The No Fuss Way To Lose Weight

Open any magazine these days and you could be forgiven for thinking that the only way to lose weight and get into shape is to thrust yourself headlong into a grueling exercise regime.

But they all make the same mistake of assuming that if you want to shed a few pounds then you must also like to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon. Nothing could be further from the truth!

See, hard competition training and simply dropping a few pounds are at opposite ends of the fitness spectrum and never likely to meet. In the exercise and gym culture, one size most definitely doesn't fit all.

So if you are not getting ready for the next Olympics, what can you do to lose weight and get into shape? Quite simply, just undo all the things that got you into your present condition. Which for most people was a combination of eating too much of the wrong things and doing little or no exercise.

So it's pretty obvious that if you want to shed the pounds and feel fitter, you need to eat less of the wrong foods and more of the good stuff. And get your body moving! All it takes is a little extra time and enthusiasm.

Take things easy at first by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Forget the car for all those short journeys, walking is far healthier and you get to meet new friends too. Take the dog with you and share some quality time. The whole reason for this is to make you realise that exercise is a part of daily life, not some pain that you need to endure to make you feel guilty for eating.

As you begin to notice a difference, just raise your target bit by bit. Walk more often or increase your distance. Carry a rucksack with a water bottle to add a little resistance to your routine.

Drinking a glass of water before every meal will make you feel full sooner as well as fending off dehydration. Water also assists in keeping your bowels regular so make sure that you drink plenty during the day.

By making a few small changes to your diet and your lifestyle, you will soon start to feel fitter, younger and a whole lot better. Now isn't that better than risking serious problems on the squash court?

Take your fitness to the next level with your own fitness equipment. Mark Heywoods website features tips for buying a treadmill to help you decide on the best recommended treadmill for your needs.

5 Great Reasons Why We Need to Bodyweight Exercise

I had never thought of sharing on “why exercise” and always assumed that we all believed and agreed that it was an essential part of everyone’s lifestyle regardless of whether one had the time or discipline to do it, until about two years ago I gradually pulled myself out from a sedentary lifestyle and I established a workout regimen in the morning and started to read more about the different types of workout such as aerobic training, resistance exercise and weight bearing activities. I reckon that exercising may be very often emphasized by all, but sometimes, its benefits may not be so clear and obvious to everyone.

Helps Strengthen Your Heart

Aerobic exercises benefit the circulation of your blood through your heart and blood vessels, that is, your cardiovascular system. They make our heart work harder, pump more blood, and reduce the risk of developing heart disease. With each beat of your heart, a surge of blood is pumped into your body's intricate web of blood vessels. The pressure exerted on your artery walls as blood passes through helps keep the blood flowing smoothly (what you know as ‘blood pressure’). A build-up of plaques in your arteries, caused by cholesterol in your bloodstream can affect your blood flow and cause serious damage to your cardiovascular system.

A workout on a regular basis benefits your heart because it helps lower the buildup of plaques in arteries by increasing the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) and decreasing the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) in your blood, while keeping the blood pressure at the optimal level. As a result, your heart is able to do a better job in delivering oxygen to all parts of your body. Blood travels more efficiently, bringing much-needed oxygen from your lungs and nutrients to the rest of the body. That’s why people generally feel more refreshed and energetic after exercising.

Want to consider some aerobic activities? Try swimming, basketball, rope skipping, jogging (or brisk walking), in-line skating, soccer, or biking.

Maintains Strong Bones and Muscles

I am sure most of us have tried doing push-ups, weight lifting in some form, or repeatedly used your muscles to counter some kind of resistance. These are called resistance exercises which the experts believe could strengthen our muscles; preserve bone mass, increase bone density. Regular resistance training can help prevent the bone-weakening disease, osteoporosis.

Walking and jogging are also important activities that bear your body's weight and help build strong muscles and bones. Other resistance workout include pull-ups, running, biking, and rowing.

Helps Manage Your Weight

This benefit is well-known to all who are weight conscious or trying to lose the extra pounds. Your body needs a certain amount of calories every day just to function. If you eat more calories than your body needs, it may be stored as excess fat. For instance, if you have an excess of 10kg fat, and each gram has some 9 calories, then you have 90000 calories for your body to use!

