The Mind Over Body Matter Letter

The Best Cardio Intervals for Fat Loss… by Craig Ballantyne

Is there really a best interval training system for fat loss?

Do intervals really work as well as regular cardio for fat loss?

I’m going to cover these, and many more questions in Part 1 of your lessons on interval training.

But this is not just interval training 101. Today, you’re going to leave this article with a graduate degree in interval training for fat loss.

I’ll answer both questions upfront before the lesson begins, and I’ll give more details on each as we go along:

1) Conservatively, intervals are at least as effective as regular aerobic training for fat loss. Personally, I believe intervals are
far superior. And there is no denying that intervals allow you to get your workouts done a lot faster than slow, boring cardio
workouts.

2) I have to admit, there is no best interval training program for fat loss. But that is a good thing, because there are so many ways that you can change your interval training to keep your fat loss results coming week in and week out.

By changing your training program every three to four weeks, you are using one of the key principles of Turbulence Training - variety. It is essential to change your workouts this frequently, otherwise you might suffer from a dreaded fat loss plateau.

And if that is the case for you now, I’ll show you dozens of alternative interval training workouts you can use to kick-start your metabolism and fat loss.

Now what many people don’t know, or perhaps just fail to recognize, is that interval training is not just for advanced fitness superstars. No way. In fact, intervals are an effective and perhaps even the most effective method for beginners to get fit and lose fat.

First you have to understand that interval training is based on relative performance. While my intervals would be much too hard for a beginner, my intervals would be a joke for Lance Armstrong.

So even for those men and women that are just dipping their toe into the fitness waters for the first time in months, years, or dare I say, decades, they too can do interval training.

If you are a beginner and you can walk at 3.3mph for 20 minutes, then your intervals will start at a walk at 3.6mph for 30 seconds to a minute. That is interval training.

It doesn’t have to be high-intensity, sprint-to-the-death activity.

Instead, just increase the intensity slightly more than you can normally handle, and do so for a short time, and intersperse that
with periods of easier exercise for twice the duration.

So if you did 1 minute at 3.6mph, drop down to 3.0mph for 2 minutes. Do that up to 6 times, and you’ve had yourself an interval session.

Now for those of you that have been doing only slow, traditional cardio, switching over to interval training 2-3 times per week is
going to be the fat loss equivalent of throwing a lit, gasoline soaked rag on a pile of dry kindling.

Here’s why…research has given us a lot of evidence that intervals are superior to traditional cardio.

First, a study from Laval University in 1994 compared interval training to aerobic training - straight up - over a 12 week training period. Subjects that used interval training had better results.

They lost more fat. You can’t argue with that.

And second, interval training causes metabolic turbulence - also known as boost in your metabolism. Due to the high-intensity nature of intervals, there is more “turbulence” applied to the muscle. That means more muscle breakdown and more adaptations in the muscle.

Now I know that sounds very technical, but all you need to understand is that when all this extra activity goes on at the muscle level, it requires a lot more energy to return your muscle back to normal (i.e. to get out of turbulence and back to a normal resting state).

And when your body uses more energy, it means, in laymen’s terms, that you are burning more calories.

So it’s important for men and women not too get hung up on the calorie counters in the gym. First, because the calorie count of the workout is not the only factor in determining fat loss.

(intervals burn far more calories after the workout - more on that latter).

And second, a report on CBS showed that the calorie counters on some machines are often significantly inaccurate.

Doesn’t that boil your blood when you think back to all those times you did slow, boring cardio and patiently watched the calorie counter creep up to your goal of 250, 300, or even 400 calories?

And who knows if that was even accurate?

With intervals, you can forget about the calories on the machine.

Just work hard, do the intervals, then leave the gym and let your muscles continue burning calories on its own while it recovers from exercise.

OK, time is up, so I’m going to leave off here for Part 1. (more next Sunday… so come back for more

I apologize, you don’t have your Master’s of Science Degree in Interval Training yet, but you will after Part 2.

So your homework between now and next week’s class is to start incorporating interval training into your fat loss program. For beginners, see the outline above. Make sure to include a 5-minute specific warm-up and cool-down.

And if you truly did just peel yourself off the couch last week and you have not exercised in years, I insist that you see a doctor before you take up any exercise program. Believe me, you’ll thank yourself for it.

For more advanced fitness levels, let’s start with 60 second intervals.

Do a 5-minute specific warm-up, then exercise for 60 seconds at a slightly harder than normal cardio pace.

