My 10 Day Holiday Countdown - A Few Pounds Lighter for the Beach!

I'm off on holiday in 10 days, and my goal was to be 63kg in time for the beach! Unfortunately I've stalled a bit at 64/5kg so need to give myself a turbo boost to be feeling like I've got a bit of leeway to enjoy my holiday. So getting this email from Craig Ballantyne today couldn't have come at a better time - it's his 10-14 day body-blitz approach to losing those few extra pounds, and as 10 days is what I have, I'm going to be following them. I know any advice from Craig is worth listening to and bound to get results, so going to put my faith in the programme and prepare to hit my target for my trip:

How To Lose the Last 10 Pounds
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training.com

Here's some of the tips we used in our plan to help the 3 brothers lose that last ten pounds of fat in the last 10 days of the transformation that helped them get featured in Men's Fitness magazine with their ripped abs. Here are the guidelines we've come up with to lose the last 10 pounds.

NOTE: The brothers were only going to follow these guidelines for 10-14 days. So if you choose to use this plan, don't follow it for more than 2 weeks. That's the maximum time for this advanced plan. After that, ease up on the restrictions a bit - and enjoy your advanced fat loss physique you've attained.

Advanced Nutrition Tips:
1) Start your day immediately with 2 cups of water, 3 fish oil caps, and 20g of lean protein, as part of your normal breakfast.
2) Eat 1 cup of broccoli at lunch and dinner (in addition to what you normally had planned).
3) Eat only protein, almonds, and raw vegetables between meals.
4) Elimiate all pasta, rice, potatoes, and carbohydrates from a bag or a box.
5) Don't go to bed full. Eat only a small protein snack in the evening to keep hunger at bay and to provide the body with protein before sleep.
6) Drink 6 cups of green tea per day (3 in AM, 3 after lunch)

Advanced Exercise Tips:
1) Add 10 seconds to each interval
2) Add in some bodyweight circuits (10-20 minutes per day) done in the morning or evening (if you do your regular workout in the AM, do your bodyweight circuits after dinner; otherwise, do the bw circuits first thing in the AM, and then do your regular workout at lunch or later in the afternoon or evening)
3) Add one set to the first superset you do in each workout.

Use these strict tips for no more than 2 weeks before returning to normal exercise guidelines and carbohydrate intake.

Train hard but train safe and you'll lose the last 10 pounds.

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 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 Turbulence Training.com

TT BW 1000 in 33 mins 42 s... Still alive and kicking...

Well I didn't do the TT Bodyweight 1000 last night as planned, as my boyfriend called me as he was leaving work to say it was windy so we went for an impromtu windsurf at Avon Beach instead, which was nice, but I was a little gutted not to do the workout as I was fully psyched up for it! It was too late by the time we got back from the beach, but first thing this morning I gave it a go and completed it in 33 mins 42 s! The close grip push ups near the beginning are an absolute killer - I could only just manage the 100 in sets of 10, v hard indeed! Thought I was going to fall at the first hurdle...

Had to modify slightly as I have a pull up bar but no low bar, so instead of inverted rows I did single arm KB rows with the 16kg (I did extra reps to compensate though!)

This was the plan and what I actually did:

100 jumping jacks
100 close-grip pushups
25 jumps
25 pull-ups -overhand (I had to run up 2 flights of stairs to get to the pull up bar from the garage too!)
100 bodyweight squats
25 stickups
50 bicycle crunches (I did 50 each side, so 100)
100 pushups
50 underhand inverted rows (I did sgl arm KB rows 16kg x 25 each side)
50 Swiss ball leg curls
100 bicycle crunches (50 each side)
50 decline pushups
25 overhand inverted rows (again, I did sgl arm KB rows 16kg x 25 each side)
50 mountain climbers (I did 50 each side)
50 bodyweight squats
25 chin-ups - underhand (again, I had to go up 2 flights of stairs to get to the pull up bar from the garage...)
100 jumping jacks

That should give me a nice metabolism boost for the weekend! Off windsurfing now, and it's sunny!