Exercising helps you achieve or maintain a healthy weight by utilizing and burning the extra calories. And if you exercise, your body works harder and needs more fuel. Even after you stop exercising, your body continues to burn calories at a modestly increased rate for a few hours. The more intensely you workout, the more calories you burn. By burning more calories than you take in, you can reduce body fat, giving you a healthier body composition. Losing body fat can make you look and feel better and can reduce your risk of obesity.

Induces Quality Sleep at Night

Many people who have problems sleeping find doing moderate exercise at least three hours before bedtime help in relaxing and sleeping better at night. The recent Hibernation Diet Theory teaches that regular exercise could activate production of recovery hormones during sleep, increases our body’s metabolic rate and promotes fat-burning. It makes a powerful association between poor sleep and obesity, a disease that has been rising dramatically in developed countries and has reached epidemic levels in the United States. While most of us would associate poor weight control with aging, low metabolism rate, and poor eating habits, many other research studies have also reported and pointed to the relationship between insufficient sleep and weight gain.

So start today, get a good night's sleep, aim for eight hours a night if you can, and add resistance workouts will speed up your weight loss and the body will worker harder at night.

Puts You in a Better Mood

We all know that it definitely feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you enjoy and be able to move your arms and legs flexibly without feeling tightness or pain. But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood.

Exercise combats depression by activating the neurotransmitters, which are basically chemicals used by our nerve cells to communicate with one another and often associated with avoiding depression. The balance of these neurotransmitters, namely serotonin and norepinephrine plays a role in how we respond to daily events. When experiencing depression, our level of serotonin, norepinephrine or both may be out of equilibrium. Workouts may help synchronize those brain chemicals.

Exercising also stimulates the production of endorphins, another type of neurotransmitters that produce feelings of well-being, provide for "natural" pain relief, and help you relax.

Sounds good? If you just had a tough day at work and need to let off some steam, go for a workout or a brisk 30-minute walk to calm yourself down.

Well, if you have not any form of physical training for a long while and find it a pain to do so, I suggest that you start doing it 2 times a week and slowly increasing to 3 and then 5 times or more a week. You can do 10 or 15 minutes bouts of workout each time to make up a 30 minutes session a day.

Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/fast.html

R. Tan is the owner of the website benefits-of-honey.com

which is a rich honey resource community specially built for all the honey lovers and fans in this world. She has packed this website with a wide range of quality contents on honey based on her knowledge and experience with honey, so as to promote its invaluable benefits which she believes could bring many positive spin-offs in everyone's daily life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ruth_Tan

Bodyweight Exercises: Top 10 Exercises Without Weights

If you hate to go to the gym, you are not alone. The good news is - you can get results in the comfort of your own home with some simple home bodyweight exercises.

Bodyweight training CAN be effective. It CAN be a substitute for weights, if necessary. Training using your own body weight as a source of resistance is a time tested technique to get results fast.

Here are the ten best bodyweight training exercises that give you great workouts and great results - without the gym.

1. Supine Pull-Ups (works major muscles in back, shoulders, and biceps) Use two chairs and a pole - a heavy broom handle works well. WARNING: make sure the chairs are stable and that the broom handle is strong enough to take your weight. You could be SEVERELY injured if the pole were to break or the chairs to slip. Lie on your back underneath a low bar. Grab the bar with a wide overhand grip. Pull up. Lower and repeat for 6-8 reps.

2. Supine Biceps Pull-Ups (biceps, some back) Use the same chairs-and-pole arrangement from #1. Sit underneath a low bar. Grab the bar with a reverse grip (palms facing you), hands about shoulder-width apart. Keeping your body upright, pull up until your chin just clears the bar. Focus on the tension in your biceps, trying to relax the rest of your body. 6-8 reps.

3. Push-Ups (chest, triceps, shoulders) The key when targeting the chest with Push-Ups is the direction in which your elbows travel. As with bench presses, the elbows must move AWAY FROM THE BODY to target your chest, and be kept CLOSE TO THE BODY to target the triceps. Place each hand just outside your shoulders, slightly behind the line of your shoulders. Hands pointing straight ahead, upper body rigid as a board. 6-15 reps.

4. Tent Push-Ups (primarily upper chest) Assume the position in #3, but walk your feet forward so your body is bent at the waist, and your hips are up high in the air. Bending at the elbows, lower yourself until your nose touches the floor. Push up. Repeat. 6-8 reps.

