By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Booty for Life

Time for a review of the program with possibly the greatest name I’ve ever come up with…(and certainly the best cover art).

Now we’re all entering the heart of holiday season here now, but I want you to stay strong.

For me, I’m sticking to the “Vegan Month Experiment”…and by planning ahead, I made sure all my recent travel wasn’t too hard to deal with.

Now if you still have Halloween candy sitting around, let’s go to our tip of the week (and an interesting diet research study)…

Transformation Tip of the Week:

The harsh truth is…”If it is in your house, you’re going to eat it.”  So get rid of the junk, and don’t let it get there in the first place! Do not rationalize a reason for it to be there.

Get past the “dollar value” of the junk and just dump it. You WILL feel better about it, you WILL benefit from it and you WILL NOT have to stop yourself from eating it because it wont be there!

Workout A – Booty for Life – 8 week program

1A) DB Split Squat (3×8) 2-1-1
1B) Stability Ball Leg Curl (3×12) 2-1-2
2A) DB Step-up (3×8) 2-0-1
2B) Plank (3×30 seconds)
3A) Stability Ball Jackknife (3×10) 2-0-2
3B) Stability Ball Rollout (3×8) 2-0-1
Interval Workout A
Stretch Tight Muscles

Tuesday
30 minutes of fun activity

Now for some tips from Men’s Health magazine (Nov 2009)…

1) Lifting heavy weights overhead while standing is better than lifting lighter weights while sitting on a stability ball. I actually knew this from the day I first saw a stability ball.

Why?

Because I had a habit of lifting heavy weights. The only people who were fooled by the ball were people who had not lifted heavy weights before.

Experience is a great teacher.

2) Plain creatine is best, the rest is a joke (so just buy cheap plain creatine powder)

Wednesday

Workout B – Booty for Life

1A) Ecc Chin-up (3×5) 5-0-1
1B) [Kneeling] Pushups (3xAs many as you can) 2-1-1
2A) Wide-grip Seated Row (3×10) 2-0-1
2B) DB Chest Press (3×8) 3-0-1
3A) DB Row (3×8) 2-0-1
3B) Incline DB Press (3×8) 2-0-1
Interval Workout B
Stretch Tight Muscles

Thursday
30 minutes of fun activity…and now check out this research study…

J Am Coll Nutr. 28(2):159-68. Adherence and success in long-term weight loss diets: the dietary intervention randomized controlled trial (DIRECT).

The scientists wanted to see if people could stick to different diets.

They studied 322 overweight men and women in 3 diet groups:

1) low-fat
2) Mediterranean
3) low-carbohydrate

RESULTS:
Overall compliance at month-24 was 85%, with 90% in low-fat, 85% in Mediterranean, and 78% in low-carbohydrate diet (p = .042 between groups).

More women than men dropped out (29% vs. 14%) and more current smokers dropped out (25% vs. 14%).

Also, other predictors of dropping-out were:
a) higher baseline BMI
b) less weight loss at month-6

Greater weight loss achieved at month-6 was the main predictor associated with success in weight loss.

Holidays were a trigger to a significant decrease in adherence followed by a partial rebound.

Generally, the most irresistible restricted food items were cookies (45% of dieters) and fruits (30%).

Among the physically active (n = 107), 44% reported a tendency to eat less after exercising compared to 10% who tended to eat more.

(NOTE: That means in MOST cases, exercise reduces appetite, BUT in 10% of people, exercise INCREASED appetite.)

CONCLUSION:
Initial 6-month reduction in weight is the main predictor of both long-term retention and success in weight loss.

Special attention is needed for women, current smokers, and during holidays.

Physical activity is associated with subsequent reduction in energy intake.

Friday

Workout C – Booty for Life

1A) DB Squat (3×8) 2-0-1
1B) Side Plank (3×20 seconds)
2A) DB Rear-Deltoid Raise (3×12) 2-0-1
2B) Stability Ball Hip Extension (3×10) 2-0-2
3A) DB Incline Curl (3×8) 3-0-1
3B) DB Triceps Extension (3×8) 3-1-1
Interval Workout A
Stretch Tight Muscles

Social Support Saturday!
30 minutes of fun activity.

For support this week, we turn to ourselves and our choices. According to Men’s Health magazine (Oct 2009), “People who workout in the morning are 90% more likely to stick to their workout than folks who try to workout later.”

So make sure you are scheduling your workouts when you will do them.

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare
30 minutes activity and then plan, shop, & prepare. One thing you should plan out is a good breakfast.

For example, blender drinks featuring whole, natural foods are good, as are high fiber foods like oatmeal, raw nuts, and fruit.

I don’t believe that breakfast “boosts your metabolism” (I just don’t get how that would happen), but here are three arguments for eating breakfast.

1) Bill Phillips, author of Body For Life, believes that if you don’t start your day with a good breakfast, then your mind starts down that dreaded path of, “Oh well, I’ve already blown it, I may as well keep eating whatever I want.”

So get up on time. Eat the breakfast that is on your meal plan. And you’ll have a better chance of sticking to your daily plan.

2) According to research, folks who eat breakfast tend to maintain their weight loss better than folks who don’t. The researchers never give a good reason, but hey, it must be helping.

3) Researchers from Toronto have found that eating a high-fiber breakfast helps reduce food intake in following meals. They call it the “first meal effect”.

So again, start your day right, and the rest of the day will be easier.

Next up!
Better Butt Workout – Part 2

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Booty for Life

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About the Author

Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at Turbulence Training. Craig 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 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.