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Outside Magazine December 2002

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Bodywork: Slow Training
The Slow-Motion Workout


	Illustration by Aaron Meshon

USE OUR SIX-WEEK slow-training program to bust out of a midseason plateau, or as a ten-minute preseason strategy for building strength and stamina. To get started, grab a stopwatch, find a gym with strength training machines for the exercises listed below (free weights are too dangerous), and enlist a partner to clock you. For each exercise, record the amount of weight used and your time under load (TUL)—the elapsed time from when you start the exercise to when you can no longer continue. When choosing a weight for each exercise for the first time, select an amount that allows you to reach muscle failure in no less than two minutes.

Start by breathing deeply and engaging the weight so it barely starts to move. Now complete the positive phase of the movement over five to ten seconds, until your joints nearly lock out. Pause momentarily at the upper turnaround and then reverse direction, taking five to ten seconds to lower the weight. At the lower turnaround, slow down further, so that the weight hardly touches the stack, and then start the next repetition. Focus on moving gracefully, not forcefully, continuing until it becomes impossible to move the load. When, after time, TUL reaches two minutes, increase the load by 10 percent.

Give yourself a minimum of 48 hours' rest between workouts. And it's a good idea to lay off slow strength training a week or two prior to a major competition. At the same time, wait 48 hours after an all-day ride or backcountry ski, and up to seven days after a triathlon, before resuming Super Slow training.

Be sure to breathe continuously throughout the set with controlled breaths. "Every one of our clients has said that learning to breathe throughout the exercises has helped them remain calm and strong under pressure," says Varghese.

BEGINNER ROUTINE
(First Two Weeks)
TUL goal: 2 minutes per exercise Frequency: 2 times/week
Leg press
Leg curl
Chest press
Lat pulldown
Abdominal machine

THE ROUTINE
(Weeks Three to Six)
TUL goal: 2 minutes per exercise
Frequency: 2 times/week
off-season: 3 times/week
Alternate A and B routines on successive days

A. Leg press
Chest press
Shoulder press
Triceps extension

B. Leg curl
Calf raise
Lat pulldown
Compound row
Biceps curl

(for more workouts see www.timelabs.us)

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