5. Push-Ups, Triceps Position (you guessed it - triceps, and some chest) Begin with fingers facing forward in position from #3, hands slightly LESS than shoulder width apart. Lower your body to the floor keeping arms in against your body. Push up. 6-8 reps.

6. Triceps Dips With Chairs With your hands behind your back, support yourself on your palms at the edge of a chair. Your hands should be touching; your elbows should angle outward. Dipping in this position relieves a lot of stress on the elbow and shoulder joints. Lower yourself, keeping your back close to the chair. Bend your elbows back and slightly to the sides. Keep your body angled slightly forward throughout the motion. Press yourself up until your arms are straight. 6-15 reps.

7. One-Legged Squats (front thighs, glutes, hamstrings) Stand perpendicular to a wall, about arm's length away from it. Extend your arm out to the side and place your palm against the wall at just under shoulder-height. Angle the foot farthest from the wall at 45 degrees. Bend the other leg back. Keeping your body upright, lower yourself until the non-weight-bearing knee is close to (but not touching) the ground. Support yourself by leaning against the wall. Press yourself back up to starting position. Repeat 6-8 reps.

8. One-Legged Hamstring Bridges Lie on your back with one leg extended, heel on the ground. Hold the other leg up off the floor. Pushing through your heel, flex your hamstrings to lift your body. Lower and repeat for 8-10 reps. Repeat with other leg. You can control the resistance and the degree to which the glutes contribute by changing the distance you place your heel relative to your butt.

9. Lunges Begin the lunge by taking a large step forward, keeping your head up and torso erect. Lower your hips and allow your trailing knee to drop to a point just before it touches the floor - never let the knee touch the floor. To return to the start, push off with your forward leg and then step back when the knee is completely straight. Repeat with other leg, 10-15 reps each leg.

10. Stair Running Stair running isn't usually considered a resistance exercise, and in fact, it makes hefty demands on your cardiovascular system. However, it also does an incredible job of conditioning the lower body. If your knees are in good shape, try doing 10-20 one-story sprints, preferably two stairs at a time. As you get stronger, work up the number slowly, keep one hand on the stair rail to catch yourself if you lose your balance. Give yourself a bigger challenge by wearing a backpack filled with nice and heavy books.

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com

To read reviews on home exercise equipment and learn how to choose the best exercise gadgets for your needs, visit Nitin Chhoda's new site guide to exercise equipment.

Quick Lose Weight: Exercising In Heat, Lose Weight!

Flaxseed, called linseed in some countries, is a good source of dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and lignans.

Flax seed oils is the form in which the oil was extracted from the seed. Omega-3 fatty acids which contain the majority of flax seed health benefits are very susceptible to heat.

Flax seeds may come in different colors, but the colors don’t anything to do with the value of their nutrition. They are all equally beneficial to you. A comprehensive approach to treating cognitive disorders should include foods and supplements that benefit the overall health of brain cells. These include omega-3 fatty acids found in flaxseed and fish.

In one study men with prostate cancer who ate an ounce of ground flaxseeds (almost three tablespoons) a day as part of a very-low-fat diet were able to slow the progress of their cancers between the time they were diagnosed and the time of surgery.

Exercising In Heat

Summer is officially here. Finally you can pack away your jackets and get outside. Summer offers extras hours of daylight and with it the opportunity to spend even more time enjoying outdoor activities. For many, this means more time doing physical activities and playing sports. So, it’s important to remember the potential dangers that also come with exercising in hot conditions. As long as you know the dos and don’ts of working out in the heat, then you can fully take advantage of all the fun of summer.

What you should do:

• Drink plenty of fluids. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated. If you’re thirsty then you are already dehydrated; drink before you feel a need to. Be sure to drink throughout the day (stick to non-caffeinated beverages, preferably water). Also, drink 15-20 minutes before beginning your workout and every 15 minutes throughout the exercise.
• Eat regularly. The heat can decrease your appetite, but it’s important to eat normally. Try to eat small meals 5-6 times per day. Include lots of fruits and vegetables. Aside from being nutritious, fruits also tend to help with hydration.
• Wear light, loose fitting clothes that can breath. Cotton is always a good choice. If your outdoor activity produces a lot of perspiration, consider clothing that is designed to wick the sweat away.
• Wear sunscreen. Even if you exercise early in the morning or late in the evening, if the sun can reach you then you can get burned. Not only is a sunburn bad on the skin and potentially dangerous but it also hinders your bodies ability to stay cool.

