5 Cardio Workouts To Burn Fat

Good Morning,

This morning I have an article for you from Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training.

Everything you know about cardio is about to change. You're about to discover the truth about 5 cardio workouts to burn fat and lose more belly fat in less workout time. Let's start by looking at the old, outdated way of burning fat.


Cardio Workout #1 to burn fat: Slow cardio

The first cardio workout to burn fat is "Old School Cardio". For years, we've been fooled into thinking that we need long, slow, boring cardio workouts to burn fat. However, too many men and women slave away on the cardio machines for 40, 60 and even 90 minutes per workout without burning fat. How is this possible?

To be honest, I don't know exactly why it doesn't work, but two recent research studies found that women doing 40-60 minutes of low intensity cardio, 3-5 days per week, did not lose belly fat after at least 12 weeks of cardio. Based on those results, slow cardio is not one of the best cardio workouts to burn fat.

In fact, in one of those studies, researchers tested high-intensity cardio, and found that high-intensity cardio was able to burn fat.

Cardio Workout #2 to Burn Fat: High-intensity cardio

The only problem is that high-intensity cardio requires you to work as hard as you can until you burn at least 400 calories in a workout. That will take you at least 40 minutes - so while this is one of the better cardio workouts to burn fat, it's still not the best.

A better approach is to use interval training. This is the third cardio workout to burn fat.

Cardio Workout #3 to Burn Fat: Interval training cardio

In a study from Australia that compared 2 cardio workouts to burn fat, subjects doing 3 interval training workouts per week lost a significant amount of belly fat while another group doing 40 minutes of slow cardio per week did not burn belly fat.

So interval training is a much better workout choice for fat loss. To do interval training, you do a normal warm-up, and then you alternate between hard exercise and easy exercise, then you follow with a cool down. This routine only takes twenty minutes.

Here's a sample of the interval cardio workouts to burn fat. Do a 5 minute warm-up, and then exercise for 1 minute at a pace that is 10-20% harder than your normal cardio intensity. After that 1 minute, decrease your exercise pace all the way down to cool-down level. Repeat that hard-easy cycle 5 more times. Finish with 3 minutes of cool-down.

Cardio Workout #4 to burn fat: Tabata Interval cardio

Since interval training became popular, personal trainers have been looking for other short cardio workouts to burn fat. A study from Japan used something that is known as the "Tabata Protocol", and many trainers believe this is even better than cardio and regular intervals. The fourth cardio workout to burn fat is the Tabata Interval program.

I'm not convinced it is better than regular intervals, but it is a heck of a hard way to do a fat burning workout. After a warm-up, you 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of recovery. Repeat that 8 times. This fat burning workout takes only 4 minutes!

Cardio Workout #5 to Burn Fat: Bodyweight circuit cardio

Finally, the fifth cardio workout for fat burning is bodyweight circuit training. Like intervals and the Tabata workouts, bodyweight circuit training is not really "cardio", however, these are the three better cardio workouts to burn fat.

Whatever you want to call bodyweight cardio, here's how it works.

First, you start with a quick, easy bodyweight exercise, such as Jumping Jacks.

After that, alternate between 3 lower-body and 3 upper-body bodyweight exercises, using squats, pushups, lunges, pulling exercises like rows or chinups, split squats, and total body ab exercises like mountain climbers.

Finally, finish off the 8 exercise circuit with a tough total body exercise like jumps, burpees, or running in place. Now that's fat burning cardio!

Those are 5 cardio workouts to burn fat. Only two are "traditional", but those 2 are the longest, and least effective. The shorter fat burning cardio workouts are the best way to burn belly fat fast.

Click here for a sample interval cardio fat burning program that has helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning.

The Turbulence Training Fat Burning workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment.

Craig Ballantyne is an expert trainer for Men's Health magazine and Oxygen magazine, and his fat burning bodyweight workouts help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

How Busy Women Loses Excess Body Fat Fast

How Busy Women Loses Excess Body Fat Fast


The answer to the question of "How Does A Busy Women Loses Excess Body Fat?" is...

