20 Minute Fat Loss Workout Ideas

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS (with comments from Shawn Horwood)

My comments will be italicized so it’s easy to tell what Craig is saying and what I’m saying. This is an interview between Craig Ballantyne and Zach Even-Esh. Zach is an underground strength specialist who teaches how to build “real strength” rather than just big muscles and gym strength.

The interview is focused on how to perform short (20 minute) workouts that fit in your busy schedule so you have no excuses about not having enough time to exercise.

If you’re sick of fluffy weight loss workouts that aren’t giving

you any results, then you will love this interview where Hardcore Strength Coach Zach Even-Esh grills me on advanced Turbulence Training for Fat Loss methods.

Zach Even-Esh: Craig, thanks for taking the time out of your insane schedule to talk with us. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your clientele and your overall training philosophy.

CB: Zach, I’m a Strength & Conditioning coach in Toronto and I write for Men’s Health and Oxygen magazine.

I work extensively with clients on advanced fat loss for busy people. I’m also the training director at grrlathlete.com where we provide advanced female exercise info.

ZEE: We have a growing number of hard core men and women leading busy lives but still love to train hard. How do you train individuals like this and still get kick butt results?

CB: I use supersets, moderately heavy weights (allowing 6-10 reps per set), limited rest interval periods, advanced bodyweight exercises, and interval training. These efficient and effective principles are the foundation of my Turbulence Training philosophy.

Turbulence Training workouts are designed to crank up the body’s metabolism because of the intense demands imposed during the workouts.

After the workout, your body has to work hard (i.e. burn calories and repair muscle) to fully recover and return to a normal, resting state (that is why I compare my Turbulence Training workouts to the Turbulence encountered in an airplane – a neat little analogy that people really like and find easy to understand).

I tend to stick with traditional weight training exercises, however, it is easy to adapt the Turbulence Training principles when using strongman implements and advanced bodyweight exercises.

For intervals, I tend to stick with 30 seconds of work and 90 seconds of active recovery, although it will vary between workout phases and for athletes of different sports.

The great thing about heavy weights and intervals is efficiency. You don’t have to do either for more than 20 minutes to get a great response. So if you are a busy executive looking to get lean, build muscle, and lose fat, you can get a great workout and shower in less than 30 minutes per day.

Combine Turbulence Training with the right nutrition, and you are well on your way to success.

By the way, we’ve got a secret bonus for everyone that invests in Turbulence Training – although I guess it’s not so secret anymore!

Anyways, you’ll see what it is when you start your Turbulence Training journey with the fat loss program.

ZEE: If you were limited to a 20 minute fat loss workout, what would that work out look like?

CB: Providing the individual is injury free, we will move through a general warm-up circuit of bodyweight exercises (3 minutes), and then into specific warm-up sets for the first superset of exercises (2 minutes).

Then we will spend 5 minutes on the first superset pair of exercises, and then 4-5 minutes on another superset pair. We might finish with a third superset pair or some ab work, and a 2 minute cool-down if it is necessary based on the individual’s fitness level.

On non-weight training days, we would do intervals. It would look like this:

5-minute warmup

12-minutes on intervals

3-minute cooldown

The point is, you can get a lot done in a short amount of time.

ZEE: What nutrition approach do you use?

CB: I had Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., put together the Turbulence Training Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.

I strongly agree with Dr. Mohr’s common sense, easy to follow principles. There is nothing extreme about his plan. It is very healthy and effective for fat loss.

I don’t think that people need to exclude fruit from their eating (in fact we should aim to eat at least 3 servings, and preferably berries, grapefruits, apples, and oranges), but instead we should avoid white, processed carbohydrates from a bag or a box.

Foods that should be in every healthy person’s nutrition plan:

Green Tea

Almonds

Broccoli

Berries

A variety of lean protein sources

Basically, for nutrition, just choose healthy, whole natural food.

ZEE: Last question Craig. What is the greatest misconception that you find people to have when it comes to performing better and looking better when they come to you. In other words, they tell you everything they have been doing in hopes of getting results but the results simply aren’t there. Are there any common mistakes going on here?

CB: Most of the time I try and get people to be honest with themselves and realize they have to change things if they want to improve.

A lot of people really just want me to approve their current workout (when it is clearly not working). But in reality, they have to change their workouts drastically to finally get results.

And most people think they are eating better and using a better program than they really are.

