FITNESS TRAINING: ARTICLES

Super Slow Strength Training
By John Hoeber, MS, RD

Super slow weight lifting has been gaining popularity for several years. Although not a new technique, fitness trainers have used it for decades and there are now entire gyms built around it. Super slow weight lifting involves slow controlled movements lasting 10 to 20 seconds per repetition. There are many positives to lifting weights slowly, but there are also some serious drawbacks.

The goal of any strength training program is to overload the system slightly so that it responds by getting stronger. The muscles will get bigger, neuromuscular recruitment and coordination will improve and so on. After six to twelve weeks of a consistent program your body will have adapted to the new stress and you’ll experience a plateau in your improvement. To get off the plateau you will need to do something differently, such as increase the weight, vary the number of repetitions or sets, or try different exercises. Varying the speed of the lift is a very effective way to push the body to improve.

Lifting the weight slowly will increase the time the muscles spend actually lifting. As a result there will be more muscle overload (breakdown), and with proper rest for rebuilding, more hypertrophy – the muscle will get bigger and stronger. If your goal is to increase muscle tone, size, and strength - this is for you. Super slow is also very effective for fat loss. Rebuilding all that overloaded muscle takes extra calories and maintaining the increased muscle raises resting metabolic rate.

Super slow routines usually consist of eight to ten exercises for the major muscle groups done on standard weight machines. Participants lift the weight slowly, taking five to ten seconds to lift and then another five to ten to lower. They continue the repetitions to the point of exhaustion or muscle failure – until they can’t lift it anymore. At that point there is maximal overload and the most benefit. One set of each exercise is enough for good strength gains if the participant goes all the way to muscle failure, making the entire routine rather quick.

The most significant drawback is that it is difficult for most people to do on a consistent basis, both physically and mentally. It’s physically punishing, and takes a steel resolve to go all the way to the point of exhaustion. Stopping short of muscle failure simply doesn’t produce the same results. If you have difficulty sticking with an exercise program, try something more pleasant on the body like Pilates.

Super slow is not for athletes. There is no sport played slowly. Athletes need to increase speed, agility, and power. The weight machines used for these routines do not train the body for real world movements used in sports, housework, or daily activities. They isolate individual muscles to build them, but all real world movements require the coordination of many muscles working together. Super slow routines also tend to miss some of the smaller muscles that are important to posture and joint stability and injury prevention.

The super slow strength training regimen is a good tool, but should not be overused. It will increase muscle tone quickly in selected muscles, and increase metabolism. It’s not a comprehensive workout so round it out with some strength work on smaller muscles and multi-muscle movement patterns that will improve balance, posture and coordination. Also be sure to incorporate lots of stretching and cardiovascular work as these routines miss these important aspects entirely.