1 - Stop thinking doing hundreds of crunches and other ab specific exercises just doing ab specific exercises are not going to create enough of a metabolic response in your body for you to lose belly fat.

So what are the best types of exercises and workouts are for losing belly fat in order to get six pack abs. The problem is that most people who need to lose belly fat looking to try to uncover their abs are searching for some "miracle six pack ab workout that is going to slash the fat off their abs in no time.

The thing is... they are going about the problem entirely the wrong way! The truth is that you don't lose excess body fat by doing ab workouts.

The problem is that focusing most of your time and effort on abdominal exercises and abs workouts to try to flatten your stomach, lose belly fat and bring out 6-pack abs is simply wasting your time from doing the correct workout programs that will acutally reduce your belly fat and total body fat for good.

If I were to choose an answer as to what the best exercises are for losing body fat, my answer would include total body exercises such as the following:

2 - Various forms of squats, lunges, deadlifts, clean & presses, snatches, swings, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

These types of total body conditioning exercises would encompass a much higher percentage of the workouts I would design instead of abs exercises directly targeting the midsection. The way you combine those full body exercises into a strategic workout that maximizes your metabolism is also very important.

Don't get me wrong... I do recommend a certain amount of exercises that directly target the abs and core, but these are only a small fraction of the programs I design for my clients as your time is better spent focusing on the total body conditioning exercises that stimulate the greatest hormonal and metabolic changes within the body. In addition, a side-effect of working out using mostly total body conditioning multi-joint exercises are that you indirectly work your entire midsection even though you are not specifically targeting the abs.

Keep in mind that the most important factor for losing belly fat to get that six pack abs look is actually in your healthy eating and nutrition plan. No matter how hard you workout, if your diet is full of junk, then your abdominals will be covered with ugly fat. Nutrition is without a doubt the "king of getting a six pack".

So let's clear this up for good...

Stop wasting so much of your time focusing on situps, crunches, leg raises, and all those silly worthless "ab contraptions" in your efforts to try to develop 6-pack abs. Instead focus on high intensity total body conditioning lifts using combination multi-joint exercises all strategically combined into highly effective fat loss workouts.

Couple that with a healthy diet full of natural unprocessed whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and those elusive six-pack abdominals will yours in no time!

Check out below for more of my key strategies for getting flat sexy 6-pack abs for life.

Learn more about my strategies to lose excess body fat for Getting Flat Six Pack Abs

How Interval Training Melts Off Excess Body Fat

Having trouble losing that excess body fat? Or have you lost some of that fat weight but can't seem to lose anymore? or is it after losing that excess fat your problem is how to keep it off. There are two main reasons after losing weight that you tend to regain the weight. Nutrition and Your Exercise program.

In this article we are going to talk about your exercise program. Or what you should be doing to not only lose that excess body fat but to keep it off permanently.

Without a doubt the most efficient and effective workouts we have today for losing excess body fat is Interval training.

Instead of spending money and falling for all the infomercial hype and Oprah recomendations( there is a reason her weight goes up and down) and trying the next miracle exercise gadget or worthless pill that promise overnight results, save yourself some frustration and money and use a scientifically proven workout that get's permanent results.

If you once and for all are ready to get rid of that excess body fat and keep it off you should start using interval training. So how does interval training work? interval training means taking an exercise as an example jumping rope after a good warm-up jump as fast as you can for say 1 minute then jup at half speed for 1 minute and repeat. What you do with interval training is vary your intensity levels. This is an example of one type of interval training in which your exercise intensity levels switch back and forth from slow to fast.

You can add interval training to many exercise routines like swimming, running, biking, elliptical, to name just a few. Whatever exercise you use can be interval training as long as you rotate the intensity levels from slow to intense. To make it interval training effective you have to make sure that when you are doing the high level intensity part of the training that you are really pushing yourself to the limit.

