Ever heard of the phrase “If it’s Free it’s for me”? (Oh, now you’re calling me cheap are you?)

When I see a good deal come my way, I have to let you in on it. Looks like Craig Ballantyne is giving away a bunch of great freebies with his Turbulence Training Fat Burning Program (and you guys know he’s one of my top 10 favorites in this industry). Starting today and ending on Wednesday you can get a long list of incredible bonuses when you purchase his fat burning program. (Rumor has it one of them is a free 6 month membership to his Members Only Site. Awesome deal.)

That reminds me….I wanted to answer a question I received from several of you after last week’s newsletter:

“Isabel, when you say you got great results with Craig’s Turbulence Training program, what exactly does that mean?”

Great question. For me, I had always wanted to have awesome arms (you know the kind that scream “I work out baby!” But I was clearly not doing enough upper body and not doing the right exercises because after following Craig’s program, my arms finally took on that lean and toned look I was hoping for (and yes, they screamed out “I work out baby!”)

I was also able to maintain a very low body fat percentage without having to do hours of cardio. This was a real huge step of faith for me. I was always under the impression that I had to suffer through 45 min to an hour of cardio 4-5 times per week (like every other gerbil on the treadmill at the gym) to stay lean. But when I followed Craig’s program, I saw that I could maintain the same level of leanness with less than half that amount of cardio. I also used the program with several of my training clients (men, women and other gerbils) and they all were just as shocked to see how quickly they lost weight without hours of cardio.

Now, let me also say, that myself and my clients were also on a solid nutrition plan. I don’t care how you structure your cardio (hours or not). If you’re not putting the right foods in your mouth, on your table, in your fridge and everywhere else, you can do all the exercises in the world and losing weight will still be a struggle.

Check out Craig’s program for yourself here: Turbulence Training Fat Burning Program

Remember, the bonuses will only be up for the next 3 days.

I am following it myself for the first 6 weeks of 2009 so we can all keep eachother on top of our workouts.

Check out Craig’s Turbulence Training Fat Burning Program and maybe your whole body will start screaming “I work out baby!”

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

  

It’s January 2nd and I hope you are ready to get bombarded with just about every diet, exercise and fitness special out on the market. The gyms are hungry vultures for your business and so is everyone else in this industry (did I just call myself a hungry vulture?)

Here’s why:

Do you know what the top two resolutions are each year?

Lose Weight and Get out of Debt

Now before I go much further I do want to commend all of you who really put yourselves out there and posted your resolutions on The Diet Solution blog. They were all truly motivating and inspired me to tweak some of my own goals a bit. (If you didn’t get a chance to see them, you can read them here: http://thedietsolution-program.com/blog/youll-never-guess-my-new-years-resolution/)

Ok, now back to the hungry vultures, uhh, I mean health and fitness professionals.

Here is my advice on how to choose the best fitness program for yourself this year (and no I am not going to give you my advice on how to pick the best nutrition program because you already know what my answer is).

1. Before looking into any program, ask yourself where you enjoy exercising. Is it in your home? Is it at a gym? Is it outdoors? Is it with friends? You really must answer this question first because if you sign yourself up for the new gym in town and you actually would much rather work out at home, then you just may never make it there. Be honest with yourself about what you would enjoy the most and what would fit into your schedule the best.

2. Pick one fitness program and follow it for 6-8 weeks. Notice that I didn’t say buy every program on the market and drive yourself bananas reading all the information. No, choose one good one, follow it and then assess your progress after 6 weeks. If you’re really enjoying it, stick with that one. If you’re ready for a change, look into a new one.

I personally have been alternating between Mike Geary’s Truth About Abs and Vince Delmonte’s Your Six Pack Quest for Abs every 6 weeks. I’ve gotten great results with both and they have helped to keep my workouts new and interesting every few weeks. I do use some of Craig Ballantyne’s body weight workouts when I don’t have equipment handy. I’ve decided to follow Craig’s Program Turbulence Training for the first 6 weeks of 2009 like I did 2 years ago when I first purchased his program. I got great results then and I’m sure I will this time as well. My favorite part about Craig’s and Mike’s is the limited amount of cardio. I’m not much of a cardio fan and I love being able to stay lean year round without having to do too much of it.

3. Be consistent. The best part about following an exact program is that I know exactly what I am supposed to do on exactly which days. You can’t just walk into your workout and do “some of these” and then “some of those”. You’ve got to have a plan (much like life). I highly suggest you do find one program and stick with it consistently.

If you’ve got your own favorite program that I haven’t mentioned, please share it with the rest of us here on my blog. I would love to hear your experience with any great fitness program and hopefully I will add it to my own list of favorites as well.

Happy New Year!

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

  

What a great gift right before the holidays.

Turbulence Training: 10-Minute Holiday Workouts

I know what you’re thinking, “Is 10 minutes really enough?”

Definitely! During the busy holiday season, a 10 minute high intensity workout is better than no workout at all.

Or, you can do what I did this morning. I did one of Craig’s awesome 10 minute workouts and then 10 minutes of intervals on the bike. Twenty minutes is all it took to get me sweating (not to mention a great, high energy way to start my day).

Grab your copy of this great bonus today Turbulence Training: 10-Minute Holiday Workouts

No strings attached! Just another gift for you during the holiday season.

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

As promised I’m sending you some of my favorite fat burning workouts that require minimal equipment. This morning’s workout actually required NO equipment at all since I still have a house guest that has taken over my workout room (and my refrigerator, but that’s a different story for a different day). Now, I must give credit where credit is due. The workout I did this morning was given to me by Craig Ballyntine, Men’s Health Contributor and the author of Turbulence Training

I had the pleasure of meeting Craig at a few different Fitness and Nutrition conferences this year. Since I consider him one of the “best of the best” in the industry, I asked him if he could write me a workout. Not just any workout but one I could do in my hotel room. I explained to him that I would be traveling a lot but wanted to do a workout that was quick and would still kick my butt. Oh, and it couldn’t require any equipment. Now instead of telling me to leave him alone, he very generously gave me 2 workouts: one I could do in my hotel room and one I could do in the hotel gym. He was right. They both were “kick butt” and left no room for the excuse “I don’t have a full gym to go to.” Here I’ll pass them on to you.

15-minute hotel gym superset workout

A1) DB Split squat – 10 reps each leg

A2) DB Chest press – 10-12 reps

B1) DB Row- 10 -12 reps

B2) Stability Ball Leg Curl - 8-10 reps

I repeat each superset 2-3 times and then finish off the workout with intervals on the bike or treadmill. (If I’m at home, it’s always on my spin bike.)

Bodyweight Circuit in Hotel Room (exactly what I did this morning):

Prisoner Squat – 20 reps

Close grip Pushup – 20

Forward lunges – 15 reps per side

Mountain Climber – 10 per side

Split Squats – 15 reps per side

I completed this circuit 5 times this morning. When I first started doing it a few months ago, I could only get through 3 times but I’m now up to 5 and I swear my legs and shoulders are definitely leaner since incorporating this workout into my routine. There you go. Another 2 workouts to add to your list of great workout routines. I still have so many other favorites that I will be sure to share with you tomorrow. To check out more of Craig’s awesome workouts, you can find him at Craig’s Turbulence Training In health and happiness, Isabel De Los Rios www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com