So I'm starting a new weight lifting plan called the SuperSlow program or Power of Ten. It was developed by Ken Hutchins for treating women with osteoporosis because he wanted to build their muscle but was afraid their bones were to weak to take the strain. Two informal studies were done in 1993 and 1999 which resulted in a 50% increase in strength in an average of 9 weeks. The results were later verified by Virginia Tech. I'm using a Power of Ten approach which means you take 10 seconds to slowly lift a weight and then 10 seconds to slowly lower it, thereby continually straining the lifting muscle to failure as opposed to jerking a weight up and then releasing it. The claim is a set of 8 reps to failure one or two days a week is all that's needed for muscle gain and makes aerobics unneeded. So far I've only done one session and I've found that I can only do about 8 reps per exercise as opposed to 30 in 3 sets in my old conventional style of lifting. It's a very hard workout, but takes a third of the time. I'm combining this with 9 minutes of high intensity interval training on an elliptical machine, which suppossedly equals 45 minutes on a treadmill. So my whole workout takes less than 45 minutes. I'm trying for 3 days a week as before but I get out of the gym faster. Anybody ever try this???
I've been lifting most of my life and I've read about your routine, lot's of good things to say about it. Bodybuilders opposed to power lifters usually do their reps slower and in perfect form, the concept is called "time under tension". A power lifter for instance exerts a fast powerful function to lift heavier weights, less form, less time under tension. Both are experiencing different gains. Lot's of good things to be said about your routine. I'm closer to the slow and perfect form routine than a power lifting routine, but nothing in the ten seconds area. Soooooo, to make a long post short, your routine shows a great deal of promise. And I agree with your theory of less time in the gym. Most people over train, either too much in general or too long of workouts at one time. Less is usually more when it comes to weight training. Please keep me in the loop as to your results. Remember, like any lifting routine it needs to be changed up in order to continue gains.
I've lifted off and on for years. Started with one gallon paint cans filled with cement when I was a kid. Currently I've been lifting for three continuous years. Lately I dropped weight as I was getting chest pains. Had it all checked out with a stress test, etc. and I'm fine. I probably tore some muscles, or it could be my back as I have damage from the third vertebrate on down from years of working. So I don't lift anything over my head, or put any stress on my spine. I'm not into body building, just a healthy life style and maintenance. All in all I'm doing great for my age and I'm hoping this new routine cuts down on any damage I may do.
i'm not familiar with this specific program, but the basic principles are nothing new. it's good to change things up, so sometimes i'll lift fast, and sometimes i'll lift slower. not that slow yet, although not because i think there's anything wrong with doing it that way. out of curiosity, do you happen to know how they measured this?
Very well explained, "muscle confusion theory" No routine works forever, constant change. I'm always changing mine up. 6-8 weeks light cycle, 6-8 weeks medium weight, then 6-8 weeks heavy cycle. Add to this switching up the actual excercises.
i should be more like this, but i'm a little more unorganized. basically i have a general routine that i stick to every week (typically i try to lift 3 days a week, hitting a different set of muscles each day), with a handful of variations that i do pretty much on a whim. theoretically it seems like my way may be even better, since it's entirely unpredictable. but in reality, i've been known to get lazy and stick to one of my preferred routines for way too long, so that at times i'll do the same thing for a month or more after it seems to stop having any benefit, while completely ignoring the less enjoyable variations.
I keep a log so everything is organized. Ok I'm anal about my training. LOL.. I hate guessing. And yes, meat goes on the left, bread on the right, drink top right...lol
Just so you know, Meagain, this thread inspired me to do interval and weight training today. Here was my cardio, plus 10 minutes on the elliptical. Sorry that it is huge,
Is your treadmill automatically set up a certain way or do you constantly change the speeds by looking at the timer? I know i've heard of advanced high tech treadmills from somewhere. I forgot where or from who.
I just speed up my pace on the elliptical. It's something like this one: It does have an incline feature, but I tried that last yesterday and lowered it back down. I don't know if it has a resistance setting. Too many buttons and stuff for me.
I usually look at the timer and change it manually. The whole time I was running I was wishing that I could program the treadmill to change speeds, and at what time intervals, in advance.
