HIIT Training: 30sec Workout

The 30 Second workout is the ideal place to start with Interval training.

Most beginner workouts start with 30 seconds workouts, If you are beginner please make sure that you stretch, warm up and warm down properly for every workout.

If you are aiming at training above your lactate threshold you need to go fast enough to feel that the last few seconds feel almost impossible to keep running. Everything in your body should be burning. If you are fit and are not getting to this point in the sprint intervals, don’t save yourself for later, give it all up front, go harder and then try and survive through the rest of the workout.

Start this with 6 intervals and gradually migrate to 12. Rest periods also come down from 90 seconds to 30 seconds. Remember to warm up and cool down properly

To get your interval training timer clink the link below

What is High Intensity Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training is a specific type of interval training routine. It is mostly used for individuals trying to lose weight. It has a number of distinct goals and differences which make it unique.


HIIT Sessions usually last less than 20 Minutes

The first difference is in time, excluding warm ups and warm downs last no longer than 20 minutes. This may seem like a very short space of time but believe me; if you do the workout correctly you will be exhausted by the end of it. The goal of HIIT is to hold an anaerobic state for a long cumulative time (click here to see what this means.). It’s designed with rest intervals to allow you to sprint harder for longer. Take this as an example, if you were to sprint for 100 meters, you would go full out for about 15 seconds (depending how fast you were). In an advanced HIIT workout you would probably spend about 7 to 8 minutes going full out in a 15 minute workout. If you are a beginner you should start with 4 to 6 minutes total workout time.

For Maximum Benefits make sure you are using Major Muscle Groups

There are a range of activities that you can do with HIIT. When choosing an activity try to pick one that safely uses the largest muscle groups in your body. High Intensity Interval Training will try and tap the energy sources found inside the muscle. The larger the muscle group being exercised, the more the benefit.

The absolute best for HIIT is sprinting. If however you have injuries or other problems which prevent you from sprinting by all means pick something else which you can manage safely. The second best would probably be a stationery spinning bike.

Do HIIT every Second Day

An HIIT workout should not be done on consecutive days. The workouts goal is to operate at a high intensity. So when you do your reps, you do them as hard as you can. Working as hard as this produces the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training. The workout burns energy from your muscle systems and it needs time to replenish it. If this doesn’t happen you will not be able to workout with as much intensity and you have much greater chance of injuring yourself. The benefits happen in your body during your rest period and the more rested you are, the more intensity you can put into your workout.

Obliterate your Fat when you combine Good Nutrition and HIIT

A lot of people including yours truly believed that if you wanted to maximise weight loss it was best to do HIIT on an empty stomach. Recent research is showing that this just isn't so and in fact the opposite is true. Make sure you have had something to eat about half an hour before you exercise, make sure it something balanced and easily digestible, you don't want something heavy while you are exercising.

Alternate Your Interval Training Routines

One of the key principles around High Intensity Interval Training is preventing any type of plateau. It’s designed around pushing your body to constantly adapt, and as your body is always trying to please, it invariably does. When this happens your improvements slow down.
To counter this, always keep your body guessing, after you have done about 8 weeks on a particular HIIT program, give yourself one week off then start a new one.

To see the benefits of your interval training timer click on the following link
Gymboss Interval Timer

3 Tips To Getting Jacked and Lean

Craig Ballantye

If you’ve never heard of “Metabolic Resistance Training” (MRT), things are about to change for you in a big way. In fact, I’m willing to bet this is going to be the *new* hot training phase for 2009. You heard it here first.

It’s so hot, that my next product (hush, hush) is based completely on this new training system.

But most metabolic resistance training programs make 3 big mistakes.

First, they put the exercises in the wrong order.

Some programs are so whacked they start with arm curls before asking you do to do pull-ups.

You need to work from the top down, starting with the best exercises first in the ultimate bad-ass superset to start the program.

Not only will you get more results that way, but if you ever need to cut a workout short, you’ll be able to know that you already got near-maximum benefits just by doing the first superset – because that’s where you had your best exercises.

Second, incorrect MRT programs put “competing” exercises back to back in the routine.

What I mean by that is you’ll often see a pull-up followed immediately by an exercise where you have to hold dumbbells (such as lunges).

