What is your training experience?

Well, like many things in life, we experience something we don’t like before we decide that we MUST have its opposite. I was no exception. It was a feeling of being too skinny that drove me to want to start building some muscle.

My training system (called THT training) is built around the most fundamental principle of building muscle – Progressive Overload. Basically this means that you must increase the weight lifted and/or the reps completed on as many sets as possible on successive workouts. Building muscle needn’t be as complicated as some people make out – obedience to this principle WILL bring success, you just have to learn how to OPTIMIZE it – that’s where the other THT principles come in.

The WHOLE system is completely free and can be picked up at my sites Free Weight Training Program or Free Bodybuilding Workout Program.

Why 8 to 12 repetitions for muscular growth?

This is one part of the optimization I’m talking about. Getting stronger through progressive overload is the key, but what rep range should we reach ‘muscular failure’ in? My research would indicate that failure on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th rep in EVERY set produces most growth. So in each set you may have to adjust weight to achieve failure in this anabolic rep range.

Lower rep ranges work best for those prioritizing strength gains as opposed to muscle size. Higher rep ranges activate the aerobic pathways (rather than the desired anaerobic), and also ensure that successive sets are less than optimal due to the rapid fatigue they produce.

8-12 reps produces more structural adaptations over neural ones. I want to train to be bigger and look better naturally, so this is where I stay.

Why ‘Go To Failure?’

The necessary muscle stimulation to FORCE muscle adaptation occurs in the last few reps of a set. You have to give your muscles a reason to grow. Continually reaching failure at higher and higher weights ensures that you are providing the MAXIMUM anabolic signal to the muscles worked.

Which exercises do you recommend?

Man, there are some really silly exercises out there, I stick to the basics. I’m sure some of your readers will have experienced the following scenario…

You begin working out and follow the basics i.e. basic exercises and working on beating your last performance every time – you’re building muscle at a good rate.

Then as time passes, you meet some gym rats and/or buy some muscle mags (rags) that convince you that you’re doing it all wrong and need to follow a more complex routine and weird exercises. You’re convinced they’re right and start changing things up; it’s just then you’re results stop coming. Of course you tell yourself it’s because you’re no longer a beginner and can’t expect new gains every month or so. Well, in my opinion, you just made a BIG mistake.

The basic exercises and progressive overload will force a muscle to continually grow so long as you get your diet right. I recommend a combination of heavy compound lifts for larger muscle groups and also some compound movements for smallers muscle like triceps. I only think a few of the ‘isolation’ movements are worth doing.

However, it must be stated that I have a different definition if what constitutes a compound or isolation movement. I agree with what IFBB pro Jeff Willet said in this interview I did with him,

I would consider barbell curls a compound movement as compared to something like concentration curls or preacher curls because barbell curls are a multi-joint/multi-muscle movement. This makes it a superior bicep exercise because the compound nature of it allows you to handle more weight through a more natural range of motion. Same is true for French Curls.

Jeff here is talking about performing these exercise with what is sometimes referred to as Biomechanically Optimized Form. This involves using the body’s natural biomechanics when lifting to MAXIMIZE the load that can be placed on the intended muscle and help ensure that you stay injury-free.

[Mark in 2006, after his first successful cutting cycle. He felt he was quite skinny back then but had a good foundation to build on. Had ripped abs but needed more muscle. He used the system he later outlined in the book Total Six Pack Abs.]

Lets talk about six-pack abs

There is so much misinformation about abdominal development. Abs are to built like any other muscle i.e. progressively overloading them with weighted resistance. 2 exercises I especially like to get the job done are weighted decline sit-ups, and weighted lying leg raises.

However, building abdominal muscle is only one aspect of attaining the elusive six-pack. The majority of work goes into getting your body fat low enough to see those sculpted abs. This is done with diet and cardio.

My book ‘Total Six Pack Abs‘ is a FULL six-pack system i.e. it covers the following areas thoroughly…

• Nutrition – The BEST fat-burning diet
• Weight Training – Essential! Based on my THT training but tweaked a little for cutting purposes
• Cardio – Cardio is an essential part of cutting. However, no marathon sessions are needed! Short, intense bursts work best – you’ll discover why and HOW to do it.

What makes Total Six Pack Abs superior

Each one of the 3 factors above actually INCREASES in intensity throughout the program.

• The diet actually INCREASES in its fat-burning potential
• The weight training INCREASES in its muscle-building and fat-burning potential
• The Cardio INCREASES in its fat-burning potential

This is the secret of those who KEEP losing fat week on week VS those who stall, lose motivation and QUIT! Abs can be attained quite quickly if the fat keeps coming off week on week!

There are formulas in the book which will reveal the EXACT cutting macro nutrient grams based on YOUR OWN body. Grams of carbs, fat, and protein are tailor-fitted to the individuals current body make-up.

[Comparison between Mark's his first cut and his latest fat loss cycle from the summer of 2009.]

You may also find it surprising that the Total Six Pack Abs program actually allows for sweet treats every week! Inside the book you’ll discover the science of why this is the case and why it’s surprisingly BENEFICIAL for torching unwanted body fat.

Thanks for the interview, Yavor. Keep up the good work at your site!

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[Our lady visitors were starting to complain of too much hot girl coverage and practically no dudes. So here is a fit good looking guy... under another hot girl lol. Ok, I couldn't help it! Can't blame a guy for sneaking in pics of gorgeous girls... Plus, I know most... ok practically ALL guys actually workout because they want to hook up with beautiful women. Just reporting on a fact lol]

I Was Pleasantly Surprized

Rusty Moore, author of one of my favorite fitness blogs, came up with a free e-book in which he basically interviewed two top nutritional scientist about the truth behind the whole supplement industry. I quickly snatched the book and read it in one sitting. It was an eye opening and enjoyable read in Rusty’s usual entertaining style. But what was most important about it was the information in it.

