Turbulence Training is a popular series of training programs and fat loss systems created by Craig Ballantyne, an expert trainer and regular contributor to Men’s Health and other magazines. The programs aren’t geared specifically to cyclists, but the short, intense workouts do make great additions to our on- and off-season training programs.

(FYI: There was even a sample Turbulence Training routine mentioned in Bicycling before, in case you were wondering.)

These are indeed good workouts and they contain lots of bodyweight work, so they might remind you of Cyclo-Core. But today I want to talk about a very specific portion of the Turbulence Training collection - the totally new Bodyweight 1000 Program.

This is an intense new program for hardcore bodyweight exercise enthusiasts. (If you’re scared of push-ups, pull-ups, and jumping rope, you can go ahead and skip this review!)

Now, I haven’t tested the program yet, but I have a good reason for mentioning it - you can get it for free in the TT Members Area if you order the regular Turbulence Training program before the end of March. (After that, this plan will only be available to TT Deluxe members. And since Deluxe membership is expensive, it might be worth checking it out today.)

My Review / Preview

The actual “program” comes as a PDF manual that is just 32 pages. The first plan is about four pages long, and then there are a few “bodyweight challenge” workouts on the next couple pages, and finally the guides to doing the exercises themselves (written instructions with pictures.)

As you could expect, the program is pretty bare bones. It’s not too hard to understand once you check it out, but it doesn’t hold your hand and tell you what to do on each day of each week like the Cyclo-Core plans I’ve reviewed before.

The good news is those first workouts are traditional TT fat burning workouts, so anyone can use this, not just the hardcore bodyweight types. The six-week Bodyweight 1000 program includes Craig’s regular fat burning system of two total-body workouts, using both bodyweight and dumbbell exercises to blast belly fat fast without the need for long, slow boring cardio.

And it also contains 6 weeks of advanced Bodyweight Challenges to test your fitness and improve your fat loss each week. (That’s the hardcore part!)

So, you can use the program one of two ways:

A) If you are intermediate and just not ready for the bodyweight challenges, just use Workouts A & B as a regular fat burning Turbulence Training program, performing 3 workouts per week, alternating between workout A and workout B.

B) If you are super fit, do workouts A & B once each week, and then finish the week with your bodyweight challenge. Cautiously work your way up to the Bodyweight 1000 workout program over SIX weeks.

It’s probably a good idea to use the other, more basic Turbulence Training workouts before getting into this one. You’ll be better prepared for the work, plus better prepared for the terminology and layout used in the program’s manual.

Unfortunately I’m nursing an injury right now and can’t test out the program and say anything about the results. But on paper, it’s obviously hard. I don’t see myself completing the Bodyweight 1000 challenge until at least 2009!

I could start with the Bodyweight 250 routine and work my way up, but holy crap, just the Bodyweight 501 is scary!

What does that mean?

That the bodyweight challenges are NOT for beginners!! These workouts are also not for those who need motivation - it’s not a DVD you follow along, it’s text. You read it, then do it. (After studying the pictures and guidelines, of course.)

Shouldn’t be a problem, though, because if you’re looking for a hardcore bodyweight routine such as this, you’re probably doing a good job of working out as it is!

A Bodyweight 1000 Video Preview

Craig Ballantyne released a video on YouTube that gives you a good idea of how hard the Bodyweight 1000 Program is. Check it out:

My final verdict is…

If you’ve been thinking about buying the Turbulence Training program, and you’re looking for the hardest bodyweight exercise routines out there, now is the time to buy. If you buy during March you get all the basic programs, plus you get a copy of this Bodyweight 1000 Program for free in the members area. (But if you order after March 31st, you’ll miss out on this unless you upgrade to the Platinum membership.)

Just look at the cost - it’s $39.95 to get all the basic programs, and then you get a 3-month pass to the member’s area, where you can grab the Bodyweight 1000 for free. But if you miss this deal, it will cost you $297 to get the Bodyweight 1000 as part of the Platinum Membership!

So it’s a good deal at the moment. Like I said, I can’t vouch for the results, but since this is sort of a limited time offer, I wanted to let you know about it as soon as I could.

(Or, if you’re short on cash, just watch the video above and write down all the exercises and reps. The video doesn’t give you a good training program, but it shows you how hard the Bodyweight 1000 actually is, in case you are at that level of fitness…)

Website: www.TurbulenceTraining.com

You can keep your studded tires to yourself! Heck, I don’t need tires or even a drivetrain!

As you can see I’ve been sporting my wonderful Ski Bike this winter and I can’t get enough of it! This is basically a bike with skis instead of wheels, but riding it is out of this world.

I just had to share my pictures, so check them out below. It’s a good time, you should try it!

Just remember, always wear your helmet! (Riding a bike downhill is dangerous enough, let alone riding down on something you rigged up in your basement!)

So build your own and try it out, it’s a lot of fun. It’s also surprisingly easy to learn. If you can ride a bike, you can probably ride a ski bike just fine.

However, if you can’t build a bike very well, be careful!

The Attack Position is a little different on one of these guys - you sit down, hold the bars, and stick your feet out.

You can carve turns just like you’re on real skis.

And don’t forget tricks like The Superman.

Carving down the mountain = loads of fun!

P.S. Click here for ski bike build instructions.

And stay tuned - the video will be posted shortly!

This article depicts professional riders on closed terrain. Don’t try this at home.

