Challenge Workouts

Turbulence Training is a big deal, but it’s about to get bigger…

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve likely heard of the ‘Godfather of Fitness’ Craig Ballantyne. He’s my business coach but also a fitness mentor to me too. On the 10 year anniversary of his ground breaking Turbulence Training program, he’s revamped and released something all new that I’d like to share with you.

He grants very few interviews and I was lucky enough to be offered one…sadly, our timing didn’t work out because he was free the week that I was filming the reality show in Denver. So long story short, I only have some Q n A’s for you, (but no audio)….boo to tight schedules.

Here we go…

Me: How did the whole ‘Turbulence Training‘ idea get started?

CB: Well, I used to train like a bodybuilder but then changed my training to more like an athlete. I started to train my clients this way too: short burst workouts, super sets, intervals. It really took off as a way to get clients lean fast. I was writing for Men’s Health at the time and used these workouts there too. In 2001, I published my first Turbulence Training workout.

By the way, I came up with the name ‘Turbulence Training‘ on a turbulent flight from Salt Lake City from a nutrition conference. I realized that if you put ‘turbulence’ on your body when you train, it causes afterburn. It’s the afterburn that causes your body to burn more calories and more belly fat to get more results in a short amount of time.

Me: We know that the original Turbulence Training program has been super successful to help thousands of people get lean and fit. How is TT 2.0 different?

CB: The main differences are that we cut workouts back to 30 minutes by reducing rest periods. This increases workout density by doing more work in less time. We’re using metabolic finishers and bodyweight finishers instead of interval training. We’ve added the use of dumb bells and multiple exercise circuits with non – competing super sets. We’ve added a ‘finisher’ to each workout. Our short workouts are getting great results.

Me: The biggest difference that I see to TT 2.o  is that you’ve added follow along videos. I was thrilled to be part of these and man oh man, did you work me hard in them.

CB: Yes, we’ve added follow along video this time. That’s the beauty of training with a coach. When you don’t feel like training, you put on these videos and are more motivated when you see us sweating buckets along side you. It’s this community that really helps push people to train harder and get more dramatic results faster.

Me: Speaking of community, I know you run your Turbulence Training Transformation contests. What are top traits of those that win these contests?

CB: The most common traits of each winner is that they have a plan, they are prepared, they have social support and they have professional accountability. It’s important to have an incentive that’s personal as well as a dead line. If you have all five of those, you’ll never go wrong.

Me: Well your Turbulence Training 2.0 is an awesome plan for starters. And I know that within the program you make suggestions for how to prepare (planning workout, nutritional tips etc.), there’s social support and accountability in the Turbulence Training community too. Seems you have it all covered for your clients to get huge results. And I know you have another transformation contest coming up too.

CB: I’m really excited for the release of this program and upcoming transformation contest. This is the original Turbulence Training that started it all. It created a whole shift in the fitness industry because it uses metabolic resistance training and interval training. My goal is to help ten million men and women around the world to transform their bodies and lives by the year 2020.

Now we have the ability to bring the absolute best with the greatest video for people to train along side to.  This really is a combination of my life’s work and I’m so excited to share it with people and help people get more results in less time.

Craig’s program is over the top. Not only are the workouts amazing (I was feeling them for days after), but the layout of the plan is SO user friendly. Not only do you find video (that you can download to your device), but if you’re unsure of an exercise, you can click on the + to have a drop down box open up to provide instructions and tips.

There’s more bonuses and cool things in this program than I can even list. It’s set a new standard for how I’d like to create my programs. There Craig goes again: teaching me all kinds of things.

Thanks to Craig for an amazing program that I KNOW you’re going to love.

Check it out here.

(If you want to check out a story of when we did the actual filming, you can read this post.)

When you get Turbulence Training 2.0, send me your receipt and I’ll send you this bonus. It’s a collection of a variety of my favorite workouts I know you’ll love:

Grab more Challenge Jump Rope workouts here. (Sorry, I’ll have to get Sev to work on the rubber boot workout program for you).

Your thoughts? More videos? More sprint workouts? More jump rope? More complexes? More rubber boot workouts? 😉

Question: Shawna, I’m old too, 54 to be exact, but thanks to regular exercise (started when I was almost 52!), I’m leaner and stronger than ever before. At this time, I do bodybuilding 3 times a week (Pyramids, 9-7-5 routine, followed by an eccentric 6-second finisher to failure). On my ‘rest’ days, I follow your challenge fat loss program (2-3 times a week). Now the thing is: I lost most of my body fat. In fact, my fat percentage is around 11. Sounds athletic, but I still have a bit of a rubber band around my waist. How do you explain that? On the other hand, I doubled the weight I lifted/pulled, whatever… in 14 months time, with barely any mass gain, making me think I eat too little. Is all of this because of my age?

