Just Say No to Cardio: Burn Belly Fat in Half the Time Using Research Proven Turbulence Training [Paperback]

Craig Ballantyne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1599320819 | ISBN-13: 978-1599320816

Using research proven Turbulence Training techniques, you can burn belly fat in half the time and never do boring cardio again. You don't have to spend hours in the gym on the treadmill to get results or the mid-section you have always wanted. Instead, using the short, burst Turbulence Training exercise system, you can workout less and get more results in the comfort of your own home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Excuses are not accepted by author and trainer, CRAIG BALLANTYNE, CSCS, MS. A fitness expert for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines, Ballantyne combines the research and education in Nutrition and Physiology with over a decade of training experience to deliver belly fat burning programs that work. Craig has helped thousands of men and women burn fat without going to the gym. He himself finds a workout wherever he can, often in his Toronto, Ontario home or backyard with his dog Bally.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Advantage Media Group (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599320819
• ISBN-13: 978-1599320816
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid principles, but presented in just a teaser of a book, December 22, 2008

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just Say No to Cardio: Burn Belly Fat in Half the Time Using Research Proven Turbulence Training (Paperback)

This book essentially a pamphlet outlining the principles according to which the author developed his successful fitness training system called Turbulence Training. Actually he emphasizes "fat 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 short-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 purchased 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 easy to follow, and it gets great results. It develops strength, muscle endurance, anaerobic endurance, and even some degree of aerobic endurance, and it cuts body fat. It is not an optimal bodybuilding system, strength building system, or endurance training system, but it is about as close as I think you can get to a system optimally balanced to provide all of these qualities at once and take someone from fat 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 think 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 important 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 actually cited the research it was based on, and took a little 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.

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Total waste of money, December 14, 2008

By 

bookworm (calif) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Say No to Cardio: Burn Belly Fat in Half the Time Using Research Proven Turbulence Training (Paperback)

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 big 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.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a waste!, December 27, 2008

By 

Philip L. Jackson (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Just Say No to Cardio: Burn Belly Fat in Half the Time Using Research Proven Turbulence Training (Paperback)

This book is a glorified print ad for the authors website (that has a monthly fee). Just a shameless plug for his "system". You are constantly encouraged to get your 1 month free trial on his site. Don't waste your money!