Lean Muscle Workouts For Women Good Or Bad

Shaping And Toning Or Lean Muscle Building

We have talked about women and muscle building before, but it seems from some of the questions I get it's still a concern. As you have seen lately I have been posting a lot of lean muscle workouts. And with good reason.

To get the ultimate in fitness, fat loss, health and having the body of your dreams it all starts with gaining lean muscle.

But still the question from women often is.......

Should Women Do Shaping And Toning Exercises Or Lean Muscle Workouts?

Remember This:

*** Adding lean muscle is what gives you the toned lean look you’re after.

Muscle is what gives your body shape. You can lose all the fat you want but if you don’t have any muscle to show then you won’t have any real shape to show ***

Lean Muscle Building And Shaping And Toning Is The Same Thing

Okay that being said I am going to hand off the rest of today's post to Flavia Del Monte. It is my hope that hearing it from another women who does lean muscle workouts will convince you,

Women Should Do Lean Muscle Workouts

Expressing fear of building muscle and looking like a man by merely lifting some weights is like me saying "I don't want to play golf because I'm afraid I'll turn pro..." Nothing just happens – including building muscle!

If your body was destined to look like a man, than you would probably already know it! Genetics don’t change over night...

Unless you have a river of testosterone flowing in your blood, the fear of getting big is unfounded! Competitive female bodybuilders train at least three hours a day and perform 20-30 sets PER body part with their women fitness programs in hopes of getting a fraction of the size of their male counterparts.

GETTING BIG IS NO EASY TASK FOR A FEMALE... and if it were than you would see Jane swinging from the vines and swimming with the alligators, not Tarzan!

Simply put, this myth has no scientific backbone. It is very hard for most men to build muscle; let alone women.

I hear of men who are eating thousands of calories and lifting heavy weight but don’t put a pound of lean muscle mass on their bodies. Yet, females are afraid that lifting anything more than 8-lb dumbbells will make them look like a man!

Little-Known FACT Not only lifting weight, but lifting HEAVY weight will give you definition and that toned look that is desired from EVERY female all over the world.

 YOU CANNOT LOOK LIKE A MAN FROM LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS, UNLESS YOU TRY (REALLY HARD) TO DO SO, INJECT TESTOSTERONE INTO YOUR BUTT, OR ARE A GENETIC FREAK!

First off, men have 10 to 30 times higher levels of testosterone than females.

 Women do not have a large testosterone production in their body, making it impossible to build muscle at the same intensity as a male.

A male is made up of a lot more muscle than women. 23% of a women's weight is muscle, compared to 40% of a male’s weight. Women simply do not have the genetics to build muscle and the women that have done so, have done so by genetically altering their bodies.

I can take a guess that most women want a TONED look.

When your muscles look etched, it is because of a low percentage of fat around that muscle. Shaping and Toning and lean muscle building is one in the same!

There are 3 ways growth occurs in muscles:

* during resistance training (followed with precise nutrition)

* natural growth period (such as puberty)

* during pregnancy In order to build lean mass, you must have an excess of calories: *energy in is greater than energy out*

That said, in order build muscle, you MUST tailor your diet for muscle building.

And that applies to women who want to "TONE". You have to first BUILD the muscle in order to have a toned look.

Increase in CALORIES + lifting heavy = muscle mass There are three different body types:

* ectomorph (naturally thin)

* mesomorph (naturally muscular)

* endomorph (naturally broad and thick)

All three different body types need to eat and train a certain way in order to build muscle and lose fat.

The issue here is that there is only so much storage in a muscle. You need to lift heavy weight in order to increase the size of your muscle.

If the unlikely chance of too much muscle being built, all you would need to do is drop the weight, and take in less calories.

THE SKINNY Resistance training is essential to a balanced and effective training program. You need to lift heavy in order to build muscle.

You cannot change your genetics to the degree to look like a man if you are a women unless you are "trying" to do so by working out at least 2-3 hours a day and lifting 20-30 sets per body part.

I'm guessing you don't do that?

I didn't think so... so flush that fear down the toilet.

–Flavia Del Monte R.N., C.P.T., PN Certified

Here is the bottom line ladies:

*** If you want the body of your dreams it starts with heavy resistance training.

*** You will Not and can Not build big bulky muscles

*** Heavy resistance training and firm healthy eating plan mixing in interval training is the path to having that head turning body

Intervals And Resistance Training Cardio

Metabolic Resistance Training And Interval Training The Fastest Fat Loss

9 times faster fat loss? A bold claim for sure. And we hear these claims all the time the new wonder drug, fad diet whatever.

 But today we are going based on scientific studies done on the effects of resistance training cardio and interval training.

In my last post I talked to you about  slow cardio to lose body fat quickly and began to briefly talk about  the benefits of something much more effective – short duration, high intensity interval training exercise.

Simply put, if you are looking for the quickest way to lose body fat, high intensity exercise is a MUST.

Short duration, high intensity exercise comes in two major forms: metabolic resistance training (MRT) or resistance training cardio (as I like to call it) and interval training. Today, I want to take a DEEP look into the benefits of each.

1 -  Metabolic Resistance Training:

As mentioned in my previous post, metabolic resistance training is simply “cardio with weights” or as I call it resistance training cardio and when speaking of the most effective form of exercise for the fastest possible fat loss, this is it.

Before we really get crankin here is a quick example of a resitance training cardio example exercise.

 A couple of studies to support this that Alwyn Cosgrove dug up:

Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.

In this study a 30-minute circuit style metabolic resistance training session was put to the test. The result was a 38 hour increase in metabolism – massive AFTERBURN.

Let’s put this in perspective: Say that you worked out at 8AM on Friday. By way of  resistance training cardio, you’d still be burning calories from that workout while out at the movies on Saturday night.

You want to burn calories by watching Wolverine? Now you can.

Here’s another:

Kramer, Volek et al.
Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.
Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.

This study showed that those who added metabolic resistance training to a reduced calorie diet burned up to 44% more fat than those who dieted alone.

Don’t get me wrong, diet is the NUMBER ONE component of the fat loss puzzle, but once you’ve got that down, resistance training cardio or MRT can really take your results to a whole new level.

And here’s one more:

Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.

This study compared “slow-go” aerobic exercise to resistance training cardio and found that the resistance group lost significantly more fat without losing ANY lean muscle even at an extremely low calorie intake (not so for the aerobic group).

In fact, believe it or not, while the aerobic group experienced a decrease in metabolism (and lost muscle), the resistance training group actually increased overall metabolic rate.

THAT’S the power of metabolic resistance training.

Convinced that metabolic resistance training cardio  WORKS? Good. 

 Interval Training:

Interval training is simply a form of high intensity cardio in which you alternate back and forth between periods of high effort and periods of active recovery.

Here is a short video demo of a beginners Interval training workout.

For example, you may run very hard for a period of one minute and then follow it up with walking for one minute, repeating 8-10 times for a less-than-20-minute workout.

Does it work?

Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8

You want to know what happened when this research group compared 20 weeks of endurance training vs. 15 weeks of interval training?

While the aerobic/endurance group actually managed to burn more total calories during exercise, the interval training group lost NINE TIMES more body fat. NINE TIMES.

Nine times more fat loss in half the time? The clear choice for fat loss is interval training.

And it all comes down to elevated metabolism after your workout is completed – the afterburn.

Are you experiencing the afterburn

Fat Burning Workouts

Circuit Training For Women

Circuit Training Workouts For The Busy Woman Burn Fat Gain Lean Muscle

First off let me say even though the title of this article is circuit training workouts for women these workouts are just as effective for men.