The TT Bodyweight 1000 Challenge

100 jumping jacks or skipping
100 close-grip pushups
25 jumps
25 pull-ups (overhand)
100 bodyweight squats
25 stickups
50 bicycle crunches
100 pushups
50 underhand inverted rows
50 Swiss ball leg curls
100 bicycle crunches
50 decline pushups
25 overhand inverted rows
50 mountain climbers
50 bodyweight squats
25 chin-ups (underhand)
100 rope skips or jumping jacks

I've just decided to do this for my workout today, not really sure why but felt I needed a kick up the proverbial during my training yesterday and this may just do the job... Similar in format to the 300 workout posted earlier in the week, 1000 reps total, aim to complete the entire circuit in the minimum time. You are meant to build up to this using the 6 week Turbulence Training programme designed for the purpose - so I am not recommending you try this at home without the pre-requisite conditioning!

This is actually a perfect 'park workout' - the bars in the kids area are super handy for the pull ups and inverted rows... Of course you'll need a swiss ball, too.

Will keep you posted on progress, or rather whether I have survived it or not... May take me a week - in the clip above Craig said it took him 45 mins the first time he tried, and I can only do 6 pull ups in a row at the mo.... Eeekkk.... Pressing the 'post' button means I am committed to doing this now... What have I let myself in for???

Weekend Workout For You!

If you've not managed to get your 3 workouts in this week, don't despair! You can redeem your week by getting some good quality exercise in over the weekend, so I thought I would give you a free workout programme that takes you through a great fat-burning workout, step by step!

Just go to my site and you can download your free pdf. The report explains everything - giving you all the exercises with full descriptions and pictures.

Of course you're not limited to the weekend for this one - if you enjoy it you can use this for up to 6 weeks, performing the workout 3 times a week (it should take about 45 mins) for maximum results. You can of course use it for longer than 6 weeks (it's not a self-destructing pdf as far as I know!) but ideally you need to change workouts on a regular basis to keep your body guessing to prevent plateaus and ensure you stay excited about your workouts.

If you want a female specific programme or advice, you get a free e-book with a metabolism boosting (e.g. fat burning!) workout if you sign up to the Turbulence Training for Women mailing list. I've signed up!

Recipe of the Week - Moroccan Chicken Tagine

For those of you who are on my mailing list, you will know that the Recipe of the Week has been moved here, to my blog! This means you can delete my emails and just visit the blog whenever you want to find a recipe...

This week's dish (or is that another feature...?) is from Alex Whittaker, a client who consistently inspires me to prepare more exotic healthy meals than my usual fare!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine (10 mins prep, 40 mins cooking time, serves 4...)

400g chicken cut into strips / chunks

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 red onion, chopped

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped roughly

500ml light chicken stock

100g chick peas, rinsed and drained

100g sweet potato (or try butternut squash) peeled and cut into chunks

2cm fresh root ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

zest & juice of 1 orange

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp saffron

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Sel de Guerande salt (you can get it in the artisan / deli food section in most branches of Sainsbury's and it's grey and unprocessed.)

Handful chopped fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat the coconut oil and add the chicken, cooking until browned. Set aside in a casserole dish.

2. Saute the onion with the garlic and spices (except the saffron) until softened. Add this to the casserole dish, along with the orange juice / zest, stock and saffron.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer on low for 15 mins.

4. Add the sweet potato, tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for a further 15 - 20 mins.

5. Season as required, cooking a little longer as required to reduce the sauce.

6. Scatter with coriander and serve - ideally with a load of steamed green veggies, or salad, and if you want additional starchy carbs, quinoa or cous cous would be ideal.

Women are From Mars? (AKA Are You Human?)

I just got an email from the 'Abs Man' Mike Geary, and being the lazy soul that I really am deep down, I thought I'd add it here rather than think of something of my own to say today! Joking aside, his email really hits the spot: he's articulating a frustration of mine in the fitness industry. I train a lot of women and invariably the ones who push it and go heavier with the resistance / intensity are the ones who get the best results. (And as an aside, I beat all the boys, including the instructor, on my Personal Training course, not only in all the exams, but also in the press up test, he, he! Yorkies may not be for girls, but push ups certainly are!)

So, back to Mike: "This is one of my biggest pet peeves in the fitness industry... So many men and women "think" they need to workout drastically different from one another.

For example, many women think they need to do 20 or 30 reps per set of every exercise with little pink 3 or 5 lb barbie weights, because if they actually lift heavier weights, they falsely believe they will "bulk up".

Also, many men think they need to do 1-rep maxes to build muscle... this is simply not true... overall training volume and a caloric surplus builds more muscle than does 1-rep maxes... although I'm not saying there isn't a time and place for 1-rep maxes.