But your grip is going to be smoked by the pull-ups, and you won’t be able to hold enough weight to challenge your lower body. So the program is not as effective as it could be. The solution is using non-competing supersets like I do in Turbulence Training.

The third mistake is not using enough “absolute intensity”.

Now don’t get me wrong, almost all MRT programs are hard, but running a marathon is hard too – but that doesn’t make it INTENSE.

The best MRT programs organize the workout so your muscles still get a chance to lift as heavy as possible, even though your heart will be pounding and sweat will be pouring off your body.

Personally, I’ve always used the phrase, “Turbulence Training” when describing my workouts, rather than MRT.

I've put together a proven and perfectly designed metabolic resistance training program that you will love, especially if you want to get jacked and lean to dominate the summer pool parties and beach scene.

And especially if you’re into the “Las Vegas” style night life where better looks get better treatment. Sad but very true.

In fact, I built this exact program for a client of mine who now looks like a jacked up Randy Couture after using this system. The resemblance is funny, and the workout is intense.

1A) Deadlift – 8 reps
• Rest 1 minute.

1B) 1-Arm Standing DB Shoulder Press – 12 reps (1 side at a time)
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 3 more times.

2A) Chin-up – Max reps minus 1
• Rest 1 minute.

2B) Close-grip bench press – 12 reps
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 2 more times.

3A) DB Bulgarian Split Squat – 8 reps per side
• No rest.

3B) Ab Wheel or Stability Ball Rollout – 10 reps, taking 3 seconds to roll out
• Rest 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times.

If you like that, you’ll love all my MRT workouts that will help you burn fat and build a beach body without the dishonor of slow boring cardio.


Craig Ballantye

Lean Hybrid Muscle Building Top 5 Questions

By Vince

Without surprise I have received many engaging questions about the brand new Lean Hybrid Muscle program my fitness friends Mike Westerdal and Elliot Hulse released, which promises that you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time with their methods.

As you know, I do not aggressively endorse methods for building muscle and losing fat simultaneously. Instead, I prefer to chase one goal at once but if two reputable coaches I respect are claiming this is possible, it would be ignorant for me to ignore their real world science and results.

I was especially interested in knowing if their “gain muscle and lose fat at the same time methods” could be used in replacement of my post cardio workout and you’ll see specific sample workouts below (question #5) that I’m performing instead of 20-30 minutes of walking on a treadmill etc. Their workouts are far more stimulating and better for overall conditioning which is why I thought you would be interested in having a look today. All the info is at:

Metabolic Resistance Click Here!

Top 5 Lean Hybrid Muscle Building Questions answered by Mike and Elliot below:

1. Is there really such thing as type III muscle fiber?

Like we mentioned yesterday, a Type III muscle fiber is just a cool name for a hybrid type II muscle fiber that takes on traits of a type I fiber.

It’s nothing new. It’s just something a lot of people haven’t heard about.
Early adaptors of this theory included Dr. Len Schwartz who in 1995 coined the phrase “Long Strength”. Dr. Schwartz describes Long strength as “the ability to exert significant strength for an extended period of time.”

John Parrillo-the second proponent of long strength-began having his bodybuilders doing really high intensity cardio. He claimed that doing this actually altered the muscle composition. He called this form a resistance training the “100 rep extended set,” saying that it helped the body to construct more mitochondria-the muscles’ “cellular blast furnaces.” He also says that this increases muscular growth by developing the circulatory pathways that provide nourishment to the muscles.

Ori Hofmekler is the third early adopter of the long strength concept. Ori developed a weight training system that he called, “Controlled Fatigue Training.” According to Ori, this type of training was specifically designed to develop these super hybrid muscles-ones that were capable of generating and sustaining strength for extended periods.

2. Why do we want a type 3 super muscle?

Reviewing what we talked about last time we know that Type 1 fibers have a higher mitochondrial density than type 2 thus they are more fuel efficient. Simply put, they burn fat for energy better than the type 2 fibers.

Type 2 fibers usually have a thicker diameter… they are bigger fibers. When they begin adopting the behavior of type 1 fibers by gradually increasing their mitochondrial density they ultimately become even BIGGER in size as well a better at burning fat for energy.

So if you want muscles that are BIGGER, STRONGER, have more ENDURANCE, and are better at FAT BURNING than you’ll want to develop these muscles.

