FAT LOSS SECRETS FOR THE BUSY PROFESSIONAL. WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?

Friday, May 9, 2008

SESSIONS TO KEEP YOU OCCUPIED

Seeing as I'll be deserting you on Monday to soak up the sights around Europe, a number of you have asked for some alternate exercises that you can do to keep you busy.

First up, I suggest you take next week off or the first week in June off.

Yes, have a break.

Let your body heal and have some down time.

You will respond better after the rest and will be ready to go.

Anyway, here are my "blowtorch sessions" that will get your heart rate pumping and your waist line shrinking over the next couple of weeks.

Welcome to the Jungle
100 Star Jumps
20 Burpees
20 Floor (or Fitball) Trunk Extensions
20 Hover to Push Ups
20 Plyometric Jumps

C'mon
Star Jumps x 20
Up Downs x 10
Hover x 15 secs
Side to Side Hover x 10
Repeat x 3

Rocket
Star Jumps x 50
Up Downs x 15
Diamond Push Ups x 15
Side to Side Hover x 15
Plyometric Jumps x 15
Repeat x 3

Xhaustion
100 Skipping
50 Star Jumps
25 Body Blasts
Repeat as many times as possible in 20 mins

Jump!
50 Skipping
25 Star Jumps
REPEAT x 10

Kickstart My Heart
50 Star Jumps
50 Spiderman Twists
50 Sprinters Shuffles
50 Body Blasts
REPEAT x 2

Abercise
100 Skipping
50 Sprinters Shuffles
50 Star Jumps
50 Spiderman Twists
REPEAT x 5

Heartstarter
Jog 50m (or up and down a hill)
10 Push Ups
Jog 50m
20 Spiderman Twists
Jog 50m
10 Body Blasts
Jog 50m
20 sec Side Plank Hold each side
REPEAT x 3

Bad Medicine
50 Star Jumps
25 Up Downs
10 Body Blasts
50 Star Jumps
25 Body Blasts
10 Up Downs
REPEAT x 2

Bodyweight Blitz
Push Ups/Body Blasts/Side to Side Hover
1st set: 25 reps
2nd set: 20 reps
3rd set: 15 reps
4th set: 10 reps
5th set: 5 reps
(Side to Side Hover – 1 each side = 1 rep or double total numbers eg 50/40/30/20/10 reps through each set)

Au Revoir and see you soon

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

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!

Monday, May 5, 2008

WHAT'S YOUR LAST LECTURE?

This is a long video (approx 10mins) but check it out - it's well worth it.

Are you happy with your lot in life?

What would you do if your body was a ticking time bomb like Randy Pausch?

I don’t watch Oprah but I'll make an exception this time.



If you get this via feedburner you'll have to visit my blog
my blog or visit

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

Powerful stuff.

Don't miss the message

GET MOTIVATED WITH DPM PERFORMANCE blog ed 27

Today I have a very special present for you!

I’ve been able to score an interview with Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training fame.

Craig is turning 33 and he’s the one giving you the gifts – he’s got an awesome tie sensitive 3 day promo on right now, but more of that later.

The timing on this is great seeing as I'll be overseas for 3 weeks as of next week. These TT workouts will help you through the 3 weeks i'm away!

http://www.ttworkouts.com/

It’s a long one, so I’ve split the interview in 2 and will give you part 2 on Wednesday. So be sure not to miss wednesdays update as Craig will give you his favourite fat loss exercises and his BIG tip on where people are going wrong with their fat loss program.

Anyway, let's get to it!

DPM: Can you please give everyone a background on Turbulence Training and why you created it.

CB: Like most folks in the fitness industry, I played a lot of sports when I was younger. That led to weight training. From there, I realized I wanted to be a strength coach in professional sports.
I went to school for Kinesiology, which then led to a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology.

Along the way I studied what made a good NHL Strength Coach (they had Master's Degrees and were Certified Strength And Conditioning Specialists - CSCS).

I also started training athletes, along with men and women for fat loss.

In 1998-99, I was but a lowly grad student, studying the effects ofandrostenedione (the supplement taken by the mighty baseball player, Mark McGwire during his record-breaking home run quest in '98).

In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of AppliedPhysiology for any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the supplement and go through a couple of weight training sessions. By February of '99 I was stuck in the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy radio-active isotopes.

And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I'd get there at 7am, and record my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I wasn't there, I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on testosterone and training.

Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn't sit well with me. But there I was, studying for a degree in Exercise Physiology and left with no time for exercise.

Or so I thought.

Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of "down-time" while the lab's gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.

That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get a workout in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my studies to the workout, I could get maximum results in minimum time.

As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to avoid the fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary environment. And I also had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I once was, so there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss plans that were popular at the time.

Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working with athletes as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coach.

I knew that sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio, and I knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you can't increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).

So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio.
I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in the summer and fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed winter fat in a short time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals had to be the next step in the evolution of cardio.

The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of time. I knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only spend 15-20 minutes doing intervals.

Now onto the strength training portion of the workouts. I knew that a high-volume bodybuilding program wasn't going to cut it - I just didn't have time. But in the past year I had read so many lifting studies, that I knew exactly what exercises I needed to do to maximize my lifting time in the gym.

Those exercises were standing, multi-muscle, movements such as squats, presses, rows, and plenty of other standing single-leg exercises. I knew that those exercises would bring me far more results than those people sitting on machines would ever achieve.

And I also knew that I had to lift heavier than the average Joe or Jane Gym-goer lifts. I just knew that doing lighter weights and high-reps wasn't going to cut it.
And a research study from 2001 later showed that I was right - when women did 8 reps per set, they had a significantly greater increase in post-workout metabolism than if they did 15 reps per set.

So I had my plan. Bust my tail over to the gym, through the cold, dreary Canadian winter afternoon, and do a quick but thorough warmup (specific to my lifts - none of that 5 minutes on the treadmill waste of time).

Once I got through the warm-up, I did as many sets as I could in the remainder of the 20 minutes for strength training.

At that point, I knew that supersets were the only way to go if I wanted to maximize the number of sets I could do...so the non-competing superset of Turbulence Training was put in place.

By non-competing, I mean that the 2 exercises in the superset don't interfere with one another. So you can use upper and lower body exercises together, or pushing and pulling exercises. Just be careful not to use two grip-intensive exercises together in a superset - otherwise, one exercise will suffer, if not both.

And then I followed up the strength training with intervals, as I knew these had to follow the lifting, otherwise it would not be the correct exercise order. Remember, intervals first leads to premature fatigue. Lift first, cardio later. Forget that old wives tale about doing cardio first to burn more fat. That's junk.

You know, I remember the exact day and exact workout that this all came together into the Turbulence Training program. It hit me as I was finishing my intervals. I knew I had found something that was like fat loss magic.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to put it in a pill. But I've been able to put it down on paper in all of the TT manuals.

DPM: When I look at your members forum I see that it has grown a bit of a cult following hasn't it? Why do you think this has really taken off?

CB: The forum offers social support, so we have members all over the world doing the same workouts, going through similar trials and tribulations, and helping one another out.
It's so interesting to wake-up to hear from Lisa and Johnno down in NZ and Oz sharing their thoughts, and then we here in North America post our workouts and thoughts while they sleep.

And sometimes we overlap, but its just so great to have people doing this all over the world - and helping one another.

And the thing that holds everyone together is the common bond of being busy, of having a stressful job and hectic family life, but the workouts are short and infrequent, so it allows for a regular lifestyle at the same time as actually getting results.

No more hour long cardio sessions everyday with nothing to show for it.

DPM: Let's cut to the chase. What's your number 1 fat loss tip that you can give everyone here?

CB: I wish it was simply, "Use Turbulence Training". But it's not.

The #1 tip everyone must follow to lose fat is to cut out sugar and processed carbohydrates from your diet. Stick to a whole, natural foods diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy fats, and protein sources.

If it is at all modified from its regular source, then skip it and find something closer to its original form.

I just finished a dinner of steak, mixed vegetables, and avocado (goes great with steak!). That's much better than pasta with tomato sauce.

DPM: On a lighter note, if you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 items would you want to take with you?
CB: My dog. A really, really, really big bag of dog food. And a boat.

DPM: You're running a massive 3 day Birthday Celebration Giveaway (that starts today) for your 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)

DPM: 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.

Dont forget if you want a piece of Craig’s birthday promotion, check out http://www.ttworkouts.com/.

You’ve got 3 days then all the extra bonuses will be taken down!

So, what's your excuse?

Fire UP!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

GO TO JAIL, LOSE WEIGHT, AND FILE A LAWSIT. WHAT THE?

I just read an interesting article while I was sitting at home having a punt on the races. It has got me fired up.

