Slow and Heavy

[gingercookie]

I would like to have your comments on the Slow and Heavy workout. I am thinking of purchasing it and want to make a wise investment, if you know what I mean. First of all, I have been on the Body for Life Program for about a year on and off. I like working with weights and have Cathe's PS series. Love them. Now what I am looking for in the comments is if you have seen results with the S&H. I know what everyone means when they say the tapes are great etc.... all of Cathe's tapes that I own are. Key word: RESULTS!!! Let me know. I need to have different workouts and I have a feeling that this workout would really shake things up. Thanks in advance. Ginger

 

[lorihart]

Ginger,
I just got the slow and heavy series on Tuesday.Tuesday night I did Triceps and Biceps and yesterday and today I can really feel the tightness in my bicep.Now the last two days I have worked evening shiffs which only leaves me with an hour in the morning for working out..so I haven't got to the others...only I had time to do almost all of the chest excercises in the chest and back one.I don't know how that went but i will probably know tomorrow.Im sure whatever you buy ...if Cathe is involved you will enjoy it.I have always gotten results with her tapes.Hope I helped...by the way how did you find body for life?
Lori

 

[cyberfit]

Ginger, how do you define results? S&H will increase your strength and muscle mass if used consistently with good form and challenging weights. I think it's a great series (my favorite)but because of the concentration required, I use it in short rotations. And I really don't think that S&H lends itself well to additional (such as throwing in MIS or PH) strength work in the same week, but this is just my experience and you will probably get opinions that contradict mine. Try it, you'll like it (I hope!)

 

[EllenU]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-02 AT 08:47AM (Est)[/font][p]Hi, Ginger.

I'm in my third week of my first S&H rotation. I've been working each body part once a week. The most noticeable physical change for me is added definition in the area between the shoulder muscles and biceps. Although I'm quite pleased with the added definition in my arms, my goals for this rotation were to break some strength plateaus. I'm pretty sure I'm stronger, but I'll have a better feel for this when I go back to doing PS or MIS.

I really like this series. I know this may sound strange, but I find S&H to be kind of relaxing. I think it's the slow pace and long rests between sets.

Ellen

 

[Marlene123]

Ginger:

I am glad you already have the Pure Strength series because that has been my mainstay throughout the last year and a half and it has given me great results (I also use MIS and CTX upper body for additional weight training each week). I think that all three tapes of Pure Strength comprise the best and most effective strength training routine you could possibly do.

That being said, I think it is also important to shake things up once in awhile and get away from it. Your muscles get too used to doing the same thing and further development stalls. Also, no matter who great a workout is, it can get somewhat boring if done continuously for months at a time. I believe Cathe had this in mind and created Slow and Heavy for us to use in shorter bursts.

I just finished a three week rotation of Slow and Heavy.

Here is what I found:

Right before I started Slow and Heavy, as I did my last Pure Strength, I wrote down the exact weight I was using for each exercise. I made an effort to use the heaviest possible weight I was capable of using with good form. Using such heavy weights was a challenge for me and believe me, I used the absolute heaviest I could. I was certain after each set I could not have lifted any heavier. I was wiped out after each session, dripping sweat and shaking like a Chihuahua. But this was part of my experiment and I wanted to see (a) what was my heaviest poundage for each Pure Strength exercise and (b) how my strength would compare after Slow and Heavy.

After 3 weeks of Slow and Heavy I returned to Pure Strength and started with the weight poundage I last used. I am glad I took the time to actually write it all down because I would never have remembered exactly where I left off.

I was amazed that although this poundage was still pretty heavy for me, it was nowhere near as difficult to complete the lifts.

So my conclusion is that I did not stay with Slow and Heavy long enough to see actual gain in muscle definition but it sure did give me a boost in strength, allowing me to now go even heavier in Pure Strength than when I left it. This in turn translates to more muscle development down the line.

I think Slow and Heavy is a valuable and valid regimen with great strength gain benefits.

Marlene

 

[gingercookie]

Thank you for you replies. You talked me into it. I ordered it yesterday. I am looking forward to using it with other routines. Lorihart, my husband and I follow Body for Life eating and it works for us. We don't follow the exercise routine exactly, but it did get us hooked on using weights. Again, thanks for your replies.
Ginger