Follow that with 90 seconds of exercise at a very easy pace. (Don’t exercise too hard in the recovery period - that is one of the biggest mistakes people make with interval training!). Repeat this sequence for 3 more intervals (let’s just do 4 intervals for your first session).

Through trial and error, find an intensity that allows you to work to near fatigue - but not complete fatigue, there should still be some “gas” left in the tank - by the end of the 60 second interval.

In the next newsletter, I’ll discuss at least 6 different interval durations and when you should use them, as well as the best interval training methods - and don’t miss when I expose the most ineffective machine in the gym.

Hint - It is also the most common machine these days, yet I’ve yet to see a single person change their body by using this machine for their cardio and intervals.

(Don’t forget to check out my awesome Turbulence Training program… you can’t argue with the results…)

Mike Geary might just be on to something here.

We’ve got to see what’s going on here…

I know that all of the elliptical and treadmill worshipers are probably fuming at me now after that article headline, but the fact is, ellipticals and treadmills are one of the least effective methods of working out in existance. With this article, I’ll show you how to get a much more effective fat-burning workout without wasting time mindlessly exercising on a boring elliptical machine or treadmill.

Now first let me state that if you really honestly enjoy your elliptical machine workouts and treadmill exercise routines, then I give you my blessing to keep doing what you love. The reason is that even though ellipticals and treadmills are relatively ineffective compared to other types of exercises, whatever you actually enjoy doing the most is going to benefit you most in the long run because you will be more likely to stick with it more consistently.

However, don’t say that I didn’t warn you that you might be wasting your time with all these boring mindless cardio machine workouts.

I’ve talked about this previously with my ezine subscribers… I actually do not believe in cardio machines as a good form of working out at all. This might surprise you coming from a fitness nut such as myself, but I don’t think I’ve personally used an exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical, or any other cardio machine for at least 8 years or more.

In fact, I don’t even use cardio machines anymore for warm-ups before my workouts. I actually think it’s a much more effective warm-up to do dumbbell and/or kettlebell swings, snatches, clean & presses, etc, mixed with bodyweight exercises as a great full-body warm-up before working out.

Why do I think cardio machines are so awful? Well, here’s 5 reasons:

1) Treadmills and ellipticals are just a very ineffective way to workout compared to other options. Why should you do treadmill or elliptical workouts when you can get better results by doing more interesting forms of training that actually stimulate a fat-burning hormonal response and stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent.

2) Elliptical machines and treadmills are insanely expensive and a waste of money for people that work out at home… there are so many better things for home workouts you could have spent your money on rather than wasting it on an elliptical machine, treadmill, or exercise bike.

You’ll see plenty of ideas below for better home workouts if you don’t like going to a gym to work out.

3) I have seen several studies that indicated results that treadmill running may be less effective than outdoor running for various reasons such as stride abnormalities on treadmills vs natural running, slightly less caloric burn compared to outdoor running, and so on.

(although I never recommend just “jogging” anyway… variable intensity walking/running or sprinting are much more effective, training your heart rate in a much wider range instead of the same heart rate range the whole time).

4) Steady state exercise (that doesn’t require concentration on what you’re doing) while watching tv or reading a newspaper or magazine creates a mind/body disconnect resulting in extremely poor results compared to exercise that requires focused attention.

5) Elliptical and treadmill workouts are just mind-numbingly boring!

So what are some good alternatives to elliptical machine and treadmill workouts? Some of my favorites are:

* Outdoor wind sprint workouts - This is the ultimate workout for a rock hard lean body… just look at the powerful yet super-lean and ripped bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the withering weakling physiques of typical marathoners… what would you rather look like?

* Jumping rope - incredible mind/body connection and actually fun (you can try speed jumping, crossover jumps, and double jumps once you get good at it)

* Kettlebell workouts - nothing will get your heart pounding and sweat pouring like high rep kettlebell swings and/or snatches (or clean & presses)! These can be done with dumbbells too, but I prefer kettlebells as they have a better “feel” to them and the unbalanced nature of KBs makes you work harder)

* Bodyweight exercises - mountain climbers, bodyweight squats, push-ups, jumping drills, lunges, bear crawls, plank holds, and so on.

* The good old fashioned rowing machine - I don’t really lump this in as a “cardio” machine per se like elliptical machines and treadmills… Rather, I think the rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses real resistance)

* Hill sprinting - running as hard up a hill as possible, followed by walking down and repeating as many times as you can for a full workout (yet another classic drill for a rock hard lean body)

* Shadow boxing… a killer workout, but if you are shy, this is best done at home since you will get some crazy looks doing this at a typical gym!