Working at these varied intensity levels with interval training really gives your metabolism a real kick. After a good interval training workout your bodies metabolism will continue to remain elevated even when your body is at rest long after your workout is over. Now you are doing some serious fat burning and can practically watch that excess body fat melt away.



That is provided your nutrition doesn't revolve around Burger King and M & M's (the peanut one's are my favorite), when you combine interval training plus solid nutrition to your overall plan to lose that excess body fat, you are on your way to getting that six pack abs look. You know the lean muscle, trim, toned body you have dreamed about. Firm Butt, tight abs, slender thighs and more energy than you thought possible.

So if someone tries to tell you that the long marathon cardio workouts will get rid of that excess body fat tell them you have found a better way. Once you give interval training a try 3 workouts a week at 20 minutes a workout is all it takes.

Let's check this out hour long (at least) on a treadmill or jogging or in an aerobics class 5-6 times a week or 20 minutes 3 times a week doing Interval training? I could be wrong (but I'm not) seems to be a no brainer to me.

I know which one I'm chosing to get rid of that excess body fat Do You?

Circuit Training For Fast Fat Loss

Last Wednesday I put myself through a tough total body fat burning circuit exercise workout in High Park near my place in Toronto.

Afterwards I headed right back to the office and went straight to my computer to answer questions about fat loss, interval training, bodyweight exercises, and fat burning from men and women all over the world.

Then I stumbled across an unusual post from a fellow Canadian and new member, Mike Cheliak. He and I had been discussing off-day bodyweight circuit training, and he wrote in this inspirational story to share with you...

"I did the Total Body Ten Bodyweight Circuit today as my day off 'activity'. When I got to the gym there were a couple guys and a girl beginning their usual Eliptical routines...

...but I convinced them to join me in the Aerobics room and we gutted out 3 circuits of the Total Body Ten program. It was great!

What a perfect way to get some good intense activity in without tiring yourself out on a day off! We may all start a "club" on Wednesdays to do this. I think it was a great motivator doing it with other people. We all pushed each other and had fun doing it.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for some fun activity. You could easily do it at home but I have to say that it was a LOT more fun doing it with a group!"

Mike's right, and the Total Body Ten is a great fat burning circuit exercises workout to give the "go-getters" something to do on their off-days from regular strength training and interval training.

You can also use this circuit in place of regular interval training, if you don't have access to a cardio machine. The general format of the circuit goes like this...

1) Easy lower body exercise for warm-up

This could be some type of bodyweight squat or hip extension.

2) Moderate upper body pushing exercise for warm-up

A pushup or kneeling pushup works best.

3) Single-leg exercise

Lunges or stepups are great for moderate fitness levels.

4) High-rep upper body pushing exercise

A moderately difficult pushup exercise here.

5) High-rep Squat

This is used for conditioning purposes.

6) High-rep total body ab exercise

I like mountain climbers here.

7) Single-leg exercise

Another lunge would work or a single leg deadlift.

8] Tough upper body pushing exercise

Your most challenging pushup.

9) Lower body posterior chain exercise

Stability ball leg curls or 1-leg RDL's.

10) Tough upper body pulling exercise

Inverted rows work great!

This completes your fat burning circuit exercises workout. Go through the circuit up to 3 times, resting 1 minute at the end of each circuit, but rest only as little as possible between exercises.

Do this workout in place of regular cardio or interval training as many as two times per week. Make sure to have a rest day in between.

These are the ten best movements for fat burning bodyweight circuits!

Thanks to Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training for this great article.

Quick Fat Loss? Maximize Your Metabolism

How to Maximize your Metabolism


By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training.com

You cut calories and you exercise. You do exactly what the articles say - Your calories out are greater than your calories in. You should be losing fat. But if you aren’t, perhaps you’re still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of fat loss - your metabolism.

Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day. But did you know that the food, exercise, and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism? For example, if you starve yourself (instead of following a sensible fat-loss eating plan) your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down, it means your calories out will be less. And that means no more fat loss, and possibly even continued fat gain.