3. How do we get them?

By combining cardio and resistance activities it causes the composition of muscles to transform from predominately type II or type IIb into Type III. By doing this, we are able to push “beyond our genetic limits,” much like the ancient Spartans, Gladiators and Vikings did.

Having more mitochondria in the muscle cells means that more nutrients can be processed, giving the muscles the ability to work considerably harder for longer periods. They’re also able to grow larger and are able to resist getting tired for longer periods.

Knowing this, we can see that the goal of cardio combined with resistance—sometimes known as hybrid cardio is to push our muscles to undergo a reconfiguration and increase the number of mitochondria in the cells.

4. Should I eat for size or fat loss during this program?

The answer to that is…it depends. Sometimes you’ll eat more calories and sometimes you’ll eat less. However nutrient timing is just one aspect of gaining muscle and burning fat.

Nutrition would be such an easy topic to practice and discuss if human beings were as simple as a mathematical equation.

You know… 10 – 3 = 7

But when it comes to the dynamic hormonal and nervous system fluctuations present in the human body… often times

10 – 3 = 478!!

With such various reactions to a broad spectrum of stimuli, the simple notion that calories in vs. calories out determines your fat loss or muscle building results, is a completely ineffective means for determining fitness results.

For example, when exposed to the harsh and threatening demands of prison life, many inmates continue to build thick, lean muscles despite the lack of access to high quality foods, proteins and supplements.

This is due to the highly anabolic state that their bodies are able to maintain when in such a testosterone driven environment. Also, have you ever met a fat person that barely eats? They consume very little calories yet they are obese! This is also due to a hormonal response. It also destroys the notion that lower calories equal less body fat.

Fat loss and muscle building are the result of several lifestyle and nutrition modifications, none more important than the other. All of our daily choices have an impact on our fitness results, not simply how much food we eat.

5. Can I continue my current workout and add Resistance Cardio at the end of my workouts for 20-30 minutes?

Yes that’s a great idea. That’s a hybrid workout in itself. Continue to train with weights for strength, muscle growth and toning. Than instead of doing 30-minutes of traditional cardio on a treadmill or stationary bike add some resistance cardio to your workout to start developing the Type III muscle fiber.

To do hybrid cardio all you need to is combine aerobic and anaerobic (resistance) activities. You can do this by adding dumbbells to your cardio workout.

If you want to go jogging, try wearing a weight vest while doing it. If you want to do something low impact, pick up some kettlebells or dumbbells and walk up a flights of stairs. Interval hybrid cardio using your bodyweight is another good option.

Another idea is to set up a circuit of pull-ups, squats, box jumps and push-ups. Alternate exercises every 20-30 seconds and keep moving. Keep going for 20-minutes. I guarantee you a bodyweight circuit like this will be faster, burn more calories and keep you more entertained. You can mix things up even more by holding each position for five to ten seconds—up for pull-ups and push-ups, down for lunges and squats.

Once the bodyweight cardio exercises aren’t challenging enough you can try a few of these sample Metabolic Resistance Cardio workouts to do at the end of your normal workouts. They are all full body workouts, so feel free to rotate through them, it doesn’t matter which one you pick.

Remember your muscles will already be somewhat fatigued from the weight training session you just performed so you’ll want to use a much lighter weight when doing this kind of resistance cardio after a weight training session.
These hybrid “resistance cardio” workouts can be done with 2 20 lb dumbbells or with a barbell at the gym at the end of your workouts.

No rest between exercises, Take 3-5 mins rest after the circuit and complete 3-5 rounds.

1a. Barbell Back Squats x 5
1b. DB overhead Walking Lunges x 20 steps
1c. Chin Ups x 10
1d. Jumping Burpees x 10

OR

a. DB squat / push press x 20
b. DB lunges x 10 ea.
c. DB renegade rows x 10 ea.
d. Jumping Burpees x 10

OR

a. DB overhead walking lunges x 30 yds.
b. DB Squats x 20
c. Skip Rope x 100
d. Sit Ups x 15

OR

a. BW Squat Jumps x 15
b. DB step ups x 10 ea
c. Explosive Push Ups x 15
d. Knees to Bows (if chin up bar is present) x 10

OR

a. Bear Crawls x 30 yds.
b. Sprint x 30 yds back
c. DB burpee presses
d. repeat 5 times

Here’s one you can do with Kettlebells.