Seems some 19 year old mug in Arkansas, who thinks its cool to beat and stab someone to death, has actually lost weight in jail (or gaol as I should be writing it the English way) and wants to sue because of it!

This cowboy, Broderick Laswell, went in the cage at 413 pounds (a massive 187kgs!) and has lost 105 pounds (almost 50kgs) which is not a bad effort.

Most people would be happy with this weight loss and lessening their chances of clogged arteries, heart attacks, daily insulin injections because of diabetes and other life threatening conditions.

Not this bloke, who has filed a lawsuit with the county for starving the prisoners because they are only getting a small amount of chips with their sandwiches, minuscule biscuits and cakes and 'only 2 small cookies' for meals.

With the law being the way it is, this bloke will probably win millions of tax payers hard earned.

Here's an idea for you mate:

How about behaving like a normal, law abiding citizen then you won't have to whinge about the crap they are feeding you in prison because you wouldn't be there!

You could be stuffing your face, and your arteries, at Maccas instead of what you're doing now.

Or here's another suggestion:

Maybe we should just feed this bloke until he has a massive heart attack - which wouldn't be too far off even at his age.

Then we wouldn't have to deal with these type of complaints from these low life criminals.

But that would be politically incorrect wouldn't it...

Friday, May 2, 2008

GUESS WHO CALLED ME OUT TODAY..

My friend, and the guy who I have learnt the most from over the last 8 months, Craig Ballantyne, called me out in his newsletter today.

Some of you would be familiar with his famous Turbulence Training workouts.

(On a side note, stay tuned for my personal interview I did with Craig, which I'll give you exclusive access to on Monday)

What do I mean?

Well Craig has started a transformation contest for his Online Super Profits newsletter list.

He's challenged me publicly to enter.

So, what am I going to do?

What would you do?

What do I talk about on here all the time? Taking action right.

Well that's what I am going to do.

I am sure Craig's email goes out to thousands of people, so I've got nowhere to hide.

I'm going to see Craig's challenge and raise the bar to challenge myself and to prove him right.

This is the man I look up to in the fitness and business world, so be sure in saying this is going to happen and I don't want to let myself or him down.

It's written down in public now, so I can't take this back.

I'm sure Craig might see this on google alerts, so this is what I say to Craig Ballantyne

"thanks for the challenge. I'll see it and raise you!"

The best part about this, and what the little voice on my shoulder tried to tell me before I told it to politely $%&^off is I'm away for most of May in Europe enjoying a nice holiday so that is time I can't work on the goal.

Well, stuff it. I'm doing it anyway.

No excuses.

See what Craig Ballantyne had to say about me

What's your excuse when someone sets you a challenge?

Fire UP!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

TOP 5 WARMING FOODS

With the colder weather starting to come on, here are some great ideas to keep warm and keep your meals nutritious during this time of year.

1. Rice Porridge: I only started getting into this last week but now I'm hooked! It's a nice way to start my early and COLD mornings, and a nice change from the fruit salad and nuts or eggs that I had been having lately.

Made up only of brown rice, sultanas (Ok, they're not perfect) and the label says may contain preservative 222 (from memory) it's about as nutritious as most things in a box gets.

I like to pour some organic soy milk instead of the water as recommended on the box and add some flax seed oil and fruit after it is cooked.

2. Eggs: The old faithful is a quick and easy breakfast when fried up in the morning. Just hold the bacon and bread. Add flax seed oil to taste on top instead of tomato sauce.

3. Homemade Risotto: This is a great dinner that can be made up with virtually any vegetable you want. We like to use pumpkin, broccoli, capsicum just to name 3.

I've tried many combos and they all taste great from Turkey or Chicken mince to Vegetarian. You can add a little parmesan cheese for extra taste. The rest is pretty good for you... and warming!

4. Homemade Soup: Pick your vegetable of choice and turn it into a soup. Whether it is pumpkin (my personal favourite) or any other soup you love, this is a great warming food that is low on the calories if made right. The left overs are also great as lunch the next day.

5. Peppermint or Green Tea: Ok, these are not foods, but they keep you warm and the health benefits are widely renowned, especially for green tea these days. The Peppermint Tea is a nice way to unwind after a busy day. It is very relaxing, so take note if you are stressed.

You have no excuse now to eat healthy and stay warm during the next few, colder months!


What's your excuse?

Fire (and warm) UP!