How a Busy Financial Executive Lost 15 Pounds of Fat & 4.5 Inches While Gaining Time & Energy After Switching from Circuit Training to the World's Most Powerful Fat Loss System - Strength and Intervals
Andy W. is another strength and intervals success story. A busy financial executive, Andy has made huge changes in his workouts and lifestyle. Like many people, Andy was frustrated by his lack of results prior to finding strength and intervals. But with his new lifestyle, he has converted his body, just like you can.
In addition, Andy has made a huge step towards making a massive career change. Soon, he will be one of the most in-demand trainers in the UK. With my help, Andy has began learning the strength and intervals system to help his clients lose fat and gain muscle with quick, effective workouts.
Here is more of Andy's success story.
CB: Let's start with a little background info, Andy. What were you looking to achieve when you found strength and intervals?
Andy W.: Hi Craig, I am currently working as an Associate Director for a Finance company here on the Isle of Man. It's a fancy title for a job that keeps me stuck at my desk for long hours and brings with it a lot of stress.
I am 35 and have always been relatively active. I make a point of making time to get to the gym 2-3 times a week and as you know I am currently carving out a new career as a fitness consultant in my spare time. I have a keen interest in nutrition because I have been resistance training for 15 years now with little or no results and put a lot of that down to the food I was consuming at the time.
CB: So what are your current thoughts on the importance of nutrition for fat loss?
AW: I see nutrition as playing a major role in getting the results you desire and often tell my personal training clients that they do not put low-grade fuel into their cars so why should they fuel their bodies with low-grade processed foods.
Anyway, I had learnt a lot from my Personal Trainer exams and one error I was making was that my gym sessions were all machine-based exercises. I remember reading an article in Mens Fitness magazine that to achieve the results I craved I should concentrate on free weight and body weight exercises.
Due to the limited amount of time I have to work out I searched the Net for a time efficient resistance-based workout program and luckily for me I came across your website J
CB: What were your pre-training stats?
AW: When I first contacted you for advice on the best workout for me to start on I weighted in at 81kg (that's 178.2 pounds) and 23% body fat. I am 6 foot tall. My waist had crept up to 37 inches!
It was seeing a holiday photo of me looking like a beached whale that suddenly made me realize that I had to take action as I was heading the way of my father and grandfather. Take my word for it, it's not a good look, no offence dad!
CB: What were your workouts before? Why did they not work as well? How have strength and intervals improved upon those workouts?
AW: Prior to strength and intervals my workouts were purely machine-based.
My local gym uses Nautilus machines and the training protocol they market is a total-body machine-based workout 2-3 times a week. It consists of a circuit of 8-12 exercises and you perform 1 set of each exercise and look to perform 8-12 reps of each exercise. The idea is that you move straight on to each exercise with little or no rest between each exercise.
Don't get me wrong, I think that for someone relatively new to training it can be a safe and effective form of exercise and as it can last between 20-25 minutes each session it proves to be popular at the gym.
The problem I found was that because the machines isolate the particular muscle you are working on I would experience a painful shoulder because I was lifting a heavier weight that my smaller muscles such as my rotator cuff could not handle. This would put a spanner in the works for my training because I would have to rest for a couple of weeks until the injury healed L
I felt like I was on a hamster's wheel. I would get better, start training again, move up in my weights and then hurt my shoulder again. I thought at first it was me and that I was destined to stay as I was.
It was only when I started studying that I begin to understand where I was going wrong.
Now with the help of your strength and intervals workouts which are primarily dumbbell and free weight based I know that I am strengthening my total body including all of the smaller muscle groups including my rotator cuff muscles.
I am pleased to say that since commencing with my first strength and intervals workout I have not experienced any injuries and am now lifting more weights than I ever thought I would J
CB: Andy, you have learned the hard way that traditional, machine-based circuits are not appropriate for the masses, despite the popularity of the chain gyms throughout North America.
So which workout did you start with? Did you notice any immediate effects after starting?
AW: When I started I was keen to get my body fat % down and reduce my waistline.
I laugh about it now because when I printed the workouts out I remember thinking the workout looked easy and I would not find it beneficial. How wrong was I?? Phew I soon found that I was eating my words!! The workouts might look easy on paper but they are challenging although nowhere near impossible.
