Fast Bench Workout in the Mile High City

Whew. Today was my first workout in Denver and I moved really fast through an upper body meathead workout. It was a lot of fun, but perhaps made a bit tougher by the altitude.1A) Bench Press1B) Chest Supported Row2A) DB Press 2B) More Rows, different grip3A) Dips3B) Chin-Up with Knee UpNow to get to work on some video scripts. Big filming session tomorrow.Also started an interesting 4-Day Food

5 cab drivers in 1 weekend

No workout for me today, as I had an early flight from Orange County to Denver. But I did have an excellent weekend in Newport Beach.And along the way I met 5 interesting cab drivers. Four were excellent. Three provided interesting conversations. The first was a young man that had newly moved from Iran, you'll hear more about him in a future TT newsletter. The second was an older

Squats and Writing in SoCal

Had a really great day of writing in my hotel room down here in SoCal. I know, I know, I'm in California...and yet I spent the day writing.I would hardly have it any other way.Off to dinner with Bedros Keuilian and family tonight. Last night Bedros and I went to Mortons, where I had the veal chop, broccolini, and brussel sprouts. Good stuff. Tonight it will be Sea Bass.Today's workout was

Pushup and Mental Challenges

Today in the hotel gym I was finishing up with some meathead curls.A woman, about 45-50, walked in to use the treadmill.She sneezed.Without messing up my tempo, the BG in me said, "Bless you".She smiled and thanked me.I also made sure to say Good Morning to all the hotel staff, and I wrote a thank you letter for the housekeeper and left it on my pillow with a tip.Strange looking gym at the ALT

Deadlifting and traveling

Yesterday's workout involved a Trap Bar (deadlifting bar that requires more work from your legs than your low back). 1A) Trap Bar Deadlift 1B) Long Jump 2) Hang Clean 3) Deadlift - 225 x 10 x 5 --- Every minute on the minute 4) Leg Curl Then it was off to Toronto. Thursday it's off to LAX for a 1-Day Mastermind session. Sunday it's over to Denver for a week of

#1 problem with the tricky paleo diet

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last couple years, I'm sure you've heard of the "Paleo Diet". In fact, I eat very, VERY close to what most people call a Paleo diet. I even use Paleo Protein. But I hate using the term Paleo Diet because it's simply just the REAL way that humans have eaten for millions of years, as opposed to the modern-day processed food diet full of grains,

Monday Meathead Chest Workouit

Legs are still too darn sore to go in for a deadlift workout, and I was really tight on time today. So I stayed home and hit a garage gym meathead workout in honor of World Chest Day (which occurs every Monday, of course). However, I did not do bench presses...or even cable

Best Drink for Fat Loss

There's a fat loss drink used by all the experts that you need to know about. From Dr. John Berardi to John Romaniello...from Tim Ferriss to Isabel De Los Rios...and from Jason Ferruggia to lil' ol' me, CB. Heck, I've given up on caffeine for weeks because of the natural energy this drink will give you. Plus, it tastes great AND it tastes more filling. (So that rules out beer - LOL.) And it's

Squats and C Butter

Today's workout combined with yesterday's trail run laid a beating on my legs. I'm happy to report they were only slightly tired at the start of today's session. But they were exhausted by the end. Couple of days off for them now...well deserved. Today's Workout: 1A) Squat 1B) Box Jump 2A) Full Squat 2B) Good Morning 3A) Lunges 3B) Bear Crawl Good times. Couple of FB posts for you...

Bench press strength and push-ups performance, are they related?

The barbell bench press and the bodyweight push up are both horizontal pushing movements.  They use substantially the same muscle groups.  The basic movement is the same.  Many military services and schools / selection programs use push-ups as a test mode.  The question that comes up frequently is, �Can I improve my push-ups by getting stronger at the bench press?  Or, �Can I improve my bench press by getting better at push-ups?�  The best answer to both of these questions is, �Maybe, but probably not.�  Let me explain.  Scientists at Northern Illinois University took a look at the correlation between max push-ups in 1 minute and 1 repetition maximum in the bench press.  What they found is that the correlation is generally weak.  Timed push-ups did not predict 1 RM bench press performance accurately.  Push-ups accounted for only 31 percent of the variance in 1 RM bench press performance.  In lay terms, it did a rotten job of predicting 1 RM bench press. 

This should not be totally unexpected because they test different abilities.  A 1 RM bench press tests absolute muscular force.  This depends primarily on muscle cross sectional area (as well as joint leverages and technique).  Push-ups test muscular endurance.  The ability to do lots of push-ups is related primarily to the development of resistance to metabolic fatigue in the muscles.  This is done by up regulating the concentration of muscle enzymes responsible for energy production. 

When I said �maybe� above, I was referring to a special circumstance.  If a person can do fewer than 15 push-ups, then they have a strength deficit.  That number of repetitions is closer to strength than it is to muscular endurance.  In that case, increasing bench press strength may help with push up performance.  However, a person able to do more pushups clearly has enough force production capability and would benefit more (in terms of improved push-ups) by improving fatigue resistance, rather than adding bench press strength.

