How To Get Killer Abs At Home

These exercises come with a warning. Don't cough the next day. Your abs will still be hurting after this tough, but fast ab workout.

How To Get Killer Abs At Home
By Craig Ballantyne, MS, CSCS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

For some people, ab training is like taking out the garbage – it has a bad habit of being put off until tomorrow. But that’s not surprising, considering how busy most of our lives are these days.
So whether it’s your kids that need your help with their homework, or a project that the boss wants you to finish on your own time, chances are you often have to cut your workout short so that you can get home and get some work done. All too often, ab training is the first thing to get cut in your workout.

But what happens after you finish your evening projects, and the guilt of skipping your abs comes settling into your mind? You kick yourself, don’t you? You think that you should have spent at least five minutes on your abs at the gym. Instead, now you’re going to spend the next 24 or 48 hours shaking your head and wishing you had done your abs at the gym when you had access to the gym’s equipment. After all, you can’t do a great ab workout at home, can you?


Well guess what? Of course you can! All you need are up to 12 minutes a night, two times each week to do all the ab work you need to take your mid-section to the next level. This “abs at home” program doesn’t require anything other than a Stability Ball, which is cheap, yet effective for sharpening up your abs into shredded condition. And not only is this “abs at home” workout great for building cover model abs, it’s also easier on your low-back than doing an endless number of traditional sit-ups.

This short ab workout requires you to perform two Supersets. Perform the exercises in the Superset back to back with no rest between them, and perform each Superset up to three times. Zip through the entire session in as little time as possible, and you’ll feel no guilt for slipping in an extra workout.

You’ll start your “abs at home” training by doing a full body abdominal exercise called Mountain Climbers. These will target your abs from the pelvis towards the rib cage, in addition to challenging your upper body strength. It also prepares the muscles of your entire body for the rest of the exercises to come.

Mountain Climbers are paired in the first Superset with Stability Ball Crunches. Go extra slow as you lower your torso in each repetition, to work your abs extra hard. These two exercises complete your first of two supersets.

In the second Superset, you’ll pair a Stability Ball Rollout with a Side Plank. The Ball Rollout focuses on your abs from the top down, while the Side Plank builds muscle endurance in your abs and oblique muscles.

Do this workout twice per week for 4 weeks before switching up the exercises.

The "KILLER ABS AT HOME" Workout

Exercise Sets Reps
A1 -Mountain Climber 3X20 per side
A2 -Stability Ball Crunch 3X10
B1 -Stability Ball Rollout 3X10
B2 -Side Plank 3X1 8-10 seconds per side
* A1 & A2, and B1 & B2 denote superset pairs

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
Brace your abs.
Start in the top of the push-up position.
Keep your abs braced, pick one foot up off the floor, and slowly bring your knee up to your chest.
Do not let your hips sag or rotate.
Keep your abs braced and slowly return your leg to the start position.
Alternate sides until you complete all of the required repetitions.




STABILITY BALL CRUNCH
Lie on the stability ball with your feet spread slightly greater than shoulder width apart on the floor (a wider stance equals greater stability and an easier exercise).
Curl your shoulder blades off the ball as if performing a regular abdominal crunch off the floor. Return to the start position.
Take 3 seconds to lower your upper body back to the ball.




STABILITY BALL ROLLOUT

Kneel on a mat and place your clasped hands on the top of a medium sized ball.
Brace your abs and slowly lean forward and roll your hands over the ball while the ball moves away from your body.
Keep your body in a straight line and go as far as you can with perfect form.
Contract your abs and reverse the motion to return to the upright position.





SIDE PLANK

Lie on a mat on your right side.
Support your bodyweight with your knees and on your right elbow.
Raise your body in a straight line so that your body hovers over the mat.
Keep your back straight and your hips up. Hold your abs tight. Contract them as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach, but breath normally.
Hold this position for the recommended amount of time or 8-10 seconds if you are doing multiple repetitions.



About Craig Ballantyne

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc., is one of the top Strength & Conditioning coaches in North America. He trains athletes and executives in Toronto and is a member of the Training Advisory Boards for Men's Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines. Craig also works extensively with athletes and is currently a consultant to Rugby Canada helping the National Team prepare for the 2007 World Cup. Craig's fat loss and workout tips are featured every month in Men's Fitness and Maximum Fitness, and in numerous on-line newsletters. Craig’s trademarked Turbulence Training workouts and comprehensive workout manuals are featured on his website.