In yesterday’s article I gave you the rundown, benefits and misconceptions about circuit training workouts.

The purpose of circuit training is to keep you moving by only allowing you to take minimal breaks between exercises. If you absolutely must rest( this will be based on your conditioning level), you can take 30 seconds to walk around and then start again. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving.

Circuit training is completely different than traditional weight-training programs, but can provide a much greater boost to your metabolism (fat loss) than plain cardio. Circuit training, works because it causes you to keep pushing your body aerobically, while still challenging you anaerobically(lean muscle gains).

Full Body Circuit Training Workouts <=== Click Here To Read The Full Article

The Bodyweight 100 Circuit Training Workout Challenge

Craig Ballantyne is going to take us through the bodyweight 100 challenge workout. I think for someone just starting with circuit training workouts this is a good place to start. After the 100 we will take a look at the bodyweight 200 circuit training workout.

To start, you will perform 20 prisoner squats, maintaining good form by keeping your elbows back and shoulders blades together.

Immediately following the squats, go directly into 20 push ups. If you cannot do 20 repetitions straight, then you can break it up however you desire, or do as many as you can and take a rest.

Next, you will do 10 jumps.

After the jumps, you will complete 10 repetitions of the inverted row, using an overhand grip.

Then immediately go into 20 lunges, alternating sides.

Once you’ve done all the repetitions for the lunges, move on to 15 closed- grip push-ups. For this exercise you want to place your hands shoulder- width apart and your elbows tucked into your sides. Again, if you can’t do 15 in a row, then you might do 5, then 5, then 5.

To finish off you will do either 5 chin-ups or 5 more inverted rows for a total of 100 repetitions.

Now if you don’t make the cut-off time for the Bodyweight 100, then you will repeat this challenge the following week. However, if you do manage to beat the time, then the next week you will move up to the Bodyweight 200.

Exercise List For The Bodyweight 100 Circuit Training Workout For Women

20 Prisoner Squats
20 Push Ups
10 Jumps
10 Inverted Rows
20 Lunges (Alternating Sides)
15 Close Grip Push Ups
5 Chin Ups or 5 (More) Inverted Rows

Now Let’s Try The Bodyweight 200 Circuit Training Workout

Once again Craig Ballantyne from Turbulence Training shows us how to lose fat and gain muscle with the Bodyweight 200 challenge.

This circuit is obviously a little more challenging than the workout above.

If you passed the time requirement for the Bodyweight 100, then you’re ready to take on the Bodyweight 200.

To start out, you’ll do Prisoner Squats for 45 reps. So, place your hands behind your head and keep your elbows back. Next, push your hips back and squat down and then back up.

Move immediately into 30 Push-ups. Break these up into blocks if you need to, but make sure you get through them all before going on to the next exercise.

From there you will do 10 Jumps. Be sure to jump right back up as soon as you land.

After finishing all your jumps go into 10 stability ball Leg Curls. So, with your heels on the ball and your hips bridged up in the air, curl the ball in and then back out. Be sure to keep your body in a straight line and your hips bridged up at all times.

Once you’ve finished the leg curls, go immediately into 10 stability ball Jackknives. Place your elbows on a bench and your feet on a ball. Next, brace your abs and bring your knees into your chest and then back out. Make sure your body is in a straight line at all times.

Next up in this Bodyweight challenge is 20 Step-ups (10 per side). So, with one foot up on the bench, use your lead leg to drive up and then slowly lower back down. Be sure to keep your lead foot up on the bench at all times. Do all reps for one side and then switch sides.

Okay, back to the upper body, this time with 5 Pull-ups. With an overhand grip and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, start from a dead hang position and pull your chest up to the bar and then slowly lower back down. If you need to do these one at a time in order to get through them all, that is finejust make sure you do all of them. (If you can’t do pull-ups, then you can do bodyweight rows instead)

Next up is 30 Forward Lunges, 15 per side, alternating sides, followed by 20 Close-Grip Push-ups.

After your push-ups, you’ll do 15 bodyweight Rows using an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Next, row your chest up to the bar, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top position.

Once you’ve finished the rows go right into 15 bodyweight squats and then finish off with 5 Chin-ups. For the chin-ups, grab the bar with an underhand grip and from a dead hang position, pull your chest up to the bar and slowly lower down.

The 200 Circuit Training Workout For Women Exercise List

45 Prisoner Squats
30 Push Ups
10 Jumps
10 Stability Ball Leg Curls
10 Stability Ball Jackknives
20 Step Ups (10 per side)
5 Pull Ups
30 Forward Lunges (15 Per Side)
20 Close Grip Push Ups
15 Bodyweight Rows
15 Bodyweight Squats
5 Chin Ups

There you have 2 circuit training workouts that work just as well for men as they do for women. In the coming day’s we will take a look at more advanced circuit training workouts.

“What is Turbulence Training?” its the combination of resistance training and interval training used to boost your metabolism so that your body burns calories and fat between workouts. “Cardio doesn’t boost your metabolism after exercise. Only strength training and interval training do that – while you work, sleep, and eat – your body will be shedding fat.”

Lose fat and gain muscle without cardio. Discover the cardio free fat loss workouts using weight training exercise and interval training to burn fat, get rid of stubborn belly fat, and build muscle

Related Articles

Barbell Circuit Training

Kettlebell Circuit Training Workouts

That Six Pack Abs Look How To Get It

I thought today I would give you some thoughts and a realistic plan for losing fat and gaining lean muscle. Now we talk a lot about lean tight abs

via howtogetthatsixpackabslook.com

Burn Fat And Tighten Your Abs

Are you ready for the Ultimate Ab Workout?

When I was a little kid I dreamed of having muscles as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger and I remember trying to do as many situps as I could to try and get there. The number wasn’t very impressive and I was still skinny as a rail but somewhere along the way I was imprinted with the notion situps were the only way to get a set of lean abs.

I wanted to show you some awesome new moves you can use to lose belly fat and tighten your abs.

Now we know better than to do thousands of situps a day to build a strong core and get lean abs. Whether you’re looking to flatten your stomach or get a set of ripped six pack abs it’s going to be necessary to throw all that old school bodybuilder stuff out the window.

With that being said there are many better ways to train your abs than just doing situps.

Training the deeper core muscles instead of just constantly working the sexy rectus abdominis over and over again until the end of time.

In this ultimate abs workout that I developed we’re going to go deeper than just doing a bunch of crunches by training the core in many different planes of motion using unconventional exercises.

I won’t be surprised if some of these core exercises wouldn’t even look as if they would train your abs but trust me when I say these are some of the best ab exercises out there.

I wouldn’t recommend doing this ultimate ab workout routine more than 2-3 times per week and I usually would do this on days that I don’t strength training but on days following my High Intensity Interval Training workouts.

Be sure to watch the video below for demonstrations and descriptions of all the core and ab exercises. I do use some equipment in this workout such as the Bosu, Valslides and the Swiss Ball

Click Here===> For Lean Tight Abs

Fat Burning Workouts Using Tri Sets

Tri Sets Another Circuit Training Workout For Lean Muscle And Fat Burning

A couple of day’s ago I posted an article about using supersets to burn fat and lean muscle gains. Lean Muscle Workouts: Supersets Burn Fat Gain Muscle <==click here to read. Today we are going to use another training method by adding an exercise to our superset workouts.

Tri – Sets Upping The Fat Burning Intensity

As you may have guessed Tri Sets are doing 3 exercises with minimal or no rest in between. I actually touched on Tri Sets in a post a few months back you can read here===>Resistance Training Cardio Tri-Sets and Giant Sets. Both super sets and tri sets are high intensity forms of strength training.