One of my biggest frustrations over the years when I was training lots of females and I would show them the workout I wanted to take them through... they would say something like... "I don't want to do those exercises. That looks like a man's workout!"

And they would go back to their little pink 5 lb dumbbells and endless cardio routines and keep getting NO RESULTS at all for months or years.

However, the females I trained that were open-minded enough to trust me that if they used heavier weights they would not "bulk up" (as long as their caloric intake was in the correct range), always got tremendous results.

As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females I've trained over the years were the ones that actually trained with the heaviest weights. I had a few female athletes that could deadlift 175 lbs and they were VERY lean, and NOT overly-muscular. In fact, they had very feminine, but lean bodies.

They lifted HEAVY weights in relation to their size and they NEVER bulked up.
Another example is that the majority of females that I trained thought they couldn't use more than 5 or 8 lb dumbbells for an overhead dumbbell press or a dumbbell chest press. However, when they were open-minded enough to actually try to train their body under more resistance (and thereby create a REAL stimulis for change), most women were almost always able to press 20 or 30 lb dumbbells instead of the 5's or 8's they were used to using.

So my rant in this email is for us all to please stop with the insanity of thinking that we all need to train so radically different whether we're a man or a woman, but rather realize that we are all HUMAN BEINGS.

I don't care if you're a man or a woman... the laws of exercise physiology will always show that variations of squats, lunges, deadlifts, presses, and rows are some of the best exercises for humans, regardless of gender.

And this applies whether your goal is fat loss or muscle building! Yes, even if your goal is just fat loss and not muscle building, you still need to train your body under progressively heavier resistance (relative to your current strength) to stimulate your body to actually want to change over time.

*Note - when I say "heavy training", I mean heavy resistance in relation to your individual strength level. For example, a heavy resistance in a particular exercise such as a deadlift or squat may be 300 lbs for one person, and only 60 or 70 lbs for another person. All that matters is if the weight that you use is challenging for you.

Now I will concede that I use slightly different styles of training whether the goal is fat loss or muscle building (notice I said different styles, not different exercises per se), but the bigger factor is actually your caloric balance...

Creating a caloric deficit for fat loss or creating a caloric surplus for muscle gain, while still training intensely for either goal.

So I say let's all stop training like men or training like women, and let's all start training like human beings in order to get RESULTS!"

Too right, Mike, couldn't have said it better myself!

Back to Mike for a plug: "If you haven't already done so, you can gain access to my extremely effective training program for HUMANS for a special $4.95 trial offer at this page:

http://truthaboutabs.com/trial-offer.html

And you will see why over 100,000 humans, both men and women, have gotten tremendous results by following this program.

Don't be lazy... be lean.
Mike GearyCertified Nutrition SpecialistCertified Personal TrainerFounder - http://truthaboutabs.com

PS - if you liked todays article, feel free to fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it."

Drive Slow, Train Fast!

I was cruising down the motorway this morning at my new slow speed of 60mph and I realised just how similar I am to my van! I used to always drive as fast as possible as I always want to get where I'm going as fast as possible, but recently I read an article that showed just how much money you waste on fuel in a single journey at 80mph compared to 60mph so decided to slow it down and take my foot off the accelerator!

Of course, it makes perfect sense. Driving slowly, even if it takes a bit longer, is much more energy efficient. You get more miles per tank (I have almost got it to 5oo miles and its still not on the red - the last time I tried to get it to 500 miles I ran out of fuel on the M4...). The absolute worst way to drive for efficiency is to accelerate and brake repeatedly, as you cane through the fuel like there's no tomorrow.

Hmmm, where have I encountered that before? Exercise, maybe?? Long, slow cardio may get you further on a 'full tank' but do we want to be efficient??!! No, not at all! We want to cane through the fuel tank (fat stores) as much as possible! Stopping and starting, AKA intervals, is energy inefficient, so we burn more fat!

So leave the fast driving and stop-and-starting to the training sessions, and chill out on the motorway! There are some flaws to the analogy of course - you can find out more about how your cardio programme may be sabotaging your fat loss success by reading the article: The Dark Side of Cardio...