You Need To Get Your Hands On This Information

So I shot an email to Rusty and invited him to write up a quick post and present his e-book here. Well, turns out he had an even better idea – he put together a quick little video just for the readers of Relative Strength Advantage. Watch it below

Rusty Moore’s Guest Video Post

[Rusty is a really cool and modest guy. Even in this vid he mostly talks about my site LOL. So don't get distracted and make sure to check out his site and grab his free e-book for a dose of ethical, highly entertaining and last but not least controversial information on the subject of bodybuilding and fat burning supplements.]

Here Is How To Get It

Here is the post where Rusty introduces the e-book in which he exposes the supplement conspiracy ==> http://fitnessblackbook.com/diet-tips/the-supplement-conspiracy-by-rusty-moore-exposing-the-supplement-industry/. So just go ahead and snatch it, and if you are new to his blog, I promise you are in for a real treat!

Kickass photo by Digital Sophia

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Craig Ballantyne: Like most folks in the fitness industry, I played a lot of sports when I was younger. That led to weight training. From there, I realized I wanted to be a strength coach in professional sports.

I went to school for Kinesiology, which then led to a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. Along the way I studied what made a good NHL Strength Coach (they had Master’s Degrees and were Certified Strength And Conditioning Specialists – CSCS).

I also started training athletes, along with men and women for fat loss. Then I started working with Men’s Health in 2000. And I invented Turbulence Training in 1999, and finally put it online in 2001.

Here’s how I invented the first Turbulence Training workout.

Back in 1998-99, I was but a lowly grad student, studying the effects of androstenedione (the supplement taken by the mighty baseball player, Mark McGwire during his record-breaking home run quest in ’98).

In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology for any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the supplement and go through a couple of weight training sessions. By February of ’99 I was stuck in the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy radio-active isotopes.

And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I’d get there at 7am, and record my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I wasn’t there, I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on testosterone and training.

Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn’t sit well with me. But there I was, studying for a degree in Exercise Physiology and left with no time for exercise.

Or so I thought.

Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of “down-time” while the lab’s gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.

That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get a workout in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my studies to the workout, I could get maximum results in minimum time.

As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to avoid the fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary environment. And I also had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I once was, so there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss plans that were popular at the time.

Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working with athletes as the school’s Strength & Conditioning Coach.

I knew that sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio, and I knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you can’t increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).

So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio for fat loss.

I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in the summer and fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed winter fat in a short time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals had to be the next step in the evolution of cardio.

The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of time. I knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only spend 15-20 minutes doing intervals.

Question 2: Which is more important to get in shape – diet, exercise, or some combination of both? If both – which one do you consider still more important?

Craig Ballantyne: Diet is more important. You can’t out-train a bad diet. You can lose fat really fast with your diet, but only at a smaller, yet consistent pace with exercise.

But of course, if you want a beautiful body, you can’t do that without exercise. Fortunately as Turbulence Training shows you, the workouts don’t have to be long, slow, or boring.

Question 3: Is it possible to get in fantastic shape by training only at home and with no equipment?

[You don't have to be confined in a gym to get in jaw dropping shape.]

Craig Ballantyne: Absolutely.

People have been exercising without equipment and staying lean since the beginning of time, but now all the fitness propaganda has turned people crazy thinking they have to go to a fancy commercial gym and spend big bucks each month to exercise on bikes that don’t even go anywhere if they want to lose fat.

It’s absurd!

You can do hundreds of exercises at home without equipment. Combined with a diet of whole, natural foods you can lose a lot of weight and get very fit and lean at home.

Question 4: Could you share some of the mindsets of folks that successfully transform their bodies?

[I consider your mindset to be the most important thing for achieving any goal.]

Craig Ballantyne: That’s a great question. They all know the secret to fat loss which is:

“Once you accept how HARD it is to lose fat, then it becomes easy.”

Do you understand what I mean?

It’s like saving money.

Once you understand and accept how much discipline is required to save money then it’s easy to do and becomes 2nd nature to do so. You simply begin to do it automatically.

It’s the same with fat loss.

Once you understand and accept this “secret”, you’ll realize that you must…

• Plan, shop, and prepare your meals in advance…
• Do three high-intensity workouts per week…
• Keep yourself active on off days and keep your butt off the couch for at least 30 minutes…
• Develop rituals that help you avoid night-time eating…
• Take time to set goals and to plan solutions for every obstacle that gets in your way each week…

Only then will fat loss become 2nd nature to you, so much so that you couldn’t get fat if you tried!

Seriously, once you “get it”, you literally couldn’t get fat if you tried, because your mind is on autopilot to stop you from binge eating or from skipping workouts.

So work on that…apply that “secret mindset” and you’ll lose as much body fat as you want.

Heck, you can apply this to ANY aspect of your life and you’ll experience success beyond your wildest dreams.

I’d like to thank Craig for this interview. The final insight that he shared here is probably the most important. Body transformation is hard. Once you get that, you will know you are on the right track whenever training, diet or fasting seem to hard. It becomes simple. Just push hard on all fronts – eat right and train at full speed.

Craig is offering a free report called the The Dark Side of Cardio… And Other Over-rated Fat Loss Methods. In the report you will discover nutritional and exercise mistakes that hinder your fat loss progress. There you can also get a sample turbulence training fat loss workout to get you started.

Image credit: Vincent Boiteau laffy4k

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