Once again I have gone too long without adding new content to this site. I’ve also been slacking off in my training as well.

However, I’ve recently decided to make some commitments, and part of that involved getting back into my training, as well as beginning to post here again.

I’ve always had an interest in “old time” stuff, and strength training is no different.  Strength athletes from the late 1800’s up to the 1950’s and 1960’s have interested me almost since I started training.

These guys built crazy strength (and also had the physiques to show it) with remedial equipment, little to no nutritional supplements, and no steroids (until the 1950’s I believe).

So, I’m thinking about maybe starting a new category just for this stuff. I’m not going to turn this into an “old time strength training” site, but do plan on posting more methods, advice, and techniques from the old days.

The Top 5 Fat Loss Myths

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

There are so many fat loss myths out there in “exercise-land” that I was hired by Men’s Fitness magazine to write about one myth each month.

After all, by now you’ve probably heard that if you don’t do 60-minutes of cardio in your fat burning zone on an empty stomach while Venus is in line with Jupiter, you’ll never burn fat.

The problem with myths is that not only are they wrong and give false hope to millions of people trying to lose weight, but they also waste your time and mental effort.

I have also seen these myths used as justification for cheating on a diet, watching countless men and women justify their “treats” because they believe they are on some type of magical exercise program or nutrition plan.

I could go on for days about fitness myths, but I cut my list from 30 down to the Top 5 Fat Loss Workout Myths today. I’ll save the other 25 for future newsletters.

Myth #1: You have to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Relax. You don’t have to hop on the treadmill at 4:30am every morning. Let’s allow common sense to dictate when and how you exercise.

If you want to work out first thing in the morning, and I know that is the best time for many TT readers, by all means, go ahead and do it. There’s nothing magical about this time – although it is often the only time many of day many people have to themselves.

We need to think “outside of the hour” of exercise and realize that calorie burning and fat burning goes on for 24-hours. Forget about the theories and look at the big picture.

It doesn’t matter when you exercise – as long as you exercise intensely and consistently. Focus on relatively high-intensity workouts to increase your metabolism for as many hours after exercise as possible. That is best done with interval training and resistance training.

Myth #2: You have to do your cardio in your “fat burning zone”.

Again, nonsense.

While you might burn a larger proportion of total calories as fat when you exercise in your fat burning zone, you burn fewer calories overall by exercising at such a low intensity.

When you increase your workout intensity and get out of your so-called “fat burning zone”, you burn more total calories, and as a result, more fat.

In addition, the “fat burning zone” training doesn’t put “turbulence” on your muscles… so you don’t burn many calories in the post-exercise time period. But with interval training, you burn a significant amount of calories for hours after training, and that leads to more fat loss.

I’ve worked with hundreds of people that have avoided the fat burning zone while still managing to lose dozens of pounds of fat. The “fat burning zone” is one of the biggest fitness myths of all time.

Myth #3: You have to do cardio for 20 minutes before you burn fat.

When I hear this, I picture a fat-burning switch in my body that turns on only after I’ve been doing “cardio” for 20 minutes. But what if I only exercise for 19 minutes and 59 seconds? Are you telling me that I won’t have burned any fat? That’s ridiculous.

What if I did it on an empty stomach in the morning and in my target heart rate zone? (read that one sarcastically!)

I’ll say it one last time. We need to be more concerned with our 24-hour metabolism, not how much fat or even how many calories are burned during the workout.

Myth 4: Drinking ice cold water will help you burn calories and lose fat.

Standing in line at the grocery store is a great place to pick up the latest fat loss myths. You’ll also find this one all over the Internet.

This myth often comes along with some calculations showing that by drinking 8 glasses of ice-cold water you can burn 70 calories per day. I don’t believe that actually holds true in real life. Regardless, drinking cold water is not going to burn any more fat off your body than drinking room temperature water.

Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe you should drink 12 glasses of water per day, but the temperature of your water won’t have any effect on your overall fat loss success.

Myth #5: Adding one pound of muscle will burn 50 extra calories each day.

Uh-oh, now I’m cutting down a myth that supports my use of strength training in a fat loss program. But I have an obligation to set the record straight about this extremely prevalent myth (even though I just saw a big name fitness expert perpetuate this myth in a recent article!).

This myth sounds so good. Add a pound ouf muscle, boost your metabolism 50 calories. That doesn’t seem out of line at all.

But do the math for a guy that puts on 30 pounds of muscle. Does his metabolism really increase by 1500 calories? Absolutely not. For an average guy, that would require his resting metabolism to increase from 2500 calories to 4000 calories per day. How would he be able to keep any of that muscle with a metabolism like that? He’d have to eat like a pig forever.

So when you look at the big picture, you can see this little myth start to fall apart.

That’s not to say you should stop your strength training, but just don’t use this myth as an excuse to cheat on your diet.

Bonus Myth: Negative Calorie Foods Cause You to Lose Weight

According to the “experts”, a negative calorie food requires more energy to digest than it provides you when you eat it. And included in the negative calorie food list are apples and bananas.