As with superset I like doing my tri sets with antagonistic muscle groups where possible. Although with Tri’s there is going to be some crossover.

An Example of One Of My Tri – Sets

1A) Barbell Bent Over Rows

2B) Incline Dumbbell Presses

3C) Snatch Grip Deadlifts

I set my timer for 20 minutes and it’s time to get to work. Lift heavy reps 4-8.

Tri-sets workouts are a great tool to use for  lean muscle gains and fat burning. Tri-sets increase the intensity of your workouts, by forcing your muscle to do more work in less time. Which is great for muscle building.

Tri sets are basically a mini circuit training workout, Tri-sets are great for full body workouts and split body routines as well. Although you know I favor full body workouts. Which if you look at the example workout above I hit virtually every bodypart.

Another bonus of Tri Sets shorter workouts. I have mentioned the lean muscle gains but tri’s also work very well for fat loss.

When setting up a Tri Set workout generally, try to alternate a pushing exercise with a pulling exercise, or an upper body movement with a lower body one.

One of the least talked about aspects of training is workout density, which is the amount of work you do in a given time frame. The greater your density, the greater your caloric expenditure.

To that end, the simplest way to increase density is to shorten rest periods. So for your rest periods in between exercises as I said before keep them as short as possible 30 seconds and under. But it is based on your conditioning level so in the beginning if you need more take it next workout try and cut it down even if only a second or two.

So there you have it give the tri seis a shot. Add them to your lean muscle workouts and you’ll up your workout intensity, lose fat and increase your cardio capacity

Circuit Training Workout Using Kettlebells And Bodyweight Exercises

The 10X20 Kettlebell And Bodyweight Workout

The beauty of this kettlebell workout is that you can do it in only a small amount of space because you will be using just your bodyweight and kettlebells. If you don’t have a kettlebell, then you can substitute it for a dumbbell. But get a kbell.

Secondly, this workout is also known as the 10 x 20, in that there are 10 exercises at 20 repetitions each. So, as you make your way through this circuit you will not take any breaks until you’ve completed all the exercises. Once there, take a minute or two to take a rest, and then repeat up to two more times.

The first exercise is a Kettlebell Squat. For this exercise, hold the KB at chest height in front of you, push your hips back, squat down, and then drive up. Repeat for 20 reps.

The next exercise is known as the Extended Push up. It will be a regular push up with a slight twist in that your hands will be in front of your head. This makes the push up exercise a bit more difficult, especially on your abdominals when you are at the bottom of the exercise. Each workout, try to extend a little bit more.

After all the reps are completed for the push ups, you’ll follow with 20 repetitions of Kettlebell Swings. Now, this exercise is not a squat, but instead more of an RDL type of movement. Take the KB back between your legs, push your hips back and really thrust them to drive the KB upward to shoulder height. In this exercise, you’re arms will not be doing any of the work; they are simply along for the ride. Be sure to keep your back flat.

Immediately from there, go into 20 repetitions per side of Walking Lunges. If you don’t have a lot of space, then you can just do the lunges in place, alternating sides.

Now it’s time to get into single arm exercise with the kettlebell. First up is the High Pull exercise for 10 reps per side. So, swing the KB down between your legs and then up to shoulder height.

Following that exercise you’ll go to the ground for a series of Mountain Climbers. Position yourself as if you were going to do a push up, next, bring your knee up to your chest and then back out. Make sure to keep your hips down and abs braced. Alternate sides.

Once you’ve finished with that exercise you’ll do the 1-Arm Kettlebell Swing. This exercise is very similar to the High Pull, but you will keep your arm straight throughout. Do 20 repetitions per side.

Next up, you’ll do 20 Close Grip Push ups. If you want to make this exercise a little bit harder, then put your feet up for decline Close Grip Push ups or conversely, kneeling if you want to make it easier. So, position your hands shoulder-width apart, and as you go down, tuck your elbows into your sides.

After the push ups, you’ll do a Kettlebell 1-Arm Row. So, with a staggered and strong stance, start with the KB straight down below you and palm facing your feet. Next, as you bring the KB up to your abdomen, rotate it toward your body.

To finish off the workout, you will do 20 Stability Ball Leg Curls. So, on the floor with your feet up on the ball, bridge your hips up and curl the ball in and out. Be sure to keep your hips up and in a straight line during this exercise.

“The 10 x 20 Kettlebell Workout Bodyweight Exercise Circuit”

1) Squat With Kettlebells – 20 reps
2) Pushups (Hands in Front) – 20 reps
3) Kettlebell Swings – 20 reps
4) Walking Lunges – 20 reps per side
5) Single Arm High Pulls – 10 reps per side
6) Mountain Climber – 20 reps
7) One Arm Kettlebell Swing – 10 reps per side
Close Grip Pushups – 20 reps
9) Kettlebell One Arm Row – 10 reps per side
10) Stability Ball Leg Curls – 20 reps

Rest 1-2 Minutes and then do it 2 more times

Thanks to Craig Ballantyne of The Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution for contributing this kettlebell and bodyweight workout to Womens Fitness Lifestyle where you can see this kettlebell and bodyweight video.

Fat Burning And Fitness Confusion

Today I have an article contributed by my colleague Rob Poulos. In it, Rob explains why so much mass confusion exists about fat burning, and how to avoid this and get yourself on the right path for lifelong fitness.

**The Mass Confusion That Dominates In Fat Loss & Fitness Today**

By Rob Poulos, Creator of the Fat-Burning Furnace System

People are confused more than ever about how to burn fat.  They are confused about the best way to go about achieving the body they want.  They are confused about what works and what doesn’t, and the reasons why. 

There are countless individuals slaving away in gyms and fitness centers around the country right now.  They are working tirelessly, almost every day, on the treadmill, stair-climber, elliptical, etc. to burn those calories and fat.  They also might be lifting weights several times a week for hours at a time to build some strength and muscle.  They might even join a few aerobics or spinning classes too.

They are probably also trying one of the latest diet strategies that promises miracle fat burning and weight loss.  They could also be spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest dietary supplements that could be that miracle pill that will aid in weight loss. 

They are also carefully watching the scale as their main judge of fat loss progress.  If it goes up a pound or two, they may behave rashly and maybe even change up their entire workout or diet program! And of course there are others are doing variations on that same theme. 

After all, this is the kind of stuff that many of the popular fitness and diet gurus typically recommend to burn fat.  But with so many different strategies and plans being pushed as the be all and end all, what happens is we tend to go overboard. 

And when that happens, we lose sight of what really matters in achieving lifelong fat burning, fitness and health…the principles than many people don’t know about, most people have forgotten, and only a select few put to use to achieve lifelong health and fitness.  These are the same principles I used to drop over 40 pounds of unwanted body fat, keep it off, and revitalize my life!

With any exercise or nutrition program, you’ll probably lose some fat initially, but far too often the progress doesn’t continue or doesn’t come as fast as the person would like because they’re using a temporary mindset. 

They’re only focused on the short term and one specific goal.  So they end up switching to something else, and the cycle continues until they’ve become consumed by this cycle of confusion. 

I believe that this is one of the biggest, if not the #1 reason for the lack of fat loss and fitness progress that is being experienced by the masses of exercisers and dieters in the world. 

They are jumping from one fad diet or exercise routine to another, while losing sight of what’s really important, and what really works.  Simply put, they are exercising far too much, not nearly intensely enough, and trying to adhere to unrealistic diet recommendations.

