Challenge Workouts

Mike Whitfield, Master CTT

Author: Sprint Conditioners

Without a doubt, it’s the #1 exercise to get you fit faster than any other move. In fact, this one exercise…

–       Improves your conditioning

–       Increases growth hormone (which naturally burns fat)

–       Improves body composition by helping you keep muscle and using fat as a fuel source

–       Burns more calories than any other exercise

It’s Sprints <== No, don’t run (ha-ha… get it?)

Look, you might be thinking you’re too “old” for sprints… or you haven’t done sprints since your high school days so you’re pretty hesitant.

I would be hesitant, too. But the good news is I have a solution for you on how to get back into sprints. And if you’ve never done sprints… you’re in for a treat.

Hey, I’m Mike Whitfield, a friend of your challenge Queen Shawna Kaminski for several years now. If you’ve never seen me before, I’ve dropped 115 pounds:

And I don’t live in the gym (I don’t have time – I’ve got 2 very young kids!).

I’ve been using sprints and finishers for years now, and it’s not only helped me lose over 100 pounds, but it’s helped me keep it off (which is the secret to long term success).

But how do you use sprints if you’re not an athlete?

That’s one of the concerns Shawna brought up to me and I’ve got your answers.

You can use “sprint intensity” but replacing them with bodyweight exercises.

Here’s how to use sprints, even if you’re not a track star 🙂

Now that you know how to replace sprints (but still get the sprinting benefits), you ready to rock a conditioning workout that uses the power of sprints?

Of course you are!

Do the following circuit 4 times, resting as shown:

• Sprint or alternative (20 secs), rest 20 secs
• Close-Grip Pushups (20 secs)
• Sprint or alternative (20 secs), rest 20 secs
• Mountain Climbers (20 secs)
• Sprint or alternative (20 secs), rest 20 secs

Here’s how to modify it:

a)    Do the circuit twice

b)   Do the sprint (or alternative) for 10 secs instead of 20 secs

Now that’s how you can get 60-minute results in just a fraction of the time.

Boom goes the “Sprints are for everyone after all” dynamite,

Mike Whitfield, Master CTT

PS – Did you know that these short rest periods will increase fat loss for up to 72 hours according to the European Journal of Applied Physiology?

Check out the NEW Sprint Conditioning System here

Cardio sucks…(oh, that was supposed to be my inside voice).

But I may as well say it out loud and tell you why…

Steady state cardio – you know the kind where you plod along watching re-runs of ‘The Price is Right’ or other mind numbing sit-com, will simply cause you to become skinny fat.

What’s ‘skinny fat’?

Well, if you’re skinny fat, you’ll look icky, just a smaller version of your former fat self 🙁 You might lose some weight, but you’ll just end up as a smaller, still-with-belly-fat version of yourself.

You see, cardio doesn’t burn fat the way you’ve been fooled into thinking. It actually burns more muscle, especially in a fasted state. And muscle loss is the LAST thing you want your workouts to cause.

The number one priority when attempting to lose fat should be to keep the muscle you have. Losing muscle will make it Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever experienced that awkward silence when you guess someone’s age? You know when you’re WAY over?

Well that’s happened on occasion and I’ve since decided to always guess reasonably low.

A few new acquaintances must also adopt that theory, but seriously, they’re guessing REALLY low when they try for my age.

I mean, how could I have a 20 year old daughter if I’m still in my late 20’s (according to their guesses).

Of course I’m flattered, especially when they ask what anti-aging secrets I have to share. Here’s a nerdy article that’s a good read if you’re looking for anti-aging secrets:

Sit back and have a read:

M2A: Nature’s Anti Aging Magic Bullet?

Everyone is searching for the elusive fountain of youth.

Who knew that the secret to staying young would turn out to be such an affordable and easy solution? Look no further than this  specific 20 to 30-minute workout style to find the BEST anti aging formula there is.

Our bodies are no more than a vehicle and like any high performance car (or even a Ford Pinto for that matter) it performs best with a little maintenance. You wouldn’t expect your car to drive forever without quality fuel, oil changes, tire rotations etc right?

Research clearly outlines what our bodies need to ‘stay young’ and all signs point to exercise, in fact, M2A exercise to boot.

M2A exercise is what I call ‘muscle metabolism acceleration’. This is a special combination of resistance training and HIIT or burst training. Basically M2A is anaerobic in nature. This flies in the face of so many people still stuck on the ‘aerobic exercise in the fat burning zone’ thinking.

It’s the incomplete recovery you experience when doing anaerobic training that creates a favorable anti aging response from a mechanical, metabolic, neural and hormonal perspective.

To mitigate the effects of aging, our body needs two things: mechanical stress (resistance training) and metabolic stress (cardiorespiratory exercise). M2A high-intensity exercise provides both the mechanical and metabolic stress necessary to stimulate production of naturally occurring hormones that increase lean muscle tone, and developing lean muscle is where it’s at in terms of anti aging.

Let’s look at the four physiological side effects of the aging process and how M2A training addresses each one.

C’mon, it’s not that complicated, give it a go… Read the rest of this entry »

Science.

Even if you’re not a science geek, you can use it to burn fat.

Actually, I’m a bit of a geek myself and all my challenging workouts are based on scientific principles.

For example, my Challenge Fat Loss workouts are based on M2A or muscle metabolism acceleration. Read more about M2A here.

This is the MOST effective method of fat burning. M2A trumps long slow cardio. You’ll burn more calories while you’re training, as well as increase your metabolism with AFTERBURN to continue your calorie burning efforts. Workouts will help build lean muscle tone because muscle is metabolically active and will burn more calories even at rest.

M2A manipulates hormones. Workouts will help naturally increase growth hormone which increase your fat burning potential.

Who doesn’t have time for a 20 minute workout?

Try this one that my pal Mike Whitfield and I did in Miami (sorry about the wind):

Here are the exercises:

• burpees
• swing lunge
• push up
• mountain climber
• prisoner squat

Beginners: Do 20 seconds of work with a 10 second transition (3 rounds, rest 1 min between)

Intermediate: Do 30 seconds of work with a 10 second transition (3-4 rounds, rest 1 min between)

Advanced: Do 45 seconds of work with a 10 second transition (5 rounds, rest 1 min between)

An additional way to intensify this workout for advanced people is to do:

• DB weighted burpee
• DB weighted swing lunge
• DB push up renegade row
• Mountain climber
• Prisoner squat jump

Now go and do it.

Then go do 16 more workouts (well, not all at once). You’ll train along with me and my team for the ENTIRE workout here. Your results will shoot through the roof when you know what sort of intensity is required for a body transformation. Also, we can help you with ways to modify or intensify exercises so that you’ll always be training safely.