So many questions on TT, so little time. Here's a Q'n'A session all about the benefits
of Turbulence Training.
Q: Craig, could you explain to me why long slow cardio doesn't really work for
fat loss and how your system of training has helped thousands of people shed fat
and gain lean muscle?
CB:
First, let me clarify my opinion of "cardio" and "aerobics".
I know slow cardio can work for fat loss, but those who get the most benefit are
often young, heavily muscled males with time on their hands and genetics on their
sides.
They can workout 6 or 8 hours per week and have lots of muscle so even if they lose
a bit, it won't matter.
But for people that only have 2-3 hours total exercise per week and want a buff
body, rather than a skinny, weak physique, I have found that slow, traditional cardio
is not the way to go.
Slow cardio is just not efficient for overweight women (i.e. those that use it most!),
and slow cardio works less the longer you use it. You'll hit a plateau pretty fast
with a cardio-only approach.
Those are my observations.
And realize that when I talk about training for fat loss, I'm almost always talking
about getting the most results in the least amount of training time - because that
is the population I deal with. I don't work directly with fitness models that have
8-10 hours per week to train. Things might be different there, especially the closer
you get to the competition.
But for real life, slow cardio is one of the last places I would turn for fat loss
help.
And because there are millions of men and women out there with little time to train
but a real need to lose fat. Because there are so many of these people out there
that have relied on slow cardio in the past, when they switch to the Turbulence
Training approach, it's an almost overnight success story. Hence the high volume
of great feedback we have on the program.
Q: We live in a very fast paced society. People don't have the extra time for
anything these days, especially long workout sessions. Can people get real results
with training programs that only take 10-30 minutes?
CB:
Certainly - as long as their nutrion is correct for 167.5 out of 168 hours per week.
That's right, nutrition is the real key to fat loss. With training, all you need
to do is apply a relatively small amount of high-intensity exercise to your muscles
and you'll sculpt them or build them, whatever your goal.
High-intensity exercise (strength training and interval training) ramps up your
metabolism more than slow, marathon cardio training sessions.
And with training, there is a diminishing return on every set. So you can't expect
4 sets to be twice as good as 2 sets. As long as you get in 1 hard set, you are
on the way to fat burning and body sculpting. Then just add volume as needed and
as you have the time.
Q: Can you explain "turbulence" and how it ties into real fat loss
and body transformation?
CB:
What happens is this...
During high intensity training, you apply "turbulence" to your muscles.
That causes muscle/protein breakdown and glycogen depletion (which can be called
"cellular disruption").
This increased cellular metabolic activity results in "afterburn" - that
is, the burning of more calories after high-intensity exercise than you would have
burned after low-intensity exercise such as slow cardio.
So even though you might burn more calories during a slow cardio workout (say 500
calories) compared to during an equal length high-intensity Turbulence Training
workout (say 350 calories), you will burn a lot more calories after the high-intensity
training session.
The net result is more calories burned in the 24 hour period with high-intensity
training. Combine that with the muscle-sculpting benefits of strength training,
and you'll have a better body in less time. Guaranteed.