So for every day that you continue to slow your metabolism with unhealthy lifestyle choices, you get further and further away from fat loss. To help, I’ve put together a list of the top 10 ways to maximize your metabolism, so that you’ll burn as many calories as possible each day so that you can finally lose the fat. For the exact workouts and nutrition plan to help you lose the maximum amount of fat in as little time as possible, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

1. Don’t starve yourself! Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Starving yourself actually causes you to lose much more water weight and muscle than fat. Use fitday.com to find out your daily calorie intake.

2. Eat 6-8 small meals per day with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.

3. Eat breakfast. You have to make this meal part of your daily metabolism-boosting plan. At the very least, eat a lean protein, drink some Green Tea, and consume a fiber-rich fruit to get your fat loss day started right.

4. Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil, and flax oil. I consume 10 grams of fish oil per day. Replace all processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, if you currently eat a small bag of pretzels as a mid-afternoon snack, eat almonds instead (eating the same number of total calories).

5. Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you form gaining fat. Controlling your hormone levels is the #1 neglected factor in fat loss programs.

6. Eat 1.14g of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you don’t know your lean body mass, then simply eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight. But if possible, stick to the lean body mass recommendation, as that eliminates excess fat mass when calculating protein needs.

7. Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol intake can quickly add hundreds of calories and alcohol prevents fat burning. Alcohol intake can also reduce testosterone levels, a big no-no for men looking to get lean.

8. Drink Green Tea and water. While I don’t believe that either of these will increase your metabolism, I do believe that they help prevent decreases in metabolism. Not too mention, these are your 2 healthiest beverage options.

9. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Don’t stay up all night, and if possible, avoid working afternoon and overnight shifts. If you must work shiftwork, stick to the rest of these principles as strongly as possible.

10. Use the strength training with moderately heavy weights (that allow you to complete 8 perfect reps per set) and interval training for the most efficient and effective metabolism boosting workout.

If your metabolism has slowed down due to improper dieting or lifestyle, then follow these tips to help you get back on track to lose fat and gain muscle. Once you correct your metabolism, you will be on the road to losing the fat for good. Just in time for summer.

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 Turbulence Training

Tabata Training: High Intensity Interval Training

Tabata Training: High Intensity Interval Training

Tabata Training: Sumo Deadlift and High Pull Exercise Combo

Tabata Training Exercise Combo lose unwanted body fat, up your cardio capacity and gain lean muscle.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Tabata Training I will give you a quick once over of what Tabata training is all about.

Tabata training is a very intense form of Interval training. Normally Tabata is done with one exercise ( but there are exceptions to every rule).

What you do is you do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds then you rest for 10 seconds and repeat the eventual goal is to do a minimum fo 8 sets. Doesn't sound all that tough right? Think again Tabata training is a tough workout but probably the most effective and time efficent workout for body fat loss and cardio workout there is.

A word of caution if you are new to working out or are just not in very good shape do not just think you can jump into doing a Tabata workout. First things first get a physical checkup! You will be placing heavy demands on your cardio system doing tabata's.

Once you are cleared medically(and you should do that before starting any form of exercise program) break into tabata training gradually.


Start with doing one or two sets of tabata two to three times a week.

Tabata training is again as many reps as you can do for 20 seconds.

What you want to do is one of two things:

1 - Have a clock set to where you can watch the second hand for your twenty seconds while you count your reps or

2 - Have someone time you and count your reps for you. This is the best way so you can pay attention to using proper exercise form especially as you begin to tire.

3 - Get yourself a timer made for Interval and Tabata training

Tabata Style Sumo Deadlift and High Pull Combo

You are going to need a barbell( but a kettlebell, two dumbbelss or a medicine ball can also be used) to do the Sumo Deadlift high Pull.

What we are doing here is 2 different exercises but combinning them as one.

The Sumo Deadlift:
Position feet under bar with very wide stance. Squat down and grasp bar between legs with a shoulder width or slightly narrower mixed grip. Lift bar by extending hips and knees to full extension. Pull shoulders back at top of lift if rounded. Throughout lift keep hips low, shoulders high, arms and back straight. Knees should point same direction as feet throughout movement. Keep bar close to body to improve mechanical leverage.