Flaxseed has recently gained attention in the area of cardiovascular disease primarily because it is the richest known source of both alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and the phytoestrogen, lignans, as well as being a good source of soluble fiber.

Researchers found low incidences of breast cancer and colon cancer in populations that have high amounts of Lignan in their diet. The effects of flaxseed on blood glucose levels are not clear, although hyperglycemic effects have been reported in one case series. However, this should not deter you from getting healthier with flax seed oil!

But you should be drinking a lot of water after consuming the seeds.

* Use common sense and don’t attempt strenuous activities that your body is not accustom to. Stick to exercises that you are very familiar and comfortable with.

One of the EFAs in flaxseed oil--alpha-linolenic acid--is known as an omega-3 fatty acid.

• Check the weather forecast. It’s best not to participate in intense outdoor exercise sessions when the heat index registers in the dangerous zone.
  

What you should not do:

• Don’t try to diet by sweating. Excessive perspiration is not the key to permanent weight loss. Any decrease in the scale would simply be a result of water loss, not fat reduction.
• Don’t adapt the "no pain, no gain" motto. Ignoring your body’s signals could be dangerous. Heat-related illnesses come with warning signs. Be sure to learn how to recognize them and what actions to take.
• Don’t forget to drink plenty of liquid when swimming. Just because your body is surrounded by water does not mean that you are well-hydrated. As with any land exercises, you need to regularly replenish lost fluids when in the pool.
• Avoid physical activity during the hottest part of the day, which usually is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• If you want (or need) to be working in very hot temperatures, don’t do it until you become acclimated. Try to spend only a few minutes per day in the hot conditions for the first couple of weeks and then add time gradually each day.
• Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Don’t hop from being extremely hot and sweating excessively right into an ice cold, air-conditioned environment. Try to cool your body down slightly before exposing it to the extreme temperature variation.

Whether you have to work outside or do it for enjoyment, following the above tips will help you stay cool and safe during the dog days of summer. So, don’t spend the season cooped up, get out there and have some fun!

Why is Flaxseed called the miracle food? Find out at http://www.flaxseedfitness.com Flaxseeds also contain omega-6 fatty acids in the form of linoleic acid; omega-6s are the same healthy fats found in vegetable oils.

Men who eat fish frequently have a lower risk of prostate cancer. Stomach and intestinal cancers also appear to be less common in fish eaters.

These beneficial fats play important roles in brain, nerve, glandular, and eye functions. In addition, they are involved in the transport and metabolism of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Randomized clinical trials have shown that omega-3 fatty acid supplements can reduce cardiovascular events (death, non-fatal heart attacks, non-fatal strokes). They can also slow the progression of atherosclerosis in coronary patients. Flax Seed muffins pregents Cancer? How to do take Flax Seed? Find Flax Seed Recipe today! Omega-3 for health! I don’t recommend you buy ground up flax seeds as found on websites or in health food stores. Once you grind your flax seeds, you need to use them in your drinks or food soon after grinding so they don’t lose their nutritive value.

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com

Among the women given flaxseed, blood levels of total cholesterol dropped 6%! Find out more!

Bodyweight Workout: Super Fast Fat Burning Workouts for Outdoors

I've got just a quick tip today to help get you started on your summer beach body with fast workouts that can be done anywhere. Now that it's nice outside, why not take some of your workouts outdoors, instead of the stuffy old gym? One of the points I'd like to make with this article is that your workouts don't have to be long drawn-out 2-hour events in order to get great metabolism boosting, muscle sculpting workouts.

Here's an idea for an outdoor workout that literally takes me 10-20 minutes, but has me drenched in sweat and pumped up by the end...

There's a little playground and a softball field at the end of my road. So on a nice day, if I decide I just want to get a real quick outdoor workout in, I run over to the field, spend a couple minutes limbering up, and then... depending on how I feel, do about 10-20 minutes of the following exercises with almost no rest in between:

• 50, 75, or 100-yard wind sprints
• hill sprints (if you have a hill nearby)
• pushup variations
• walking lunge variations
• bodyweight squat variations
• box jump, squat jump, or lunge jump variations
• pullups on the playground monkey bars
• mountain climbers on ground

Sometimes I'll rotate through all of these exercises and sometimes I'll just pick a couple of them and just keep alternating. Whatever I choose, I keep the rest periods very short (10-30 seconds at most) so that the intensity stays as high as possible. This really maximizes the fat burning hormonal response and metabolism boosting response you get from these workouts, given the brief duration of the workout.

