Thursday, March 29, 2007

How to do Bodyweight Interval Cardio for Weight Loss

Gotta start today's newsletter with a little clarification...as I received a lot of email yesterday about why I don't eat cottage cheese - after all, so many other experts recommend it.

I sincerely apologize for the confusion.

I don't eat cottage cheese simply due to personal taste preference. Same with canned tuna.

The message I was trying to get across was that you can get all the protein you need without having to eat foods you dislike. I grew up reading about bodybuilders eating endless cans of tuna, and I knew back then I never wanted to live like that. 

So again, sorry about the confusion. I wrote that email on the plane to Washington last Friday, and I must have been thinking too fast for my thumbs to keep up while typing on my Blackberry.

I'll be sure to clarify those "fun facts" in the future!

And as for the coffee, my little brain just can't handle the caffeine, so again, it's just a personal preference that I don't drink coffee. But as I've mentioned before, coffee is fine in moderation.

Okay, now onto the regularly scheduled training tip...

I received another great question yesterday as well...

Q: How do I set up bodyweight cardio circuits?

Answer:

When putting together a BW circuit, I like to go in this order:

Some type of squat (total body warmup) - Like the Y-squat seen here

Some type of lunge (pause at bottom to stretch psoas and rectus femoris)

Some type of pushup (upper body warmup)

Then moving into the "work" portion of the circuit, I will choose to alternate upper and lower body exercises for up to 6 exercises.

Then finish with a couple of ab exercises (I prefer to use total-body ab movements, like the mountain climbers or for the more advanced, the Pike exercise)

You can do all of the above as 1 giant circuit, or split it up into three components like this:

A - warmup exercises

B - 3 pairs of upper-lower exercises for main interval effect

(1 great pairing is Diagonal Lunges and Spiderman pushups - all depends on the relative strength of the individual, but sometimes it's great to test your limits and set a personal best)

C - finish with ab work

(or split it into two components, doing the warmup circuit first, and then B & C together)

You can use a specific tempo for each exercise, or simply use a 1-0-1 tempo for each exercise to achieve a continuous flow with each exercise for a heart-pumping cardio effect - and this allows you to do higher reps per set.

Coming soon: More info on the bodyweight cardio-abs programs that are kicking my butt and my client's butts,

CB

P.S. You don't think bodyweight is tough enough?

Everyone will benefit from bodyweight workouts...even the most advanced lifters and real-life athletes...

"As a professional firefighter, personal fitness is very important to me.  I found the Turbulence Training bodyweight program to be an excellent way to keep my workouts fresh and high paced while achieving my desired results.  I would recommend this program to anyone who is serious about losing weight and  reaching their fitness goals."

Chris Gaylor

 

"CB has done it again!  The bodyweight manual has some of the toughest workouts out there today.  After just 4 weeks of bodyweight training (I skipped the initial phases an went right to "advanced"), I went from plateauing at 15 chin-ups to maxing out at 22!  Who needs to go to a gym?  With this manual, you're using the best conditioning tool known to man - the human body!"

Chris Lopez, Personal Trainer, Toronto

Click HERE to burn fat with bodyweight workouts

No comments: