Why Cardio Doesn’t Work for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows,  the practicality of it just doesn’t add up. After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren’t previously exercising. (Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008). Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That’s a lot ofexercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great – I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out…

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds. The scientists think they know where things went sour. They classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the “Compensators” and the “Non-compensators”. The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts. Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge “compensatory” increase in appetite experienced by this group. Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does, research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your appetite and calorie intake to see if you are “compensating” for your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research, interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-burning benefits. In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

-John Cortese

CortesePerformance.com

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Yes, You CAN Gain Muscle & Lose Fat at the Same Time

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

I have 3 BIG, and I mean BIG fat loss, body changing lessons to
share with you today…

First…

No one believes you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. I say, it’s true. Not only do my Turbulence Training workouts prove it, but now science agrees.

Researchers from Purdue University showed men and women (with an average age of 61 – with one subject 80 years old!) were able to lose fat, gain muscle, get stronger, lower LDL cholesterol, and improve blood sugar control with a simple strength workout routine.

36 healthy men and women did strength training three times per week for 12 weeks, doing 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions.

By the end, the subjects gained an average of four pounds of lean mass and lost over four pounds of fat. This study show’s it is possible to gain muscle and lose – at any age.

And you don’t need fancy machines or an expensive gym membership, all you need is a professional program, like Turbulence Training, that you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Next…

I hear from men all the time who claim to be 6% body fat or less
(which is the level of a professional bodybuilder) but still have a
hard time seeing their abs.

This, by the way, is impossible. Listen, if you really are 6%,
you’ll have an 8-pack, and you won’t need any advice from me.

The problem is too many men and women believe that handheld body fat analyzers are accurate.

The truth?

Recent research shows these tools underestimate the amount of fat you are carrying on your body by 2.4 kg! That’s 5 pounds of fat these handheld machines are neglecting to tell you about!

So don’t get too smug with your handheld body fat readings, because it’s likely underestimating the amount of fat on your body. Besides, its not about the machine, its about the mirror, how your clothes fit, and about losing the inches from your waist.

Worry about those, not some bogus readout on a machine.

And finally…

Everyone knows you don’t burn fat with strength training, right? Wrong! A new study hot off the presses from the prestigous Journal of Applied Physiology showed strength training boosts metabolism by 10% after exercise and increases fat burning by 100%.

In this study, subjects did a standard 3-set strength training
program focusing on multi-muscle exercises and showed just how powerful “Turbulence” is for fat loss…

During strength training, you apply “turbulence” to your muscles, causing an increase in your metabolism and fat burning after the workout. That’s how you build muscle and burn fat at the same time.

Strength Training a MUST for MAXIMUM Fat Loss AND Muscle Buidling!

So forget about the “calorie readout” on the cardio machines. While strength training doesn’t burn as many calories as traditional aerobic training during the workout itself, it continues to burn calories AND fat long after your workout.

And that’s why you get a better body with Turbulence Training than you do with long, slow, boring, less-effective cardio.

Turbulence Training: Build muscle, burn fat, at the same time.

Get in shape fast with Turbulence Training,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

PS – Here are the respective references for those 3 studies…

a) Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):1005-13.

b) J Appl Physiol 102: 1767-1772, 2007.

c) Hormone Research 2007;68:8-10.

PPS – Cut your workout and enjoy more time OUT of the gym…

“I used to think you needed to spend hours in the gym everyday in order to see results. With the help of CB and TURBULENCE TRAINING, I have reduced my workouts from 2 hours per day, everyday, to 50 minutes every other day. All the while I have trimmed over 60 lbs. of body fat off my now lean and muscular body. Thanks CB!!!”
Rob Vickers

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About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com