Even when most people they list out their food intake (as I have them all do on fitday.com), some people (including some trainers that I train) still don’t see the obvious problems in their diet.

I suppose it is human nature not to see our own shortcomings, so it is helpful to have a professional review your training and nutrition or even an honest, knowledgeable friend.

ZEE: Craig, I can’t thank you enough for letting me grill you with questions.

Always happy to help,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne 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 been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and 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 www.TurbulenceTraining.com

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How to Stop Food Cravings That Sabotage Fat Burning

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

by Jeff “The Muscle Nerd” Anderson (with comments from Shawn Horwood)

My comments will be italicized so it’s easy to tell what Jeff is saying and what I’m saying. I’ve previously covered how to stop food cravings in a blog post, but I figured why not share what Jeff has to say on the subject?

Jeff’s advice on stopping food cravings is completely different than mine and takes an entirely different approach, but by combining what Jeff & I both have to say about cravings you should be able to completely get rid of food cravings in no time at all.

If you’ve ever dedicated yourself to a strict diet in order to lose weight, you know exactly how hard it can be to control food cravings.  No, those salty or sugar food don’t merely whisper to you, they almost shout your name at times when you’re most vulnerable.  Many people are unaware that food cravings are a natural response by your body and most times this is caused by the leptin hormone.

Leptin is a hormone that’s produced by the body’s fat cells.  In addition to it’s task of increasing the body’s fat burning ability, it regulates the body weight be sending messages to the brain to indicate that you’re full.  However, there’s some irony here.

Because leptin is produced by the fat cells, individuals that are overweight have an increased production of this hormone.  Naturally, you’d assume that this would mean that the brain would send the message to shut off the hunger valve.  This is leptin’s entire purpose after all.  Unfortunately, these people end up becoming leptin resistant because of the excess amount of leptin that’s in the body and their cravings become even tougher.

Fortunately, some natural solutions can be used to balance the body’s leptin levels so the food cravings will stop and you will be able to lose weight quicker:

Eat More to Stop Food Cravings

Yes, it does sound counterintuitive to tell you to eat more so you can lose weight more quickly.  But, if you eat six smaller meals throughout the course of the day, you’ll end up being less hungry and you’ll keep your metabolism revved up.  By eating healthy throughout the day you’ll be much less likely to give into food cravings that will hinder your ability to lose weight.

I’ve previously shared my opinion of the 6 meals a day concept, but in the case of stopping cravings, I prefer eating healthier snacks throughout the day. Eat an apple with peanut butter (or celery or something like that) instead of chips and cookies. Snack on a veggie platter (if you’re not a fan of fruits & veggies, once you start eating them more you’ll enjoy them a lot once you realize how much more energy you have and how awesome you feel).

By snacking you don’t have to focus on making more meals, and for me that’s a lot easier and less stressful.

Now if you’re thinking about eating processed or junk food in smaller portions throughout the day to achieve the same effect, you’d better think again.  These types of foods will cause a massive spike in your blood sugar, regardless of the amount you eat, causing your energy levels to drop.  This will leave you feeling hungry again very quickly, tempting you with the very food cravings you want to avoid.

Stop Food Cravings With This Cheap Supplement

One reason that leptin has become such a problem is the rampant zinc deficiency much of the population has.  The body can lose zinc throughout the day in a number of ways.  For example, if you’re working out and sweating, you’re losing zinc.  Zinc is excreted through bodily wastes.  In fact, even sexual intercourse contributes to the body’s depletion of zinc.

Unfortunately, our food supply isn’t enough to replenish the zinc our bodies lose.  Much of the food we purchase at the market has been degraded through over processing and over farming to the point of being mineral deficient.  This means you have to use supplements to replenish the zinc your body needs.

Believe it or not, studies have shown that zinc supplementation can increase leptin efficiency by up to 142% and has been proven to stop food cravings and help you lose weight.  My recommendation is to take in between 15 and 25 milligrams of Zinc Picolinate every evening on an empty stomach.  This will help you balance your body’s leptin levels, stop food cravings, and lose weight.

Just a disclaimer – I don’t take any supplements (not even a multivitamin) so I have no idea how well taking zinc works (though I trust Jeff’s recommendations) nor whether or not it’s worth it to you. I recommend following the other strategies outlined above and in my article linked to above before spending money on zinc supplements.