Answer: Rudi, Congrats on your work ethic, routine and great results. I’m not going to sugar coat things, sadly short of a nip and tuck, there may be some lose skin around your middle.I could feed you a line that if you bought this or that, you’d get rid of that little extra skin, but I don’t think that’s the case. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not eating enough or too much, it sounds like you’re getting great results as it is. Keep at it Rudi.

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Question: Hi Shawna,Help! I can barely even hang from my pull up bar. I’m female, 56 years young, 5’9″ and 180 lbs… :/ Been weight training again for 8 weeks after a loooong layoff, and 25 lbs above my fighting weight. How’s a girl to get strong enough to do a pull up when i’m not even strong enough to hsng from the dang bar. P.s. I’m athletic and not a whimp! Jan

Answer: Jan, Start with a Read the rest of this entry »

This week I’m asking YOU a question: What’s YOUR workout excuse?

I have to wash my hair…

My workout clothes are in the wash…

I stubbed my toe…

I have to go to work….

I don’t have time….

My dog ate my workout plan….

It’s too hot….

It’s too cold…

It’s a holiday…

Seriously, there’s always a reason. For some there’s never enough time, energy or even money to go around to get to their workout. But not YOU right?

You know that you can get an EFFECTIVE fat burning and muscle toning workout in LESS TIME than it takes most people to poop 😉 Sorry for the graphic image, but it’s true, take a look at this:
In a 2012 study, subjects doing bodyweight exercises for just 4 minutes got better fitness results than subjects doing 30 minutes of slow cardio.

Reference:
“Extremely low volume, whole-body aerobic-resistance training improves aerobic fitness and muscular endurance in females.”
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2012 Dec;37(6):1124-31.

Sev and I are calling you out on your excuses with a reminder to hit the backyard for a burpee workout or jump rope workout. Click the link in the video or see below for a fun burpee teaser workout.

What’s the most creative workout excuse you’ve ever heard? (I know that YOU don’t make excuses to get your workout on, but surely you’ve heard some doozey’s). Leave us a comment and let’s have a laugh.

Oh, and stay tuned for Challenge Burpee, grab a cool burpee workout HERE and get your jump rope on HERE.

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Question: Hey Shawna I’m really curious as to the UFC fighters you’re hanging out with this week. When will we find out more? Also, I feel like I’ve come to a plateau with my training. I’m able to maintain my weight but I want to take my physique to the next level. Any advice? Todd L

Answer: Todd, as far as the ‘secret project’ that I’m working on this week, you’re gonna have to wait until early 2014 to find out more. but I will say that even I had heard of the UFC fighters that I’m on the set with (and I’m not a big MMA fan – sh sh, don’t tell them ;))

And, as far as your plateau goes, your body is designed to adapt to everything, including your workout (it’s a survival mechanism), we need to make sure that it does not adapt to the workouts – otherwise all results come to a screeching halt.

So the best way to keep your results coming is to drastically change your approach to your program with a combination of resistance training and conditioning and shift the focus with each workout. CHANGE IT UP.

You’ll definitely get results with all my Challenge Workout programs, but there’s no harm in changing up your program from time to tome. This is the reason I send other ideas your way. A great alternative, with follow along workouts is from 7 time world champion, Egan Ioune. Check out MMA Bodyweight System. If you like my Challenge Fat Loss follow along videos, you’re gonna like his stuff too.

I had a good question the other day that was so important I decided that I better write a blog post for you.

Here’s the question…

“Shawna, I love your workouts, thanks for all your great ideas. My question is how do I incorporate other people’s programs into my training? You’re always sending us information from other trainers. I’m intrigued and I want to grab their workouts because they look good. How do I add other programs into my Challenge Fat Loss training?

This is a great question. SO MANY CHOICES…

Each week I tend to feature one or two different workout and nutrition programs in my emails and blog posts. There’s SO much information out there, I feel it my job to sift and sort to bring you the best. You can be sure that if it’s on my blog or in my emails, then it’s worth investigating.

I’m not suggesting that you grab EVERYTHING I write about. I want to present you with options that will help you depending on your own personal circumstance, training level, access to equipment etc. These are basically just guidelines so you can figure out what’s out there. But you need to figure out what works for YOU, what you like to do most and what fits your goals and lifestyle best.

So let’s determine a couple of things to help you wade through all the information out there, including mine, so that you don’t get overwhelmed with it all.

First of all, you need to determine your fitness goals. What are you trying to achieve?

Fat loss? Increased strength? Muscularity? Endurance? More functional fitness? What do you want? The cool thing is that MOST programs will serve you in many ways, some more than others though. For example, if cardiovascular endurance is a goal, you’re unlikely to reach your full potential doing yoga. If strength gains are top on your priority list, then you’ll need to do some kind of resistance training.

So define your priority first.

Then look for a plan.