So by this logic, I would actually starve to death if I had nothing to eat but apples (because I would have a net energy loss from eating a so-called “negative calorie” food).

There is no such thing as a negative calorie food.

It’s a shame that people are out there promoting this stuff, and it’s too bad that so many people fall for it.

Remember the old phrase, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Instead, let the common sense fat loss principles apply. It’s going to take consistent effort, working hard at your workouts and with your nutrition to get the results you want.

I guarantee you that Turbulence Training will successfully guide you to the fat loss you deserve and desire.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

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.

*** END OF ARTICLE ***

I’m sure we’ve all heard most of these before. Maybe you’ve even believed them at some point. I think the fact is that there is some bit of truth to most of these, which is what helps perpetuate them.

Regarding working out first thing in the morning, I agree that there’s nothing magical about the hour. There’s no reason why working out in the morning would be physiologically better than any other time of day. However, there are some good reasons. Craig mentions that it’s simply a time many of us have to ourselves. Another reason is that there really is something about working out in the morning that can set the tone for the day. It can give you a burst of energy to help start your day off. One more thing is that by getting up earlier and exercising, I believe that you are adding more “calorie burning” time to your day. If you get up an extra 30 minutes, you’re giving yourself 30 more minutes of burning calories rather than lying in bed. In the grand scheme of things it may not amount to much, but it’s a consideration. Overall though again, I don’t think there’s anything particularly special, physiologically.

The “fat burning zone” and “20 minutes” myths have never made much sense to me. I just don’t see how these myths continue.

I believe that the “cold water” and “50 extra calories per pound of muscle” are also half-truths. Well, maybe not quite half. The point is valid, but I don’t believe that the numbers line up. The idea behind the cold water is that your body has to burn calories to bring the water up to body temperature. I can believe this. However, I agree that the number of calories burned here is negligible. And adding muscle to your body certainly does burn more calories. It simply takes more calories to maintain muscle than fat. However, I agree with Craig that the numbers just don’t add up.

I encourage you to take these myths and turn them into positives to add to your success. Think about what the truth is in the half-truth, and use it to your advantage.

Let me say that at first, I was a little skeptical about the quality of the video. Since it was shot at a kettlebell workshop, I was expecting poor quality video and sound. However, I have no problem at all. The workshop was held indoors, so there are no outdoor sounds to muck it up. Both the video and audio are professional grade – as is the production. I’ve had no problems with the DVDs themselves, the menus, or anything else.

Now I haven’t read all of the information about it on Mike’s site – I just went ahead and ordered it. But I just gave the description a quick look, and it gives you a lot more details than I’m going to put here. You can get there by clicking here: Boys Are Back in Town Kettlebell Workshop DVD.

So, I really just wanted to give a quick overview of what’s actually on the DVDs. I own the set and have watched it. Admittedly, I haven’t absorbed it all – I’ve only seen it once. At any rate, here goes.

Here’s a basic overview of what’s in the set, broken down by instructor:

Mike Mahler

Mike has two sections in the DVD set. First up is on kettlebell training. The focus is on power and speed, and the techniques he uses are just about the polar opposite of what I’ve learned. But, different purpose, different technique. It has actually changed the way I’ve been thinking about kettlebell training – and I’m not just saying that. While slow grinds have their place, I’m going to change the way I do things for a while after watching this.

Mike’s second section is on optimizing hormones. To be honest this was the first thing I watched, and that was because it was already almost midnight and I wanted to watch something that I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in because I wanted to get to bed. I must say that I ended up staying up until 1:00 am watching the whole section. It was very interesting stuff, and he gives some practical things you can do to optimize your hormone levels – and why you’d want to.

Steve Maxwell

Steve also has two sections, and both are basically about joint mobility and core strength. The first section is general mobility with bodyweight only. Everything from the basics to advanced mobility drills. If you’ve seen Steve’s Spartan 300 videos, this touches on at least some of that.

The other section starts with joint mobility using the kettlebell. From there he goes into some of the more positionally-awkward kettlebell drills like the windmill, Turkish get-up, overhead squat, bent press, and the Gladiator. He’s also got a few other core-specific drills.

Steve Cotter

Steve Cotter also has two sections, but basically covers four topics. There’s a section on “Effortless Motion”, which goes into some athletic drills for efficiency and speed of movement. It’s really good stuff, especially for athletes (obviously). But who doesn’t want to be a little more spry? The other non-kettlebell teaching is on Chi Gong. He really just covers some basics. I know nothing about Chi Gong, so won’t really try to describe anything. Suffice it to say that he discusses the benefits of Chi Gong, deep breathing exercises, and shows some basics to get you started.

The other two topics involve kettlebells. Basically, he covers the snatch and the clean & jerk. However, his take on it is from a position of Girevoy Sport, after actually going to Russia to learn. There are very specific techniques on efficiency of movement to get the highest numbers possible in these two drills. He discusses body positioning, proper body mechanics, kettlebell positioning, etc. If your goal is to raise your numbers in these two exercises, this is what you’re looking for.