Believe me, if you do this at a high speed clip, you'll get a killer workout in as little as 10-20 minutes, and then you can get back home and get on with your life.

Even if you're not in super shape right now, you can just take it at a little lower intensity to ease yourself into it. It's worth it! Working out in the outdoors and breathing in the fresh air definitely has a stimulating effect, and some studies I've seen have indicated that you possibly burn more calories exercising outdoors compared to indoors. So give it a try... You have nothing to lose, except a little of that extra belly fat!

About the author:

For more killer ideas on quick but effective workouts visit Fast Fat Loss Workouts for Busy Men.

Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, and author of the internationally-selling book, The Truth about 6-Pack Absfat burning and muscle sculpting programs

Three New Powerful Workout Styles That Burn Fat And Build Muscle Fast

If you've been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut, eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, "complexes" may be just what you've been looking for. If you've never heard of "complexes" before, the basic concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete a "set", you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another and repeat the sequence several times to complete a "set".

No, this is NOT circuit training... it's much different. It's basically like performing a routine of exercises, instead of just mindlessly performing a typical "set" of one specific exercise. This type of training is excellent to work a huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of training is amazing, as you'll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a sequence a mere two or three times. If I had to venture a guess, I'd have to say that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well, due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But that's just my guess.

I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and you might start to forget what's next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer barbell complex that really gets me fired up:

Example Barbell Complex

1. high pull from floor (explosive deadlift right into upright row in one motion);

2. barbell back to thighs, then hang clean (explosively pull bar from knees and "catch" the bar at shoulders);

3. barbell back to floor, then clean & press overhead;

4. barbell back to thighs, bend over, then bent over row;

5. barbell back to thighs, then finish with Romanian deadlift

Use a weight that you can still handle for your weakest lift of the bunch, but keep it heavy enough to challenge you. Try to repeat the sequence 2-3 times without resting... That's 1 set. You could progress over time on this routine by increasing the amount of times you repeat the sequence in each set, or by adding sets on subsequent workouts before eventually increasing the weight. For example, say you completed the above complex with 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 3 sets in todays workout. Next time you perform the workout, try to do 155 lbs for 3 sequences per set for 4 sets. Once you successfully complete 5 sets with 155, increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs next time, and drop back to 3 sets. This is a great way to make improvements over time, while cycling your training volume.

Now I'm going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. I've been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that they have dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical capabilities. If you're not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years.

Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious results. If you would like more info on kettlebells just go to TruthAboutAbs.com and click on Fitness Programs. I'd recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym, without any other equipment necessary. Or you can just incorporate kettlebell training into your normal training routine once or twice a week to shake up your routine and stimulate new results.

Example Kettlebell Complex

1. one arm swing

2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;

3. one arm overhead squat;

4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm high pull;

5. bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press

As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with each arm. That's one set… and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3 to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your sequence reps. If you're not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!

Alright, since most people will have easier access to dumbbells instead of kettlebells, now I'll show you how to compile a good dumbbell complex.

Example Dumbbell Complex

1. upright row with each arm separately, then both together;

2. front lunge with one leg, then the other;

3. back lunge with one leg, then the other;

4. curl to overhead press;

5. keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat

Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions work great with the dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days. For example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, kettlebell or dumbbell complexes Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and bodyweight drills on Saturday; then Monday would be kettlebell or dumbbell complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!

By: Michael Geary

Check out Mike's site Quick Workouts for Busy Men at BusyManFitness.com. Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized International Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, author of the internationally-selling book, The Truth about Six-Pack Abdominals6-Pack Abdominals blog at TruthAboutAbs.com. Also see Mike's

Fast Bodyweight Exercises Secrets

Now today I want to talk about bodyweight Exercises. About what it can and can't do for you. And show you a few Bodyweight exercises as well.

On the weekend, I worked out with an ol' buddy of mine. Now Joe, my buddy, is a lawyer in the big city. He's chained to a desk, a big change from his University days of varsity sports, or his high school days working on the farm.

