Get Lean
Inside Issue #61:
Why Heart Rate Means Nothing for Weight Loss
Interval Reminder
Supplement Q'n'A
The Real Keys to Fat Loss: Part 1
1 - Heart Reat Means NOTHING for Fat Loss
A lot of people are confused about why TT works. Despite what most people think, the success of a TT workout does not depend on how high your heart rate is during the workout.
Now don't get me wrong, if you do Turbulence Training according to the guidelines, your heart rate is going to be up there. However, it is an effect of the workout, not a cause of the results.
Heart rate means nothing to the results that you will get from the TT workouts. It never has, and I hope that none of my articles ever suggested that.
The truth is the Turbulence Training workouts have strategically scheduled rest intervals in the lifting and interval portions that are used to bring your heart rate DOWN so that your workout intensity will remain high. If you focus on keeping your heart rate high, you might actually LOSE some of the benefits of the workout (because it could cause you to reduce the intensity).
Too many people believe that the reason why we use supersets with little to no rest is to keep your heart rate up. It is a common belief that a high heart rate is essential to lose fat. But that's not true - and really that is just another misconception based on the whole "aerobic training is mandatory for fat loss" thinking that is common in magazines and in the general fitness world. (And don't forget that the "fat-burning zone" is one the biggest fitness myths ever. I'll cover that again in a future issue)
The quicker you lose the "high heart rate equals the best workout" mentality, the quicker you will start to change your body.
The real reason the TT workouts use supersets and short rest periods isn't because of some magical fat loss secret. In truth, the reason to use supersets and short rest intervals is simply to get the workout finished faster. That way, you can train more of your body in a short time and put it in the most "turbulence" for fat loss (see today's main article for more info on putting your body in Turbulence).
Supersets are perfect for getting more work done in less time. Supesets allow you to work at a high-intensity for two exercises while cutting time off your workout.
If you tried to do straight sets (i.e. 3 sets of the same exercise in a row), your intensity would suffer. But when you perform a "non-competing superset" (i.e. presses and rows), you work one movement (presses) while the other (rowss) rests.
So the bottom line:
Don't worry about your heart rate during exercise (unless you just like to keep track for interest sake). Instead, make sure that you are working at a high-intensity during each lifting and interval session.
For example, if the superset calls for 3 sets of 8 for the DB row paired with DB presses, that means you should be choosing a weight you can do for 9 reps for each exercise, and you should aim to complete 3 sets of 8 repetitions for each before moving to the next superset (although in reality, you might only get 6 or 7 reps in sets 2 & 3).
The TT workout guidelines in each Turbulence Training manual will give more detail and provide you with specific rest periods to use between supersets. And make sure to read the final article in today's message, about one of the real factors for fast fat loss. I'll be featuring more articles on the science and application of Turbulence Training in the All Access Pass membership section in the future.
2 - Interval Reminder
In the last issue, I outlined an alternative way to do intervals. A couple people asked me about shorter intervals. You can see the instructions for those fat-blasting intervals in Issue #31.
3 - Glutamine? Is it helpful for muscle growth?
No. Big waste of money for bodybuilding.
You don't need to supplement with extra glutamine. It won't help you gain more muscle. It might help you avoid illness and boost your immune system, but the research there is not clear.
It is clear that you get a lot of glutamine if you use a good protein supplement, like Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey. Glutamine is found in protein sources, such as whey protein, so you can get lots of glutamine in your regular nutrition.
4 - A Successful Fat Loss Program Depends on Variety: Part 1
Variety. Change. These are the words that you often hear a trainer say to clients that are seeking to gain muscle and strength. But how often are variety and change used in fat loss programs? More often, fat loss folk are simply told to do more cardio and eat less. But that never works as well as it should. Many people end up over-exercising or starving themselves and find that they only lose muscle, not fat.
But a smart trainer realizes that clients must do something else besides cut calories and exercise more. And that's why the top trainers use variety in their fat loss programs. Variety in training stimulates adaptation in your body. For example, if you consistently lift heavy weights, your body will respond by adding muscle (provided you supply the necessary nutrients).
The problem is that your body rapidly adapts to training. Now the gains from that once successful program will diminish, suggesting that your training variables should be changed regularly. And this makes perfect sense. If you ask your body to lift the same weight week in and week out, your body will only change enough in order to meet that demand. Your body is very smart and efficient.
So in order to continually lose fat and gain muscle, you must continually change your program variables. Constantly changing your exercises and other variables ends up making your body burn more energy (calories and fat) in order to adapt to the stress.
Everyone's familiar with the term ''turbulence'' as it applies to flying. You know to buckle your seatbelt when you hit turbulence because the airplane has to work very hard to re-position itself in the air. This is the same theory behind ''Turbulence Training'', a combination of resistance training and interval training designed to lead you to the promised land of single-digit body fat.
For beginners, you may be able to go more than 4 weeks before adapting to a program and reaching the point of diminished returns. In contrast, really advanced trainees may need to adjust their programs within as little as 2 weeks in order to maintain fat loss. The advanced trainee's body has simply become too efficient in a low-calorie state and just won't drop any more fat unless the training demand exceeds the body's efficiency.
For fat loss veterans, stick with your program for a maximum of 4 weeks. Then change. Even if you are not experiencing a plateau in fat loss. Your changes can be as simple as changing exercises, changing the technique for some exercises, or decreasing the number of reps per set. You can also choose to be more radical and completely change up the exercises you are using (that is what I do in each new phase of any of my special reports and manuals).
Next time: How a variety of rep ranges can help you burn more calories
.Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc.
Men's Fitness Training Adviser
President
CB Athletic Consulting, Inc.
Craig Ballantyne trains athletes and executives in
The information on TurbulenceTraining.com is for education purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health-care professionals. Consult your physician before beginning or making changes in your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illness and injuries, and for advice regarding medications. Do not make use of any of the information in this newsletter unless you are in good health or you have first reviewed them with and received approval from your personal physician.
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