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Craig Ballantyne (Turbulence Training author) has released some great body weight challenge videos on YouTube. The body weight 100 challenge is a great workout to perform as a beginning interval workout or as a “light” workout saved for the weekend. Although there is nothing light about it, if you have ever tried body weight intervals before, you know it kicks major butt!
Craig says the challenge is to complete it within in 9 minutes and he says that he can do it in 7 minutes. However, don’t worry so much about the time if you’re not in shape. The point is to do as much as you can and progress over time. The exercises are fairly simple but you may have to substitute for the pull-ups or body weight rows if you don’t have access to perform them.
As always, interval training isn’t for everyone so if you are new to it, consult with your doctor first.
All alcoholic beverages are considered to have empty calories. Empty calories are food/beverages that are high in calories and low in nutrition. The calories from alcohol tend to be stored as fat in the abdomen, hence the term “beer gut” or “beer belly.” Beer is the most common alcoholic beverage of choice. You can find beer being consumed at sporting events, bars/clubs, parties, and happy hours after a hard day’s work. After awhile those beer calories add up and so is born the beer gut.
If you’re in that situation and ready to make the commitment to lose the beer belly then avoid these common pitfalls:
1. Switching to “light” beer instead
No one said it would be easy and you may feel like not drinking beer at all will put a cramp in your social life but who cares? You are trying to lose that gut right? Then don’t think all is well because you’ve switched to drinking light beer. It’s all or nothing - cut out the beer to begin seeing results.
2. Cutting your calories too low
You know the beer calories added up so now you think dramatically cutting your calories will make up for all of that beer drinking. This is unhealthy and your body will not cooperate the way you think it will. In fact, a huge decrease in calories will cause your metabolism to slow down. It is safer and more effective to reduce the daily caloric intake moderately by 500 calories or so.
3. Only exercising your abdominal muscles
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who has thought that doing crunches everyday will lose that beer gut. Watch any ab machine infomercial and that is how they market their product. You can’t spot reduce any area of your body. Fat needs to be burned overall by performing exercises such as cardio and strength training. Interval training workouts will burn fat much more effectively and strength training will build muscles to burn calories throughout the day.
4. Not changing your diet
Cutting out the beer isn’t the only thing that needs to change. You’ll need to cut out the other junk foods that went along with it in order to see results. Begin eating clean and your exercise efforts will really pay off. No exercise program is effective without cleaning up your diet.
Deciding to quit drinking beer or cutting back on it can be done. Keep a positive attitude and avoid situations that will tempt you to begin drinking. Easier said than done right? - any challenge is. You can be strong in mind and body!
Usually when I’m viewing late night television I often see a commercial for some type of new ab machine that markets the dream of six-pack abs. Most of these infomercials display some type of portable machine that mimics the crunch exercise. They often have people who already have six-pack abs demonstrating their use and compare the machines to the gym while emphasizing the fact that you will save money and time.
The myth they are good at marketing
These ads are very good at marketing the myth of spot reduction. If there is any place on the body that most people wish they could spot reduce, it is the mid-section. Belly fat effects both men and women so an ab machine is an easy fix to market. Plus, with the new year approaching, the time is right to target the average consumer that still believes the myth of spot reducing trouble areas of the body.
The real way to lose belly fat
I’ve always said in other belly fat articles I have written that you can do ab exercises every day and still not have the six-pack abs you dream of. That is because the ab muscles you work so hard on are not going to show when there is a layer of fat hiding them. The real way to lose belly fat is by burning fat. There are 3 essential ways to do this:
You absolutely cannot achieve any fitness goals without first changing your eating habits. Eating clean is a matter of taking out the junk (processed foods, high-fat, sugar, etc.) and replacing with whole, natural foods (lean meats, vegetables, fruits.)
Effective Fat Burning Cardio
A majority of people don’t like cardio workouts because they are long and boring. I for one don’t like wasting time and what I love about interval training is the fact that I’m in and out of the gym or finished at home in a matter of 30 - 45 minutes. Studies have shown that interval training is more effective at burning fat than a typical cardio workout.
Strength Training to Burn Fat
Muscle burns more calories than fat. The more lean muscle you build, the more calories you will burn throughout the day. Strength training also gives you a nice physique. Weight loss is great but it’s even better when you develop definition. The most common misconception about lifting weights is that a person will “bulk up” like a bodybuilder. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Don’t be afraid to lift weights (particularly women) because of that.
I’m not against those ab machines but just remember that there are other factors that are necessary to lose weight and build muscle.
How do you get someone who hates exercising to start? This can be a difficult task and I have recently dealt with it myself. A good friend of mine is very stubborn when it comes to exercising. It is seriously like pulling teeth to get her to start. She used to belong to the same gym I belong to and even hired a personal trainer for a couple of months. Unfortunately, she ended up canceling her gym membership and stopped exercising all together. But guess what? I got her to exercise again and below is how I did it.
Figure out what they hate the most about exercise
I asked my friend to pinpoint exactly why she dislikes exercising. Below were her answers:
Laziness
Doesn’t like the smelly gyms
Doesn’t like boring cardio
Exercise takes too long
Everyone will have different answers but her answers were some of the most typical reasons most people do not exercise.
Interval training to the rescue
Laziness - This probably stems from the fact that she is lacking energy and doesn’t see exercise as an enjoyable activity. Intervals can help by boosting energy levels and providing a challenge with the different workouts she can do.
No Gym - Since she doesn’t like the gym, intervals will work out great for her because she can do them right at home or outdoors in her favorite locations (park, beach, etc.)
Boring Cardio - With intervals the typical cardio sessions no longer have to be boring. Even a boring cardio machine like the treadmill can be fun again.
Exercising Takes Too Long - Sure you can exercise for an hour or more but for people who lack time or don’t want to devote long hours to exercise, interval training fits in well. A good interval session takes no more than 30 minutes.
After pointing out how intervals may be what she was looking for, she decided to give it a try. We began exercising together and I showed her a sample body weight circuit video by Craig Ballantyne. She likes the fact that the routines are always different and she doesn’t have to go to the gym. I think she will stick to it - at least I hope so. She seemed really enthusiastic which is a great sign.
The video below is a good example of a body weight circuit:
I came across an awesome success story of a mother of two who used to weigh 300 pounds. Being caught up in raising her children without taking time out for herself played a part in her gradual weight gain. Before she knew it, she was tipping the scales at 300 lbs. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence for many people.
She contemplated weight-loss surgery but fortunately she was referred to a good personal trainer, changed her eating habits, and utilized intervals in her workout program:
Today, at age 49, Jacobs weighs less than 150 pounds. She runs an interval program on the treadmill 30 minutes every morning and evening, averaging 8 to 9 miles per hour. She continues to strength train with Eacrett three days a week at the gym. She’s so dedicated to healthy eating that she doesn’t even like to take “cheat” days when he tells her to. [Source: athensreview.com]
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