The High Pull:
Stand over the barbell with the balls of the feet positioned under the bar slightly wider apart than hip width. Squat down and grip the bar with an over hand grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Position the shoulders over the bar with the back arched tightly. Arms are straight with elbows pointed along the bar. Pull the bar up off the floor by extending the hips and knees. As the bar reaches the knees vigorously raise the shoulders while keeping the barbell close to the
thighs, jump upward extending the body. Flex elbows out to the sides, pulling bar up to neck height.

Combining The Sumo Deadlift and High Pull:
Get yourself into position as if you are doing the Sumo ( use the narrow grip as instructed for the sumo) once you stand erect go immediatly into the High Pull and return to starting position and repeat.

You are not going to use heavy weight's for this remember we are going to do these Tabata style we are not bodybuilding. So use a weight that will make you work but not to heavy as to be able to get out your required reps.

Tabata Training Efficent and EffectiveI love Tabata Training and the Sumo Deadlift High Pull combo gives you a total body workout. Your working practically every muscle group and cardio your metabolism will be racing long after this workout is over. Practice with an empty bar so you get your form down before adding weight.

Cardio Is A Joke

Cardio Is A Joke
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS Turbulence Training

Strong statement, I know, cardio is a joke, but I really believe that cardio for fat loss is a joke.

Although, not a very funny one... One woman wrote, "I started out doing 5 hours of cardio per week. No results. So I upped it to 7 hours per week. Still nothing. Do you suggest I do more?

I'm worried if I use your program, I won't get any results because you don't even have an hour of interval cardio per week. Please help!"

And from a gentleman on the Men's Health forum, "I took up running and didn't take up stretching until it was almost to late and almost destroyed a knee. What happened was that my IT bands got really tight and my inner quads didn't gain any strength so my knee cap got pulled out of place. I had an MRI done on my knee and have found that my knee cap has bruised my femur. "

Cardio horror stories are a dime-a-dozen.

So here's the bottom line on cardio... Long slow aerobic training remains the biggest practical joke in fitness. Marathon running for the average overweight person? Why don't you just tell someone to go play in traffic...oh wait, that's exactly what they are doing - all while crushing their joints with excess weight and repetitive pounding.

If you do long, slow cardio, its only a matter of time before you end up in a physiotherapist's office with all the others that do too much of the same thing...whether its running or spin classes, overuse injuries are far too common in the cardio world. After all, what's easier to overdo, total body strength training done 3 times per week for 20 minutes, or the same cardio activity done for 6-9 hours per week?

Heck, I once knew a physiotherapist who was so addicted to spin classes that she had overuse injuries that prevented her from walking normally! Physio, heal thyself! Cardio is a joke... But cardio fits our "more is better" mentality, doesn't it? We go right from a 3000 calorie meal at the Outback Steakhouse to our 60 minute cardio confessional sessions on the elliptical. More, more, more, more. And yet get less results?

There is a better way. Take a peek at the weight room when you are in a gym. Then compare the bodies there to the bodies on the elliptical. You'll find the sculpted, toned physiques lifting dumbells and doing pushups, and the plump, "never changing physiques" spinning their tires over on the cardio equipment. No matter what the city, no matter where the gym, its the same old story.

Burn fat, get lean, and boost your metabolism with resistance training. Finish with short interval training or even bodyweight circuits (described in my DB-BW Fusion TT Workout Bonus from Turbulence Training and you are off to the fat burning races.

Or get left behind on the cardio equipment that is getting you nowhere, CB PS - Turbulence Training is Guaranteed. If you aren't thrilled with the decreased workout time and increased fat loss and energy from the Turbulence Training system in 8 weeks, let us know and we'll refund your order. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Turbulence Training has already been trusted by the biggest fitness magazines in the world (Men's Health & Shape), and I guarantee it will work for you too! About the AuthorCraig 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 Turbulence Training