Let me solve your workout problem.
I know that you are:
- Eating well
- Exercising regularly
- and TICKED OFF that you aren't making progress.
I've answered dozens of emails from new readers that have said exactly that. And
after I get more info from them, here are the 3 mistakes commonly made:
1) Your perception of your nutrition "success" doesn't
match the reality of what, when, and how often you are eating. To learn the rules
of fat loss, you need to read (scratch that, you need to STUDY), Dr. Chris Mohr's
Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.
2) There is no variety in your training.
3) You need to up the intensity of your training.
Let's face it. Human beings like to stick to a routine. We don't like change. We
like our comfort zone - some more than others.
But if there is no change in your workout from month to month, then your body will
not change either.
That is why I insist on changing your workouts every 4 weeks as you do in the TT
workouts.
You won't succeed by doing the same thing over and over again. Would you get ahead
at work by doing the same tasks you did as the first day on your job? No way. You
have to take on more challenges.
With variety in your training, you will continue to apply "turbulence"
to the muscle, and making your body use lots of energy (i.e. calories and fat) during
the recovery period to repair the muscle and replenish the energy used. That will
"jack up" your metabolism.
If your body is used to the training, the exercises, the sets, and the reps, it
will give a "ho-hum" response and your metabolism will flatline.
And that's why you need to raise the intensity of the workout as well.
Slow, boring cardio doesn't jack up the metabolism like intervals.
And research has shown that 8 reps boost your post-workout metabolism more than
12 reps. So you have to safely add a little weight (try using 5% more weight with
perfect form, of course), and decreasing the number of reps per set by 2. That's
a good place to start.
So if you've been doing a machine circuit, then stop, and give this sample free
weight Turbulence Training workout a try.
Warmup with a bodyweight circuit. 8 reps per exercise, go through it twice.
Sample bodyweight circuit:
i) Bodyweight squat
ii) An easy pushup
iii) A bodyweight row if possible, if not, do stick-ups
Then do 20 minutes of total body strength training done in
supersets.
Example:
1a) DB Squat
1b) DB Press
Do each exercise with a weight that allows only 8 reps. Do not rest between the
squat and press. Rest 1 minute after the press. Repeat the superset 2 more times.
Next superset:
2a) DB Split Squat
2b) DB Row
Same as above.
On to intervals:
5 minute warmup.
6 intervals of 60 seconds at a "harder than normal cardio pace" with 60-90
seconds recovery (at the easiest pace possible).
5 minute cooldown.
Stretch tight muscles only.
Done.
We don't do slow cardio. It does nothing for the man or woman who is short on time.
And of course, always train safe and don't do anything you are not comfortable doing...but
if you are fit and healthy, you can increase the intensity, change the variables,
and burst through your fat loss plateaus.
Sincerely,
Craig Ballantyne,
Author, Turbulence Training