I’ve got just a quick tip today to help get you started on your summer beach body. With summer right around the corner here in the US, the weather is starting to warm up and people are flocking outside after being cooped up all winter.

Killer Outdoor Workouts

Now that it’s getting nice outside, why not take some of your workouts outdoors, instead of the stuffy old gym? Your workouts also don’t have to be long drawn-out 2-hour events in order to get a great metabolism boosting, muscle sculpting workout.

Here’s an idea for an outdoor workout that literally takes me 10-20 minutes, but has me drenched in sweat and pumped up by the end…

There’s a little playground and a softball field at the end of my road. So on a nice day, if I decide I just want to get a real quick outdoor workout in, I run over to the field, spend a couple minutes limbering up, and then… depending on how I feel, do about 10-20 minutes of the following exercises with almost no rest in between:

-50, 75, or 100-yard wind sprints

-hill sprints (if you have a hill nearby)

-pushup variations

-walking lunge variations

-bodyweight squat variations

-box jump, squat jump, or lunge jump variations

-pullups on the playground monkey bars

-mountain climbers on ground

Sometimes I’ll rotate through all of these exercises and sometimes I’ll just pick a couple of them and just keep alternating. Whatever I choose, I keep the rest periods very short (10-30 seconds at most) so that the intensity stays as high as possible. This really maximizes the fat burning hormonal response and metabolism boosting response you get from these workouts, given the brief duration of the workout.

Believe me, if you do this at a high speed clip, you’ll get a killer workout in as little as 10-20 minutes, and then you can get back home and get on with your life.

Even if you’re not in super shape right now, you can just take it at a little lower intensity to ease yourself into it. It’s worth it! Working out in the outdoors and breathing in the fresh air definitely has a stimulating effect, and some studies I’ve seen have indicated that you possibly burn more calories exercising outdoors compared to indoors. So give it a try!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary

I co-wrote this target heart rate article with Craig Ballantyne because we want to get the message out to everyone who keeps struggling with this outdated mentality that they must be in some sort of “fat burning zone” if they want to stand any chance of losing body fat with their workouts. We’ll show you why targeting a specific heart rate to be in this so-called fat burning zone is actually the opposite of what you should be focusing on in your workouts if you truly want to get lasting fat loss results.

Heart Rate

One of the worst myths in the fitness industry is that you need to maintain a specific heart rate range in the fat burning zone in order to lose fat. But this is simply not true. Unfortunately, this false belief leads people to choose low intensity steady state cardio routines that are ineffective and cause most people a major lack of results from their workouts.

The quicker you get rid of the “target fat burning heart rate = the best workout” mentality, the faster you will actually start to get real results with fat loss and changing the shape of your body for good.

In the Turbulence Training workouts, you actually burn more fat and more total calories when you are OUT of the gym due to the high-intensity and variable intensity nature of the training methods in these programs. This phenomenon is not due to the elevated heart rate you experience during the workout (even though your heart rate will be increased from the supersets and intervals), but rather from the metabolic and hormonal response you achieve from the more effective workout compared to your ineffective “fat burning zone” workout.

Over the last 10 years, scientific research has indicated a couple of very important things to us about exercising for body fat loss. First of all, lifting heavier weights while exercising leads to a higher caloric consumption by the body in the period for about 1-2 days following the workout when compared to lifting light weights with high repetitions. So that’s why 6-8 repetitions per set is better than 12-15 reps per set when it comes to stimulating the metabolism for losing fat permanently. That’s one of the cornerstones of the types of training routines in programs that actually get results, like Turbulence Training.

Another important aspect we have learned from scientific research in recent years is that highly variable interval-type training is far superior to slow, steady-pace cardio exercise for fat loss and post-exercise induced calorie burning. In the long run, if you focus on the internal metabolic response your body is getting from your workout routines, instead of how many calories you burn during some sort of magical “target fat burning heart rate zone”, you will achieve MUCH better fat loss results. So not only is it more result-producing, but it is also more time-efficient to use short high-intensity interval training workouts instead of slow, long, steady-pace cardio sessions.

The only time you might need to know your specific heart rate is during the recovery period of the interval training. It is important to take enough time during your recovery intervals in order for your heart rate to drop back down significantly (allow it drop to approximately less than 60% of your max heart rate).

That way you are able to get more quality work done when it counts. You do not want to start your next high-intensity interval too soon, nor do you want to exercise too hard during your recovery intervals.

All of these details are provided in the interval training guidelines within the Turbulence Training program. And we’ll show you how to properly structure your intervals so that you allow enough recovery time between each. With these guidelines, you do not have to worry about monitoring your target heart rate or anything fancy like that. It’s just not necessary. Just follow the TT instructions, and you will do great.

So here’s the bottom line:

If you want to start actually getting the fat loss results you’ve been wanting for so long, do not worry so much about your target fat buring heart rate zone during exercise. Instead, make sure that you are working at a high-intensity and a variable intensity (according to your individual capabilities of course) during each weight lifting and interval training session.

The TT workout guidelines will give you all of the details you need on the specific rest periods to use between supersets and intervals. With these guidelines, you will start to see vastly improved results from your workouts within weeks of implementing the changes.