If instead they focused on a long term plan, a lifestyle as it’s often called, and didn’t worry about “losing 10 pounds by summer”, they would find it far easier to do the right things most of the time. 

And those right things include brief, progressive, and intense resistance training, eating a diet full of nutrient rich foods, drinking tons of water, and getting plenty of quality sleep and rest. 

The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method understand this and are reaping the life long health and fitness rewards because of it.  Are you?

Check out Rob’s Fat-Burning Furnace System:

Rob Poulos is an expert fitness author and the founder and CEO of Zero to Hero Fitness.  Rob created his “Fat Burning Furnace” system to help those looking to put an end to restrictive fad diets, long boring cardio workouts, and the need for super-human willpower for good

Fat Loss Workouts At Home

Is It Possible To Get An Effective And Efficient Fat Loss Workout At Home?

If you have spent any amount of time here you should be well aquainted with Turbulence Training and Craig Ballantyne. When I first heard about it a few years ago I dismissed it at first as a workout for beginners.

After all I had been weight training for years, what benefit could these short workouts be to me? Live and learn. Craig has multiple case studies of advanced athletes getting ultra-high levels of conditioning with Turbulence Training.

That’s Craig in the picture if you didn’t know. I always tell people to take advice from people who are actually in great shape.

Craig works out 3-4 times per week and uses extremely brief 30-40 minute workouts to stay in great shape.

This will be a 2 part post. In part one, I’ll explain a bit about Turbulence Training and why it works so well. In part two, Craig answers specific questions about his workout principles. A great program for the lean muscle, low body fat athletic physique (use Craig’s picture for reference).

Turbulence Training -From The Beginning

Back in 1998-1999, Craig was earning his master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and literally spent 16 hours per day in the lab. He would get there at 7AM and leave at 11PM. He only had 50 minutes of down-time, while the lab’s gamma-counter analyzed blood samples (he was studying the effects of Androstenedione on athletic performance). The gym he trained in was 5 minutes across campus, so that only gave him 40 minutes to get in a solid workout.

How Craig Developed His 40 Minute Lean Muscle Fat Burning Workouts

So with only 40 minutes, his workouts had to be efficient. I failed to mention that he previously worked with athletes as the school’s Strength and Conditioning Coach. The athletes he trained had seen tremendous results with sprint intervals (HIIT)…so that was going to be a big component of his workout. Plus he could do HIIT in 15 minutes, leaving him 25 minutes for strength training. He also knew that high reps weren’t going to be as efficient as low reps. So the lifting part of his workout was brief heavy strength training with low reps.

Strength Training + High Intensity Interval Training The Winning Formula

Does the formula above sound familiar? Well…this is what we talk about on this site…because it develops a lean, ripped, athletic physique with just the right amount of muscle. The cool thing is how Craig makes this formula more time efficient. He does “non-competing” supersets to get the strength training part of the workout done in a much shorter period of time.

What are “Non-Competing” Supersets?

This is a set which involves doing one lift for a body part followed by another lift which works an entirely different body part. You do these sets back to back and then rest for a 30-60 seconds. Basically, this is a way to get more quality sets done in less time. If strength is your goal, then you can rest a bit longer in between these supersets to be able to lift slightly heavier weights.

As An Example: Incline Dumbbell Presses Supersetted with Barbell Bent Over Rows

I always thought that Turbulence Training was just bodyweight circuit training to increase your heart rate by doing exercises back to back. Increased heart rate is NOT the goal of the resistance part of the workout.

The main reason for non-competing supersets is to get more quality work done in less time. Craig’s basic course includes a 50 minute recording that explains the real reason why intervals and supersets work at burning body fat…which goes against the main-stream. It actually makes a lot of sense.

The HIIT Part of The Workout is Very Flexible

When you mention HIIT most people think sprint intervals on a treadmill. I hate using treadmills. It has it’s uses I suppose (it’s just a personal thing with me) and there is one of the great features of Turbulence Training, there are many many ways to get HIIT done without cardio equipment at all. As a matter of fact, here is a bodyweight circuit training workout that is extremely effective.

Bodyweight Exercises to Burn Fat Without Cardio Exercise

Go To Fast Fat Loss Workouts At Home to see the video

 

Burn Fat Accelerate Your Heart Rate Add Lean Muscle

Today we are going to kick it in gear. Our workout involves doing 3 fat loss and lean muscle building supersets and finishing off with an abs superset.

What Is The Best Way To Get Lean Abs?

Fat burning workouts that use total body exercises and keep you moving. To see your abs you want to burn as much fat as possible. So let's aceelerate our workouts today by using supersets. 

Supersets in case you forgot is simply doing 2 exercises back to back with little to no rest in between. My favorite workout protocol is using supersets. Two of my favorites are doing Dumbell Incline Presses / Barbell Rows and Dips and Deadlifts. Accelerate your heart rate, burn fat and add lean muscle supersets will do the job.

Benefits Of Using Supersets

— a great technique for increasing lean muscle
— less time spent working out

Okay let’s get to today’s workout. Craig Ballantyne is going to take us through it.

Fat Loss And Lean Muscle Workout Superset #1:

Today’s workout is going to start with a classic exercise from the Turbulence Training Archives called the The Triple Press. This requires you to start in the shoulder press position (seated) and you are going to work your way down the bench into 3 different positions. You want to do 6-8 reps in the first position.

Drop the bench down half way and do another 6 reps. Youve gone to your weakest position to a stronger position.

Next, drop the bench down to the flat (also your strongest) position and do 6 more reps.

Move immediately to the inverted bodyweight rows with an overhand grip. Pull yourself up and squeeze your shoulder blades while keeping the movement nice and controlled.

Please head on over to Fat Loss And Lean Muscle Workouts to see the workout video.

15 Tips To Burn More Fat

15 Easy Tips For Rapid Fat Melting

Follow these simple tips from registered dietitian Jayson Hunter, the Head of Research and Development for Prograde Nutrition, for a lean and healthy body.

1. Eat 4-6 small meals day a day instead of the usual 2-3 large meals. Eating frequently will help regulate and boost your metabolism to burn more calories.

2. Consume whole foods that are high in fiber and low in sugar, such as lean protein sources (lean beef, chicken, fish, and whey protein), fruits & vegetables (oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, peppers, asparagus, carrots, nuts (almonds, cashews, & walnuts), and whole grains.

3. Eat low-glycemic carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole-wheat products and oatmeal instead of refined processed carbohydrates which usually come in a box or a bag.

4. Consume 25-35 grams of fiber per day. Fiber will help satisfy hunger pangs as well as control insulin and blood sugar levels which tend to promote fat storage.

5. Eat some type of lean protein at each meal. Protein helps to satisfy hunger and provide the necessary building blocks to maintain lean body mass while losing body fat.

6. Consume adequate amounts of healthy fat foods such as olive oil, walnuts, almonds, Omega-3 fortified eggs or other Omega-3 products.  Healthy fats are great antioxidants as well as help with brain function and many other essentials processes that take place in the body on a daily basis. Essential Fatty acids also help prevent certain diseases. To guarantee you’re consuming enough Omega-3 supplement your diet with EFA Icon.

7. Eat 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day to meet your micronutrient needs.  Vegetables also contain a good amount of fiber and help to control appetites and curb hunger. Additionally, VGF25+ provides the power-packed nutrition of 25 whole vegetables, greens and fruits in a convenient “super pill.”

8. Consume Green Tea or Water instead of calorie filled drinks such as soft drinks.  Green Tea has many health benefits and should be drinking 1ml of non-caffeinated fluid for every calorie that you consume. This works out between (8-12) 8oz glasses of Green Tea or Water a day.

