 Awesome book! |
| Review Date: December 4, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Elizabeth Syms, San Ramon, CA USA |
| Of course, I like Craig Ballantyne's work in general. I reckon this is a fantastic introduction to his turbulence training philosophy. It's a quick read that is packed with lots of information. Check out his website with the before and after pics of real people doing his program. I like the program because you change up your routine every 4 weeks so it keeps your body progressing. I am very pleased with the workouts. |
Solid principles, but presented in just a teaser of a book
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| Review Date: December 22, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Todd I. Stark, Philadelphia, Pa USA |
This book essentially a pamphlet outlining the principles according to which the author developed his successful fitness training system called Turbulence Training. Really he emphasizes "stout burning" in particular, but I consider this a fitness system. The Turbulence Training workouts are sold separately on the web.
The concept can be summarized as: "train harder AND smarter, but for shorter time." The system as outlined in this book combines: (1) non-competing supersets with minimal equipment emphasizing multi-joint exercises, and (2) brief interval training sessions.
Using these two rapid-fire strength and small-burst interval endurance methods, and introducing constant variety, the author says his disciples get dramatic results while spending far less time than people typically spend running and lifting weights. The "research proven" aspect from the subtitle of the book appears to be that the author emphasizes aspects of training that have been found successful in experiments, rather than that the author has done controlled experimental research on his own system. But this is never made entirely clear.
I have no reason to doubt the claims of efficiency and effectiveness. I've bought the turbulence training system downloaded from the web and used it for several months and found it to be as close as anything I've ever found to a gold standard for fitness training. It uses minumum equipment, it is relatively fun to do, it has a uniquely intelligent and manageable progression and variation scheme built in, it is very simple to follow, and it gets fantastic results. It develops strength, muscle endurance, anaerobic endurance, and even some degree of aerobic endurance, and it cuts body stout. It is not an optimal bodybuilding system, strength building system, or endurance training system, but it is about as close as I reckon you can get to a system optimally balanced to provide all of these qualities at once and take someone from stout to fit.
The problem is that this book doesn't contain the system. Nor does this book even cite the research it claims to support its methods. There are few real details about how varying the parameters of the routines influence the training effects.
There are constant claims of "research says ..." and "a study showed ..." but none of the research is cited and none of the researchers ever given credit. So it fails as a book about how to do Turbulence Training in any detail, and it fails as a supported rationale or textbook of even the most emaciated kind for the principles.
This is a shame, because I have no doubt that the author does follow the research and does honestly try to incorporate experimental data to improve his programs, which I admire. But when he writes about it, the reader is left to rely entirely on his interpretations, he becomes a guru rather than someone describing research.
This makes for a lot more work for readers who might want to read the sources for themselves, it leaves the reader to rely entirely on the author's own interpretations of data. Worse, I reckon it also tempts the author to selectively cite only research that supports his program because there is less chance that readers will find for themselves the equivocations and debates that are usually found in the research program itself. Differences of opinion in the literature that might seem like quibbles to the author might be vital to some subset of his readers, such as endurance athletes who are considering adding Turbulence Training to their regimen for some reason.
For me this book, about "research proven Turbulence Training," would have been far stronger if it really cited the research it was based on, and took a small time to describe its context. Either that, or included an actual Turbulence Training workout, or perhaps both. Some of the space taken up by testimonials should have been used for substance of either sort. That's what I expect in a book that I pay for, not testimonials. I expect either more substance or better organized material than I can find on the web.
So if you are looking for some reason for a checklist of solid, effective fitness training principles, without the training program, or you are doing Turbulence Training and looking for a quick read to help motivate you, this book may suffice. But for substantive information about the system, support for the principles, or details of the program, you will have to look elsewhere and this book will disappoint.
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Just say no to advertising!
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| Review Date: December 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Steven L. Lund, Portland, Oregon USA |
| First of all, I have downloaded the authors book "Turbulence Training" and thought it was well written. So when he came out with a mainstream book I bought it. What a dissapointment!It is one long add for his "Pay to view" website. It gives one 2 exercise warmup, a general instruction for intervals and some written instructions for a few bodyweight moves. Thats it! |
Just say YES to Cardio...plus, don't look for any workouts here
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| Review Date: July 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Storey, Thornton, CO USA |
Many folks who are hip to current web fitness sites have no doubt come across Craig's "Turbulence Training" at some point. "TT" is basically a system promoting typically 3 (sometimes 4) days of high-intensity weight training followed immediately by a small session of HIIT (intervals). The basic strategy therefore is to utilize training methodologies that give the exerciser the most bang for the buck, in the minimal amount of time.
TT is probably one of the most sensible plans out there for producing quick results for those seeking shorter workout routines, combining as it does both high-intensity weights with high-intensity sprint-type training. On off days, "TT" workouts encourage exercisers to engage in bodyweight exercises rather than "dull" cardio...which may be too much muscle work for someone whose muscles are already fatigued the day before. But hey- anything to get away from doing "cardio", right?
So, with all the logical and effective ingredients above, why the low rating for this book? For one thing, this book (Craig's first leap into a standard book format instead of his usual web-based workouts available for buy) has no actual workouts, which many readers will be expecting. I read some of the other negative reviews and some here reckon Craig is shamelessly promoting his own website with this meatless book, which also is my own suspicion. Certainly there is small material in this particular book that would be helpful to exercisers; it's basically a rant against steady-state "cardio". Hence the title- "Just Say No to Cardio".
And THIS, my exercise friends, is the main reason why the concepts presented in the book deserve a low rating. It's not that the "TT" exercise protocol is "incorrect", per se, but rather when authors such as Ballantyne dismiss steady-state cardio (and that seems to be a disturbing trend among the fitness crowd these days), they are guilty of an unbalanced, limited look at established exercise physiology (despite much individual pimping of one's own credentials, invariably).