300 KB Workout...

Well, I've just done the kettlebell workout my boyfriend did on Saturday, and I did it in 13 mins 9 s! I did the following, with as little rest as poss:

25 V Sits 16 kg KB
50 Swing Snatches with 14kg KB (was working on technique as I've been doing a hybrid snatch all this time and only realised on Fri I need to learn the swing snatch and the power snatch not a half-and-half as I had! Did 10 each arm x 2 then 5 each arm to complete 50)
25 Push Ups
50 Swings 16 kg KB
50 Burpees
50 KB Clean and Presses 14kg KB (these were a bit more clean and jerk / push press than strict presses... Did 5 on each arm to complete the full 50)
50 Mountain Climbers (50 ES)

I did all the exercises as one long set rather than splitting into smaller chunks, but you could split so do 5 x 10 burpees rather than 50 all in a row...

Fun, pretty intense workout and I beat my boyfriend, he he... In fact, back to Tiger Woods, it was only after the first few burpees I realised they probably aren't on my knee rehab schedule for just yet, but I had to complete the workout and the knee had no problems with them, so I did!

Although it was only 13 mins (after a warmup of my physio exercises) I have definitely worked out! You really don't need to train for hours to get results - intensity is the key! If you want to find out more about short, intense workouts for time-efficient results then your best bet is Turbulence Training and / or The Bodybot.

Precision Nutrition 8 Day E-Course

If you want more tips and advice from Dr John Berardi and the Precision Nutrition team you can sign up for a free 8 day e-course. You will get an email a day for 8 days packed with simple but powerful advice to keep your nutrition and mindset on track. This includes 3 really useful quizzes that will help you pinpoint where you may be going wrong at the mo, so where you need to focus your efforts for best results.

Sign up for the free e-course here.

Precision Nutrition Tip of the Week #1

Tip #1
Eat Pasta... Carefully
by Dr. John Berardi

"As a God-fearing Italian, I have to admit that I love pasta. But, as a gut-fearing weight lifter and athlete, I definitely have to choose the lower GI, nutrient dense whole-wheat variety. During training phases that require or allow for higher carbohydrate intake (higher volume training) I'll eat one whole-wheat pasta meal per day. During other phases (like where I'm trying to lose fat), the pasta stays on the shelf in favor of a higher lean protein, good fat, and fruit and veggie intake."

SEE ALSO: This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

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Tiger Woods 'n Me!

Well, as expected it was windy yesterday so the Killer 300 KB workout my boyfriend did on Saturday will have to wait till this afternoon! It was also SUNNY, I felt like I was back in Egypt, not on the Sarf Coast of England...

Cruising along in the sunshine I remembered that the last time I actually windsurfed was over the Bank Holiday weekend, which was less than 3 weeks after my most recent knee op, despite the fact that I was told to be doing not a lot for about 8 weeks! And I thought about Tiger Woods, who has obviously been suffering a lot with his knee at the mo (he's had similar work done to me, and listened to the docs about as much as me: I had a major knee op where I was meant to be off sport etc for a year, but in 7 months I was in a National Wave Sailing competition in Tiree (the Inner Hebrides!) for the Tiree Wave Classic.

Despite being diagnosed with a stress fracture to his left tibia three weeks ago and advised to take three weeks on crutches followed by three weeks of rest, Wood's response was "I'm playing the US Open and I'm going to win." And win he did.

So why am I wiffling on about Tiger Woods and trying to make like I have anything in common with him at all? Well, Tiger battled through the pain to succeed at all costs. He had his goal in mind and was going to reach that goal whatever it took. It meant more to him than the pain of the knee (and while I'd ALWAYS recommend you give injuries time to heal, I think often we are over cautious in this area: bubble-wrapping injuries is not the answer and can create more problems than it solves.) But my main reason for mentioning this at all was how Tiger's attitide is applicable to fat loss, especially post-baby.

So many of my clients are women who want their bodies back after having babies. But time and time again I hear the almost accepted mantra: 'of course I'll never get my flat abs back', but this is simply not the case. If you need proof, check out the abs on the fittest yummy mummy around, Holly Rigsby. She puts most pre-baby abs to shame (mine included!) and is living proof (along with her army of FYM supporters!) that you do not need to listen to the doubters and the naysayers. There are countless stories of people who recovered from injuries 'against all odds' - perhaps the odds are as they are because most people don't have the focus, drive and committment to succeed. If you do, then anything is possible, whether that be getting six pack abs or becoming a Fit Yummy Mummy or both!

The Underdog and a Hardcore KB Workout

My boyfriend is a bit of a footie fan, so I am currently a Euro 2008 widow - he will literally watch any sport, especially footie, that is on so is not bothered that England failed to even qualify.