Because I had not been doing any CV work in my workouts for a long time I found that the intervals particularly beneficial. My office is situated on a fairly steep hill and within a couple of weeks I found that I was walking a lot quicker up the hill to work without feeling as breathless as I used to and I still had energy to trot up the stairs!
And that's what I love about the workouts...its suddenly realizing that you are doing certain everyday tasks a lot easier without even thinking about it.
I also love the fact that I have had a GREAT workout without the need for spending 1 ½ - 2 hours in the gym. I lead a busy life and need to get on with things and know that I can still get everything done AND get a workout 3 times a week as well.
CB: How have the workouts helped you? What benefits & results have you achieved? What are your gains and improvements and how do they compare to your before stats?
AW: Continuing on from my previous answer the benefits I have achieved are loads more energy, better concentration levels and no more niggling rotator cuff injuries.
When I started my first workout I weighed in at 81kg (that's 178.2 pounds) and 23% body fat. My waist measured 37 inches.
12 weeks later:
My weight was 73.8kg (162.36 pounds)
A loss of 7.2kg (15.84 pounds)
More importantly I had reduced my waist to 32 ½ inches
And my body fat stood at 16%.
CB: How do you feel in terms of strength and energy?
AW:
I am stronger than I have ever been and have bundles of energy. I have not reached my ultimate goal yet which is to get to 12% body fat but I know that I am well on my way and look forward to the journey because I know that workouts make it possible to achieve such a goal.
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 all over the Internet, 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 http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
Q: What is the best kind of alcohol to drink so that I do not gain fat?
Answer: The easiest answer is none.
Booze contains calories that do not contribute to the improvement of your body in appearance or health.
Always remember, each serving of booze (1 shot of hard liquor, 1 beer, or 1 glass of wine) generally provides 100-150 calories.
Mixed drinks can be a huge source of calories, plus alcohol lowers your inhibitions to food intake. It is a 1-2 punch against fat loss. Staying away from the popular mixed drinks of summertime will help you stay lean despite summer outings.
If you choose to drink, please drink responsibly.
Q: Do I really need to drink Green Tea?
Answer: Absolutely.
First, it will help you cut back on the liquid calories you consume as juice, soda, and whatever you put in your coffee.
And second, the most recent research* from Europe shows that Green Tea helps dieters lose weight and maintain their weight loss while on a low-caffeine intake.
*Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S., et al. Body Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance in Relation to Habitual Caffeine Intake and Green Tea Supplementation. Obes. Res. 13: 1195-1204, 2005.
Q: What is a good fat loss workout for someone that sometimes only has 15-20 minutes per day to workout?
Answer: With all good fat loss workouts, an intense session using weight and interval training is best. You only need about 15 minutes to get in either an interval workout or weight training session. So in this case, just do weights on one day and intervals on the next day.
You can get a lot done with weights in 15 minutes. Beginners will be impressed by the gains they can make and advanced trainees will easily maintain their physique by training with weights for 15 minutes a couple of times per week.
It is easy to put together a weekly training schedule comprised of a weights plus interval session (or doing alternate days of lifting and intervals). A 5-minute warm-up and a 10 minute workout or 10-minute interval session followed by 5 minutes of cool-down will go a long way (when combined with proper fat loss nutrition).
So if you are running behind, don't forego your workout even if you only have 15 or so minutes.
It is all about efficiency of exercise. You are going to have to work hard, but you will be thankful when you still manage to do some type of workout.
A fat loss routine should also have balance. Most people in the gym like to train the chest, biceps, and quadriceps, but by doing so they neglect the muscles that ultimately define their physical appearance!
You have to target the exercises and muscles that don't get a lot of appreciation in regular training programs. These include rowing for the upper back, deadlifts for the entire posterior chain, and reverse lunges for the glutes and hamstrings.
Q: I am a female and I have been doing a lot of running and cardio for fat loss. What can I do to improve my results? I feel like I am stuck at a plateau.