But if you’re really committed to uncovering the truth about how to lose weight fast, then you need to check out the “5 Advanced Weight Loss Tips” at www.CombattheFat.com.  These are once guarded secrets that the U.S. Military uses to keep men and women of all ages lean, mean, and healthy at all ages and fitness levels!

Takeaways from this article:

1. Eat more throughout the day, making sure to keep your food natural and healthy rather than processed, nutrient deficient crap that just makes you hungry shortly after eating. You don’t even necessarily have to eat more, just spread your meals out over the day so your body is going less time without food.

2. If necessary (after you’ve also followed my advice on getting rid of food cravings) take zinc supplements at night on an empty stomach to balance out your hormone levels and stop the cravings once and for all.

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The Top 5 Fat Burners

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS (with comments from Shawn Horwood)

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

My comments will be italicized so it’s easy to tell what Craig is saying and what I’m saying. I’ve added comments throughout this article to share some of my thoughts (I even slightly disagree with Craig at one point!).

That being said, take it away Craig!

Let’s get right to it…here are 5 ways to make this a great
fat-burning day…

1) Do Something You Love

If you are a beginner and you hate the gym, just do something you love! Don’t make your healthy lifestyle a prison sentence. Enjoy what you eat and do. Just don’t eat garbage and don’t look at exercise as punishment.

This is basically my training philosphy. I don’t have a gym membership and I never have. I’ve only been in a full gym once (I’ve been in a “gym” a few times at a resort in Banff, but it was just waiting for my turn to play squash and had nothing to do with actually working out).

I try to do things I love that keep me in great shape. I love playing soccer, skiing, playing squash (which I do almost every time after I ski) and playing other sports when I can. Even if you don’t like playing sports, you can still find ways to get exercise that you enjoy.

2) Strength Training

A study (published in the May issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology 102:1 767, 2007) showed that resistance training boosts metabolism by 10% and increases fat burning by 100%!

There’s also the side benefit that muscle mass burns more calories at a standstill, so you keep burning more fat as you build more muscle. I’m not sure if that was included in the metabolism increase mentioned above (I didn’t read the study), but it’s definitely a good reason to do resistance training.

3) Interval Training

The latest research from Australia showed a more weight loss from interval training than from long, slow cardio. In fact, the long, slow cardio group didn’t lose any weight. AND – this study was done in women…so yes, Turbulence Training works for women. Strength training and interval training are the 1-2 punch that blowtorch fat off your body.

4) Eat 6 Small Meals of Whole, Natural Foods

Fruits and vegetables, protein, nuts, and healthy fats. It’s that simple. Don’t spend another dollar on “the latest diet”. You ALREADY KNOW what to do!

This is an area where I disagree with Craig. I don’t believe eating 6 meals a day is as beneficial as a lot of people believe for a number of reasons. First, many cultures don’t eat 6 meals a day and they are in good shape (excluding malnurished cultures). It’s only recently (in terms of human history) that we decided we should be eating 6 meals a day.

Second, trying to eat more meals/day is added stress. Most jobs don’t make it easy to get 6 meals a day and if you’re cooking/making 6 different meals/day then you’ve got to do a lot more thinking and meal planning. I don’t know about you, but for me the added stress (which causes fat gain) is not worth the benefits.

I only eat 3 meals a day (sometimes only 2 and sometimes eating snacks) – I’ve never eaten 6 meals a day – and I’ve been in better shape than most people I know my whole life. It’s all about the quality of your food.

So this one I don’t think is so crucial. But if it fits your lifestyle and you love cooking then go ahead and eat 6 meals a day.

5) Avoid Booze, Sugar, Trans-Fats, & Inactivity

Yeah, I know, real “secrets” here, CB. “Thanks”, you’re thinking sarcastically. Listen, sometimes we just need the motivation. Maybe there is a donut within reach, or you’re thinking about watching the tube instead of exercising, or you’ve got a cookie in one hand and an apple in the other.

Let this be a simple reminder to make the right choice.

Everything you do takes you closer to OR away from fat loss.

That last statement is powerful. The same principle applies in most areas of life. Your decisions either benefit you or hurt you – few are neutral. Remember that throughout your day. I suggest keeping a journal for a week and writing down pretty much everything you do. Then separate everything you did into stuff that helped you and stuff that hurt you. Take a good look at that list and then see how you need to adjust your lifestyle.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne 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 been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and 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 www.TurbulenceTraining.com

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What Causes Belly Fat (and What to Do About It)

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

by Jeff “The Muscle Nerd” Anderson (with comments from Shawn Horwood)

My comments will be italicized so it’s easy to tell what Jeff is saying and what I’m saying. Belly fat is obviously a big topic – especially in North America. Nobody likes having fat around their belly, and it seems to be the biggest problem area for the majority of people.

