- What is StrengthTime® Slow Movement Strength Training?
- How slow is Slow?
- Can I really get a good workout moving so slowly?
- Isn’t such a high intensity of exercise dangerous for some people?
- Couldn’t I injure myself merely by attempting to lift too much weight, even when moving slowly?
- What should I do to warm up before my workout?
- What about stretching before beginning an exercise session?
- How many sets do you recommend for each exercise during a workout?
- How often should I work out?
- What is the duration of a typical workout session?
- What about my cardio?
- What about burning calories?
- Is high intensity strength training really better than doing volume sets, lots of reps, 4 or 5 days a week, along with running?
- What results can you promise me, if I train hard and eat right?
- How much does it cost?
Q: What is StrengthTime® Slow Movement Strength Training?
A: StrengthTime’s slow Movement High Intensity Strength Training is an exercise philosophy and an exercise protocol. Nautilus and MedX founder Arthur Jones developed portions of the theory underlying this philosophy. The Nautilus philosophy was to slow down the rep speed, thereby eliminating force, the main cause of injury. The theory has been refined and developed to include all forms of slow-movement training.
A: Our protocol specifies that the weight is lifted in ten seconds (the positive phase), and lowered in ten seconds (the negative phase). This is sometimes referred to as the 10/10 protocol.
Q: Can I really get a good workout moving so slowly?
A: Definitely! You will discover that your muscles do even more metabolic work per unit of time moving slowly than they do moving fast. Faster movement uses momentum to move the weight, not just muscular strength, thereby unloading the muscles during parts of the repetition cycle, allowing the muscles to rest, while overloading them during other parts.
Q: Isn’t such a high intensity of exercise dangerous for some people?
A: The risk of injury does not come from the intensity of an exercise, but from the inertial forces associated with rapid acceleration, fast movement and abrupt changes in speed or direction. Our protocol minimizes these forces.
Q: Couldn’t I injure myself merely by attempting to lift too much weight, even when moving slowly?
A: This is extremely unlikely when you are not using force or explosive movements to move the weight. We use only resistance that you can move smoothly and slowly, keeping strict attention to your perfect form, and in accordance with muscle and joint function. We only increase the resistance over time if you are able to lift and lower the weight, without rest or compromising perfect form, until you achieve momentary muscular failure on each exercise within a time frame of 1 to 2 minutes; a very small window of time.
Q: What should I do to warm up before my workout?
A: Your muscles remain close to normal body temperature at all times, even if your skin feels cool to the touch. Contrary to popular belief, muscles don’t need to warm up beyond normal body temperature. By the time you start sweating, your muscles are already beyond their optimum operating temperature. Your joints and muscles do require a bit of extra lubrication during exercise, but the most efficient way to lubricate them is to begin the actual exercise, slowly.
The 10/10 protocol minimizes inertial forces, and therefore the stresses on your joints. The first few repetitions, which are never explosive and are performed so slowly, allow time to send a message to the joints, ligaments and tendons to lubricate and warm up.
We don’t recommend any steady state activity as a warm up before the workout, as preheating will sap your strength, and compromise your workout. It will force the body to decrease the intensity of effort necessary for the workout. It also wastes the bodys recovery sources and your time.
For optimal results and safety, it is best to keep your body as cool as possible prior to and during your workout. You should wear light clothing when you train.
Q: What about stretching before beginning an exercise session?
A: While stretching feels great, it is unnecessary, for much the same reasons enumerated in the warm up question.
Q: How many sets do you recommend for each exercise during a workout?
A: One set to failure. Momentary muscular failure. All that is required to stimulate muscular growth, is to completely fatigue the muscles (until you cannot move the weight), within a minimum amount of time: 1 to 2 minutes. Inroading them several times during one session is known as over training. This is unnecessary, and eats into the recovery process the muscle needs to come back stronger and more defined.
Q: How often should I work out?
A: There is no magic number, but we have the seen that clients who get the most desirable and most dramatic results are training with us twice a week, with at least two days of recovery time between sessions. Once a week is fine for very elite athletes who are practicing their sport every day, or for those on the other end of the spectrum, with chronic fatigue or fibro-myalgia, who may require a full week to recover. The rest of us, in order to stay in a fitness lifestyle, do best with twice weekly workouts.
Q: What is the duration of a typical workout session?
A: About 20-25 minutes. We schedule half hour sessions, which allows us extra time to discuss your previous workout, to make or change an appointment, or just to chat in the waiting room.
A: Its not necessary to engage in aerobic activities between workouts, unless this is something you like to do. No longer do you have to push yourself to do the extra mile; well push you during your workout! Enjoy your aerobic activities, and understand that they are now for recreation, not exercise. You will get cardiovascular and metabolic stimulation during your strength training sessions. Most of the conditioning effect of exercise is the result of metabolic adaptations, which enhance the ability of muscle tissue to absorb and utilize oxygen.
Q: What about burning calories?
A: You can become a 24 hour-a-day fat burning machine simply by adding some muscle! One of the great benefits of strength training is the calories burned as a result of the workout, not the calories burned during the workout. By training to failure, you will add toned, defined muscle to your body, which causes the body to need more calories at rest. A muscular body at rest is constantly burning fat.
Q: Is high intensity strength training really better than doing volume sets, lots of reps, 4 or 5 days a week, along with running?
A: Were not saying that doesn’t work; of course it does! But wouldn’t you rather get all those benefits, with no risk of injury, in only two 20-minute sessions every week?
Q: What results can you promise me, if I train hard and eat right?
A: We will promise you:
- Increased muscular strength and endurance
- Improved cardiovascular efficiency
- Increased bone mineral density
- Increased metabolic rate
- Prevention and delay of muscle loss due to aging
- Discriminate weight loss
- Improved muscle tone and definition
- Enhanced flexibility
- Contribution to body leanness
- Stress reduction
- Improved self image, self esteem and self confidence
A: Your first workout is free! Come in and learn what we are all about. After that, we charge $60 per workout and typically sell 10 workouts at a time. We love your referrals and each referral that comes in earns you a free workout!