I've been meaning to write this email for a long time. Today I'm going to give you
the story of how I solved the problem of getting an efficient and effective fat
loss program finished in 45 minutes. Essentially, how I invented Turbulence Training.
And then I'll end with a sample TT workout for you...
But first, let's take a trip down memory lane to the winter of 98-99. I was but
a lowly grad student, studying the effects of androstenedione (the supplement taken
by the might Mark McGwire during his record-breaking home run quest in '98).
In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology for
any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the supplement and go
through a couple of weight training sessions. By February of '99 I was stuck in
the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy radio-active isotopes.
And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I'd get there at 7am, and record
my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I wasn't there,
I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on testosterone and training.
Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn't sit
well with me. But there I was, studing for a degree in Exercise Physiology and left
with no time for exercise. Or so I thought.
Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of "down-time"
while the lab's gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.
That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get a workout
in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my studies to the workout,
I could get maximum results in minimum time.
As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to avoid the
fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary environment. And I also
had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I once was, so there was no way
I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss
plans that were popular at the time.
Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working with athletes
as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coach.
I knew that sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio,
and I knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you
can't increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).
So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio.
I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in the summer and
fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed winter fat in a short
time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals had to be the next step in
the evolution of cardio.
The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of time. I
knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only spend 15-20
minutes doing intervals.
Now onto the strength training portion of the workouts. I knew that a high-volume
bodybuilding program wasn't going to cut it - I just didn't have time. But in the
past year I had read so many lifting studies, that I knew exactly what exercises
I needed to do to maximize my lifting time in the gym.
Those exercises were standing, multi-muscle, movements such as squats, presses,
rows, power cleans, and plenty of other standing single-leg exercises. I knew that
those exercises would bring me far more results than those people sitting on machines
would ever achieve.
And I also knew that I had to lift heavier than the average Joe or Jane Gym-goer
lifts. I just knew that doing lighter weights and high-reps wasn't going to cut
it. And a research study from 2001 later showed that I was right - when women did
8 reps per set, they had a significantly greater increase in post-workout metabolism
than if they did 15 reps per set.
So I had my plan. Bust my tail over to the gym, through the cold, dreary Canadian
winter afternoon, and do a quick but thorough warmup (specific to my lifts - none
of that 5 minutes on the treadmill waste of time).
Once I got through the warm-up, I did as many sets as I could in the remainder of
the 20 minutes for strength training.