9. Balance your fat intake for the day. 1/3 should come from saturated fats, 1/3 from monounsaturated fats, and 1/3 from polyunsaturated fats. Again, ensure you’re consuming Anti-Oxidant rich Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids by incorporating EFA Icon into your nutritional plan.

10. Consistent fat loss requires good habits. If you want to create good habits then you need plan. Therefore, map out your meals every day and follow them. If you follow your plan everyday for 2-3 weeks you will form habits that become part of your daily routine and part of your life.

    Click Here ===>Lose Fat Quick to get the last 5 tips to burn more fat

Cardio On An Empty Stomach And Bodyweight Circuit Training Workouts

To Burn More Fat Eat Or Fast Before Your Cardio Workouts

And 5 Bodyweight Circuit Training Workouts

Today we're going to cover one of the biggest myths in fitness.

 The one that says:

"You should do cardio on an empty stomach to burn more fat."

I bet you know where this is going...after all, I just called it a myth.

Well, first we have to go all the way over to Italy, to hear from researchers who had a study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition Exercise and Metabolism (21:48-54, 2011).

The Italian researchers wanted to see what would happen when eight healthy young men did the following workouts:

Workout A: 36 minutes of slow cardio at 65% maximum heart rate in the morning without eating

Workout B: 36 minutes of slow cardio at 65% maximum heart rate in the morning AFTER a small meal

The RESULTS?

24-hours after exercise, the results found that eating before cardio increased both calorie burning AND fat burning.

That's right, eating before the workout increased fat burning in the 24-hours after exercise.

The scientists concluded that "fasting before exercise does not enhance lipid utilization; rather, physical activity after a light meal is advisable."

BOTTOM LINE:

The truth about fasted cardio is that it is NOT a magical way to boost fat burning.

But the REAL TRUTH about cardio in general is this:

You're not going to get the best results from slow cardio, fasted or fed. We've covered that dozens of times in our TT newsletters here, and you already know to skip it and use interval training or bodyweight exercises instead.

For example, you could try this, bodyweight circuit training workout.

Day 3 - Workout B

- Start with the general bodyweight warm-up circuit
- Do each exercise for 1 minute and then move to the next
  exercise without rest.
- Rest 1 minute at the end of each round before moving to
  the next round.

Round #1

- Jumping Jacks
- Bodyweight Squats
- T-Pushups (alternate sides)
- Repeated Vertical Jumps
- Prisoner Lunges

Round #2

- Pushup
- Prisoner Squat
- Squat Thrust
- Duck Under
- Burpee

Round #3

- Seal Jump
- Spiderman Climb
- Get Up
- Side-Step
- Run in Place

Round #4

- Split Shuffle
- Side to Side Jump
- Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
- Total Body Extension
- Run in Place

Round #5

- Seal Jump
- Close-Grip Pushup
- Lateral Lunge
- Mountain Climber
- Side-Step

Get the complete exercise photos and descriptions, along with the rest of the Bodyweight Workouts:

Burn Fat WITHOUT slow boring Fasted Cardio,

Bodyweight Circuit Training Burn Fat Build Muscle At Home

Bodyweight Circuit Training Lean Muscle And Fat Burning At Home

The last time we talked circuit training workouts <=== click here to see the workouts I showed you, the bodyweight 100 and 200 circuits. Today we are taking your fat burning and lean muscle building up a notch.

Benefits Of Circuit Training

The purpose of circuit training is to keep you moving by only allowing you to take minimal breaks between exercises. If you absolutely must rest( this will be based on your conditioning level), you can take 30 seconds to walk around and then start again. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving.

Circuit training is completely different than traditional weight-training programs, but can provide a much greater boost to your metabolism (fat loss) than plain cardio. Circuit training, works because it causes you to keep pushing your body aerobically, while still challenging you anaerobically(lean muscle gains)

Full Body Circuit Training Workouts <== an article I posted explaining circuit training.

The Bodyweight 250 Circuit Training Workout

This is the Bodyweight 250 Challenge, meaning you will do 250 repetitions of varying bodyweight exercises done back-to-back-to-back with as little rest as possible.

You may, however, need to break up an exercise into blocks in order to get through it.

See the video and get the exercise list at Circuit Training Workouts Stepping Up The Intensity

Untitled

Let’s Get To Work And See Those Abs

Are you ready for a butt-kicking, fat burning workout that will give you ripped abs? This is the best fat burning ab workout you can do.

Let’s begin with the first fat loss superset which includes the Dumbbell Press Squat exercise and the Pull-up with Knee-up exercise.

But before we get started working our abs let me remind you of one thing. This fat burning abs workout your about to see works great. But! If your diet plan isn’t intact it will be much harder to lose that excess stomach fat.

There is a saying “Six Pack Abs Are Made In The Kitchen”

And there is a lot of truth in that statement your workouts and diet plan go hand in hand.

Go finish the article and see the video of the workout at Fat Burning Abs Workout thanks talk to you soon Joe

Kettlebell Fat Burning Fast

The Beauty Of Kettlebells Fat Burning 12 Minutes At A Time

The beauty of kettlebell workouts is that you can do them not only a small amount of space but in a short amount of time because you will be using just your bodyweight and kettlebells. If you don’t have a Kettlebell, then you can easily substitute it for a dumbbell (but get yourself a bell).

Kettlebell Training is Interval Training “on Steroids”

Interval training, usually done at the end of a workout, involves bouts of high intensity exercise (sprinting, bodyweight circuits, complexes, etc) followed by recovery periods.

Research has shown that training of this type creates an amazing fat burning response and will spare your hard-earned muscle.

Traditional kettlebell training usually involves doing a series of full body exercises and movements continuously without any rest until we reach a certain time or until we finish our required number of repetitions.

These “circuits” or “drills”, as they are sometimes called, give us a more of challenge simply because we’ve added kettlebells into the mix. The result is one of the gut wrenching interval sessions you’ve ever done in your life.

Secondly, this workout is also known as the 10 x 20, in that there are 10 exercises at 20 repetitions each. So, as you make your way through this kettlebell circuit you will not take any breaks until you’ve completed all the exercises. Once there, take a minute or two to take a rest, and then repeat up to two more times.

The first exercise is a Kettlebell Squat. For this exercise, hold the KB at chest height in front of you, push your hips back, squat down, and then drive up. Repeat for 20 reps.

To read The rest Of The Article and See The Video Please Go To Fat Burning Exercises

An Easy Diet Plan To See Your Abs? Dieting Easy Riiiiight

A Diet Plan To Lose Fat Free Up Your Time And Have More Energy

Hopefully you are aware that in order to have lean tight abs and to see them your fat burning workouts and diet plan go hand in hand. So today let's talk  about I diet plan I started using last year.

I have a confession to make. I love to eat. I mean I really love to eat. And I can add fat to my waistline at the drop of a hat. So when I first heard of this diet plan idea I blew it off. But the more I heard about this for fat burning I investigated it and finally decided to give it a try.

I have to tell you it was tough for me in the beginning. But I went into it with an open mind and decided to see what kind of fat loss results were possible.

 Intermittent Fasting An Easy Concept For Fat Loss

Well I’m not going to say easy at least in the beginning it wasn’t for me. But like anything else you get out of it what you put into it. So I wrapped my head around the idea and made the committment to it. I started intermittent fasting on a regular basis mid 2010. To say it had a profound, life changing effect would be an understatement.

Not only does it help you lose fat, free up more of your time, improve your energy levels and productivity but it’s the easiest diet concept you could ever embrace.