KB Snatches: 5 reps per arm
KB Clean & Press: 5 reps per arm
KB Lunges: 5 reps per leg
KB Squats: 10 reps
KB One Armed Rows: 10 reps per arm
KB Two Handed Swings: 20 reps

If you’ve been doing traditional low-intensity cardio post workout for more than a few months I’m going to challenge you to mix things up and incorporate some Metabolic Resistance Cardio post workout which will not only increase your shape but contribute to better fat burning and muscle gains. You’ll also notice that you develop a more vascular and ripped looked like a MMA fighter with this training.

For more info on Metabolic Resistance Training Click Here!

Vince

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat with “Type III Muscle Fibers”

By Vince

Don’t worry, I’ll explain that in a moment and how some proven research supports the concept of developing a “Type III Super Fiber” to aid you in gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

I’ve learned a lot from those $120 University text books but when it comes to cutting edge training information they’re often the last to get the “update”.
To be honest with you, this isn’t something you’re going to be reading or hearing a lot about unless you’re connected with some high level strength & conditioning coaches.

To save you from brushing the dust off your old physiology text books lets quickly review what we know about the different muscle fiber types.
1. To keep things simple there are two main types of muscle fibers. Type I and Type II which are composed of Type IIa and Type IIb.

Type I muscle fibers are slow-twitch which means they contract slowly making them great for endurance. These muscles are suited to aerobic activities like long distance running since they don’t fatigue as easy.

Type II muscle fibers are fast-twitch. They contract quicker, but they get tired a lot faster. Sprinters and power athletes usually have a lot of type II muscle fibers.
2. Unfortunately, genetics determine exactly what types of fibers make up your muscle composition. You can’t change the percentages you were born with….

….However what you can do is “reconfigure” muscle fibers to take on different characteristics, somewhat “tricking” your genetics. This is not an overnight procedure and focuses on specific training methods that selectively recruit both types of muscle fibers in the same workout or activity.

Introducing The Type III Muscle Fiber…

While in Orlando, Florida a few weeks ago I got to meet up with a couple strong man coaches, Elliott Hulse and Mike Westerdal who have been hiding away in their gym, perfecting this killer new training system they “accidentally” discovered.

Here’s what they explained to me:

“By combining resistance weight training with cardio training in the same set, we force the thicker stronger Type-II (fast twitch) muscle fibers to behave more like Type-I (slow twitch) fibers.

By utilizing both types of muscle fibers in the same exercise we can actually build a “HYBRID” Type-IIC muscle fiber that has been nicknamed a Type-III.”

Vince, can you translate what those guys told you?

Well let’s think about this for a second. We know that Type 1 fibers have a higher mitochondrial density than type 2 thus they are more fuel efficient. Simply put, they burn fat for energy better than the type 2 fibers.

Type 2 fibers usually have a thicker diameter… they are bigger fibers. When they begin adopting the behavior of type 1 fibers by gradually increasing their mitochondrial density they ultimately become even BIGGER in size as well a better at burning fat for energy.

Look, a Type III muscle fiber is just a cool name for a hybrid type II muscle fiber that takes on traits of a type I. They’re not claiming to have invented a new muscle or anything.

How Do You Develop A Type III Super Muscle That Is Bigger, Stronger And Better At Burning Fat?

Like I mentioned earlier it’s going to take a particular training style. In fact this training mimics the way that our ancestors used to live. They didn’t train with weights one day and run laps the next. No. The kinds of activities they did every day would have been very much like the kind of training that’s ideal for developing this kind of hybrid muscle.

Our ancestors were both muscular and lean and it didn’t result from things they set out intentionally to do but rather, it was a natural byproduct of the way they lived their lives.

They were able to both build muscle and burn fat at the same time without even having to consciously think about. By adopting some of the very same training principles that they employed, modern man can achieve the same results.

To discover how you can tap into your hybrid muscle fibers in order to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously please read more at:

Click Here!