To make it easier, I’ll provide a few of my favorites in this post, but these are by no means the only ones that I’ll recommend. I’m friends with the top fitness pro’s in the world, I don’t mean to brag, but that’s the truth. They are constantly coming out with new programs based on the latest science, so it’d be impossible to provide an exhaustive list for you now. But hopefully by providing a few examples and the REASON they’re on my ‘favorite’ list, you’ll be able to know what to look for in a plan. Look, if all you have is a hammer in your tool box, you’re not likely to be satisfied with your efforts because sometimes you just need a screwdriver. Make sense? Get the right plan to fit your needs and goals.

Variety is the spice of life and with fitness plans it’s no different. I’m a BIG fan of cross training, by that I mean it’s important to ‘change it up’ if you’re going to keep your training fresh. I don’t mean that you have to go from resistance training to bowling or anything drastic like that. What I mean is that you can incorporate different training modalities: bodyweight, suspension training, kettle bell, sprints, etc. These are the various ways that you can add variety and keep your training fresh.

You don’t have to be all or nothing either. You can create your own hybrid training program based on your own needs. If you get brain-numb bored from one method of training even though your body responds well to it, it’s best to sprinkle this method in sparingly with a method of training that really excites you. Training intensity is what it’s all about (to a certain extent: you could do zumba with enthusiasm and be unlikely to get ‘ripped’).

As you gain fitness confidence, you’ll be able to trust your instincts and listen to your body even more. You’ll be able to mix and match workouts from various authors with ease and know that you’ll move in the direction to you goals. In the beginning though, I suggest following the author’s recommendations. The author/trainer knows what the end results are likely to be, just look at the testimonials and listen to their advice – after all, that’s why you hired them as a trainer right?

Here are a few of my favorite workouts and the reason why they rock:

Versatile: add to ANY other program:

Workout Finishers – Mike ‘pancakes’ Whitfield is the creator. You can never go wrong with these short workouts that you can use at the END of your workout to increase your fitness level, burn fat and avoid the cardio confessional (the treadmill).  These can be used with ANY program and on your day off.

Fat Loss Accelerators – I have new respect for my pal, Kate Vidulich. Her program is similar in concept to Mike’s Workout Finishers, but she has more hybrid workout complexes that totally challenged me when we did her new follow along videos together. This chick is really switched on and creates deceptively tough stuff. On paper it looks fairly benign, when you give it a go and you’ll watch your results sky rocket.

MOST variety in one program:

Home Workout Revolution – From the Godfather of fitness himself, Craig Ballantyne, this program is SO packed with value that I can’t NOT mention it. From beginner to veteran, this program has something for everyone, more variety than I can mention. If you were to only pick up ONE program, this would be it.

Most innovative/creative:

TRX Suspension Revolution – Dan ‘High Energy’ Long brings you unique follow along workouts on the suspension trainer. There is precious little out there for the TRX or suspension trainer. Dan tries ridiculous things that will challenge and change your physique. Good fun and a great change. Also a great option for travel.

BEST Instruction with a cool tool:

Kettlebell Evolution – The BEST teacher/trainer by far for kettle bell techniques, especially with a virtual program, is Chris Lopez. The KB can be intimidating for some and Chris makes learning technique easy so you can push your limits without concern of injury.

Best supplement:

Biotrust products – Reasearch based products and quality control are really important when looking at supplements. I personally know Joel Marion, creator of Biotrust products. I know Joel to be fastidious and trust the research and science behind his products. Yes, price is an indication of quality in this case. I’d rather pay a little more for a product that I trust than pay less and fill my body and my kids bodies with a product that is questionable. Long term health is based on small choices of quality ingredients and I don’t want to short change myself in the nutrition department.

The good news about virtual products is that they are a FRACTION of what it would cost to train with the author of each program. Truth be told, the BEST you can do is get a virtual program from these trainers or possibly get on their coaching programs because they are in such high demand they no longer do one on one training. They have the most experience with clients, they have a proven track record and scads of testimonials to their credit. Their programs cost less than what it would cost to hire a brand new trainer for one session.  Virtual programs rock when it comes to value.

Here’s the thing though, don’t be an information gatherer, be a ‘doer’. A program won’t work if you don’t unpack it. Spend an hour looking over the program, print off what you need, download videos so that they’ll be ready for you when you want them. The value of the program is in the doing.

I’m not selling out by telling you what’s out there, I’m doing my job. I want you to get results and while I feel workouts from my Challenge Workout programs will serve you well, I see NO problem in adding workouts in from other experts. We can work together to help you meet your goals. I have an abundance mentality, I’m not threatened by other trainers. I know they have great things to offer you, I also know that I offer you good stuff, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading my blog. Just in case, you haven’t grabbed the Challenge Workout series, head to ILoveChallengeWorkouts.com to see all my offerings.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your fitness journey. Your feedback is very important to help me provide you with what you need. Thanks for your emails and blog comments. Go ahead and shoot me a comment now 😉