I’ve turned countless people on to intermittent fasting and not a single one has gone back to their old way of eating.

Today I have 3 Reasons why Intermittent Fasting is a Good Idea

You may not have heard of intermittent fasting, and so you may not know why it can and should be a part of your workout and fat loss plan. Intermittent fasting is the practice of abstaining from all but water for a period of usually 24 hours to help with the goals associated with fat loss and weight loss in general.

 The way in which it helps in this arena is by cutting out a full days caloric intake, while still being able to maintain a full workout schedule. Let’s look at three main reasons I believe that intermittent fasting is a good idea for anyone serious about fat loss and lean muscle building!

The primary reason I’m fond of a workout plan that involves intermittent fasting is that it promotes maximum fat loss.

Please Continue Reading Over At Fat Burning Diets

Dieting For Fat Loss Part 3

Fat Burning Diets Answers To The Dieting Question

This is the third and final chapter in the Dieting For Fat Loss series. In parts one and two, we discussed the nuts and bolts of how to structure your diet for maximal and sustainable fat loss.

 Additionally, we addressed the cold hard “fat loss facts” that are truly non-negotiable if fat burning, muscle maintenance, performance, and overall health and are your goals (which they must be if you want to guarantee your success).

Now it’s time to put the finishing touches on the fat burning diet foundation that has already been laid down. In this post, we will fill in the blanks and provide answers to the important questions that rarely get answered in an honest and straightforward way. I chose the following topics because they are some of the most common concerns of dieting for fat loss.

The Question Of Protein Needs In Your Diet

The first issue I’d like to address is protein requirement. If you’ve been in the fat loss/fitness game for any period of time, I’m sure you’ve had just about every expert drill into your head the need for a very high protein intake for muscle building and fat burning.

I myself was a victim of the same rhetoric early in my training career, and I bear the scars of believing this flawed theory. In fact, I’ve wasted thousands of dollars on protein supplements, amino acids and enough steaks to feed an army.  In the end, none of helped helped my wallet, my health or my level of fitness.

You see, when I first bought into the high protein theory, I was eating two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. Like an obedient soldier, I religiously followed this protocol for two straight years. During this time, I would hear my internal “protein alarm” sound off every 2 ½ hours; if I didn’t get a huge serving of protein within minutes of this alarm, I wasn’t very pleasant to be around.

What was I thinking?

Looking back, I was a real tool!  There I was, carrying my Tupperware (loaded with some type of flesh) everywhere I went. Like a drug addict, I was the guy walking out of the party to go to my car to get my “protein fix”.

Even with all of this sacrifice, dedication and sticktoitiveness, I did not get any leaner, stronger or more muscular during this time. Not even a little bit! Actually, considering I got no noticeable benefits from eating all of this additional protein, it is surprising that I stuck with it for two long years.

The truth is that I was scared to stop eating all of that protein

To Continue Reading Part 3 and Parts 1 &2 Go To Fat Burning Diets

Get Lean Abs With These Circuit Training Workouts

Circuit Training For Women Burn Fat Gain Lean Muscle

First off let me say even though the title of this article is circuit training workouts for women these workouts are just as effective for men.

In yesterday’s article I gave you the rundown, benefits and misconceptions about circuit training workouts.

The purpose of circuit training is to keep you moving by only allowing you to take minimal breaks between exercises. If you absolutely must rest( this will be based on your conditioning level), you can take 30 seconds to walk around and then start again. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving.

Circuit training is completely different than traditional weight-training programs, but can provide a much greater boost to your metabolism (fat loss) than plain cardio. Circuit training, works because it causes you to keep pushing your body aerobically, while still challenging you anaerobically(lean muscle gains).

Full Body Circuit Training Workouts <=== Click Here To Read The Full Article

The Bodyweight 100 Circuit Training Workout Challenge

Craig Ballantyne is going to take us through the bodyweight 100 challenge workout. I think for someone just starting with circuit training workouts this is a good place to start. After the 100 we will take a look at the bodyweight 200 circuit training workout.

To start, you will perform 20 prisoner squats, maintaining good form by keeping your elbows back and shoulders blades together.

Immediately following the squats, go directly into 20 push ups. If you cannot do 20 repetitions straight, then you can break it up however you desire, or do as many as you can and take a rest.

Next, you will do 10 jumps.

After the jumps, you will complete 10 repetitions of the inverted row, using an overhand grip.

Then immediately go into 20 lunges, alternating sides.

Once you’ve done all the repetitions for the lunges, move on to 15 closed- grip push-ups. For this exercise you want to place your hands shoulder- width apart and your elbows tucked into your sides. Again, if you can’t do 15 in a row, then you might do 5, then 5, then 5.

To finish off you will do either 5 chin-ups or 5 more inverted rows for a total of 100 repetitions.

Now if you don’t make the cut-off time for the Bodyweight 100, then you will repeat this challenge the following week. However, if you do manage to beat the time, then the next week you will move up to the Bodyweight 200.

Exercise List For The Bodyweight 100 Circuit Training Workout For Women

20 Prisoner Squats
20 Push Ups
10 Jumps
10 Inverted Rows
20 Lunges (Alternating Sides)
15 Close Grip Push Ups
5 Chin Ups or 5 (More) Inverted Rows

Now Let’s Try The Bodyweight 200 Circuit Training Workout

Once again Craig Ballantyne from Turbulence Training shows us how to lose fat and gain muscle with the Bodyweight 200 challenge.

This circuit is obviously a little more challenging than the workout above

If you passed the time requirement for the Bodyweight 100, then you’re ready to take on the Bodyweight 200.

Please Go To Circuit Training Workouts For Women for the Bodyweight 200

Plank Exercises Strengthen Your Abs And Core

Plank Exercises Work Your Abs And Your Core

By forcing your body to stabilize itself in one position, planks work both your abdominal muscles as well as your back muscles.

A significant advantage of planks in terms of developing better looking abs is that they work the transverse abdominus (that holds in the rectus abdominus), while crunches focus on the rectus abdominus alone. What will happen with crunches alone (aside from back pain) is that your abs will stick out when viewed from the side.

The worst thing an overweight beginner can do to lose belly fat and get “six
pack abs” is to hit the floor and do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups.

This “spinal flexion” can cause disc herniations. A much safer approach to
abdominal training for beginners are three lesser-known exercises, called
the Plank, the Side Plank, and the Bird Dog.

You can do these everyday in the comfort of your own home.

Today you will learn of three basic exercises that will help your abdominal endurance and low back health. These exercises are the plank, the side plank, and the bird dog exercise.

Now, I want to be honest and say that these three abdominal exercises are not the most exciting to do. They won’t give you that classic burning sensation in your abs that leaves you feeling like you’ve really worked them hard.

However, these three are the safest and probably the most important to do when first starting to work out to prevent you from low back injury.

Dr. Stuart McGill, a researcher in Canada, has done extensive research on low back pain and has concluded that individuals who have a lot of endurance in their abdominals tend to have less chance of sustaining an injury to the low back.

The great thing about each of these three exercises is because no equipment is required you can do them in your own home. Also, because these are endurance exercises, you can do them every day.

Continue Reading And See The Video Demo At How To Get That Six Pack Abs Look

Dieting For Fat Loss

Fat Burning Diets The Maximum Fat Loss Guidelines Part 2

Weight loss tough right? Not really anyone can lose weight. The problem is losing fat. That’s where it get’s tricky. And all these so called fat loss diets don’t help. So let’s continue getting the facts about these diet plans from John Alvino.

