulky like a man because of one reason: Testosterone. Simply put, men have a lot of testosterone and women do not. Men can get big and bulky because of this testosterone, and women can not get big and bulky due to the lack of testosterone.

Women can train with big, heavy free weights or perform higher reps with light weighs. Either way, they will not be able to put on the type of mass that they are afraid of putting on. Women are able to put on a certain amount of muscle mass to help them get nice and toned, however, not as much as most women believe.

Now, I know what you are thinking. What about those female bodybuilders, wrestlers, and athletes that have big arms and shoulders that look like a man? Well, since females do not have enough testosterone to build that kind of mass, there is a strong chance that these women have used steroids or other supplements to increase their level of testosterone. So, if you do not plan to use steroids or testosterone boosting supplements, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about anymore.

I realize that I will be unable to convert a female right away and get her to start lifting weights. To remedy that, I have designed three intense bodyweight workouts to help you break into the business of intense workouts:

Intense Workout One:

For Time:
Pushups 20 reps
Squats 30 reps
Sit-ups 50 reps
Squats 30 reps
Pushups 20 rep

This workout will work firm up your entire body and is a great beginner workout before starting serious weight training. The goal here is to finish the prescribed repetitions before moving onto the next exercise. For example, perform 20 pushups first before going onto 30 squats. Then perform 50 situps, and continue in this manner. Be sure to time the entire workout.

If you are unable to perform all the repetitions, then it is ok to scale down the workout. For example, if you can only perform 10 pushups instead of 20, then you can perform only 10 pushups in the workout. If you are unable to perform pushups or any other of the prescribed exercises, then you can replace them with easier variations.

Intense Workout Two:

For Time:
50 yard sprint
50 sit-ups
50 yard sprint
30 squats
50 yard sprint
20 pushups
Run 1 mile

This is another great non-weighted workout which is specifically designed to help you burn fat. You will be performing sprints at an approximate distance of 50 yard, followed by prescribed bodyweight exercises. Finish off the workout with a one mile run, and do not forget to time the entire workout.

If you are unable to perform all the reps, then you can scale the workout as mentioned previously.

Intense Workout Three:

Perform maximum rounds in 20 minutes of:
10 Burpees
10 Pushups
10 Squats
10 Dips
5 Chin-ups

In this workout, you set a timer for 20 minutes, and you keep performing the prescribed circuit until the 20 minutes are finished. Your goal is to perform more rounds as time goes on. And as always, you may scale the workouts to your specifications.

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