Jeff makes some really good points about what causes belly fat and how many people try to get rid of it in the wrong way. Let’s see what Jeff has to say about belly fat.

What causes belly fat often depends on a variety of factors including a person’s diet, level of activity, body type, genetics, and hormonal balance. Belly fat, or abdominal obesity, is more than a cosmetic challenge; it can seriously challenge your health as well. This is often the reason that people target it and work hard to get rid of it.

Regardless of what causes belly fat, it’s a pretty good clue that you may have increased inflammation throughout the body. This can create problems anywhere in your body, not just for your belly. Fat in the abdominal area is additionally a concern for individuals who may develop high blood pressure as well as an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease due to excess belly fat.

What Kind of Belly Fat Do You Have?

There are actually different kinds of fat on the human body. Intramuscular fat is what runs throughout your muscle tissue. It is a lot like the marbling in a steak. Then we have subcutaneous fat. This is the belly fat that lies directly beneath you skin and is the kind of fat that people think they’re working hard to get rid of. Next, we have the visceral fat. This fat is the dangerous kind that’s both in and around your organs and behind the muscular wall. When looking at what causes belly fat, we find that it’s mostly visceral fat.

Jeff mentions that visceral fat is the dangerous kind – that doesn’t mean that other fat isn’t dangerous, it just means visceral fat is the worst.

Weight Loss Tips To Get Rid of Belly Fat:

Many people hit the gym in order to get enough exercise to get rid of belly fat once and for all, but what they don’t realize is that they’re mainly targeting the subcutaneous fat, not the visceral fat. Visceral fat, that hidden cause of belly fat, is best fought with your diet.

From a diet perspective, belly fat is usually caused by eating too may carbs. Therefore, you have to cut back and limit the number of carbohydrates you consume. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be very drastic with your carbohydrate limits. Most people that want to fight visceral fat should keep their carbohydrate consumption below 200 grams a day.

You have to pay attention to the type of carbohydrates you consume. If you consume high glycemic carbs, those from high sugar or processed foods, your insulin levels will spike, resulting in belly fat. You should eat foods with low glycemic carbs or complex carbohydrates. Stick with fresh vegetables, whole grains, whole grain bread and whole grain rice. Low glycemic carbohydrates are released slowly into your bloodstream without causing your insulin levels to spike.

Another big cause of visceral fat is beer. You know that beer belly you get from drinking too much beer? That’s actually very dangerous both because you’re poisoning your liver and other organs with alcohol and you’re building up visceral fat. So cutting down (or out) the beer can make a big difference depending on how much you’re drinking right now.

Belly Fat Tip To Get Rid Of Your Gut

One great tip that has worked extremely well for many of my clients that are trying to get rid of excess belly fat is timing when carbohydrates are consumed. It’s best to eat high carbohydrate foods early in the day because this is when your metabolism is the highest. As the day progresses, your metabolism begins to slow down. During the late afternoon and evening your metabolism has slowed to a point of not efficiently burning excess carbohydrates. Carbs that aren’t burned are stored as belly fat. As you can see, it makes perfect sense to reduce your carbohydrate consumption in the evening.

One thing to keep in mind though is if you are doing exercise (particularly endurance) then you need carbohydrates to keep your body running properly. So if you’re doing exercise in the evening, don’t completely cut out carbs in the afternoon/evening like many people suggest.

This one tip will help you eliminate one of the biggest obstacles of losing your belly fat. But if you’re serious about discovering the secret for how to lose weight fast, then you’ll find some more advanced fat-burning tips at www.CombattheFat.com as well as a complete fat-burning program that covers everything from diet to exercise and even how to balance hormones that are holding you back from losing!

Takeaways from this article:

1. The best way to target abdominal fat is not through exercise (though it is still important) but through proper, balanced nutrition. Eat natural, whole foods rather than highly processed foods or foods with added preservatives.