About Craig's Trademarked "TurbulenceTraining System"


This is the training method that Men’s Fitness magazine and elite personal trainers are calling the most effective fat loss training system in the world. Craig Ballantyne’s trademarked Turbulence Training system allows you to burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions, without fancy equipment and provides an exciting new alternative to the time consuming traditional weight training workouts you see in the muscle magazines. You will enjoy challenging, sweat-pouring workouts that burn the most fat humanly possible in the shortest period of time. No other workout program compares to Turbulence Training when it comes to time efficiency. The workouts are ideal for busy executives, students or parents with young children. In just 50 minutes or less, three days per week, you can get leaner, stronger, fitter and more muscular with a total strength and cardio workout, and you can even do it in the privacy of your own home. No fancy or expensive machines are needed since you can do so many of the exercise with your own body weight. To learn more, click the link below:

www.TURBULENCE TRAINING .COM

How to Cut Your Workout Time & Lose More Fat

I highly recomend both this program"TurbulenceTraining" and "BurnTheFat Feed the Muscle"
I have personally used both with great results. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.
You can get my contact info in my profile.

By line: By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TurbulenceTraining.com

How to Cut Your Workout Time & Lose More Fat
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TurbulenceTraining.com

The #1 reason for not working out is a lack of time.

If you get up at 5:30am to drive an hour to work, only to get home at 6pm and then have to launch right into carting the kids around, who can blame you for not working out? Not when it takes 45 minutes to do cardio, and another 30-45 minutes for isolation bodybuilding workouts.

If that's the way you have to exercise to lose fat, then practically no normal person is going to be able to pull that off.

But when you look at the science, you'll see that you can get more results in less time. You just have to increase the intensity of the workout, but at the same time, you can cut your workout time in half (or more!).

I am convinced that an effective fat loss workout can be done in 45 minutes or less, and that long, slow, excruciatingly boring cardio is not necessary for you to get the body you want. Please, read on...

In last week's newsletter, I spoke about the 3 biggest training mistakes as well as my top 3 training tips to help you get more results in less time. Here I go into detail on the superiority of interval training when compared to traditional aerobic exercise:

Q: What is the role of interval training vs. steady state aerobics in a fat loss program?

Answer:
Interval training is more important than cardio. First of all, it gets more results in less time. And with "lack of time" being the number one reason most people do not participate in a training program at all, clearly intervals are the winner here.

Now let's just assume that lack of time is not a problem. Well, interval training is still more effective because it applies more "turbulence" to the muscle. Or in scientific terms, interval training results in a greater metabolic stress on the muscle.

And that causes more calories to be burned in the important 23.5 hours per day when you are not exercising.

From there, the muscle must work to recover, repair, and replenish the energy that was used in the training. It is much more metabolic work for the muscle to recover from interval training (and strength training) than it is to recover from aerobic training.

Therefore, in the post-exercise period, interval training results in more calories burned.

In fact, I just read a new study from Australia that shows interval training is superior to slow cardio for fat loss.

The researchers, Trapp & Boutcher put WOMEN through a 15 week study where one group was a control, one group did intervals (20 minutes of alternating sprints and recovery), and one group did 40 minutes of slow cardio.

The interval group lost 2.5kg of fat in 15 weeks on average (with one subject losing 7.7kg of fat), while the slow cardio group lost only 0.4kg of fat over 15 weeks on average.

The results speak for themselves.

So don't get hung up on how many calories are burned during a training session with aerobic training. That is not nearly as important as how many total calories your body burns over the course of the day - and you will burn more with interval training.

And for those that subscribe to the fat burning zone as being important, again, you aren't looking at the big picture (the 24-hour calorie burning period). Instead, those that believe in the importance of the fat-burning zone have a myopic view of how the body works.

The same message applies to those people that live and die by the cardio on an empty stomach method. You're "nickel and dime-ing" the fat loss process, when really it's a much bigger budget to balance.