In Dieting For Fat Loss Part 1, we covered the essential rules a fat loss diet MUST follow in order to be effective and sustainable. The breaking of any of those critical rules will automatically disqualify any fat loss diet out there from being “sound”. Take those diets and throw them in the trash, period. Nuff said about that!

Now what about the diets that don’t break the crucial rules? Does this mean that ALL diets that sneak past my “criteria doorman” are effective? No, not necessarily. Although they may be off to a good start, there are some additional factors that need to be considered.

Listing all of them would take pages and pages of information, and individual requirements would need to be known and taken into account. This is obviously impossible to do in a blog post. What I can do, however, is break down some of the most popular dieting strategies and give my opinion of them.

 Here are some of the more Popular Dieting Trends:

1) Paleo Dieting- This diet is based on foods that were eaten during the Paleolithic Era. These foods include: meat, eggs, fish, shellfish, vegetables, fruits and tree nuts. Oils are also permitted as long as they come from fruits or tree nuts. Some argue that certain other foods should be permitted, but I have provided you with the basic list.

All other foods including grains, potatoes, beans, dairy, etc. are prohibited. This diet does get insulin under control and can be effective, but I find it a little too limiting, especially if you are training hard for strength, muscular size and performance.

That being said, Paleo proponents do have many sound principles that I totally agree with. They are:

a) Eliminate sugar

b) Cut out processed food

c) Drink pure, clean water as your beverage. Back in the Paleolithic Era, they drank pure spring water with no added fluoride and chlorine.

d) Eat the widest variety possible of permitted foods.

e) Don’t overdo supplements. Get most of your nutrition through whole foods.

f) Eat organic foods, fruits and vegetables.

g) Only eat wild caught fish and wild game. Very few people will actually eat wild game these days, so the best you will probably be able to do is eat organic free-range, grass fed meats.

If you choose to eat meat, this diet is very good. I would only make a few tweaks, namely, allowing certain foods that are on their “avoid” list. I would include certain healthy starchy carbohydrates on a re-feed day, or a post-workout meal.  These carbs include: sweet potato, oatmeal, baked potato, legumes, and pseudo grains (quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, etc.).

2) Vegetarian Eating

Please Continue Reading At Fat Burning Diets

Full Body Circuit Training Burning Fat Faster

Full Body Circuit Training A Whole New Fat Burning Experience

Are you still stuck on the marathon aerobics workout nonsense?

Have you ever lost 10 lbs of Fat in a Month? I’m not talking weight loss I’m talking Fat Loss( there is a difference) but you knew that already.

Let me introduce you to circuit training. Read through this whole article use the sample full body circuit training workouts at the end and you will be on your way to losing around 2 lbs of fat a week. As long as you are also eating clean but that is another article.

Many people simply don’t get what circuit training is and that it can be beneficial for anyone. The reason most people don’t get it is beacause some of the so called trainers out there don’t teach it correctly.

If you have fallen for the marathon treadmill workouts will burn fat fast lie don’t feel bad. You, me and thousands of others have also. But we are done with that now. Right?

“What is Circuit Training”?

The purpose of circuit training is to keep you moving by only allowing you to take minimal breaks between exercises. If you absolutely must rest( this will be based on your conditioning level), you can take 30 seconds to walk around and then start again. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving.

Circuit training is completely different than traditional weight-training programs, but can provide a much greater boost to your metabolism (fat loss) than plain cardio. Circuit training, works because it causes you to keep pushing your body aerobically, while still challenging you anaerobically(lean muscle gains).

The Misconception About Circuit Training

If you’re like many men, you probably think that circuit training is something a woman does with really light weights. This is probably because you associate no rest periods with light weights, and if you are trying to increase your strength and lean muscle, you likely think you need to be lifting as much weight as possible.

However, muscle responds to the total tension produced.  If you use lighter weights, but are able to get in more sets during a certain period of time, you will produce the same — if not more — total tension and will stimulate your lean muscle growth.

Try the following program; you’ll see, it will give you a run for your money.

 Circuit Training Benefits

First, it allows you to work your aerobic system while simultaneously working on your strength and lean muscle building. Since you are constantly progressing through the workout, you will keep your heart rate up, getting much more out of it than guy who mindlessly logs all those miles on the treadmill and burn fat faster.

Second, due to fewer rest periods, you will increase the amount of testosterone you release, which serves to help your muscles grow.  While it is true that if you were to perform long aerobic sessions, your testosterone level would drop and you would start to release cortisol (which causes the body to break down muscle tissue), this workout won’t take that long to complete. So, you won’t reach the time required to start this cortisol-releasing process.

Finally, since you will move through this workout quickly, you won’t have to spend long hours in the gym, and you will be able to spend your time doing the things that you never seemed to have time for when you were making the gym your second home.
  
Try out this sample workout and decide if you still think circuit training is for girly men

 Sample Full Body Circuit Training Workouts

This circuit training workout consists of 5 different exercises to be done a total of six times. Perform 6 reps of each exercise before moving on to the next one. Once you have completed all six exercises, start the sequence over again

To Read The Rest Of The Article And See The Workouts Go To Full Body Circuit Training Workouts

Advanced Burpee Fat Loss Exercise You’re Probably Not Doing

Fat Burning Exercise Combo The Burpee - Chin Up Today I have an advanced exercise for you from John Alvino. Yes yet another use for our old favorite the...

via fatburningdietsandworkouts.com

Turbo Fat Burning Ab Exercises

“What are the Best Abdominal Exercises”?

If you are doing lean muscle workouts like the one’s we have been talking about lately you don’t need to do an extra ab workout per say. Which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be using some ab exercises in your workouts. But as you know there won’t be a crunch or sit up in sight.

Let me explain:

When we are doing our fat burning and lean muscle workouts we are concentrating on the big compound exercises. Or as Craig Ballantyne calls them The Big 5 Lean Muscle Building And Fat Burning Exercises <===(click to read the article) you might be surprised to know how much you are working your abs.

So today we have a fat burning ab exercise that we have not seen before.

Commonly performed ab exercises such as: crunches, sit ups and leg raises do little to help you acquire that sought after six pack abs look (that we know right?)

In addition to being relatively ineffective, many of these movements can actually lead to poor posture and even back pain. So I have John Alvino today to show you an alternative ab exercise that will develop your abs in a safer, quicker, and more effective manner.

Head Over To Best Ab Workout Without Crunches to see the video and today's turbo ab exercise.

Results Producing Full Body Workouts

What are the key’s to lean muscle building and fat burning full body workouts? Today we are going to talk about exercises.

1) First Define Your Goals - Since you are here I assume you know that our focus is lean dense muscle. We don’t train for massive muscle mass. If you do more power to you, you can use some of the idea’s we use.

So we want lean muscle but we also train for muscle density which comes about with low body fat.

2) Exercise Selection - This is where it get’s fun. I am a big believer in going into all my workouts with a lot of intensity. I train hard. If your workouts aren’t intense you are only cheating yourself. So our exercises should be (as I’ve mentioned before) compound exercises. And which one’s?

As Craig Ballantyne calls them:

 The Big 5 Lean Muscle Building And Fat Loss Exercises

The Big 5 are not specific exercises. Instead, they are specific movements, but this allows for a huge number of exercises to be used, and therefore a lot of variety in your workouts.

Continue Reading At Lean Muscle Gains

Lean Toned Fit And Sexy For Men And Women

Visual Impact Muscle Building For Men And Women

 Lean Toned Sexy And Fit

Recently I have a number of you ask about the Visual Impact Muscle Building and Fat Loss programs by Rusty Moore. I thought today being Sunday it would be a good day to give you a rundown on them.