Now for a guy like Joe, who wasn't meant to be stuck behind a desk for 10 hours per day, bodyweight training was a real godsend.

The athletic movements were just what he needed. The challenges of mastering his bodyweight in both upper and lower body exercises was exhilarating, and liberating compared to the days he spends behind the desk.

Not surprisingly, Joe also liked my favorite exercise (the Y-squat or Overhead squat) because it opened up his chest, stretching his tight pecs, and strengthened the muscles of his upper back.

Why just tonite I did 10 reps of the Y-squat because my upper back was starting to tighten, and 4 hours later, my upper back still feels as relaxed as it does after a good night's sleep. (Just do your bodyweight squats with your arms up in a Y-position, keeping your shoulder blades back - feel the tension back there during the exercise and it will help release the stress!)

And with each new exercise, Joe would challenge his body to increase his range of motion, to "unstick himself" if you will, from the deskbound posture that he ends up with after another 50-60 hour work week (he doesn't work that much, for a lawyer).

And as I said to Joe, it is really important to get working on stuff like the Y-squats and stick-ups when he's young, so that his shoulders aren't all tied up like some of the older executives I see in the gym...that can't even lift their arms overhead...so that's why we use the Stick-up exercise with these guys.

But don't worry, it's never too late to make improvements - just be consistent with your bodyweight training. If you are in really bad shape and all twisted up, you'll have to master basic postural exercises like the Bird Dog and the Plank. Those can help take away your back pain.

If you are a desk jockey, you need to use as many different exercises and movements as possible. And the bodyweight manual, with almost 100 exercises, will challenge your strength and mobility, endurance and agility.

It will make you feel alive.

You want a quick burst of energy? Forget about Starbucks, and their drinks so loaded with caffeine that they make Red Bull look like kid's stuff. In the same amount of time (or less) that it takes you to walk to Starbucks, and order one of their ridiculously-named beverages, you could do a circuit of bodyweight exercise that will:

• invigorate you
  
• 
  
• loosen you up
  
• 
  
• increase the blood flow to your brain
  
• 
  
• burn more calories and fat than any caffeine-loaded beverage ever will
  
• 
  
• improve your health
  
• 
  
• give you sustained energy boost, not a massive artificial increase in alertness followed by a crash
  
• in your motivation that you get from caffeine
  
• 
  
• You want stress relief in less than 30 seconds? One set of 10 Y-squats or Stick-ups will give you that.
  
• 
  
• Now I do get asked a lot, "Can you build muscle with bodyweight exercises"?
  
• 
  
• And the truth is yes, but...
  

For some guys, they can literally build a cover model body with bodyweight exercises (I was just at a magazine photoshoot with a fitness model that does only bodyweight training and boxing and he was leaner, buffer, and better than some weight-trained fitness models)...

It all depends on where you are in your physical development...but certain exercises like Chins, Dips, Single-leg Squats, Shoulder-press Pushups, Glute-Ham Raises, and Pullups, will help you gain muscle. And you can do these at home, while on the road for business, or when you have to workout an inadequate fitness facility.

But for many other people - and I should say the majority of people, they will need some weight exercises to build muscle. (If you have the option, just start using dumbbells for as many of the bodyweight exercises as you can - you'll find you won't need much weight to gain muscle when using the 1-leg deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats, and the like).

Another popular question, "Can I use bodyweight training in place of regular interval training".

And the answer of course, is yes. If you are looking for a new form of interval training, then I recommend a 6-exercise bodyweight circuit alternating between lower and upper body exercises. Those are some kick-butt, fat-burning, get-leanin' workouts. And all can be done at home, in less time than it would take you to drive to the gym and back, let alone do your workout.

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 http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Bodyweight Exercise: 20-Minute Fat Burning Workout Secrets

Zach Even-Esh: Craig, thanks for taking the time out of your insane schedule to talk with us. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your clientele and your overall training philosophy.

Answer: Zach, I'm a Strength & Conditioning coach in Toronto and I write for Men's Fitness magazine. I work extensively with clients on advanced fat loss and muscle building and with young athletes.

ZEE: We have a growing number of hard core corporate / executive members on our site. They are leading busy lives running their own business or managing companies but they love to train hard, except they need to do so with short intense work outs. How do you train individuals like this and still get kick ass results?