I don't really mind, it keeps him occupied so I can cook a delicious, healthy curry extravaganza for our dinner and allows me to come and tell you guys everything without him moaning at me for being stuck to the laptop as usual!

And Russia have just won - as did Turkey last night - and I do love the rise of the underdog. It just goes to show how far passion and drive can supercede 'genetics'...

Back to the boyfriend: pre-footie he found a great workout on YouTube - I was yoga-ing upstairs (it's my day off training today whereas he's been a lazy git all week - including a night on the lash on a MONDAY NIGHT, no sympathy whatsoever for feeling fat and unfit there, I'm afraid...) and could hear him grunting in the garage so must have been quite hard! It was a KB 300 Workout, along the same theme of the Bodyweight 500 and 1000 from Craig B's TT programme...

25 V Sits (no KB prescribed, I'll do it with the 16kg KB)
50 Snatches 16kg+
25 Push Ups
50 Swings 16kg+
50 Burpees (ouch)
50 KB Clean & Press 14 / 16kg KB
50 Mountain Climbers (= 25 ES)

I'm going to give it a go tomorrow, although I'm a windsurfer and tomorrow is looking to be super windy (v. exciting for a weekend in June!) so might be bu66ared by the time I get round to training - might stick to a recovery yoga session then try this Monday.... Am I prevaricating???

If anyone fancies giving it a go, let me know how long it takes and we can post the 'winners' up here! Oli took about 20 mins, but the record (with a 24kg KB...) was under 12 mins - eeek....

No Time To Eat Healthily? The Lunch Box Diet To The Rescue!

While I'm on the 'time' theme, one of my clients' biggest complaints is that they feel they don't have time to prepare healthy food. One option is to prepare double at dinner time and save the rest for lunch, which means you are actually SAVING time as you don't need to queue for a soggy sarnie at the canteen! But if you need more inspiration, the Lunch Box Diet is the answer.

The plan is based around filling a huge tupperware pot full of gorgeous, healthy, nutritious and delicious foods, then savouring at regular intervals throughout the day. Simon Lovell, a Trainer based in Exeter, guides you through the process, with lists of foods to choose from and several ideas that take no more than 5 minutes to prepare!

This is a great diet for people on the go, which really is most of us. You will be surprised at how many people at work comment on how delicious your lunch looks compared to theirs - plus they'll be watching your physical transformation with envy that they can't manage to be as organised and successful as you.

What with the 4 minute BodyBot workout and the 5 minute meals for the day, can you really say you don't have time to be healthy?!

No Time To Workout? BodyBot To The Rescue!

Now there really is no excuse! The important part of the fitness equation (Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type) is not time, but INTENSITY! You really don't actually need a lot of time, you just need to make sure you work out hard in the time you have...

Of course that may seem easier said than done, especially if you don't know where to start, which is why people end up mindlessly plodding away at the machines in the gym, 'multitasking' by reading a magazine...

The BodyBot is set to change all that! In fact, you might as well cancel your gym membership now as you really don't need all those machines that just distract you from the task in hand - getting a quality workout.

All you need to do is download the BodyBot to your computer, follow the simple instructions to drag and drop the selected exercises into your workout (you get to choose what you want to do from a selection of the only exercises you'll ever need!) then choose your music (!) and press go.

Each circuit takes 4 Minutes!! Yes, Madonna and JT were onto something - you only need 4 minutes to save your body! You may be sceptical of a 4 minute workout, but believe me, it will be long enough. You can build up to linking a couple of circuits together or you can sprinkle them throughout your day.

I'll post some of my workouts on the blog soon if you want some inspiration, and feel free to post your own in the comments!

I forgot to mention, the 4 minute workout format is a scientifically tried and tested approach that has amazing fat loss effects - called the Tabata Protocol. You will be burning fat long after the 4 minutes are up...

Hello and Welcome!

Hi there

I have decided to set this blog up to help sort through the world of fitness info, to help you find what you need to reach your goals - to find your Perfect Fit!

I spend half my life reading about fitness on the internet and reading fitness books, as it's part of my job (well, that's my excuse, I find it fun too...) but the problem most of my clients have is lack of time! So I thought I would share my opinions on various sites, ebooks etc so you can make an informed choice, without all the effort!

I hope you enjoy and find this useful! If you want more info about my One-to-One Personal Training then you can check out my website: http://www.perfectfitforlife.com/ and feel free to contact me directly if you have any comments or specific requests!

Looking forward to seeing you here soon...

Caroline