Look at the big picture. Get your nutrition in order, then focus your workouts on brief, intense strength and interval training workouts that increase your metabolism for the next 24 hours.

Get your very own copy of Turbulence Training & the Nutrition Guide here: TurbulenceTraining.com

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

P.S. More TT Success Stories...Including the "21 pounds in 21 days Fat Loss Story"!

"TT Training has revolutionized my workout routine--NO more excuses! No time for the gym...NO problem, can't go outside...No problem! The bodyweight workouts kept me strong this fall."
Mary Iverson

"Hi Craig, I am enjoying Turbulence Training. I am a personal trainer, so I've incorporated much of it into my sessions. Though I used some philosophies from TT, your program has added a world of new ideas, methods, and techniques to my client sessions. And for that, I thank you so very much. Even my wife loves it, ha! So much more to read and implement, so TT reading will keep me busy for many months to come. Make it a great day!"
Loren Salas

Get your very own copy of Turbulence Training & the Nutrition Guide here: TurbulenceTraining.com

"The things I like the most in the TT program: a) Large number of different exercises allowing for ever new combinations, which prevent boredom and routine. b) Different approaches to strength training (dumbbells, own body, simple implements). c) A lot of precise information about pacing, timing and choosing effort levels. d) Sound and solid information on kinesiology and physiology of training."
Peter Tancig

"Hi Craig, I wanted to send you a note regarding TT. The workouts are great and if you incorporate the diet plan you can't help but lose FAT. I have been using the program for three weeks and have dropped twenty one pounds. I look forward to getting down to my goal weight within a year. I am very happy to have purchased this program and would recommend it to other with no hesitation. Thank you very much."
Tim Jones


About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit TurbulenceTraining.com

6 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

6 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TurbulenceTraining.com

Obesity has worldwide problem. In fact, almost 2/3 of Americans need to lose weight and over 1 billion people in the world are overweight. If you are overweight, you need to lose weight and improve your health and fitness. And yes, this can still be done over the holiday season. Don't wait for New Year's day to start your weight loss resolutions.

There are a number of reasons for the increased incidence of obesity and overweight individuals, as suggested by American statistics, but also a number of workout and nutrition tips that can counter the effects of each bad nutrition and exercise habit that we have:

* It has been estimated that for every high-sugar drink you consume, you increase your risk of obesity by 60%! Soft drinks provide 33% of all added sugars in American diets.

Tip #1: Avoid drinking calories!

* In the USA, sugar consumption has increased from 26 to 32 teaspoons (between the 1970’s and 1998).

* Americans eat an extra 150 kcal per day now in comparison to 1980. In theory, this could lead to 15 lbs. of weight gain per year!


Tip #2: Avoid over-eating treats at parties. If you can't have just one, don't have any at all!

* Your obesity risk increases 6-fold if you watch more than 2 hours of television each day.


Tip #3: Stay active. Walk around the mall a couple extra times if it means you'll avoid the couch and overeating at home. Stay busy, stay active, stay lean.

* Only 25% of individuals exercise moderately for 30 minutes each day, whereas 25% of the population does no exercise at all.


Tip #4: It's not all or nothing. If you can only do 15 minutes of exercise, that is still better than nothing. Don't stop all exercise just because you can't do 30 minutes that day.

* Obesity continues to increase in the USA despite a continued decrease in the consumption of dietary fat. In 1994-96, fat accounted for 33% of total calories compared with 40% in the late 1970's.

* In 1994-96, just over half of the population reported eating fruit each day while the consumption of processed carbohydrates (such as bread, snack foods, and cereals) has increased 110% since the late 1970's.


Tip #5: Avoid processed carbs. Hit the veggie tray, the protein offerings, and the calorie free beverages at parties. If its rolled in pastry, don't eat it.

* Milk consumption has decreased in children by 16% since the late 1970's, while consumption of soft drinks increased by 16%.


Tip #6: Don't keep soda in the house. If you don't buy it, neither you nor the kids will drink it.


Stick to these 6 simle tips and you'll stay lean over the holidays. Add in a little more exercise and you could do the impossible - you could lose fat over the holidays! Get started on a fast, efficient and effective program of strength training and interval training today!


About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked TurbulenceTraining fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the 6 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit TurbulenceTraining.com