Answer: I use supersets, moderately heavy weights (allowing 6-10 reps per set), limited rest interval periods, advanced bodyweight exercises, and interval training. These efficient and effective principles are the foundation of my Training philosophy.

These workouts are designed to crank up the body's metabolism because of the intense demands imposed during the workouts.

After the workout, your body has to work hard (i.e. burn calories and repair muscle) to fully recover and return to a normal, resting state (that is why I compare Training workouts to the Turbulence encountered in an airplane - a neat little analogy that the magazines really love).

I tend to stick with traditional weight training Bodyweight exercises, however, it is easy to adapt the Training principles when using strongman implements and advanced bodyweight exercises.

For intervals, I tend to stick with 30 seconds of work and 90 seconds of active recovery, although it will vary between workout phases and for athletes of different sports.

The great thing about heavy weights and intervals is efficiency. You don't have to do either for more than 20 minutes to get a great response. So if you are a busy Bodyweight executive looking to get lean, build muscle, and lose fat, you can get a great workout and shower in less than 30 minutes per day. Combine Training with the right nutrition, and you are well on your way to success.

ZEE: You're known for using training not just for getting people to look better, but for greater performance with your athletes. How do you incorporate TT with your athletes?

Answer: This system is like the Conjugate System used by Westside. You are able to modify the specific details so that anyone can use the general principles. You just have to modify the workouts based on the goals and current condition of the individual.

I will modify the traditional fat Loss workouts for athletes by adding supersets of Athletic Movement Training (my terms for a dynamic flexibility and warm-up), and then making sure that the strength training component focuses on the posterior chain (i.e. glute ham raises, wide-stance squats, RDL's, etc.).

Then we will modify the interval training so that it is sport-specific (I believe that conditioning is the only training method that we can give the term, "sport-specific").

ZEE: If you were limited to a 20 minute work out with an executive client, what would that work out look like? Take us through a work out here.

Answer: Providing the individual is injury free, we will move through a general warm-up circuit of bodyweight exercises (3 minutes), and then into specific warm-up sets for the first superset of bodyweight exercises (2 minutes).

Then we will spend 5 minutes on the first superset pair of exercises, and then 4-5 minutes on another superset pair. We might finish with a third superset pair or some ab work, and a 2 minute cool-down if it is necessary based on the individual's fitness level.

On non-weight training days, we would do intervals. It would look like this: 5-minute warmup 12-minutes on intervals 3-minute cooldown

Flexibility and mobility would be addressed on the client's own time or in a separate session. Generally, there is a great amount of mobility developed from the exercise selection on training days.

ZEE: With regards to nutrition playing a role in how a person looks and performs, do you help guide your clients in a specific direction with what they should / should not do in this realm?

Answer: I like to mash up a variety of nutritional expert's advice into my own approach.

It's mostly a John Berardi-based approach, but I might not be as picky as he is with certain meals. Basically, I start with 200-250g of protein per day for a man (depending on size) and then go with 30% fat and then the remainder is carbohydrate.

Then I split that up into 8 meals preferably (6 for busy people, but no less). I think it is important to have, as Berardi recommends, a serving of high-fiber, high-nutrient vegetables with each meal. If you have a high-fiber diet, you will control your appetite and blood sugar.

I don't think that people need to exclude fruit from their eating (in fact we should aim to eat at least 3 servings, and preferably berries, grapefruits, apples, and oranges), but instead we should avoid white, processed carbohydrates from a bag or a box.

Foods that should be in every healthy person's nutrition plan:

Green Tea Almonds Broccoli Berries A variety of lean protein sources Basically, for nutrition, just choose healthy, whole natural food.

ZEE: Last question Craig. What is the greatest misconception that you find people to have when it comes to performing better and looking better when they come to you. In other words, they tell you everything they have been doing in hopes of getting results but the results simply aren't there. Are there any common mistakes going on here?

Answer: Most of the time I try and get people to be honest with themselves and realize they have to change things if they want to improve.

A lot of people really just want me to approve their current workout (when it is clearly not working). But in reality, they have to change their workouts drastically to finally get results.

And most people think they are eating better and using a better program than they really are.

Even when most people they list out their food intake (as I have them all do on fitday.com), some people (including some trainers that I train) still don't see the obvious problems in their diet.

I suppose it is human nature not to see our own shortcomings, so it is helpful to have a professional review your training and nutrition or even an honest, knowledgeable friend.

http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com