Love me or hate me, I promise you results. Let's take a look at why the PC-
solutions don't work...

Q: I've been told to exercise in my "fat burning zone". What's the best
cardio method for weight loss.

Answer:
Cardio is not the only solution.

Clearly it adds to the energy deficit and overall calorie balance that
favors fat loss.

BUT it's not the "be all & end all" of fat loss success - and that is
anecdotally supported by the number of overweight distance runners.

I almost never recommend long, slow cardio...simply because no one I train
or consult with has the time for this, and it doesn't work any better than
shorter, less frequent, more intense interval training sessions.

Five or six days of 45-minute cardio sessions in my fat-burning zone? Yeah
right, like anyone has time for that.

If I told you that you could get the same results (or better, as recent
research suggests) in three 20-minute interval sessions each week as you
could from three or five 45-minute slower cardio sessions each week, which
would you choose?

Yes, intervals feel about 10x's harder than regular, slow, boring cardio.
And yes, you won't be able to read your people magazine when doing
intervals. And you might breath a little heavy. So if you're worried about
sweating, than maybe fat loss isn't for you.

But if you don't mind going against the crowd, intervals are worth every
second for the superior results.

Q: Should men and women train differently for fat loss?

Answer:
Nope. Next question.

Seriously, the answer is no, but just to add to that, men and women don't
have that many differences when it comes to fat loss, so they both do well
with the strength and interval style workouts.

Now here's one reason why strength and interval training may actually work
better for women than men...

More women tend to start strength and interval training after having spent
months or years using slow cardio and light (if any) weights. And selfishly,
I could not be any happier - because when these dedicated women start using
the shorter, more intense strength and interval sessions they make rapid
progress and make me look like a genius.

The accolades come pouring in...I have dozens of testimonials from women
thanking me for saving them TIME while helping them finally breakthrough
stubborn fat loss plateaus (and eliminating the pain from their overuse
injuries that occurred due to high volumes of cardio). Their words make me
feel like a million bucks because the workouts are making these women feel
like a million bucks.

That being said, I sometimes make small changes in workouts to adapt to a
woman's pre-conceived notions about strength training. Some women are very
hesitant to lift weights. But you and I know that is necessary for
bodysculpting, fat loss, and health benefits such as building bones.

So what I do is sub a few (not all!) of the weight exercises out and replace
them with equal intensity bodyweight exercises. Some bodyweight exercises
can be classified as traditional strength exercises (i.e. for a woman that
can only do 5 full pushups, the pushup exercise is almost a max strength
exercise). But women "mentally" deal with this type of strength training
better than putting a dumbbell in their hands.

On the other hand, some bodyweight exercises provide more of an interval
training effect (i.e. bodyweight squats). Either way, bodyweight exercises
can put turbulence (i.e. "stress") on the muscle and boost metabolism and
help female clients get the results they want and deserve.

Q: What differentiates strength and interval training from other programs?

Answer:
One of the factors behind my dedication is that I find the general concept
of fat loss to be so simple, and yet millions and millions of people around
the world have an incredibly difficult time achieving their goals.

I want to give them every possible resource available to them to help them
succeed.

So I am constantly tinkering with new workouts, exercises, and interval
methods, and interviewing other trainers and nutritional experts for every
single little fat burning advantage I can find. And that comes through in
what I offer to the readers of my newsletters and clients that use my
programs.

I said in a past newsletter that "Fat loss is easy, once you realize how
hard it is." You have to respect that it's not
something you put on "auto-pilot". Taking the stairs at work instead of the
elevator, parking 100 extra feet away from the door, and subbing 1% milk for
2% milk is not going to help you lose 13 pounds of fat in a year like the
politically correct articles suggest.

You need a politically-incorrect plan to eat right 90% of the time (i.e.
saying "no" when an office-mate brings in doughnuts) and you have to have
the best workout plan available to you if you want to get the most results
in the least amount of time.

And then you still have to have a plan to help you stick to those plans -
and that should involve a social support group. There are many tricks and
tips to success, so you always have to keep learning and trying to improve.

About Craig Ballantyne