Nate Morrison

Nate also has two sections. One on breathing and one on posture alignment & mobility. There’s quite a bit on breathing techniques and when to use which ones.

In the posture alignment and mobility section, mobility refers to keeping your body mobile as a unit, not joint mobility as Steve Maxwell covers. Nate’s section here is more about finding (and taking advantage of) optimal combinations of stability and mobility. While a lot of the techniques are geared toward martial artists (refers to Systema a few times) and fighters, a lot can be learned by athletes and “regular folks” as well. He also discusses things like joint loading and impact.

The Negatives

I always try to be honest about things and point out the negatives as well. When I look at reviews, the first ones I usually look at are the one-star negative comments. This is where I figure I’ll get the “real story”. However, I really, honestly don’t have much negative to say about this set. Physically, the set comes in one normal DVD case, with all three DVDs stacked on (touching) each other. But, the case was obviously designed to hold them that way. That bugged me at first, but obviously it’s not a huge problem.

As for the content of the DVD, I only have a few, very slightly negative comments. There are a few spots where someone is talking and it fades out to the next bit. It’s obvious that no “meat” was missed, but I’d still like to hear where the comments went. I’d also like to have seen more of the instructors actually with the students, making comments on technique and such. There was some of this, but generally the instructor would call a person up to the front for demonstration. Now, that being said, I also realize that this was taken from a two-day workshop and STILL ended up at over 7-1/2 hours. Clearly, they had to do some serious editing. Overall, these are only minor issues on my part, and would probably just be considered “fluff” to most. As it is, this DVD set is all meat.

So, that’s the gist of what’s in the set – and believe me, I’m not doing it justice. It’s hard to cover everything in a review of a 7-1/2 hour DVD set. I’ll say that it’s a great deal of information. Granted, it’s not cheap, but do you have any idea what it would have cost to attend that workshop? If you are serious about your training, are an athlete, or a coach or personal trainer, you’d do well to pick it up. Also, Mike still has special pricing on this one – so order it quick. The Boys Are Back in Town Kettlebell Workshop DVD.

Jeff Martone has recently started having monthly specials. Buy two get one free, 30% off of DVD bundles, that sort of thing.

Get the details at the home of H2H Kettlebells, H2H Circuit Training, and the innovative shotput workout, S.H.O.T. – Tactical Athlete.

Fortunately when you’re ready to purchase kettlebells, you have a few options. Unfortunately, good kettlebells are rare in the “real world”, so you’ll probably have to get them online. I’ve found a few trustworthy options, whether you just need one or two, or a full kettlebell set.

First, you can buy kettlebells from RussianKettlebells.com. These are the kettlebells designed by Pavel Tsatsouline and offered through Dragon Door. These are the kettlebells that started the current trend in the US and are great bells. They are black powder-coated, which means the finish is baked-on for durability. They’re made in the USA, hence the higher price. These are available as a kettlebell set of three.

Second, you can purchase kettlebells from RussianReds.com. These are actually the same as the black ones listed above. The only difference is the finish. Where the black ones are powder-coated, these are simply painted red. The finish doesn’t last as long, but they are also a little less expensive, and are also made in the USA.

Third, you can buy kettlebells from MuscleDriverUSA.com. These are the least expensive of the bunch, and are not made in the USA. They have them available in a few different finishes. I personally have not used these kettlebells, but they’ve gotten positive reviews. In addition, Muscle Driver has gotten good reviews as well (quick shipping, good customer service). While they don’t offer these in a kettlebell set, you can still get three for a great price. If you’re really ambitious, they do offer a discount if you buy six or more (three pairs).

After you purchase kettlebells, you’ll probably want some training material. For beginners, I recommend Enter the Kettlebell. I haven’t seen the DVD, but the book is very clearly written and covers everything from absolute beginner to advanced trainees. In fact, you can save some money by picking up one of the Quick Start Kits from RussianKettlebells.com. Also, the From Russia with Tough Love is a good DVD to start with. I have it and it’s not just for women. It’s also at RussianKettlebells.com, and is also available as a Quick Start Kit.

Another option for beginners is Steve Cotter’s DVD – Encyclopedia of Kettlebell Lifting Volume 1. It’s basically an all-inclusive kettlebell training system from beginner to advanced. It’s seven hours long and covers just about everything from strength and endurance to speed and flexibility. Certainly worth checking into.

If you’re more advanced, or think you’ll advance quickly, consider Mike Mahler’s books or DVDs. Be sure to check out his bundle offers for some good discounts. If you’re really advanced, just serious, or are a personal trainer, consider Boys Are Back in Town Kettlebell Workshop DVD set with Mike Mahler, Steve Maxwell, Steve Cotter, and Nate Morrison. I have this set and it’s loaded with great information – and not all kettlebell-related.

I hope this helps you buy the right kettlebell and training material to get started on the right foot. Soon you’ll be getting your own results from kettlebells.