2. Eat most of your carbs earlier in the day when your metabolism is higher to reduce belly fat.

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Cut Out the Fluff Exercises And Get More Results, Faster

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

by Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS (with comments from Shawn Horwood)

My comments will be italicized so it’s easy to tell what Craig is saying and what I’m saying. The following article is short and sweet. I also believe it is highly relevant in today’s society and fits perfectly with my training philosophy.

I personally don’t enjoy working out. In fact, I’ve never completed a full workout (GASP!). The longest workout I’ve ever done was 15 minutes. Instead of the typical 45+ minute workout, I do short 10-15 minute routines and adapt my daily activities to get me the results I want.

In this article Craig gives a great example of cutting out “fluff” exercises that waste your time and cause you to get worse results in longer workouts.

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

You’ve probably used or at least seen a Bosu Ball in your gym before (those blue half balls with one flat side), but what you might not know is that they’re really just fluff exercises.

What do I mean by that?

Well, let me share a personal story with you…

Tony, a personal trainer and former client of mine, came to me one day asking for help. You see, Tony’s a pretty fit guy, but his personal training business had started to pick up, leaving him with less time to workout. So we reviewed his program together and I immediately noticed it contained too many fluff exercises.

Tony needed maximum results in minimum time and Bosu Ball training wasn’t going to cut it.  So what I ended up doing was designing him two workouts that essentially included only the most effective exercises for gaining muscle and losing fat.

In fact, the first superset of 1-leg squats paired with dumbbell chest presses alone was more effective than an entire Bosu Ball workout.  And the second workout challenged him to one of the hardest upper body workouts he had ever done. So you can just imagine how happy Tony was with his new workout program.

And this is just Tony’s story.

I realize working out is often a huge struggle for many of you, either because you don’t have the time, or you’re growing frustrated with the lack of results.

But with the two workouts I’ve designed in Turbulence Training 2K5, one total body and one upper body, combined with newer, advanced interval training programs, you’ll discover a workout program perfectly suited for today’s busy lifestyle.

So, if it’s maximum results you want in the minimum amount of time possible, then this is a program tailored just for you.  

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne 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 been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and 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 www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Though Craig only specifically mentions Bosu Balls, this applies to most fitness “gadgets” and a lot of exercise equipment. You can get more done in less time with bodyweight exercises and basic equipment (even standard household items) by just going back to the basics.

There’s no need for 90 minute “P90X” workouts based on muscle confusion or even 60 minute workouts when you can get just as much done in less time by cutting out all the fluff in your workouts. Craig Ballantynes Turbulence Training workouts are perfect examples of no-fluff workouts.

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An Apology and a Promise

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

First, I need to apologize for not posting in so long. Recently my mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. There’s a high probability that she’ll be fine, but it’s definitely changed a few things in my life. In an attempt to keep her stress levels at a minimum (because we all know how detrimental stress is to your health), I’ve been working for my dad helping him finish his house so they can move in.

So I’ve been working 11-12 hour days 6 days a week – leaving me with VERY little energy for writing blog posts and dealing with all the other things that need to be taken care of in my business. On top of that, my computer is hooped and I’m working on getting a new one.

But I don’t like making excuses, so I’m going to make a promise to you. I’m going to post at least once a week (on average – so if I miss a week I’ll post two times the next week!). Only the posts won’t be entirely my writing.

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite articles from my favorite fitness experts and adding my comments. That way I’ll still be able to provide you with awesome content even when I’m exhausted. :P

With that said, I’ll kick this off tomorrow!

*Update*: My goal is now 1 post a day rather than one a week. I’ve got too much to say to only do one a week.

Shawn Horwood

P.S. My mom’s surgery is in June and around that time we’re hoping to have the occupancy permit so they can move in. I’ll also have a new computer (instead of my constantly crashing 4 year old highly abused & overused laptop) so by mid-July I’m going to have some GREAT stuff for you. I’ve got a few things I’d like to share, I just don’t have time to take my ideas from my head and put them onto paper (figuratively speaking).

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Mike Robertson’s Bulletproof Knees (+ Bonus)

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

The topic of knee pain really hits home with me. My entire family struggles with knee pain. My mom’s knees creak as she goes up stairs and she’s been told that surgery is the only way to fix it (and she doesn’t want surgery).

Apparently she has problems with her knees that generally occur in athletes – and she never played sports.

Of course, my brother and I both played (he’s still playing but I’m not currently) competitive soccer so we got the problems a lot sooner than my mom did.