Answer: Drop the slow cardio and switch to interval training. Do a regular warmup, then run at a faster than normal pace for 1 minute. Then walk for one minute. Repeat up to 6 times, running almost as fast as you can during the 1-minute intervals. That will boost your metabolism by putting more turbulence on your muscles.
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 http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
CB: CJ, let's start with a little background info on yourself and what you were looking to achieve when you found strength training and interval training.
CJ: Let's see, I'm a female in my mid 30's and a typical office professional who spends looong hours sitting in front of a computer.
Fitness and nutrition-wise, I grew up understanding the importance of being active and staying healthy. So while I've stayed active most of my life, I recently discovered I still had a lot to learn both about fitness and nutrition.
When I found the strength & interval training I was looking for body comp improvements. I had been introduced to weight training about a year earlier and had made great progress, but had gotten past that 'newbie' effect and really needed something different to jump start my progress again.
CB: How were you doing before?
CJ: During grad school and working full-time I put aside the active part of my lifestyle for the days and evenings tied to a chair, and the delights of eating at restaurants for 1-2 meals a day. I gained about 20lbs and was at my heaviest ever at 160lbs. Once I completed night school, I put exercise and nutrition back on my priority list and lost those 20lbs, mainly from running 5days/wk.
My second stage started when I discovered weight training. I was about 142lbs and probably 28% BF. After about 6months I lost another 8-10lbs and 7% body fat.
So, when I started strength and interval training, I had already made good progress, I was probably 133lbs and 21-22% BF.
CB: What were your workouts before strength and intervals? Why did they not work as well? How have you improved upon those workouts?
CJ: Before this I was a steady state cardio fanatic, so I ran 3-5 miles 3x week and strength trained using a 4 day upper/lower body split. This plan did work for about 6-9 months, but then I just stalled. Not sure what the culprit was, just that I knew I needed something different.
When I first started strength and interval workouts I was skeptical that such a short workout only 3x/wk would be enough. I soon discovered that strength and intervals kept the intensity levels up at EACH workout, so the three days and two supersets were actually more efficient than my 4day split and 3 days of running. I also got on an HIIT (interval) program and reduced my slower steady state runs to about once a week.
CB: How have the strength and intervals workouts helped you? What benefits & results have you achieved? What are your gains and improvements and how do they compare to your before stats?
CJ: I'm stronger, leaner, and faster than before.
On the strength side, my proudest achievements are chin-ups and pull-ups, something I've always wanted to be able to do. I've also improved my 5k times by 2mins. I finally have the muscle definition/athletic shape I've always wanted.
When comparing to my before stats, I've had to throw the scales out the door and use the mirror/compliments as my guide since I have gained a few lbs and BIA hasn't seemed to move, but my clothes have gotten looser and smaller and I'm also making strength and speed gains.
CB: How do you feel in terms of strength and energy?
CJ: I think my strength gains surprise me most, since I typically have high energy/endurance. I particularly enjoy how my strength gains have transferred to running and bike riding.
What I can lift in the gym just sort of evolves, but when I can climb hills on my bike that I used to walk up, and finish 5ks in times that were once out of my reach, it feels pretty good. J
CB: What features do you like about strength and intervals?
CJ: It's fun, efficient, and intense. And it works!! When I'm in the gym, I know that I'm making the best use of my time.
CB: Did you change your eating with the guidelines?
CJ: Not much. I was on a pretty solid eating plan when I started strength and intervals, but am consistently learning about making the right food choices and looking to tweak things here and there. Incorporating a post-workout recovery drink and getting as much variety as possible have been the biggest change in my eating habits since I started.
CB: What would you say to people that ask you about your workouts? Do you get a lot of comments from others?
CJ: When people ask me about my workouts, I try to hold back some enthusiasm so I don't come across as a crazy fanatic and overwhelm them.
I've had quite a few comments from other people in the gym, either noticing how hard and smart I'm working, or complimenting my progress. One lady even pointed me out and said "I want thighs like that!"
It's always fun to see friends and family or even co-workers that I haven't seen in a while because they remind me of the progress I've made.
The best compliment I get now is a form of imitation. People want to know exactly what I do and ask me for tips. They see it works, and want to know how I've done it, and try to apply it for themselves.
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 all over the Internet, 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 http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
