MY FAT LOSS Q & A WITH CRAIG BALLANTYNE cont.

Here is part 2 of my exclusive interview with Turbulence Training creator Craig Ballantyne.

If you missed part 1, check out Monday's blog posting.

Craig is going to give you some awesome fat loss information here, including 2 big secrets on where most people go wrong with their training and why Cross Training machines suck!

Don't forget if you want a piece of Craig’s birthday promotion, check out http://www.ttworkouts.com/. If you delay all the extra bonuses will be taken down!

So be sure to read on.

DPM: Where are most people going wrong in their fat loss mission?

CB: Most people are still being ambushed by hidden calories and sugar. That's why I recommend avoiding foods in a bag or box.

Heck, here in Canada you can call something "Trans-fat free" even if it still has Trans-fat in it!It's outrageous.

Starbucks is a big culprit in adding calories...so stay away from the sugary drinks there!

Priority #1 for everyone is getting the diet in order.

As far as workouts go, most people will get more results in less time if they cut out the "quantity" and increase the "quality".

No more treadmill walking for warmups. Do bodyweight circuits instead. No more isolation strength training exercises. Do fewer multi-muscle exercises and you'll get more results in less time.

No more long, slow cardio. Do interval training for only 20 minutes instead.

DPM: What are your 3 favourite exercises for optimising fat loss?

CB: I actually just put out a program - available for the month of May only - called "The Big 5 Circuit"...and it uses my top 5 fat loss movements...But I'll cull that down to 3 for this question.

They are...
a) A squat movement
b) A total-body pushing movement
c) A total-body pulling movement

Specific examples would be...
a) A dumbell squat
b) A pushup of any kind (from kneeling - for beginnners - to decline spiderman pushups - for advanced)
c) Inverted rows or pullups or dumbell rows (Depending on your fitness level and equipment availability)

DPM: You're known as the guy who really dislikes Cross Trainer/Elliptical machines, which is usually a favourite of most gym goers. Why are these machines just not effective for fat loss in your book?

CB: Couple of points here...If you're like me, you'd probably agree that we weren't "designed" to workout inside on a machine where we repeat the same movement hundreds of times per minute and thousands of times per workout.

That sounds ridiculous if you think about it.It's an overuse injury guaranteed to happen. So I strongly recommend getting outside to exercise.

Frankly, I think 90%+ of cardio-machine users are ADDICTED to the calorie-readout counters on the machine.

They take those numbers as written in stone, but a CBS news report once found them to be highly inaccurate!

So most folks need take a deep cleansing breath, and realize that they can get exercise from other ways besides going nowhere on a cardio machine.

Yes, I know it's tough in certain environments and weather conditions, but whenever possible, I suggest a real world alternative.

Second, elliptical machines fail my "human nature test".

Here's the test...Put 20 folks in a room filled with 20 treadmills and 20 elliptical machines.Tell them they all have to exercise for an hour, but they can choose whichever machine they want.

What do you think would happen?I bet we'd get a 16-4 split, with 16 people choosing the elliptical machine...possibly even more!

Why?Because they are easier!

You can use more momentum. I'm just not convinced people will get as good of results with the Cross-trainer as they would with the treadmill.

Plus, its harder to read on a treadmill!

DPM: Nice point. You've got some pretty cool testimonials, and of course, results on your site and you've just finished your first ever transformation contest - which had some awesome body transformations by the way. What has been the feedback from running this and when is the next one?

CB: I'm going to make a damaging admission here, and say that the results have even shocked me as to how great the results were for the dozens of men and women that finished the 1st ever Turbulence Training Transformation contest.

Our winner, by a landslide, was a gal named Emily Johnson...and she has some incredible "real life" after shots that any girl with a pair of skinny jeans would aspire to...

(note from Dan - check out the results here if you are interested - they are awesome http://www.transformationcontest.com/)

And for guys, our second place winner lost the most weight of anyone in the contest, an astonishing 33 pounds in 12 weeks, and lost 7.5 inches from his gut...oh yeah, and he looks a heck of a lot younger too.

The next contest is running right now. Anyone using the Turbulence Training workouts can enter now and anytime before midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on May 31st.

The contest then runs 12-weeks until August 23rd I believe.Top prize is $2000, but there are several other prizes to be won.

The greatest thing about the contest is the social support that everyone gives, gets, and shares on the Member's forum (which is included when someone starts with Turbulence Training).

DPM: I've written a number of times about how most weight machines in gyms are a total waste of time. What are your thoughts?

CB: Well, it depends on what you mean by machines. But generally, I probably agree.First off, most machines are built for a guy of average height...so right off the bat, that eliminates short men and women and taller men and women from getting the most out of the exercise.

Free weights and bodyweight exercises don't discriminate on height.Second, most machines tend to focus on body parts or single muscle groups.

That just doesn't fit the busy person's schedule, so I don't use them in my programs, plus, I've built my programs for folks who exercise at home, and can't affort the money or space on gym machines.

DPM: You're running a massive 3 day Birthday Celebration Giveaway (that finishes in less than 24 hours!) for your 33rd birthday. Can you tell people what they'll be missing if they miss the boat on this one?

CB: I've called in a bunch of favors, and here are the 10 gifts I'm giving away to celebrate my 33rd birthday...they will help everyone burn belly fat and reach their goals...and maybe even help them win my TT Transformation Contest!

1) Meal Plans for Men & Women by Dr. Chris Mohr (Value $97)
2) Bikini Ready Abs by Holly Rigsby (Value $29.95)
3) 10-Minute Trouble Spot Workout for Women by Joey Atlas (Value = $27)
4) The Abdominal Exercise Index (Value = $77)
5) Kettlebell Fat Burning Workout Unleashed by Troy Anderson (Value = $47)
6) Home Gym Muscle Building Workout by Jay Ferruggia (Value = $79.95)
7) The Big 5 Fat Loss Turbulence Training Circuit Workout by Craig Ballantyne (Value $19.95) 8) TT for Amazing Lower Abs by Craig Ballantyne (Value = $19.95)
9) The Turbulence Training Hardcore Fat Loss 4-Week Program by Craig Ballantyne (Value $19.99)
10) A 3-Month Basic Level Membership to the Turbulence Training Discussion Forums & Other Exclusive Fat Loss Info (Value $119.70)

CB, thanks for your time mate, I really appreciate you taking the time out to give my readers a bit of an insight into your mind.

Don't forget if you want a piece of Craig’s birthday promotion, check out http://www.ttworkouts.com/. If you delay all the extra bonuses will be taken down!

Remember, less than 24hrs from this writing until they all will be taken down - trust me, you don't want to miss these. The workouts in here will tide you over till I get back from my little overseas sojourn!

Fire UP!