My dad’s knees hurt, my twin sister has bad knees and my other sister has one knee that’s so bad she got handicap parking (and she’s been in physical therapy with an olympic trainer for a few years now).

In short, I know knee pain. And it sucks. Whether it’s going upstairs, going on an extended shopping trip (I spend a lot of time in hardware stores and stores like Bass Pro Shops), playing sports or even sometimes just driving – particularly with a standard vehicle.

Nevermind if your job involves physical labor, getting up and down or anything that puts stress on your knees.

If you’ve got knee pain, you’re not alone. Unfortunately doctors usually just give you a prescription to deal with the syptoms and not the root cause, physical therapy can take forever and it usually only takes you so far and surgery just isn’t really a choice many of us want to turn to. Add to that the fact that “trainers” generally don’t have a clue what they’re talking about and you’ve got a recipe for keeping your knee pain.

Fortunately, there is a solution for many people with knee pain. I’ll be honest, sometimes surgery is the only option – but it’s often not. And I’m pretty sure most of us would like to deal with it without the surgery.

I actually don’t struggle with knee pain anymore. I started training to run a 4 minute mile last summer (had to stop training because of other things in my life) and I didn’t notice my knees hurting even once! I had knee pain for years and within just 30 days I completely got rid of it.

Now I run around, jump around, go up and down stairs and even wrestle with my brother without my knees hurting. It’s awesome. I don’t even think about it anymore.

If your knee pain is worse than mine was, it may take you longer to deal with it – but even if it takes a few months, it’s still awesome to know that you don’t have to put up with it for the rest of your life.

Bulletproof KneesAs you can probably guess from the title, the solution (in my opinion anyways) is Bulletproof Knees. It’s from Mike Robertson, who is “the” knee expert. He trains athletes and is a C.S.C.S., M.S. & U.S.A.W. He’s studied knees and put together an incredible program for dealing with knee pain for good!

The guide is a whole 226 pages including pictures, exercise descriptions and larger than average font (so it’s not quite as much reading as you may have originally thought).

He covers EVERYTHING you want/need to know about knee pain. It’s probably got more than you want to know – but you can skip to the good stuff if you want.

Honestly my only complaint with the program is it’s just got so much information it may keep you from ever getting started because you want to go through it all at once (that’s how I work and I had Bulletproof Knees for 3 months before I started going through it – I was kicking myself for that after my knees were better).

Look, if you struggle with knee pain or you know someone who does, you need to check out Bulletproof Knees. It’s seriously awesome. Eric Cressey even recommends adding it to your library even if you don’t have knee pain now so you can avoid knee pain.

Now I actually found a way to accelerate the results and get rid of your knee pain faster. It costs a bit of money on top of the program cost, but it’s a seriously good investment in your life (it’s good for more than just getting rid of knee pain) and if you’re tired of knee pain, I’m sure you’ll see the value!

So here’s the deal, grab Bulletproof Knees through any of the links I provide on this page and then forward your receipt to shawnhorwoodfitness @ gmail.com and I’ll tell you what my “secret weapon” for getting rid of knee pain faster and how I used it to treat my knee pain in just 30 days.

Get Bulletproof Knees by Clicking Here

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email and I’d be happy to help you out!

Shawn Horwood

P.S. This is seriously BY FAR the best product for treating knee pain. I’ve seen other products and they aren’t even comparable. Mike really is the guy to help you deal with your knee pain.

Here’s the link again:

Bulletproof Knees

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Metabolic Cooking: 7 Cooking Tips for Burning More Fat

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

*This report is only available until Thursday*

Dave and Karine just released a report sharing 7 tips for boosting the fat burning potential of your meals. Even if you have a good idea of what to do when cooking, this is a good report that could teach you omething new or at least give you a good reminder on the basics of cooking to burn more fat.

The report is 34 pages long and guess what – it’s free. Ya, you gotta optin but I’m sure they’ll be giving you a chance to win Metabolic Cooking and trust me, it’s sweet. The recipes in Metabolic Cooking are awesome, and the information they share on how to cook your foods to burn more fat is great.

Grab a copy of the report here (it’s only available until Thursday):

Metabolic Cooking – 7 Cooking Tips

And if you haven’t read my review and seen my bonuses for Metabolic Cooking, you can check those out here:

http://shawnhorwoodfitness.com/blog/metabolic-cooking-review/

Shawn Horwood

P.S. If there’s any bonus you want, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

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Metabolic Cooking Review

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

You may have heard of the new Metabolic Cooking cookbooks from the “Lean Kitchen Queen” and the “Muscle Cook”.