The logic also works when considering whether push-ups can improve your bench press performance.  If your max push ups is in the strength repetition range (i.e., less than 15), it is more likely to help with your bench press performance.  Otherwise, it is likely to have little impact.

Conclusion:  Can�t do many push-ups (i.e., less than 15), bench pressing may help.  Otherwise, push-ups training is the way to go.

Relationship of Push-ups and absolute muscular endurance to bench press strength, Invergo, J, Ball, T., and Looney, M., Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 1991, 5, (3), 121-125.

Fun Trail Run and Cherry Blender Drink

TT Admission�Ssssshhhhh, don't tell anyone. The weather was so nice today that I went for a fun 30 minute trail run through the Old Grove near the family farm. I saw 4 rabbits, a skunk, a deer and a Bally the Dog! The fresh air was great�and the hills were tough. Once in a while a run is fun, but I was reminded of why cardio is a bad idea for everyday use => Overuse injury from

3 ways to fix slow metabolism

According to Facebook, 86% of our 145,000 fans of Turbulence Training are women. In addition, 3 out of 4 female TT fans is between the ages of 35-55. So it's no surprise that I get this question EVERY day: "Is there anything I can do to fix my slow metabolism? Should I do more cardio everyday?" The answers are: 1) YES! and 2) NO! You never need to do cardio again. Instead, follow these

Bench Pressing and the $2000 Cheese Plate

My upper back feels amazing after yesterday's deadlift. Amazing in that it feels like a truck ran over it feeling. Good times.I have a bit of soreness in my right lat, so I didn't do all of my lat moves today. Experimented with some new exercises and did some extra stretching for that area, instead.Today's Meathead Upper Body Workout:Warmup:Stick upBand PullPushupsWYLIT1A) Bench Press1B)

New Blog

I am creating a separate blog to post lots of information on run training.  This blog will continue to focus on military fitness.  The run training blog is http://strong-running.blogspot.com.

I'll be posting lots of what I have learned by working with athletes as the Director of the Human Performance Lab at the US Naval Academy.

Monday Deadlifting Back in Canadia

Great to be back home in Canadia after 19 days on the road. Fortunately the dog remembered who I was. Unfortunately he didn't get me any presents for "father's day". Then again, I'm not his father.Alright, on to the workout. I haven't lifted in a bit (serious lifting, that is), and today was the start of a new 4-week program.1A) TrapBar Deadlift1B) Long Jump2) Hang Clean3) Deadlift - 225

10 foods killing you dead

A few years ago I discovered one ingredient NEVER to eat. Literally, NEVER. And yet it's in 10 common foods you eat all the time. It is one of the most common artificial ingredients, and I'll bet you've already had some today (probably in the peanut butter that you thought was healthy). According to most experts and doctors, there is NO safe level of this ingredient and food

Principles of Natural Running with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella

Dr. Mark is an example of really strong lower body mechanics.  He has very little cross over.  His hips are stable.  His core is solid.  His posture is upright and powerful.  This is how you want to run.  Most people are not going to get this stride by simply running more.  It takes a combination of increased mileage, drills, strength training, and for some, weight loss.  Shoes may or may not be an issue.  Here are some things we find to be useful in most runners:



Running the line drill for run crossover

Strides

Loaded carries



Glute medius training

Glute maximus training

Jumping rope

Progressive plyometrics

Single leg squats

Cleveland rocked

Happy Father's Day, TT Dads! A little update...I just finished up a fantastic 16 hour visit to downtown Cleveland. Wandered down by the water to check out the Dawg Pound at the Stadium (happy to know Bally the Dog wasn't in there!). Then a great dinner at Urban Farmer. This is the future of restaurants�to know where your food came from and to have the choice of grass-fed vs. grain.

Female Fat Loss Over 40

Ready for truth? No matter how much I wish this wasn't so... Diet is MORE important than exercise. Calories DO matter. You need to burn more calories than you eat if you want to fit into your "skinny jeans." However, you can't just CUT calories and do tons of cardio. If you do, you'll still end up with little or no fat loss results! And that's frustrating... ...and starving yourself

Pexting and Partying at the TT Summit

Each morning at 4am I send out a coaching Pext message to my top 7-figure clients. I call this Pexting because it is short for Pester Texting. My thoughts pester and irritate my clients into action. I'll be turning these into a new product in the fall. Until then, enjoy a 7-day bonus coaching Pext program from me to make this an amazing week. Monday You have all the money you need to

Alwyn and the Wedding

I have never seen this at a fitness seminar event...ever...and it will probably never happen again. You see, we had a wedding proposal on-stage at the TT Summit on Friday. It was amazing. And so was Alwyn Cosgrove's amazing business building presentation. But since you missed it, you can catch Alwyn's content here. Today is the last day Alwyn Cosgrove is offering a One Day Live 'Hands-On

Best time to eat more carbs

There's NEW research that proves the BEST time to eat MORE carbs... ...and it helps your rapidly burn fat. It's the opposite of what the media has been telling you. Take this quiz: Click here if you think it's breakfast Click here if you think it's lunch Click here if you think it's at night The results will shock you, Craig Ballantyne, CTT Certified Turbulence Trainer PS - The results will

Master CTT in Sunny San Diego

Wow! I'm impressed. And really proud. The skills, the caring, the energy, the dedication...our Master CTT's have it all. Wonderful people, so happy to have them aligned with our 10 Million Mission. Check out this amazing location for a Master Certified Turbulence Trainer Certification in beautiful San Diego. What a perfect day. MCTT Brian Kalakay is really, really great teacher.

