JeremyGentles
Super Slow Resistance Training
Nov 11, 2009
When was the last time you took ten seconds to pull the cord on the mower to get it started? When was the last time you took ten seconds to pick up a loaded box and another ten seconds to set it back down? Has it ever taken you ten seconds to pick up anything in your life? I am guessing probably not.
SuperSlow resistance training was first used in 1982 by a fella named Ken Hutchinson while doing osteoporosis research at the University of Florida. According to superslowzone.com, the current recommendations for SuperSlow resistance training are as follows:
- 20 minutes per session- Total body 1-2 times per week
- Each repetition consists of a 10 second concentric contraction and a 10 second eccentric contraction (if you do an internet search for SuperSlow you will find that many sources quote a 4-5 second eccentric contraction). Concentric contractions are the portion of the repetition when the muscle is shortening and the eccentric portion of the repetition being when the muscle lengthens. For instance, in bicep curl, when curling the weight up, the bicep muscles are shortening (concentric) and when you are lowering the weight back down the muscles are lengthening (eccentric).
OK, those are the basics and proponents of SuperSlow claim that this type of resistance training is superior to traditional resistance training where the speed of the movement has more to do with the amount of weight being lifted. Heavy weight simply can't be lifted quickly and lighter weights are often lifted quite rapidly. The claim is that SuperSlow produces superior cardiovascular benefits, greater muscular growth (hypertrophy), greater strength increases and more fat loss amongst other things. Proponents also claim that this form of resistance training is an appropriate form of physical therapy for many conditions. How does it produce better results over traditional resistance training? I really don’t know because the literature that exists right now does not support these claims and actually supports the exact opposite.
Where do the proponents of SuperSlow training get off saying that it is superior for muscular hypertrophy? It is well established that to cause significant muscular growth, the intensity of resistance training needs to be AT LEAST 50% of 1RM (1RM is the amount of weight you can lift one time, so at least 50% percent of that for any particular exercise). With SuperSlow resistance training it is extremely difficult to even use 30% of your 1RM vs. more traditional resistance training recommendations of 8-12 repetitions which is approximately 70% of 1RM. The same applies for each of the supposed advantages of the SuperSlow technique; higher intensity (heavier) exercise is needed to produce most of the benefits we often associate with weight training. Think about it for a second. Imagine performing 8-12 repetitions of a fairly heavy squat at a normal or comfortable speed. Now imagine trying to use that same weight while taking 20 second to perform one repetition, 10 seconds up and 10 seconds down. There is no way you can use heavy resistance.
One must completely ignore the vast amounts of research that exists pertaining to resistance training, muscular growth and body composition changes.
Is there research to support the use of SuperSlow Resistance training? Yeah there is, but it was very poorly done and many of the studies have not been published in peer reviewed scientific literature (which makes a person wonder about the credibility and validity of the research). If you are unfit or untrained and you start participating in a SuperSlow resistance training program, you are going to make gains do to the fact that you are now doing something and before you were doing nothing. That in no way, shape or form implies that SuperSlow is superior to traditional resistance training. This simply means that if you are sedentary and you start moving, you will become more fit. No brainer!
I was browsing through SuperSlowZone.com and it says “Maximum Results in Minimum Time.” Anytime you see the words “Maximum Results in Minimum Time,” it is a good clue that you are dealing with a nonsense product. Hint, hint Mr. Hutchinson, if you want your “product” to be respected by public consumers and the exercise science/physiology community, you may want to tighten up your marketing verbiage. Ken Hutchinson’s SuperSlow product ranks right up there with Chuck Norris’s Total Gym, The Bean, Coral Calcium and Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease. Wait, I take that back…I am actually a fan of Aerobic Striptease for purely scientific reasons I swear….quite frankly it makes more sense than any of the others and is far more entertaining. While I will not divulge any names, I am aware of one ObesityHelp employee who jams to Aerobic Striptease on a regular basis (it's not me). Honestly though, it seems that the more some of these individuals can confuse the general public about how to address exercise and fitness, the better off they are and the more money they will make. Sad, Sad, Sad.
Getting back to my opening statements; these are all daily activities you do on a regular basis. Many of the activities or functions that we perform on a day-to-day basis involve relatively rapid movements, not long methodically painful movements that last 20 seconds. The resistance training that you perform should enhance what you do in everyday life. This means that it would be helpful to perform resistance training exercises or movements at a speed similar to what you will be doing on a daily basis. If you participate in sporting activities this is even more important. SuperSlow resistance training mimics very little, if anything, that you do day-to-day so why would you do it? In other word, the adaptations or changes you make with resistance training are specific to how you exercise. If you exercise "super slow" you will be good at moving "super slow". If you resistance traing at speeds more similar to situations you do or may face in everday life, you will be better prepared for these activities.
The following two studies were well done and address both untrained individuals and somewhat well trained individuals. I won’t go into great detail but these studies clearly show that SuperSlow resistance training is not superior to traditional weight training.
- Early-Phase Adaptations of Traditional-Speed vs. Superslow Resistance Training on Strength and Aerobic Capacity in Sedentary Individuals- Comparison of Metabolic and Heart Rate Responses to Super Slow Vs. Traditional Resistance Training
This is one of many products and/or concepts that does not deserve the time I spend to talk about them in this blog. They don’t deserve your financial contributions either. Don’t get me wrong, it is great that research is done on various methods of training, but to sell/suggest a product or method of training when an enormous amount of research points in another direction, is dishonest and contributes to the already overabundant amount of misinformation regarding anything “healthy.”
