A common complaint from people who workout regularly is that they reach a plateau of diminishing returns from their routines. Advances in weight loss or fat loss seem to lessen as time goes on. According to Craig Ballantyne, a well-known Canadian trainer, this deficiency is due to your body’s ability to adapt to the same exercise routine so that whatever structured, regular workout you use will lose its effectiveness over the course of a few weeks. His answer is to vary your routine and create a “shock” to your system by upsetting the equilibrium you have established in sticking to the same set of exercises.
The only regular aspect of Craig’s program is that you change you routine with a goal in mind. The stated goal is to create a “disturbance” in your muscles by using intense, varied exercises in his program. The theory states that your body gets used to certain reps and exercises and you need to vary your workout to get your muscles to work harder.
His e-book is available online for $39.95 and includes some bonus nutrition guidance material. The information presented is clear, detailed, and presented in a logical progression. Here is an example of the clarity and logic of his program:
1) Train 3 days per week and alternate between Workouts A & B (Craig specifies the details of each workout routine)
2) Resistance training is always followed by interval training.
3) Perform 2-4 sets per exercise and 6-8 repetitions per set depending on your stage of development.
4) Pair “non-competing” exercises in supersets.
5) Rest 1 minute between exercises.
6) Warm-up sets are very important.
7) Finish each workout with interval training.
Switch out the exercises in the workout every 3 weeks.
9) Change your eating habits by decreasing your calorie intake and by eliminating processed carbohydrates and some saturated fat from your diet.
Craig’s approach makes a great deal of sense but only when you make a commitment to the program and combine it with proper eating habits.