TT Wedding

Well you don't see this everyday...First,This was an amazing moment at the 4th TT Summit!!!And second, our TT Summiters had an amazing bootcamp with Alwyn Cosgrove and the legendary Todd Durkin here in San Diego. I'm going to book Todd as our guest speaker and trainer. Todd has just as much energy as Martin Rooney. TT Summit 5 in 2015 is going to be amazing!Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tips:If

San Diego Bootcamp at the TT Summit 2014

Great times in SD! So impressed by the attendance of TT Members Nestor, Catherine, Maureen, Peter J (!) <= funny guy, Whitfield, and so many others. Thank you for being here. Enjoy Peter's triceps and a fatigued Maureen. 1 ShareLike What are you waiting for? Be better every day. Step outside your comfort zone. Forget about the little O's (opinions) of small P's (small minded people

3 ab exercises NOT to do unless you want a big waist

One is a waste, one is dangerous, and the other builds a blocky waist! Here are three ab exercises NOT to do:1) The Waste of Time Exercise: Broomstick Twists I can't believe people still do these, but recently a guy did them while standing on a Bosu Ball. What a waste of time, they do nothing for you! 2) The Dangerous Move: Weighted Sit-ups Sit-ups, especially weighted sit-ups, can cause a

San Diego Upper Body Workout and New Bootcamp Location

Yesterday I did an early deadlift workout in Denver and then flew down to San Diego. And yes, my arms are tired. And yes, I'm going to keep using that joke. Today was an upper body workout in the hotel gym. TT Summit Bootcamp change...we're now going to be doing the bootcamps in my suite. J/K But it is big enough!!! Maybe out in front by the wedding gazebo? Nah, we'll stick to bootcamps on

Training for Endurance Lesson Slides and Notes

I added Training for Endurance to the Principles of Conditioning course page for free download.  Again, this is part of a course that I taught at the US Naval Academy that focus on military (Navy/USMC) fitness programming.  You can access the course materials using the hyperlink to the right or click the picture below for the endurance slides.

Endurance Training Programming - Updated

I updated the document just a bit to better explain a couple of concepts that I have been getting questions on.  Hope you find it useful. 

Low Carb Diets and Coronary Blood Flow | NutritionFacts.org

Low Carb Diets and Coronary Blood Flow | NutritionFacts.org



More scientific evidence that carbohydrates are not the enemy.

Denver Conditioning and Mile High Views

Great view made today's kick-butt bodyweight conditioning session a little more enjoyable...500 reps total of Total Body Extensions, pushups, bear crawls, box jumps, and more. 3 more days till I deliver a similar workout at the 4th TT Summit in San Diego! And remember: "You only go through life once so you might as well be the world's best." - Marty Edelson ..... Surround yourself

Free Download - Principles of Military (Navy) Fitness and Conditioning

On the right you will find a hyperlink to download the course slides and notes.  I'll be publishing the slides and notes that I have used to teach a Principles of Conditioning course here at the US Naval Academy.  The focus is on military (Navy) fitness but it is broadly applicable.  Lecture 1 is up, with more to follow.

Lesson 1:  Basic Exercise Physiology.  Lesson covers the basic adaptation to different types of training as well as the basic principles of exercise and training. 

5 new exercises not to do

Before we get to the exercises, here's a funny photo that I snapped at the end of my Sunday morning workout in Toronto...because sometimes you need an escalator IN the gym? Ha! Actually, it worked great, because the squat rack was upstairs and I did a killer leg workout. I needed the help getting down. ;) Now on to those 5 exercises you must avoid. I recently worked with Men's Health

Denver travel and workout update

Yesterday was a smooth travel day from Toronto to Denver. One good thing about traveling on Sunday's is that there is less traffic on the roads. That way the short ride to the Toronto airport was short, and the unavoidable, extremely long taxi ride from the Denver airport wasn't any longer than usual. Today's workout in Denver at the Colorado Athletic Club was:Warmup - Shoulder mobility +

Last day and workout in Toronto

Because sometimes you need an escalator in the gym...to get to the weight room. Helped though on the way down, because it was leg day. Today's workout: 1A) Squat 1B) Box Jump 2A) Front Squat 2B) Good Morning 3A) Leg Curl 3B) Side Plank Now to fly to Denver...good thing it wasn't upper body day or my arms would be really tired. Have a great weekend, Craig