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