I got a review copy of the cookbooks and here are my thoughts:

1. I like how it’s all laid out. They have a plan for what types of meals to make at different points in the day and then the recipes are labeled so you know which ones fit that meal plan (if you’re following it). The recipes also show the number of calories and there’s a link on every recipe to go back to the index. Cool.

2. The recipes I’ve tried so far are DELICIOUS and they’re easy to make. I enjoy eating, so I generally don’t use other people’s recipes because I’m kind of picky (ok really picky) and I just don’t use most of the cookbooks I have. However, I’ve already eaten one of the recipes twice because I thought it was great (the pizza omelette – I love eggs and this is new, so I’m enjoying it).

3. The recipes don’t take too long to make. Many of the breakfast ones can be made in under 10 minutes (I haven’t gone through the other cookbooks as much yet so I’m not sure about those ones).

4. There are a bunch of cookbooks. There’s one for breakfast, chicken and poultry, fish and seafood, pork, red meat, sides, smoothies, snacks & even vegetarian! That’s pretty awesome.

5. Lastly, the program manual is solid. I would honestly love the product if I just got the recipes, but the advice they share will help you to eat in a way that will help you to lose fat while enjoying your delicious meals.

There is only one thing that I didn’t like about Metabolic Cooking, and that is this:

Nevermind! I found out it’s covered and I just needed to go through some of the stuff I hadn’t checked out yet.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything I don’t like about it yet. I know you’re supposed to be able to find something wrong with every product as no product is perfect, but I can’t think of anything that’s wrong with this one, so I’ll just say it’s not perfect but I don’t know why yet.

Now of course it’s time for me to try to convince you to purchase through my affiliate link, right?

I’m not a nutritionist or a chef or anything, so I don’t have bonus recipes to share with you or anything like that. However, I do have a few bonuses that might help.

1. Perfect Productivity – This report was written by yours truly to help you create more time in your day so you have no excuse for not preparing good meals. Plus it’ll give you more time to get other things done that you need to get done, so it’s beneficial in other areas of your life.

2. Motivation Mastery – One of the biggest reasons people fail to complete anything (especially fitness programs) is a lack of motivation. I will show you how to get yourself so motivated that nothing can stand in your way. The only thing you have to do is get the motivation to go through the report and actually do what it says.

3. 30 Days Email Coaching – That’s right, I’ll personally coach you by email for 30 days after your purchase. You can ask me anything fitness related (or just email me to chat) and I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability – and if I don’t know the answer, I won’t fake it. I’ve got connections I can call on and I will get an answer to your question.

*Bonus 3 is limited to 25 people at a time as I can only coach so many people. I will have a note up here if the coaching is not currently available.

Here’s how to get your bonuses:
1. Get Metabolic Cooking through this link: Get Shawn’s Bonuses!
2. On the checkout page, make sure at the very bottom it says “affiliate=sjhorwood” (if it’s got a period with something else after the sjhorwood that’s fine, it’s just a tracking ID to help me keep track of sales)
3. Purchase MC and forward your receipt to shawnhorwoodfitness @ gmail.com and I’ll give you access to the bonuses. :)

If you’ve got any bonus suggestions or any questions or anything else you need, just leave a comment below or send me an email!

Shawn Horwood

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Metabolic Cooking Pizza Omelette

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Shawn Horwood

*Click here to read my Metabolic Cooking Review & Bonuses

Today I got a review copy of a new set of cookbooks from David Ruel “The Muscle Cook”. He’s now releasing Metabolic Cooking with his girlfriend the “Lean Kitchen Queen”.

So today I tested out one of the breakfast recipes – the pizza omelette. It turned out to be pretty good. It’s got eggs, mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pizza sauce, green peppers & it’s cooked on olive oil.

There are a bunch more recipes I plan on trying out before the product is released & I’ll let you know how they turn out.

I posted a video on youtube showing my omelette. Here it is:

Let me know what you think and stay tuned as I’ll be putting together some bonuses if you grab Metabolic Cooking through my affiliate link (and I might be giving away a few copies as well!).

Shawn Horwood

P.S. I’ll try to do a recipe from each of the cookbooks to give you a sample of what’s inside.

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