What are your opinions of the superslow training proptocol? As far as I can tell, the consensus among the t-mag staff is that superslow is not a very effective means of achieving maximum muscle hypertrophy (however it was suggested to me that superslow is beneficial in rehabilitation situations). huh! I dont follow - If it can be used in rehab - that means it works doesnt it? If you disagree with me then ask youselves the following question - do eccentric movements produce greater results in terms of muscle hypertrophy than concentric movements? If your answer is yes, then how can superslow not be at least as productive as traditional training proptocols which place far less emphasis on the eccentric protion of a movement? Under superslow you train with as much intensity as possible for a limited number of repitions and devote most of that training time to performing eccentric movements. Can anyone explain to why superslow if inferior to the more traditional protocols? I am genuinly interested in any answers you may have and I am not saying that superslow is the be all and end all of training, but I think that it has been given a bad rap by the staff at t-mag.
I tend to think it wouldn’t hit your FT fibers
that well so it’s a no for function and athletes both of which T-mag is interested in.
Some workouts in T-mag particularly the pullups
WO’s utilize SS protocol but to use it exclusively would be folly.
ill take a stab at answering your question
firstly - i think superslow has its place in training. Just like anything. Use it for short periods of time. Variety is the key but that is just my opinion
You use the reasoning that eccentric movements are better for hypertrophy than concentric reps(which i also believe to be true) and that superslow focuses on the eccentric.
Im not sure you are totally accurate, the tempos ive seen most commonly used with superslow is a 10 second eccentric and a 10 second concentric. Wich seems to emphasise the concentric and eccentric equally.
Now for you to lift a weight intentionally that slowly, you need to use light weights (that is true for me anyway even if i do keep the number of reps low), so the tension in the eccentric rep is not as high as what it could be. (lowering a light weight slowly probably only has the same tension as lowering a heavy weight with a medium speed)
also a slow concentric means that you are not generating the force you you would if you performed a fast concentric.
I believe that using slightly heavier weights keeping the slow eccentric but using CAT for the concentric would be a more thorough method of training.
To obtain max hypertrophy, you cannot neglect the load. Superslow limits the amount of load that can be used–therefore it can be good for rehab because low loads can be used. When you say “intensity” you are confusing intensity with perceived effort. Intensity is defined by how close the load is to your 1 rep max. By this definition, superslow is low intensity–though it is vey high effort. I don’t see the point of doing superslows. If you do 8 reps using a 822 tempo, that is plenty slow enough. My opinion is that going any slower makes you use too low of a weight to be very benenficial.
Ronnie: I can’t give you a direct answer because I am not as familiar with Super-Slow. However (and this may just be my own take at following the iron game for a few years); I’m wary of any protocol that develops a “following” or “diciples”, whether it’s HIT, Super-Slow or some useless supplement. There is usually too much pragmatism and unwillingness to continue to learn and grow. And if you do that in this game, you actually are going backwards. Just my take.
… “SPEED”
Shocker number two - it has been shown that fast movements (contractions),
produce the greatest increases in strength and growth. This really should
not come as a surprise. The speed of movement when lifting a weight that
you are only capable of doing 10 reps with, even performing the reps as
fast as possible with good form, is still very slow compared to many
sports movements - such as swinging a bat, throwing a ball, running - etc.
The concentric part of the movement should be done as fast as possible -
however this does not mean to ‘jerk’ the weight - it is also very
important that the movement be done in a ‘smooth’ manner. This is
important - ‘jerking’ the weight may cause an increase in strength due to
neural factors - but it is not the best way to increase muscle size.
McArdle, W.D., and Katch, F.I., and Katch, V.L., Exercise Physiology, fourth edition, Williams and Wilkins, 1996. (includes 178 source referencences pertaining to the above subject).
yes it works, anything that is good for rehab is by nature good for growth, the only problem I have w/super-slow training is I DO NOT believe it is safe to use on squats or deads, you HAVE to keep the lungs full and expanded to suport the spine, if you are breathing during the 10sec. positive contraction you can not keep the spine safe, I also think you should be wary of super-slow training in some pressing exercises (bench for example would put your rotatorcuffs in a dangerous position with out the “base” of full expanded lungs) but yes it does and has worked for decades upon decades, it is NOT something new. as always peace
Ronnie, I hear what you are saying. But listen, the real problem with super slow is the converse of Olympic lifting, they are way to technique oriented. Oly lifting is good for “explosive learning” but really, you are better of just jumping and running and practicing you rush technique (a good punch and swim is better for a football player than being able to snach and clean), and Super Slow is good for killing momentum. However, you must really try to recruit as many fibres as possible, meaning maximal power production. It’s just you want to do this while your muscles are tired so that you will not get hurt (your last rep will be super slow do to fatigue). As far as the intensity of you exercise, you are onto something I only really comprehended recently. Positives are “more exercise” while negatives are “harder exercise” so a balance is struck (asuming you are lifting the weights yourself) and do positives as fast as possible while minimizing momentum (say one or two seconds, which is much slower that most really realize), while lowering at a slow constant speed (very important, I still wonder if ten seconds is required). You might want to start SS and move towards a Nautilus Arthur Jones style of exercise. You will appreciate the form of course, but also how very very hard exercise can be. Good luck.
Superslow doesn’t work because the low weights you are FORCED to use (1) don’t activate FT fibers as well, and (2) don’t cause nearly enough damage.
I have used SS, have several books on it and like it. I do not use it often anymore. I believe I read that SS gains in strength only are with the slow lifting speed and do not carry over to “normal” lifts. Also, I have yet to see an athlete, bodybuilder etc train exclusively on it. Have you?