1 - Crunches Every Day

Last month's myth from my column in Men's Fitness Magazine:

"You should do crunches every day to get ripped abs."

In a word: Wrong! The most important factor in developing visible abs is a low body-fat percentage - 10% or less - and that won't come from crunches, since it burns few calories and works very little overall muscle. You're better off doing intense workouts that trigger your body to burn tons of fat – like my Turbulence Training workouts, full of high-intensity interval sessions and multi-muscle strength-training exercises such as squats, pull-ups, presses, and deadlifts. As for direct ab work, just 10 minutes every other day will do it. Do 2-4 exercises for a total of 8 sets, going for 6-15 reps per set.

2 - The Fat Loss Power of Food

I know that most readers come to www.TurbulenceTraining.com for the fat loss workouts, but you must know that good nutrition is just as important for fat loss results. Making the correct food choices is your secret weapon in the rush to get the best body for summer. Eating right will help you lose fat and increase your energy dramatically, so that you'll have plenty of stamina this summer on the beach and in the bedroom.

When I start working with clients, I have everyone enter their food intake on fitday.com to allow both of us to evaluate their nutrition. Some of the common problems that I see are:

1.      Too many treats per day. As one client said, ''I still have one treat per day such as chips, a chocolate bar, a donut, or a rib sub each day, and sometimes I skip breakfast. But other than that, I think it is pretty good.'' If that’s the case, and you are trying to lose fat, then you will have a difficult time. You just can't eat that many treats (read: garbage) and expect to get lean (unless you are 16 years old).

2.      Skipping breakfast.

3.      Not eating enough fiber.

4.      Not eating enough lean protein and low-glycemic, low-fat carbohydrate sources.

5.      Not eating much during the day and then eating a huge dinner.

Solutions:

1.      Set the tone with the first meal of the day by consuming a lean protein source and high-fiber, low-glycemic carbohydrates. Fiber at this meal will help control blood sugar over the morning and can help modify appetite at subsequent meals.

2.      Consume mini-meals to prevent starvation-induced meal binges and energy slumps.

3.      Choose snacks that contain protein and fiber, such as almonds.

4.      Keep your dinner moderate, and avoid high-calorie feasts.

5.      Consume calorie-free beverages, preferably Green Tea or water.

6.      Consume at least the recommended amount of fiber through vegetables, fruits, almonds, etc. But start adding fiber to your diet slowly and drink more water.

7.      Try to improve your nutrition each day. This will help get you into healthy eating habits. Be consistent with your training and nutrition, and you'll get results.

So here is your challenge. Start with one day and eliminate all of the processed foods from your nutrition plan. I want you to go one full day without foods containing added sugar, hydrogenated oils, or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). If you do it, you'll feel amazing and energized. You will probably have your best workout of the year and you'll probably get more done at work as well.

Replace the junk with lean protein sources, fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains (such as oat-based products), water, and green tea. Make sure to log your food intake on fitday.com and compare it to your regular eating. You'll notice that it is very hard to overeat when you eat only healthy foods.

Next week, try going two days without processed foods. And if you are looking for some healthy, non-processed food recipes, try Dr. John Berardi's new book, Gourmet Nutrition. I highly recommend it. 

Order it here.

Here's a sample recipe from the Berardi Report

– By Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D.

Most of us could benefit from increasing our intake of fresh, whole vegetables. If the cancer-fighting properties of vegetables aren't enough incentive, then take into consideration that they contain a ton of micronutrients that fill nutritional voids, they have small quantities of healthy fats such as omega-3's, they counteract high acidity produced by high protein diets, and they give us a big dose of fiber.

Asian stir-fry is one of the best ways to eat vegetables in both quantity and variety. After messing around with varieties of this recipe, we finally discovered a great combination of vegetable variety, healthfulness, texture, and taste. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to significantly increase your vegetable intake with just this one recipe.

http://www.johnberardi.com/gn/rep/stir_fry.htm

3 - Fat Loss Exercises of the Week: The Step-up

Step-Up

·        Stand facing a bench. Place one foot on the bench and the other on the floor.

·        With your abs braced and glutes squeezed, start the movement by pushing through the bench foot to lift the body up to the standing position.

·        Lower your body under control. Pause briefly at the bottom and repeat.

·        Complete all reps for one side before changing legs.

·        Start on a low step (6-inch) and increase the height of the step (12-in) as you improve.

·        Hold dumbbells when you are strong enough to increase the intensity.

 4 - The TT Membership - All the Workouts You'll Ever Need

“The pass is worth it just to be able to get input from you.”

Kevin Larabee

Click here to get your TT Membership today

P.S. If you’ve already purchased one of my products, you can get the TT Membership Pass for an even LOWER PRICE. Contact me here.

Once I receive your order, I will email you the link to the Pass and your password. You will then have 1 year of access to all of my manuals and the monthly updates. I guarantee that you will be blown away by the amount of training info in the Pass. And if you ever have any questions or program suggestions, just let me know.

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The information on TurbulenceTraining.com is for education purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health-care professionals. Consult your physician before beginning or making changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications.   Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS  CB Athletic Consulting, Inc. 2100 Bloor Street West, Suite 6315 Toronto, Ontario M6S 5A5   www.TurbulenceTraining.com http://www.cbathletics.com/ www.workoutmanuals.com www.grrlAthlete.com http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/    P.S. Sign-up for your daily fitness tip here: Subscribe form First name (required) Last name E-mail (required) P.P.S. Grab your free report, "The Dark Side of Cardio & Other Ineffective Fat Loss Methods" at www.TurbulenceTraining.com today!