* Swimming sprints - a more muscle toning workout compared with steady pace distance swimming… I actually love the upper body pump I get from sprint swimming (instead of swimming slow and steady, with sprint swimming, you swim as fast as you can exerting as much force as you can for 1 lap. Then rest for 15-20 seconds before doing another swim sprint).

* Heavy bag punching/kicking workouts, speed bag, rebounding bag… all are tremendous workouts and much more fun than boring cardio machines (requires an very intense mind/body connection which increases results).

I hope this article gives you lots of ideas you can use to go out right away and bring some more variety into your workouts instead of relying on the same old dull elliptical machine and treadmill workout routines. Have fun!

Mike Geary’s Truth About 6 Pack Abs is nasty… you should go pick it up.

Well, there’s only one way to get ‘em.

Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training is very QUICKLY becoming a best seller on the internet.

Now it seems that others are starting to follow suit… lol

Cardio is an over-rated way to burn belly fat, lose cellulite, and shrink your thighs. Research shows that interval training is a better way to burn belly fat, lose cellulite, and shrink your thighs.

If you want to lose belly fat, you should do lots of crunches. And if you want to shrink your thighs, you should reach for your ThighMaster… Right?

Wrong on both counts. Instead, you need interval training for fat burning.

This is a form of short-burst exercise that I’ve been using with clients since 1998 - long before the average trainer jumped on the bandwagon. In fact, when I first started writing about interval training back in 2000, no one believed that it was good for fat loss. Heck, I still have a hard time convincing people today…but when they finally try it, they love it!

So here’s the research proof.

In one study, Australian researchers from the University of New South Wales put three groups of women through a 15-week fat-loss exercise program. One group was a control group. Another group did three sessions of intervals per week (20 minutes per workout). And the third group did three sessions of long, slow, boring cardio (40 minutes per workout).

Forty-five women were in the study - and it is important to note that they were not all overweight. On average, they had a healthy body mass index of only 23.22 (well below the cut-off of 25 that signals overweight).

At the end of the 15 weeks, only the interval-training group showed significant weight loss and a decrease in body fat and trunk fat. The interval-training group also had a significant loss of fat from their legs. And the more overweight a subject was, the better the interval-training program worked for her.

Oh, and did I mention that the slow, boring cardio workouts did NOT result in a significant loss of body fat? Something I’ve been saying for a long time now…

You can do interval training with machines, or outside, or on your bike. It’s simply a period of “harder-than-normal” cardio followed by very light exercise. (Make sure to do a warmup first). You’ll repeat this hard-easy pattern up to 6 times. I don’t think you need to do more than that.

Then finish with a cool down. Your hard exercise interval should last 10-60 seconds, and your easy rest interval should last 2-3x’s as long. Always start conservative and don’t do too much too soon.

Do interval training 3 times per week. Four at the most. You need some days off. On your days off, stay active, have fun, but don’t stress about what you do. It doesn’t mean you have to be in the gym doing a cardio workout. In fact, dare I say, you might never have to do traditional cardio again!!! This is a great new for most folks.

So if you want to burn belly fat and lose a few inches from your thighs, get started on a short, 20-minute interval-training program done three times per week. That’s all you need.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health and Oxygen magazines. Get your FREE REPORT on the Dark Side of Cardio and a SAMPLE Turbulence Training workout at Turbulence Training for Fat Loss. The TT Workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Turbulence Training for Fat Loss workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig’s bodyweight workouts for fat loss help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

By the way, Craig has a cool transformation program that he wants you to be a part of…

… here’s a video that you should check out.

(Today’s article is from Craig Ballantyne, author of the vaunted Turbulence Training program. Also, nothing really to report workout wise for yesterday… I took a recovery day)

Find out the secret interval training workouts used by Men’s Health magazine experts to help their clients burn fat and lose their love handles.

Interval recommendations have ranged from 15 seconds to 5 minutes (these are known as aerobic intervals). So let’s take a look at each interval recommendation and all those in between.

1) 15 Second Intervals

The great thing about 15 second intervals is that you’ll be able to work at a very high rate (almost near your maximum power output), as long as you get adequate recovery between work intervals. The downside is that it is very difficult to do 15 second intervals on machines, because it takes a long time to “build up” and “bring down” the machine settings to the correct speed.

Intervals are for advanced fitness levels. Your rest interval should be at least 15 seconds long, and can be as long as 60 seconds. The longer you rest, the harder you will be able to exercise in each interval.

