Ballantyne’s Day Training

Happy Ballantyne’s Day everyone.

It’s been pretty busy around TT Headquarters…just this week I’ve been working on:

– TT Transformation 2
– The TT for Abs Follow-Along DVD’s (COMING SOON!)
– TT Big 6 Circuit (for March)
– TT Bootcamp 2K10 program (professional and personal editions)

Also, since the Olympics are here I’m trying to figure out some type of Turbulence Training Olympic Challenge…I’ll see what I can do…

Click here to listen to this week’s fat loss podcast

If you have any Olympic Challenge ideas, let me know below.

Monday – Feb 15th

Transformation Tip of the Week:
Everyday take baby steps to improvement. Be a little better than yesterday.

TT Beginner Total Torso Training Workout A

1) Plank – 20 seconds
2) Side plank – 10 seconds per side
3) Stability Ball W’s & T’s – 8 reps per exercise
4) Stability Ball Leg Curl – 10 reps
5) Kneeling Pushup – 10 reps
6) Lying Hip Extension – 15 reps
7) Kneeling Ball Plank – 20 seconds
8] Bird Dog – 6 reps per side

• Rest 1-2 minutes before repeating the circuit 2-3 more times.
• Finish with Interval Training

Tuesday
Get 30 minutes of fun activity – now grab an apple and some almonds and let’s do this week’s research review…

Researchers studied 89,432 Europeans, aged 20–78 y, for six and a half years.

Reference:
Am J Clin Nutr 91: 329-336, 2010. Dietary fiber and subsequent changes in body weight and waist circumference in European men and women.

Results: Total fiber was inversely associated with subsequent weight and waist circumference change.

That means…the more fiber you ate, the smaller your waist circumference and the lower your weight. It looks like fiber helped these folks keep off the fat.

SURPRISINGLY, the researchers found the strongest association between cereal fiber and the prevention of weight gain or a big belly.

Most “experts” tell you to avoid as many carbohydrates as possible, and while they are right in telling you to avoid processed and refined grains, this study suggests you can stay lean as long as you eat high fiber carbs.

After all, it certainly works for me (and my dog).

In a day, I consume: 8-10 servings of fruit, 6-8 servings of vegetables, 6-12 servings of grains. I eat a lot of carbs and have 9-10% body fat. But it is all fiber rich carbohydrates.

Wednesday

Before we get into today’s workout…Do you know how long can you hold a plank? Are your side planks even between sides? Check those out.

TT Beginner Total Torso Training Workout B

Mountain Climber – 8 reps per side
Stability Ball Hip Extension – 8 reps
Stability Ball Mini Rollout – 8 reps
Stick-up – 10 reps
Side Plank – 20 seconds per side
1-Leg Lying Hip Extension – 8 reps per side
DB Row – 10 reps per side
Elevated Pushup – 6 reps per side

• Rest 1-2 minutes before repeating the circuit 2-3 more times.
• Finish with Interval Training.

Thursday
Do 30 minutes of fun activity – and now let’s talk about the…

#1 weight training rule for endurance athletes

The rule is to cut BACK on volume so as to eliminate soreness and not interfere with endurance training.

Listen, if you want to run a good race, you don’t need to squat 300 pounds…you simply need to support your race training with a little bit of strength training…but not so much that you are sore. So cut back to 1 set per exercise.

Friday

TT Beginner Total Torso Training Workout C

Kneeling Ball Plank – 30 seconds
Bodyweight Squat – 12 reps
1-Arm Standing DB Shoulder Press Palms In – 10 reps per side
Kneeling Renegade Row – 8 reps per side
DB Chest Press – 10 reps
DB Chest-Supported Row – 10 reps
DB 1-Arm Biceps Curl – 8 reps per side
DB Lying Triceps Extension – 10 reps

• Rest 1-2 minutes before repeating the circuit 2-3 more times.

Finish with High Intensity Cardio – 15 minutes

• Warm-up for 5 minutes.
• Exercise continuously for 15-minutes at a moderately hard pace that you can sustain for the entire 15 minutes.
• Cool-down for 5 minutes.

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity…and now a bit of some motivational butt kicking…

“Somewhere out there, a person just like you but with 10x’s the excuses that you have, is achieving the same goals you want to achieve. Listen, everyone has a “good enough” excuse to fail and to quit. But everyone also has ALL of the tools they need to succeed. Your choice.”

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

And now let’s talk about protein, with great info from Men’s Health magazine (March 2010).

According to the article in Men’s Health, even top level, hard training athletes need only 0.77 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. 

And then they stated this SHOCKER: The average 180 pound guy (assuming average body fat levels) who works out only 3 days per week needs only 80 grams per day.

That’s a LOT lower than the muscle mags and protein companies would have you believe.

Heck, I remember back in my protein days consuming a protein shake that contained 52 grams – at once! The crazy stuff you’ll believe when you’re a kid.

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight rule (unless you have a lot of body fat, then you can cut back on that by half and still have enough protein).

As my old grad school professor Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky is quoted in the article, “Taking in more protein than the recommended dose won’t confer more benefit. It won’t hurt you, but you’ll just burn it off as extra energy.”

The article also references a study that showed consuming 90 grams of protein at one meal provides only the same benefit as consuming 30 grams of protein

They quote the author of that study, Dr. Douglas Paddon-Jones, Ph.D, as saying, “It’s like a gas tank. There’s only so much you can put in to maximize performance; the rest is spillover”

In past blog posts, I’ve also used the analogy of a factory that only has so many workers in it who can do so much. It doesn’t matter how much raw material you ship to the factory, the workers can only create so many parts. The rest is not used.
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For more info on protein needs, I highly recommend Brad Pilon’s “Truth About Protein” report.

That’s it for now…

Next week!

• TT Workout – TT 2K5 – An update on a classic
• Weekly Research Review – Either a cardio workout article or a calorie research study
• My #1 Training Rule for Men
• And some interesting findings reported in the book, “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan

Happy Ballantyne’s Day,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS