How to Do Super Slow Resistance Training
Have you heard of super slow resistance training? The idea is that if you exercise in a very slow and controlled fashion, you get stronger and avoid injury while spending less time in the gym. Sounds intriguing? Get-Fit Guy explains. Plus, get an exclusive super slow workout!
Brock Armstrong
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How to Do Super Slow Resistance Training
Although this training style has been popping up more and more over the last few years, super slow resistance training was actually originally used by bodybuilders back in the 1960s. In fact, the benefits of performing an exercise with an extremely slow tempo can be traced to a Strength and Health magazine article written in 1962 by the late Bob Hoffman. The article stated that slow tempo movements were being used by the weightlifters of the York Barbell Club, a weightlifting team that won many international competitions and were breaking world records.
Back then, it was referred to as “muscle contraction with measured movement,” and involved lifting 10-seconds up and 10-seconds back down. Now, if you have ever tried to do a squat, a push-up, or an overhead press for 10 seconds in each direction, you know that this can require some pretty high levels of patience and mindfulness. It’s also darn hard!
As a matter of comparison, a traditional resistance training routine would typically take about 1-2 seconds to lift a weight, and perhaps slightly longer than that to lower that weight.
In a standard Nautilus training protocol, an athlete will perform eight to twelve repetitions (Westcott, 1999) with each repetition having a two-second concentric action, a one-second pause, and then a four-second eccentric action. So, the total time for this type of set would take about 55-85 seconds to complete. But, with the super slow protocol, doing only four to six repetitions, with a 10-second concentric phase followed by a 10-second eccentric phase, it would take only slightly longer for fewer reps.
In a paper from the early 1980s, researcher Ken Hutchins wrote about the super slow technique while he was leading a study that involved a group of elderly women who had osteoporosis. He believed this technique was safer for the participants than a regular lifting style. When they used the standard weightlifting protocol (two seconds up and four seconds down), Hutchins was concerned about the women’s “erratic form” so he implemented the super slow lifting and the women in the study made dramatic gains in strength.
An interesting part of the newer versions of super slow resistance workouts is that rather than doing multiple sets for each body part, you just do one long set for each exercise. Each set is performed until muscle failure or until your form degrades to the point of being dangerous. At this point, you move on to another body part.
But don’t be fooled—just because elderly ladies did it and it involves moving slower and exercising for an overall shorter amount of time doesn’t mean it is easy!
The Physiology
One of the main objectives of super slow resistance training is to create more tension in a muscle for a given workload. This is done by decreasing the speed of movement. The amount of tension that is generated in a muscle is directly related to the number of contracting fibers. Each muscle fiber (or cell) contains several hundred to several thousand myofibrils, which are composed of myosin (thick fibers) and actin (thin fibers) protein filaments.
Inside those muscle fibers, the slower the rate at which the actin and myosin filaments slide past each other, the larger the number of links or cross-bridges that form between them. The more cross-bridges there are at a given time, the more tension is created in the muscle. So when you are moving your muscles very slowly, a higher number of cross-bridges can be formed, which should lead to a maximum amount of tension being created during a workout. This tension provides a boost in the stimulation of muscle strength development.
The Safety
Although I wasn’t able to find evidence to support or refute the idea that super slow training is any safer than a more traditional lifting style, I think it is pretty plausible. So does Dr. Doug McGuff, author of the book, Body by Science. In his book, he says “With other exercises, to make them more challenging, you usually have to increase the force required…which brings on aches and pains. This makes them more dangerous. With SuperSlow, you can make exercise much more challenging without increasing force.”
While it is true that the most important aspect of training safely (while lifting slow or fast) is good form, I believe it is possible to maintain good form at any speed. The idea that a slower cadence may lend itself to developing a more mindful or attentive lifter does make sense (although that may be more dependent on personality type rather than on speed alone).
The Effectiveness
According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine called “Comparison of once‐weekly and twice‐weekly strength training in older adults,” super slow resistance training may really work. At least it did in the older adults they studied.
In the study, a group of subjects aged 65–79 years were randomly assigned to two groups who each performed just one set of exercises all the way to muscular fatigue. Group One trained one day a week and Group Two trained twice a week using three lower and three upper body exercises for a total of nine weeks. Using this super slow style of training, researchers noted no difference in strength changes between training once a week versus twice a week. Which doesn’t seem like a win at first glance but when time is of the essence, this is significant.
Also in 2001, there were three studies done that compared super slow to traditional lifting. Two of the studies showed a small advantage to super slow and the third showed a small advantage for traditional lifting. So, this style of one single weekly super slow resistance training probably is not going to be your fast track to being on the cover of Bodybuilder’s Weekly, but it appears to be a great strategy when your time is limited.
At the end of two of those studies, the researchers concluded: “Super Slow training is an effective method for middle-aged and older adults to increase strength.” Plus, as the author notes in this article, you don’t have to find or purchase fancy exercise machines to do this type of training. You can use your own body weight, some resistance bands, kettlebells or dumbbells. Combine those devices with exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, overhead presses, or rows, right in your home, backyard, garage, basement, or office and you are good to go!
A Quick and Dirty Super Slow Workout
Today, I will give you a fun workout that incorporates some super slow exercises that you can try at home. But first, let’s look at how to do the individual exercises:
Squats
Feel free to use a door handle or sturdy piece of furniture for balance if you need to. Stand with your feet hip width apart and then squat down slowly, taking 10 seconds until your thighs are as close to parallel with the floor as you can manage. Pause there for two seconds, then start going back up. Take the full 10 seconds to reach the top. Then immediately change directions and do it again. Nice and slowly. Continue doing this with good form until your form starts to suffer. And don’t forget to breathe!
Push-ups
Get down on the floor in a plank position, with your hands shoulder-width apart, wrists directly under your shoulders. Slowly lower yourself for 10 seconds, until your chest and shoulders almost touch your hands, then pause for two seconds, and then slowly raise your body back to the starting position arriving there after 10 seconds. Again, continue this movement with good form until you simply can’t do another rep. Did you forget to breathe?
Pull-ups or Pull-downs
As I explained in the episode Do You Have a Pull-Up Bar at Home?, you can always start with a chair under the bar, if it means you can complete this exercise properly. Get under the pull-up bar or grasp the ends of a resistance band and slowly pull your body up for 10 seconds until your chin passes the bar or pull the resistance bands down until your hands are basically in your armpits. Breathe for two seconds and then slowly (for 10 seconds) return to the starting position. Continue this,with perfect form until you can no longer complete a repetition. Are you breathing?
Ok! Now, here is one of my favourite workout circuits, which incorporates cardio, explosive lifting, regular tempo lifting, and super slow training. Go through the entire circuit with minimal rest between each exercise. Do 2-6 rounds of the circuit, depending on your level of fitness.
Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of a full body movement like sun salutations.
Main Set:
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5-10 explosive burpees
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10 super-slow push-ups
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20 regular speed mountain climbers
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5-10 super slow pull-ups (or pull-downs)
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15 regular speed dips
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10 super slow squats
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30 seconds of jumping jacks
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Rest for 30 seconds and start again.
Cool-down: use any of the techniques I outlined in the episode Cooling Down After Exercise.
Although the overall efficacy of super slow resistance training versus traditional strength training clearly warrants further research, it is clear that both training methods show significant increases in strength. And since we should all focus on having a wide variety of resistance training stimulus in our exercise regimen, why not incorporate both methods?
Some of you may find the super slow method tedious, while others will love the extra challenge (and muscle burn) that it presents. So, I encourage you to give it a try especially during those times when you don’t have enough time to squeeze in a decent workout.
For more slow info, tense tips, and to join the resistant conversation, head over to Facebook.com/GetFitGuy, twitter.com/getfitguy or BrockArmstrong.com.
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About the Author
Brock Armstrong was the host of the Get-Fit Guy podcast between 2017 and 2021. He is a certified AFLCA Group Fitness Leader with a designation in Portable Equipment, NCCP and CAC Triathlon Coach, and a TnT certified run coach. He is also on the board of advisors for the Primal Health Coach Institute and a guest faculty member of the Human Potential Institute.