2) 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off

This method is known as the Tabata protocol, after the Japanese scientist that published a study on this routine. This is hardcore. Not for the faint of heart. If you are a beginner, try easy interval training.

Here’s more info on the Tabata protocal:

In Tabata’s study, the researchers found that guys who used the routine five days a week for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity (a measure of your body’s ability to consume oxygen–the more oxygen you can take in, the longer and harder you’ll be able to run) by 14%. What’s more, it also improved anaerobic capacity (which measures your speed endurance, or the duration you’re able to sprint at full effort) by 28%. So the Tabata Protocol is the rare workout that benefits both endurance athletes and sprinters–hard to accomplish. Consider: A study of traditional aerobic training–running at 70% of aerobic capacity for 60 minutes–for the same number of weeks showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of 9.5% and no effect on anaerobic capacity.

Source: Men’s Fitness

Alwyn Cosgrove and Craig Ballantyne use interval training because it works. Again, it would be very difficult to perform this type of interval training on a machine, due to the time lag as you increase or decrease the settings. And finally, these too should only be performed by above average fitness levels.

3) 30 Second Intervals

The Turbulence Training workouts tend to use a lot of 30 second intervals. Beginners will rest up to 90 seconds between intervals, while advanced fitness levels will rest 30-60 seconds. The longer (relative) rest allows you to work harder in each successive interval (i.e. you’ll almost be able to match your performance in the first interval with each following interval). Short rest intervals (as in the Tabata protocol) will lead to a dramatic drop-off in performance with each interval. You can easily do the 30-second intervals on any machine.

4) 45 Second Intervals

These intervals are proven for fat loss, in addition to being effective for many team sports (such as hockey, soccer, basketball, and rugby). I have used 45 second intervals extensively in both areas of training. Short workouts, but tough workouts. Your rest intervals will feel like they go by so fast. Use 45-90 seconds of recovery between intervals. Do 3-6 intervals per workout. Get ready to be fitter and leaner than ever.

5) 60 second intervals

Similar to the 45 second intervals in benefits and toughness. Rest 1-2 minutes before starting your next interval.

6) 120 second intervals

These are now officially aerobic intervals, and can be used for both fat loss and improving aerobic capacity for sports and running. A great way to achieve two fitness goals at once. Exercise for 2 minutes and then recover for 2 minutes. Repeat 6 times. These workouts take longer (obviously), but can have a role in changing your body and improving your performance.

7) 5 minute intervals

Same strategy as with the two minute intervals. This really increases your workout time, so these are only used with serious endurance athletes.

Beginner vs. Advanced

If you are thinking that these intervals all sound “too intense” for you, please don’t worry. Interval training is all relative. You don’t have to sprint for your life in each type of interval. Instead, just work at a slightly harder than normal pace. By the end of the interval, you should be getting tired, but you shouldn’t be gasping for air. Start conservatively and you will get the hang of it.

For example, if you regularly use level 5 on the stationary bike for 30 minutes continuously, you might try doing a 1 minute interval at level 7. Try that for an interval workout and let me know how it goes.

I really like to use short bursts of exercise lasting no longer than a minute. These have been the staple intervals in my Turbulence Training workouts since the first workout was designed back in 2001. But again, I think you will get your best fat loss results if you vary your interval training workouts - just like you must vary your strength training workouts.

Without fat burning intervals, you might never burn belly fat.

Learn the fat burning workout routines that give you ripped abs from Men’s Health expert Craig Ballantyne and his trademarked Turbulence Training workout secrets

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Hey swing back in tomorrow and we’ll determine if you’re on a Sumo Diet or not… good stuff, because most people eat like Sumo wrestlers do.

You know, you can read every tip, trick, and fat loss technique in the book (mine, if you want)…

… but there’s no substitute for hard work.

Yesterday’s workout was a little different for me.

No weight training… but a really long bout of medium intensity interval training.

Look, break the monotony in your workouts. Get a little creative.

One of the things about the Fat Loss Black Book resides in it’s ability to TEACH you the mindset and methodologies to create your own powerful fat loss workouts.

Let’s face it… having the actual workouts is great… but what happens when you need to change gears.

Exactly.

So yesterday, I went bike riding… with a twist.

Over half of the 10 mile ride resulted in me pulling someone on roller blades behind me… up and down hills no less.

Needless to say, I was pretty beat afterward.

And hungry too. Starving in fact.

Think of the different ways that you can push yourself to the next level. You don’t have to be “extreme”, but you definitely should always be trying to take yourself to another level.

Check out this video for an example of “extreme”… maybe it’ll give you a few ideas for your next workout.