The time has finally arrived… after some careful preparation I’m starting my workout experiment to gain 34 lb of muscle in 4 weeks! (Check that post for all the background info…)

All these weight lifting guides are “experiments” so I’m calling this The Susquehanna Experiment. The experiment is to take a skinny cyclist with big legs but no upper body and turn him into a muscular bodybuilder. The test subject is myself. Based on the guidelines I posted about before, here’s the outline of my plan:

“Before”

In order to do before and after comparisons, I got some “before” pictures and took various measurements to gauge progress.

It also didn’t hurt that I had done quite a bit of Cyclo-Core and other bodweight workouts beforehand, to get my body ready.

Workout Basics

Here are the basic principles for this weight training program:

• One set to failure.
• Aiming for 8-10 reps per set, leading to muscular failure.
• Slow cadence. 5 seconds up and then 5 seconds down.
• Low frequency. (Max 2x per week, perhaps once every 4 days.)
• 3 minutes rest between exercises.
• Each workout will consist of 4-7 multi-joint exercises.
• Each workout will work the entire body (arms and then legs.)

The Exercises

Here are a few example exercises:

• Leg press
• Trap bar deadlift
• Overhead press
• Dips
• Incline bench press
• Yates Bent Row
• Close-grip shoulder press
• Close grip supinated pulldowns
• Hamstring curl
• Leg extension

Plus some jogging or stationary biking for a warm-up and cool-down.

The Diet

It’s simple: Lots of protein.

Building muscle means eating a lot of food, specifically protein. And of course the basics like avoiding anything white, so I only get high-quality carbs.

Finally, one day each week, cut calories by 50%. (Something about protein synthesis and/or metabolism; in other words, because Tim Ferriss says so.)

Other Notes

Very important: Record each workout in detail to track progress.

However I won’t be recording too much detail, especially about my diet. I just don’t feel like counting grams of protein each day

Stay Tuned

This is just the beginning! I’ll be posting updates along with a complete report when this is all said and done.

As far as I knew, Del Monte just did canned fruits and fruit juice. But last year they made the jump into the energy drink market with Bloom Energy.

I found it by accident one day when I was buying an Ito En Sencha Shot and browsing all the super-unhealthy energy drinks - and then I saw this bright silver can with the Del Monte logo.

I checked it out and was quite surprised to see a list of healthy ingredients! A full serving of fruit, vitamins, etc. Naturally, I bought one of each flavor (wild berry, mango passion fruit, and cran raspberry) so I could do a taste test.

Starting with Mango Passionfruit:

The taste? Good. Almost great.

The mango flavor tastes nice, it’s very tropical and flavorful. It’s definitely thick like mango juice but with that lightly carbonated crispness that makes it refreshing.

And now Cran Raspberry:

The taste? Pretty good.

The cran raspberry is nice, but unfortunately it ranks at the bottom of my list. It has the standard cranberry flavor, but a little dull. Luckily it’s not sour or overpowering; instead, you really notice the raspberry.

Finally, Wild berry:

The taste? Great.

Wild berry tastes freaking awesome! Again, there’s that slightly carbonated flavor, kind of like sparkling grape juice, but with a hint of raspberry in there. In other words, really good.

While all the flavors are pretty good, I LOVE the wild berry!

Now we can talk about that energy boost (or “bloom” as they say.)

There’s not much to talk about though, since the energy kick isn’t really there. If you’re drowsy you’ll feel more upbeat and awake, but it’s not a crazy boost like those other energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull.

However it does contain taurine, ginseng, etc, like most energy drinks.

That reminds me, the ingredients…

There’s no high fructose corn syrup or other crap like that. It has fruit juice concentrates that do a great job of sweetening things up. However, hidden towards the bottom of the list is sucralose. I’m not exactly thrilled about that, considering its link to cancer. I just avoid any kind of artificial sweeteners to play it safe.

But what I don’t understand in this case is why it’s necessary. The juice concentrates should provide plenty of sweetness on their own. (After all, it does have 20g of sugar, which should sweeten things enough.)

And that adds up to 100 calories in a 10.5 oz can.

The price.

Retail is $1.99 so at least it’s cheaper than Red Bull.

My final verdict is…

So yeah it tastes great, like real fruit juice, but even better with that slight bit of carbonation. And it’s full of healthy ingredients.

But then there’s the sucralose. If it wasn’t for the sucralose I’d drink this all the time. As it stands, I won’t be drinking any more.

Seriously, WHY WHY WHY do they need sucralose?? I bet it’s sweet enough with the fruit juice, and it’s full of healthy ingredients so it caters to the health-conscious consumers, unlike Red Bull.

So why does it do all that then turn away those of us who are weary of the dangers from artificial sweeteners???

Del Monte official site: www.drinkbloomenergy.com

[Click here if you would like to get your product reviewed on CoachLevi.com.]

Last week when I was thinking about how various energy bars stack up against the Cheetah Bar, I decided it could be a potential Powerbar replacement.

While I still think that’s true, I have some more information to pass along about Powerbars, specifically the new C2 MAX carbohydrate blend they are using these days.

This new blend consists of organic evaporated cane juice syrup, maltodextrin, and fructose. So it sounds like they’re on the right track. (They used to use high fructose corn syrup and other crap!)

How would I know? Because I was reviewing a recent study about how certain combinations of carbohydrates were shown to increase athletic performance.

Check the study if you want, but basically it says to consume a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose for maximum benefit. And you guessed it, this new Powerbar formula delivers carbs in that exact ratio!

Supposedly Powerbar formulated the C2 MAX blend to take advantage of these findings, but I can’t verify that, so this could have been one of those studies to verify (i.e. publicize and draw attention to) how great these new Powerbars are.

Either way, being able to take in and use a greater number of carbs per hour is a good thing.