How dare I say the HIIT/Intervals crowd is selectively ignoring the research, you question? This is a point worth emphasizing, since interval sprint-type training seems to be the current buzz. I grant there are some brilliant clinical studies with subjects performing high-intensity type of exertion several times a week, such as the "TT" protocols. But, when the topic is considered from a much broader view of the exercise physiology literature, things aren't that simple. The actual clinical studies do NOT support the thought that sprint-type intervals are the only way to go. Interval enthusiasts tend to forget (or never appreciated, take your pick) some vital implications of basic exercise physiology, which is that whole-body glucose uptake primarily occurs in the slow-twitch type-I oxidative fibers, NOT your Type IIb glycolytic fibers. What does this mean? It means basically that there is a role for sub-maximum, longer-duration exercise BELOW the anaerobic threshold. The take-home lesson here, should one be humble enough to learn it, is that one can indeed say "YES" to sprint-type training, but also should be saying "YES" to moderate-intensity, longer-duration exertion, despite the dreary, negative dimissal of steady-state cardio that authors like Ballantyne want you to swallow.
Let's quickly look at some of the limitations of exercise always performed above the anaerobic threshold. Fatty acids in the blood, for instance, are not primarily targeted with anaerobic sprints, which use glucose as fuel, but rather by more moderate-paced cardio done for longer durations. Excessive fatty acids in the blood are common, especially as one gets older than their early 20s, and somebody always doing glucose-burning exertion is simply not clued in on the best way to burn these off. Speaking of fatty acids in the blood, this brings up another limitation of "only" high-intensity training, and that is the matter of triglycerides. Surprisingly, studies prove that *duration* of exercise seems to be more vital than "intensity" for lowering triglycerides, which should be a goal of everyone interested in health. Simply stated, interval-training does not target triglycerides very well, not nearly as well as slow-twitch type-I exertion which switches the fuel to fats more than sugars. If one is really seeking an optimal training situation, it would be to do the anaerobic sprints or intense resistance-training first, and then immediately engage in some longer-duration moderate exercise to burn off the fatty acids pooled in the blood- aka an hour-or-so walk around the neighborhood or swim in the pool (which protocol, by the way, more closely imitates so-called "paleo" work habits- see below). Some folks in the fitness industry (such as Art DeVany, Tom Venuto, Jon Benson, and others) already see the logic in longer-duration exercise. Some do not. You won't find it in this book, which seems stuck extolling the virtues of anaerobic glucose-burning work.
Some of the current popularity surrounding sprint-type exercise concerns the misguided notion that our paleolithic ancestors primarily engaged in "high-intensity" exertion, and therefore we should, in this scenario, also simulate these "paleo" conditions in our modern-day exercise routines. Readers will find numerous speculations concerning this "paleo-exercise" theme on fitness websites and books, but how accuracte is this picture, really? There seems small doubt that paleo humans needed some high-intensity exertion, perhaps to maybe escape being gored by a woolly mammoth or dash to avoid a sabre-tooth tiger attack, but the fact is, the typical day of a paleo hunter-gatherer tribe usually consisted in long daily walks in a constant search for food, often in periods of fantastic scarcity. Really, long bouts of walking are right even today among the few hunter-gatherer tribes still existing, so the thought that "hunter" paleo activity consisted mainly of high-intensity anaerobics is playing quick and loose with history. This current nonsense about "paleo exercise" seems to be pseudo-science at its worst.
Lastly, I'll mention - much too briefly- the role of the parasympathetic nervous system in all this. The PNS, of course, is the counter-balance to one's sympathetic, "fight-or-flight" response to stimuli, and so, reader- guess which one is inevitably over-active in this day and age? Right...And now guess which one lies honestly dormant, terribly needed to kick in during our stressful lives, but seldom is emphasized? Right again. So apply this observation to your own training protocols. Everyone needs some longer duration, moderate-intensity exercise days where the mind calms down, the body relaxes, and the stress hormones slow down. If you do sprint-type activities, try to also incorporate some regular hikes, swimming, low-intensity jogging, and maybe even a long relaxed form of motion such as Chinese qigongs or taijiquan. Human movement isn't about just pushing yourself to exhaustion; one needs to learn how to enter a habitual state of relaxation in more moderate forms of motion as well (a hike in the mountains here in Colorado works for me). Get out and delight in Nature. Your muscles, not to mention your nervous system and your emotional state-of-health, will thank you...
So,to sum up: just say "no" to cardio?? I reckon not. Just say "no" to stupid dismissals that have no basis in an honest look at comprehensive exercise physiology, and say "yes" to some longer-duration cardio days for your excellent health.
With all that said and done, don't get the thought the negative comments here are directed toward Ballantyne's Turbulence Training itself...it's a very excellent program, probably the shortest (legitimate) way to do a workout and get optimal results, for many people. Nonetheless, it's obvious from my above comments I believe folks should be incorporating some longer duration non-anaerobic movement into the above program to balance the protocol. (Alternating days of each type is probably a excellent strategy, for all but the competitive athlete). |
Total waste of money
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| Review Date: December 14, 2008 |
| Reviewer: bookworm, calif |
| I regret ordering this book before it hit the bookstores and I could view it first. This book is a complete waste of time and money. It is just one huge infomercial for his Turbulence Training program. There is nothing to learn in this book that you won't get from reading his website for free. He repeats himself over and over and everything mentioned is for the purpose of selling his TT program. I feel insulted and ripped off for wasting my time and money and want to return this book. |
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