See below for a special free report on cardio training alternatives that create a much better metabolic environment for fat loss than traditional cardio routines.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

Best Ab Workout

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly determined that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your system on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss. I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this abdominal fat problem by reading more details in the free report below.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary

I received a question today from a Sergeant who was looking for high intensity workouts with some work for abs, core, and full body to take his team of 30+ soldiers to a new level of fitness in preparation for their PT testing.

Full Body Workout

He basically said that the men had reached a plateau in their training and needed something really high intensity to take them to the next level.

My response is below…Keep in mind that this workout I gave him uses bodyweight-only exercises, however, it is VERY intense and for people looking for advanced fitness levels.

With that said, keep in mind that if you’re not yet at an advanced level, you can still use this by simply using the basic format of the workout, and just do less of whatever exercises you struggle with, or choose an easier alternate exercise that’s similar.

Here goes…

“Hi J****. To get your soldiers to that next level in their workouts, we’re going to keep the intensity super high here and use the whole body. Keep rest periods short, and use full-body multijoint movements as much as possible.

I’ll give you a killer workout idea below that not only incorporates abs and entire core, but the entire body as well in an intense fashion. Not sure what (if any) equip you have available, so I’ll give you a great workout that’s bodyweight based. Here’s an example to take your men through:

Start with a 2-3 min warmup of light jogging, jumping jacks, or jump rope.

Then, move through these exercises in circuit fashion, one right after the other with only 10 seconds rest between each (repeat the circuit 3-5 times for a killer total body workout):

1. bodyweight squats – 12 reps

2. plyo pushups (clapping) – 10 reps

3. walking lunges up 6 steps and back 6 steps

4. floor mountain climbers for 30 seconds

5. lunge jumps – 6 reps to each side

6. lying leg thrusts (abs) on floor – 12 reps

7. squat jumps – 8 reps

8. side plank hold 30 seconds one side, then 30 sec opposite side

Rest 2 min after each circuit; repeat circuit 3-5x

If that doesn’t get them through the plateau and ready for the next PT test, nothing will!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary

If you want to discover some areas where you may be going wrong in your ab workouts and your attempts at losing stomach fat, I have an interview for you here that you’ll want to read.

Ab Workout

In the interview, we discuss the topic of abs training and the biggest myths and mistakes we see in this field.

Here’s a copy of the training portion of the interview below. We’ll discuss the nutrition aspects necessary for losing enough body fat to carve out those six pack abs in another article.

CB: Okay Mike, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abs?

MG: Most people are probably going to be surprised with this answer. In their quest for ’six pack abs’, the biggest mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs directly… pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific exercises.

I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abs to show, that they’re spending almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the abs could have been better spent on a properly designed full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.

After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abdominals visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response.

This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book… full body workout programs and proper nutrition to strip off that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that’s hiding underneath!

Of course it wouldn’t be an abs book if I didn’t focus on ab development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.

CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to various types of ab training?

MG: To be honest, I don’t really see any need for men or women to train differently. Bottom line… the best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.

However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders… Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.

It’s important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT “bulk them up” (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I’ve trained over the years are the ones that aren’t afraid to work hard with the weights.

I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardio workouts. This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body routines provides enough of a “cardio” workout in itself usually. We’ll get back to this in a minute though.

CB: What about old school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it “depend”?

MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don’t think they’re good or bad per se, but rather “in between”. I didn’t include them in my workout programs. I simply don’t feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.

CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you’d pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?

MG: Well, first I’d like to point out that the full body exercises that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and the entire “core” area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The “abs-specific” portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.

Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree.

One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper “pelvic curl up”. It’s funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises.

We also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.

CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio workouts? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?

MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals… or as I like to call it “variable intensity training”. In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.

I think people need to get away from this thinking about “fat burning zones” and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you’re doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in your body… and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio workouts.

Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can’t handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn’t mean that they can’t simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a “variable intensity” fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.

That wraps up the “abs training” portion of the interview. We’ll discuss the nutrition aspects that are necessary for losing enough body fat to get visible six pack abs in a separate article.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Geary

In this article, I’ve posted the “diet tips for six pack abs” portion of our interview we recently did. Enjoy! Here it is…

Diet Tips for Abs

CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those six pack abs. Open your vault of info!

MG: Well Craig, I think you’d agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so called “expert” out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what’s the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.

One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn’t need to conform to any of the fad diets… you don’t need to go “low carb” or “low fat”, or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).

In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions… a salad of poison ivy leaves is “natural and unprocessed” but certainly would not be good for us!

I’ll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition and diet that help to get you lean for life (and have any chance of getting those abs to show)…

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet – not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it’s a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle… And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally don’t eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I am a bit of a fan of sprouted grains. I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.

3. Don’t be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake in their diet and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily. Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that’s way beyond the scope of this article).

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

*artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods

*high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market

Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get. Gain control of this part of your life, and those abs may be showing in no time!

Instead of the typical ab exercise routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc… I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs.

3 Best Ab Exercise

I’m going to show you an example today of one of my favorite ab workouts that doesn’t include any direct ab exercises at all. It’s in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows

1b. Front Squats with Barbell

1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of “reps”.

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me… you’ll feel it in the abs!

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body. This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you’ll feel this one in the abs big time!

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each “tri-set” before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you’ve ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises. You’ll see what I mean after you try it!