The Benefits of Super Slow, High-Intensity Strength Training
High-Intensity Strength Training (HIT) was first made popular by Arthur Jones, inventor/founder of Nautilus exercise equipment in the 1970s. This type of “super slow” training focuses on controlled lifting and lowering with resistance on specialized machines to the point of momentary muscular failure.
High-Intensity Strength Training is a full-body workout with strict form and very short recovery periods in between exercises. Typically shorter than most workouts, this complete session makes the most out of your time and intensity on specialized equipment.
How Super Slow Strength Training Works
Super slow training reinforces good form while reducing the risk of injury. By taking the momentum out of the equation, the targeted muscles are forced to do all of the work. When the intensity of the exercises is higher, safety increases equally, and the duration of the workout becomes shorter. The slow pace will limit the amount of resistance used, which also decreases the risk of injury. By making ‘lighter weight feel heavier’ we are able to safely build muscle and train into our later years.
Benefits of High-Intensity Strength Training
Research shows that doing 2 to 3 full-body, 30-minute HIT workouts per week will increase strength, lean muscle, bone density, flexibility, metabolic rate, and reduce blood pressure. Strength training also improves cognitive function, sleep quality, and self-esteem while reducing depression and anxiety.
High-intensity training has been shown to provide people with the same physiological gains as from long-form workouts.
Other benefits of High-Intensity Strength Training (HIT) include:
Burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time: Super slow training promotes elevated heart rate and encourages high exertion. That means you can burn a lot of calories with just a short workout.
Increases your heart rate for longer periods: When your heart rate is higher for longer periods of time during high-intensity training, your body uses glycogen to fuel you.
Helps increase lean muscle: Super slow strength training forces your muscles to exert considerable effort through their entire range of motion when you lift the weight.
Challenges your muscles in new and different ways: Super slow weight training limits momentum and forces your muscles to work in overdrive. For example, you may take 10 seconds to lift the weight and 10 additional seconds to lower it.
Super Slow Weight Training at Excellence In Fitness
EIF has created the environment for this type of training and uses machines engineered for super slow training. The resistance of each exercise is varied throughout the range of motion so the weight is heaviest at the point where we are strongest, and lightest at our weakest point. Taking all of this into consideration, high-intensity slow resistance training, paired with a balanced diet, is a great way to improve your body composition and overall strength.
Super slow weight training provides many of the same benefits you'll get from other forms of exercise, but in less time and it helps prevent injury. If you have a packed schedule but want to get more active, high-intensity slow resistance training may be for you. At Excellence In Fitness Personal Training Studios, our trainers and coaches are committed to helping you achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle through one-on-one fitness training. No matter your age or fitness level, we tailor a plan to meet your needs and goals. We encourage you to learn about the Body of Excellence Strength Training Program™.