Visual Impact For Women

A Workout For The Slim Feminine Physique – How To Be Slim, Sexy, Fit and Feminine

Forget Bulky Muscle Think Slim, Sexy And Feminine

When we talk strength training (which we do here at fat burning workouts often) women often complain about the problem getting bulky muscles. Both the Visual Impact programs for men and women address this head on.

You see the Visual Impact approach to changing your body composition is about advanced strategies to sculpt a fit but <==feminine physique. Visual Impact for Women is a fitness program that lays out exactly what women need to do to reach very specific goals. It’s not about everyday fitness tips; it’s about advanced strategies that create meaningful shape to your body.

Visual Impact For Women is based in resistance training. Hopefully you have learned from reading my articles here, that for men and women resistance is the best way to add lean muscle and burn fat. Here is what Rusty has to say about resistance training….

Resistance Training Can Be Done in a Way to Decrease Muscle Mass While Increasing Muscle Tone

I have perfected the methods to lift in a way that will firm up an area of the body, while reducing the overall size of that same area. This does NOT involve high-rep training. Some quick pointers:

• High-Reps are more likely to create a pump in the muscle which is perfect for building large Vascular muscles (but most likely you don’t want bigger “veiny” muscles).
• Pushing your reps to failure breaks down the muscle, which contributes to muscle growth…and can actually weaken the muscle if done on a regular basis.
• The most important variable in gaining muscle is how hard you push the final reps in a set. <—So if you don’t want to increase the size of a muscle, stop well short of failure.
• Low-Reps short of failure is the best way to firm up a muscle without building size to that muscle. It is also less likely to create vascular muscles, since it will not create “a pump”.

What is Included in the Visual Impact for Women Course?

• Main Manual (89 Pages): A full blown comprehensive course to getting slim without adding excess mass. It covers diet, cardio, home gym, and commercial gym workouts. All of the routines are 100% customizable and you are actually encouraged to use your favorite exercises for each of the routines. Also things like “dieting for an event” and “how to lose muscle mass on purpose”, etc.
• Fat Torching Cardio Manual: This is a 12 week “progressive cardio” course, designed to help you drop as much fat as you desire for a special event. This covers some advanced cardio concepts: 4 levels of HIIT, VO2 Max Cardio, “Pyramid Intervals”, Aerobic Intervals, etc.
• Exercise Demonstration Manual (229 pages): This is a massive manual of photo demonstrations and explanations covering a ton of exercises. The cool thing is that it has clickable navigation, so you can zip around and find the exact exercise descriptions you are after without having to scroll through hundreds of pages.
• Printable Workout Charts: Each workout routine is contained on its own separate page, so you can easily print it out and take it with you to the gym. The idea is to eventually memorize the workouts, but this will help the first few weeks.

I don’t really want to get into a thousand word review here. As you probably know I don’t like to push a lot of fitness programs. I have followed Rusty and the Visual Impact workouts and like them. I don’t agree with everything Rusty recommends but I don’t always agree 100% with most of the fitness people I follow. ( Not that I know everything because I don’t).

When I put a link in an article that I write, it is because I belive in the product. I am  not telling you that you have to buy it (hey times are tough I know). Spending your money on something is something only you can decide on.

Here is a link to Rusty’s site Fitness Black Book where you can get more detail on his Visual Impact Muscle Building programs. Go take a look and then you can make a decision on what’s best for YOU.

Visual Impact Muscle Building For Men

Build The Lean Muscle "Hollywood" Body

Visual Impact Muscle Building is a six month, three phase muscle building course designed to give you that hot lean muscle Hollywood look.

The initial focus on building lean muscle fast but it the right kind of lean, well distributed muscle mass. This is followed by a phase that focuses on hardening up the muscle and a third phase to build muscle density.

Here is a rundown of what comes with the Visual Impact Muscle Building system:

1) The main ebook

Is 75 pages. Inside it will teach you not only how to get the lean muscled body, but also why this system works and gives you the knowledge to make your own program in the future. It is one thing to be given a workout to follow, but another to be taught why it works and why other programs don’t work.

-Rusty talks about the two main types of muscle growth, Sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar and how using cumulative fatigue will build muscle quickly!

-The proper amount of sets and reps to use when trying to build muscle, strength, and building muscle density.

-The only nutritional supplement worth taking and why most supplements are a complete waste of money.

-The proper way to eat for lean muscle gains and for losing fat.

-Why training legs might be ruining your physique and what you can do about it.

-10 pages of questions and answers that Rusty got from the initial draft of this ebook. He took the most common questions that people had and answered them so that you will be able to fully understand this program and how you should do it.

2) Exercise demonstration ebook

This is 225 pages that illustrate every exercise. It demonstrates with pictures how to properly do each exercise and has each exercise broken down in to separate body parts. The exercises are hyprlinked in the book which makes them extremely easy to navigate to.

3) Printable Workout Charts

These are easily printed out so you can take them with you to the gym and follow along and keep a record of what weight and reps that you have done. The key to progress is knowing what you did in the past and trying to beat it on each workout. These will help you immensely if you use them.

Bonus section: The Shrink Wrap Effect

There is a very cool technique that Rusty teaches you about “Shrink Wrapping” your muscles that you will do at the end of the routine. This technique will make you look better than you ever had and allow you to have the abs that few people actually ever get. This is a different approach to achieving muscle density that nobody else uses.

Okat there you have it. If you made it this far sorry for how long this became. So just to repeat myself real quick.

Visual Impact Muscle Building is a good program that has worked for countless men and women.

Will It Work For You? I don’t know. See here is the thing there are a number of fitness, fat loss and muscle building programs out there that are good (and some not so much). Any of the good one’s will work!!

But are you willing to do the work neccessary to get the Body Of Your Dreams?

 And that is the real question – Do You Want It Bad Enough?

 Visual Impact Muscle Building

Ab Exercises That Work

9 Ab Exercises for Lean Tight Abs And To Save Your Back

Today I thought we would take a short break from the series of lean muscle workouts we have been doing lately. I have an article on you guessed it ab exercises. The article comes courtesy of Jason Ferruggia a well known and respected strength and conditioning coach.

We all know (I hope) that for lean tight abs crunches and sit ups are useless. I also hope we all know that without a sound diet plan any excess stomach fat you have will prevent you from having a trim waist.

And did you also know that you may be doing some serious harm to your back if you are still using crunches and sit ups?

Ab Exercises For That Six Pack Abs Look

Although the majority of people continue to rely on exercises like sit ups and crunches when it comes to training thier abs, research has proven that these exercises place excessive loads on the lower back, leading to a lot of pain for a lot of people. Repeated, loaded spinal flexion is one of the leading causes for disc herniation.

In fact, the traditional old school, slow speed sit up has been shown to place 730 pounds of compression on the spine! Other commonly used ab exercises place over 1,000 pounds of compression on the spine!

Boy, do I wish I knew all this in my teens and early 20’s when I did thousands of spinal flexion exercises per week, eventually leading to two herniated discs.

Not only are you risking long term back problems by doing all those sit ups, crunches, and all their useless variations but you are not even providing optimal stimulus to the abdominals.

Research has proven that bracing actually trains the abs much more effectively than spinal flexion. To properly employ this technique you need to brace your abs as hard as you can like you are preparing to take a punch.

You don’t push your abs out and you don’t suck them in. Sucking them in and trying to activate your transverse abdominis is a mistake if you want to lift heavy weights safely...

Please Continue Reading At How To Get That Six Pack Abs Look