7 Word Diet

I’m a lucky man because I’m off to the SuperBowl this weekend…and I’ll be creating a special report on my fitness and nutrition while on the road. In fact, I’m creating an entire new site “Turbulence Training Travels”. Watch for that in March.

Speaking of the SuperBowl, this week’s fat burning coaching call has a SuperBowl theme with lots of sports analogies.

Click here to download the call – its a good one

But first, I want to tell you about an email I got this week.

For some reason, my email address has been put on a “free publicity” list, and every day I get 3-5 lame Press Releases about fitness.

One of them was about the “120 Calorie Half-Time Workout” that went on to outline a boring circuit that you could do at half-time during the game to burn off some of the football munchie calories.

But this mindset bugs me.

Why?

Because you’ll never win the “calorie battle” by trying to out-exercise a bad diet. It just won’t work with “120 calorie circuits”.

Instead, stick to the “7 Word Diet” 90% of the time, and follow my 3 cheat rules (listed below) for big events.

Now let’s move on to our Superbowl tips…

Monday – Feb 8th

Transformation Tip of the Week: Superbowl Style

Kekich Credo #73. Nothing wins more often than superior preparation.

For Fat Loss, you must…

1) Plan, shop, and prepare.

2) Come up with two solutions for every obstacle in your life.

3) Use a structured, professionally designed workout

4) Get social support

5) And have a positive and determined mindset that …you are going to DO this, not that you are going to “try” and do this.

That’s how you win.

Workout A – TT KB-DB-BW Fusion Program – August 2007

Superset #1
1A) 1-Leg Squat with KB’s or DB’s [if possible] – 6 reps per leg (2-0-1)
30 seconds rest.
1B) DB Incline Press – 8 reps (3-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

Superset #2
2A) 1-Leg RDL with KB or DB – 10 reps per leg (2-1-1)
No rest.
2B) DB or KB Row – 8 to 12 reps per arm (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #3
3A) DB or KB Squat – 20 reps (1-0-1)
No rest.
3B) Decline Pushup – 20 reps (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Intervals

• Warm-up for 5 minutes.
• Work for 45 seconds at a hard pace (at a subjective 9/10 level of intensity).
• Follow that with “active rest” for 90 seconds by exercising at a slow pace (at a subjective 2/10 level of intensity).
• Repeat for 5 intervals.
• Finish with 5 minutes of a cool-down at a 3/10 level of intensity.

Tuesday
Get 30 minutes of fun activity – and let’s do this week’s research review about “The Diet of Death”.

Reference:
International Journal of Obesity (2009) 33, 1419–1426. Associations between dietary patterns and obesity phenotypes. A-M Paradis1,2,3, G Godin4, L Pérusse2,5 and M-C Vohl. Laval.

In this study, researchers reviewed the diets of 664 participants aged between 18 and 55 years.

They found that people generally fell into 2 categories:

1. The Western Diet (refined grains, French fries, red meat, processed meats, & regular soft drinks)
2. The Prudent Diet (eggs, fish, seafood, vegetables, and non-hydrogenated fat)

Unfortunately, the researchers found that subjects who ate the Western Diet had a larger BMI, heavier weight, bigger waist and a lot more fat. They were much more likely to be obese.

But people on the Prudent diet were the opposite.

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Listen, nutrition is pretty simple. In fact, I just finished reading an entertaining little book called,  “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan. It tells you what to eat, and what not to eat.

And it can all be summed up in this 7 word diet:

“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Heck, eat ANYTHING but the Western diet. That is the diet of death.

Wednesday

I know I’m going to get the question, “Can I just use dumbbells for these exercises?”.

The answer is “yes and no”. Kettlebells allow for a better movement in the swing exercise. For that one, you’ll want a kettlebell.

