Turbo Fired? Stop The Insanity!

Nathan M.

I did Insanity and really liked it. I did some of p-90x and kinda liked it. I want to get turbo fire. What do you think. I'm getting lazy and working too much I need to get motivated again.

Seth Estrada 

Nathan, once an athlete, always an athlete ‎[Nathan was previously a very highly-trained athlete, and is also a bit of an endo-morph]. You've built up certain types of internal resistance to training stimulus that can only be overcome with more intense training, i.e.; olympic lifts, fartleks, etc. While videos such as p-90x and Insanity are a decent holdover for you, I'm of the opinion that you'll enjoy the benefits of a more rigorous resistance training routine a little more in the long run.

The key to unlocking athletic conditioning from shorter, at-home workouts is to incorporate as much of your bodyweight as possible, from as many angles as possible. In your case, without a pull up bar, glute-ham-developer machine, or hyper-extension bench, you'll never give your upper body the focused attention it deserves.

Here's what I suggest if you need to train from home, but want to bring up the resistance:

AMRAPS + Power Tower + Kettlebell

1. An affordable power tower will cost you between $90-$175, depending on where you buy it, and will last for about one year of continuous, one-person use. 
2. A good, heavy kettlebell will cost about $120 and will outlive you, provided you don't drop it off a very tall cliff. [Even then, it might just wreck the canyon wall on its descent and still be usable]
3. AMRAPS are a form of high intensity training we use a lot at Atomic Boot Camp- in fact, we love AMRAPS so much, we use it for nearly every workout. AMRAPS is a training style, a form of knowledge. And knowledge is, of course, always trying to be free.

AMRAPS = As Many Rounds As Possible [in a given amount of time]

So if you know you have only 15 minutes to do a workout, set up a challenging circuit that you know is within your reach [never set a rep-goal outside of known limits when doing AMRAPS, as you'll gas out and ruin the rest of the work out] And hammer it for the full 15 minutes.

For example; 25 full range sit ups, 15 bar dips, 5 pull ups, 100 meters sprint, 15 heavy kettlebell swings- done for quality, As Many Rounds As Possible for 15 minutes straight, with no rest.

So now you've completed your workout in record time, with no driving, no parking, no waiting for machines, and no goofy-looking fitness models in the background of the video. Even if it took you an additional 15 minutes to decide what you want the workout to consist of, you would still spend less time than watching a boot-camp style calisthenics video, and get a lot more muscular development in the fast twitch fibers, [the ones your body, as an athlete, is dying to revive] while still breaking the same sweat and burning a metric tonne of calories.

Good luck my friend!

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How Much Daily Protein?

Matt M.
How much protein is enough? 1 G for every pound you weigh to maintain size? Or can I eat less?


Seth Estrada 
The honest truth is that you can eat less than 1g per pound, and still continue to make strength and endurance gains. You can even maintain a decent physique, but it will be difficult to go up in muscle mass unless you eat that much protein, or more. [But also be sure to eat enough fiber each day, or the story of your intestinal distress will be epic] So anywhere from .6-.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight is still just fine for maintenance, as long as you train with serious intensity, á lá Crossfit. For traditional bodybuilding, you'll need a tad more.

So if you got to this point, obviously you read the whole post- Thanks! I've kept this blog 100% ad-free, so if you found any part of it useful, all I ask in return is that you please hit that Facebook Share button, or maybe share it on Google+, Twitter or Digg- it's really easy, and it helps more people benefit from the tips, tricks, and fun we're having over here. Thanks again!

Level-Up!

From ANONYMOUS:

"I've always had a goal of getting where you are. I'm not big on supplements, and I've never been convinced that they help much. I can work out for years, but I only tone. Any tips on building?...Can you explain the timing thing?"

Seth Estrada: 

"Yes, it's absolutely about timing. I mean, imagine if you ate all your protein for the week on Monday, and did all your workouts on Tuesday through Friday. Sound silly, right? Now, imagine you workout REALLY hard in the gym in the morning, and you starve your muscles of amino acids all day until Dinner time. Also, just silly. Here's the secret, if you're building, you always need bricks and mortar. That is to say that every two hours, you should be giving your body the necessary components to rebuild broken muscle tissue with. And certainly, you should be giving your body amino acids within an hour of finishing your workout. In fact, if you can stomach it, you should be snacking on something light DURING your heavier workouts. And you're totally right, supplements are not staples, by definition. Food is. In your case, if you're only toning, either your metabolism is REALLY high, you simply are not giving it enough food, or you are shoveling it in during only 2 or 3 sittings. Timing.

In connection with timing food, you should be engaged in periodization of your workouts. Not just "Oh, I never do the same workout twice", but a methodical breakdown of strength, muscle-density, and endurance phases. try 4-6 week phases, since you are already a dedicated lifter, maybe go with a different phase each month to make it easier to track (time flies when you're 'regular'). Periodization.

Hope this all makes sense, and helps :) "

So if you got to this point, obviously you read the whole post- Thanks! I've kept this blog 100% ad-free, so if you found any part of it useful, all I ask in return is that you please hit that Facebook Share button, or maybe share it on Google+, Twitter or Digg- it's really easy, and it helps more people benefit from the tips, tricks, and fun we're having over here. Thanks again!