Gain 30 Pounds Of Muscle Like Taylor Lautner

By Vince

Okay, okay, I’ll admit, I went to see the blockbuster hit, New Moon, tonight with Flavia. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one in the saga, Twilight, but it did inspire me to write about Taylor Lautner. If you have a little sister, daughter, niece or girlfriend then you’ve probably heard of Taylor. He plays Jacob Black, the bad ass were wolf who got into outstanding condition for his role.

(Hey guys, in my defense, I ‘ve been a huge vampire and werewolf fan since I was younger so I’m a sucker for monster movies – although this saga could use a lot more testosterone for my liking. And to maintain my manliness during the movie, at one cheesy point in the movie I pretended I was snoring for a good 3 seconds – just in case anyone recognized me).

Back to Taylor Lautner. What I was most impressed about during the movie was the amount of giggling from the girls during the shirtless scenes in the movie. And I could even hear some dudes whispering about how fit he looked.

Then it hit me.

We need more Taylor Lautners.

Sure, we have Ryan Reynolds, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig getting jacked for their blockbuster movies but who has filled the void for the younger generation?

Even though Arnold in Terminator and Stallone in Rambo inspired me beyond belief, I could not connect with their level of muscularity at a deep level. It was too unrealistic for me and I’m sure many people reading this would agree.

I’m confident that Taylor is going to make a major impact on young people, especially male teens. I’m guessing a lot of males are going to hit the gym shortly after seeing this movie so they can muscle up like Taylor did.

From my reading Taylor packed on 30 pounds of muscle for New Moon and he’s no Vince Del Monte but I got to say he looks really, really impressive. And in a recent interview before the filming of New Moon I picked up a few lines that stood out:

“…a few weeks ago I gained 20 pounds and guaranteed 10 more pounds and I already put on 6 pounds…”

Take home message:

It is possible to gain over 20 pounds of muscle in a short period of time.
He guaranteed 10 more pounds which shows supreme confidence and belief in himself.

“…I’m not sure how many inches around….”

Take home message:

When asked, “How big are your biceps?” You don’t need to be concerned with numbers – just how you look in the mirror.

“…I hope it’s paying off because it took A LOT of hard work.”

Take home message:

It took a lot of HARD WORK. Taylor didn’t mention anything about powders, potions or pills!

“…I’m going to put on 4 more pounds and I’m going to go ABOVE AND BEYOND…”

Take home message:

More supreme confidence in his belief and a relentless determination to keep growing. His last few words reflects the attitude you should have too.

If He Can Do It, So Can You!

From some reading I learned that Taylor started out 5′10″, 140-pounds, scrawny and weak teenager. Now his body represents a powerful werewolf and dominates the screen as a rippled fitness animal.

If Taylor can gain 30 pounds of muscle in a year then I see no reason you can’t either. And if you’re a complete beginner than you’re just like Taylor. His trainer, Jordan Yuam was quoted as saying, “The less muscle you have, the easier it is to gain muscle mass more quickly.”
I experienced the same. Inexperience works to your advantage because your body has zero stimulus and most receptive to the new stress it’s forced to adapt too.

5 Muscle Principles Taylor Lautner Followed

1. Heavy weights.

This is taught in my No Nonsense Series and you’ll hear me say over and over that you need to get a healthy taste of heavier weights to pack on mass.

2. Mixing up your volume.

It sounds like Taylor’s trainer ripped a few pages out of my muscle book because you’ll find that one of the key ingredients is mixing up the volume to muscle up. Lifting heavier is not the only way.

3. Long periods of tension.

Anybody who’s gone through my advanced muscle program knows what this is all about. To recruit all the muscle fibers and speed up muscle growth it’s critical that you put your muscles under enough tension. Sets that last 40 seconds to 80 seconds is the ideal period of tension for hypertrophy.

4. Cut down on cardio.

Between weight training and diet it’s amazing how much fat you can lose and muscle you can pack on. I don’t recommend more than 20 minutes of cardio, three times a week, if you’re looking to pack on at least 30 pounds of muscle. When I gained 41 lbs of muscle in 6 months, I did zero cardio and didn’t gain any fat but then again I had to previous exposure to weights.

5. Don’t forget to recover.

In total, you won’t need to train more than 5 days a week. At least 3-4 weight training workouts without doing more than 2-3 weight training workouts in a roll will keep you body growing with out plateauing.

Vince Del Monte Click here to find out more...