Workout B – TT KB-DB-BW Fusion Program – August 2007

1A) 1-Arm KB or DB Swing – 12 reps per arm (2-0-1)
No rest.
1B) Spiderman Pushup – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

Superset #2
2A) 1-Arm, 1-Leg DB or KB Overhead Press – 6 reps per side (2-0-1)
No rest.
2B) Waiter’s Bow – 15 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #3
3A) 1-Arm DB or KB Squat & Press – 10 reps per arm (2-0-1)
No rest.
3B) X-Body Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Triset #4
4A) Turkish Get-up – 5 reps per side
No rest.
4B) Pushup Hold – 2 reps (15 second hold at top & 5 second hold at bottom)
No rest.
4C) Side Plank – 20 seconds per side
Rest 30 seconds before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 trisets.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity and then let’s look at your planning again…

If you watch football, you know that every play is scripted…and you might even know that teams come in with their game already planned out. They know what plays they are going to run.

The teams that plan the best, often have the best results…even against greater talent.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is not having a plan. That leads to wasted time (“what should I do today”) and no results.

Spend time planning your workouts to save you time when you go to do you workouts.

Get as much control as you can by planning, shopping, and preparing, but don’t get upset by things you can’t control. Go with flow. Breathe. Work on improving everything else that you CAN control.

Friday

5 supersets in today’s workout!

Workout B – TT KB-DB-BW Fusion Program – August 2007

1A) DB Split Squat – 8 reps per side (2-0-1)
No rest.
1B) Block Pushup – 15 reps (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating the superset 2 more times.

Superset #2
2A) DB Chest Press – 8 reps (2-0-1)
No rest.
2B) 1-Leg Deadlift – 8 reps per side (3-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #3
3A) DB Deep Step-up – 12 reps per side (2-0-1)
No rest.
3B) T-Pushup – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #4
4A) DB Rear Deltoid Raise – 12 reps (2-0-1)
No rest.
4B) 1-Leg Calf Raise – 10 reps per side (2-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Superset #5
5A) DB Curl – 10 reps (2-0-1)
No rest.
5B) Close-Grip Elevated Pushup – 10 reps per side (1-0-1)
Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

If you want, you can finish with kettlebell swings, but the 5 pairs of exercises should be enough.

Social Support Saturday!
Get 30 minutes of fun activity, and then think about this sports analogy for social support:

In sports, the home field is almost always thought of as an advantage because of the support from the fans.

You too must create support from the “fans” in your life.

Its tough to do this on your own. Get help from positive people, and don’t let negative ones into your life.

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And there’s one more workout for this program:

Day 6 – Interval Training Circuit

Warm-up – 5 minutes at a moderate pace

Interval #1 (60 seconds at 8/10 intensity level)
Without rest, do 20 prisoner squats
Rest 1 minute before moving to Interval #2.

Interval #2 (45 seconds at 8/10 intensity level).
Without rest, do 15 pushups
Rest 1 minute before moving to Interval #3.

Interval #3 (60 seconds at 8/10 intensity level).
Rest 1 minute before repeat Intervals #1-#3 one more time each.

Cool-down for 5 minutes.

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
30 minutes activity and then plan, shop, & prepare.

If you are eating big today, use these 3 Cheat Meal Rules

1) Enjoy the meal WITHOUT guilt. It’s just one meal.

2) But NO “gorging” or going back for 2nds. You just get one round of food to enjoy – so eat and drink slowly. No gluttony allowed. Eat slow so you feel full faster.

3) Once it’s over, get right back on track. No feeling bad. In fact, you should feel good – after all, you just REWARDED yourself.

BONUS: Be prepared in advance that you don’t “relapse” after the meal. Make sure you have plenty of healthy alternatives for snacking if you still are hungry later in the evening so that you don’t go back to the leftover wings.

Also, with respect to rule 2, everyone needs to make sure they haven’t “bottled up their desires” so that they end up going on a binge fest. Its not about binging, its about rewarding.

That’s why I like the term “reward meal” rather “cheat meal”, even though it sounds totally dorky.

Okay, that’s it. Hope it helps.

Have a great week,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

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Next week!

• TT Workout – Beginner Total Torso Training
• Weekly Research Review – An interesting fiber & weight loss study
• Endurance athlete strength training tip
• Protein intake tips from Men’s health