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20 MINUTES A WEEK: Brian Butler works out with exercise specialist Bo Railey, who times his movements at Exercise Inc. in Brownsburg. Butler, who works on about five machines per session -- about 21/2 to 3 minutes each, says the workouts are perfect for his schedule. - KELLY WILKINSON / The Star
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How SuperSlow weight training works
• What it is: SuperSlow is a high-intensity, low-force strength exercise technique that encourages maximum muscular strength. The workout lasts about 20 minutes and can be done once or twice a week.
• Keys to success: The cornerstone of SuperSlow is the 20-second cycle of each repetition. The weight is lifted in 10 seconds and lowered in 10 seconds, with a smooth turnaround technique at either end. Within 21/2 to three minutes on each piece of equipment or free weight, lifters reach momentary muscle failure. Instructors encourage one last attempt, and it is this effort that stimulates muscles to improve, according to SuperSlow advocates.
• The goal: To properly and safely build muscle and increase the resting metabolism, allowing the body to burn more calories even while at rest. The training can quickly stimulate the body to produce additional muscle tissue and improve the cardiovascular and other support systems. SuperSlow proponents say as exercise intensity increases, so does the stimulus, and the larger the stimulus, the greater and longer lasting the results.
Helpful tips for beginners in weight training
• Find a professional fitness trainer or instructor to teach you how to lift properly and guide your training.
• Start lifting with weights you can safely handle without having a tendency to lunge or move too quickly.
• Only lift weights every other day -- never two days in a row -- because muscles need time to rest and grow.
• Concentrate or focus during each exercise so you're conscious of your body and muscles and can perform each lift smoothly. Distractions can ruin a workout; turn off the radio and TV.
• Continue breathing during the entire exercise, using short, quicker breaths as you move to the end of the set of repetitions. Never hold your breath while lifting.
• Schedule time for a weekly workout, and keep appointments.
• The weight lifted needs to be heavy enough to reach muscular failure within 2 1/2 to 3 minutes for each exercise using the SuperSlow method.
• Do as many repetitions as you can until it is no longer possible to move the weight, then continue to push against the weight for another 10 seconds.
• Resist the temptation to move the weight faster than 10 seconds for each lift because slower, steady lifting applies continuous load to the muscle and eliminates momentum and acceleration.
• Gradually increase the weight lifted. Remember that learning to lift in a way that efficiently works muscles is more important than the amount of weight lifted.
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Slow burn
Intense, once-a-week workouts build muscle and burn calories more efficiently, some say.
By Barb Berggoetz
barb.berggoetz@indystar.com
Brian Butler was a skeptic.
How could a 20-minute, once-a-week weight-lifting workout really strengthen his muscles and help shed pounds?
"I told (the fitness club owner) point blank -- it won't work," said Butler, 29, operations manager of Floors for You in Brownsburg.
With about 60 extra pounds on his 5 foot-11-inch frame, Butler hadn't exercised regularly or lifted weights for about 10 years.
He couldn't imagine how this so-called SuperSlow method -- once an obscure technique now gaining more national attention -- would get him in shape. But as a busy store manager, he was attracted by the short workout.
Bo Railey, owner of Exercise Inc., persuaded him to try it. Railey uses only this technique with clients. His facilities in Brownsburg and Avon are the only licensed SuperSlow centers in the Indianapolis area through its inventor, Ken Hutchins, an Orlando, Fla.-based fitness trainer. About 30 facilities are licensed in the country, and several hundred trainers are certified to use it.
"We stimulate the muscles to grow at a level of intensity that's greater than anything else you do," said Railey, a 15-year personal trainer who switched to this method about 21/2 years ago.
Even he dismissed the claims as "too good to be true" until he tried it himself and found he was in better shape, stronger and had less joint pain than ever before.
Some area fitness trainers at other facilities use the technique as one weight-training method. Others, however, including trainer Chad Odaffer, avoid it altogether, saying research shows traditional weight lifting with faster and more repetitions works better to build muscle.
Traditional weight-lifting sets require 8 to 12 repetitions, with two seconds for lifting, a pause, and four seconds for lowering.
"I don't want to say it doesn't work, but the benefits are limited," said Odaffer, athletic performance coach and personal trainer at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport. "It may increase your strength right away, but eventually you are going to stop seeing results with it."
Butler and others who go to Exercise Inc. though, say it's working great for them. In Railey's facilities, it's serious work -- no music, no talking among clients, no mirrors. A trainer supervises each workout.
Here's how it's done: You lift a moderate weight over a 10-second period, and then lower the weight in 10 seconds. Never stopping, you do four to six repetitions for about 21/2 to 3 minutes for each exercise (bench press, leg press, pull downs). You can use weight machines or free weights; Railey uses MedX equipment.
Basically, it's working out in slow motion. The goal is making your body burn more calories all the time, not just while exercising.
Metabolism will rise
Because muscles work so hard, they need up to a week to rest. Some people train twice a week. During the time off, Railey says muscles grow and thicken, demanding more calories. As a result, the body's resting metabolism will rise -- a key to losing weight and to SuperSlow's success.
Proponents say the SuperSlow workout, created by University of Florida researcher Hutchins in 1982, provides two benefits. First, by going slowly, the weight doesn't move under its own momentum. This keeps the muscle under continuous load and more effectively fatigues it. As a result, they say the workout is more intense and puts more demands on the body's transport system, increasing cardiovascular health.
Secondly, the slow movement gets rid of acceleration. This creates less force on the muscle, reducing the risk of injury.
"There are points where it becomes intense, but it's not unbearable," said Butler, who works out every Saturday.
Within nine months, he got rid of 60 pounds of "desk belly," as he calls it. He also went on a diet, cutting his calorie intake in half and avoiding junk food. By the end of a year, Butler said he doubled the amount of weight he was lifting on each machine and developed more muscle mass.
Eighteen months after he started the workouts, Butler is eating about 2,600 calories a day and not gaining weight. With more muscle mass, calories burn off more quickly. He's an avid water sports fan but says weight training keeps him fit.
"I'm going to continue to do this the rest of my life," he vowed. "For a person with a busy schedule, it's perfect."
It's not for everyone
Yet, this type of intense weight training may not appeal to all.
"It's not for everybody, and people tend to get burned out," said Doug Ruff, owner of the Fitness Clinic of Indianapolis. "It's not an enjoyable way to train."
But he believes it's a good, safe technique, especially for those starting an exercise program, because the weights are usually lighter and the speed is slower -- decreasing joint stress and chance of injury. He also says athletes can benefit from the method because of its intensity.
However, Ruff recommends mixing slow-lifting techniques along with traditional lifting to continue improving.
Published studies on the effectiveness of slow training are limited and show mixed results. Independent reviewers have said additional and longer studies are needed to make clear conclusions.
As far as local trainer Rob Hudson is concerned, SuperSlow is a very effective form of resistance training that he uses with some clients. But he doesn't think it has a large following.
"I've had some people who just hate it," said Hudson, owner of Fitness by Design facilities in Indianapolis and in Carmel. "It takes extreme focus, and some people tend not to handle it well."
Dr. Lisa Kinderman can.
"Actually, I love it," said the 44-year-old Avon physician. She's been going to Exercise Inc. for 18 months to gain strength before hip-replacement surgery, to lose weight and relieve ankle swelling.
She's lost 45 pounds, recovered quickly from her surgery and gained a lot of muscle.
"Physically, I felt like I was out of control," she said. "This has been a confidence builder for me. I'm hooked."
Call Star reporter Barb Berggoetz at (317) 444-6294.
Copyright 2005 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
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