280 of 287 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good workout, decent book, February 13, 2003
This review is from: The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution: The Slow Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week (Hardcover)
So, as people have noted, slow lifting has been around for a while, but this book, along with Power of 10, is really trying to bring it more into the mainstream.
The book is split into two parts: The "Why" and the "How". The first part, the "Why" section, explains why the Slow Burn workout is good for you. The benefits they describe aren't exclusive to slow lifting; they can apply to any sort of strength training. And whiel some of the benefits they describe are pretty well known to people who weight-lift, it's good to remind all those people packed into the 5:00 Spinning class that strength training isn't just for massive guys in spandex with no body hair.
The book also made some pretty surprising (or outrageous) claims -- for example, that an aerobic exercise like running barely improves your heart at all; it just makes your leg muscles more efficient for future runs. Or that lots of stretching does you more harm in the long-run than good. (Come to think of it, I do know lots of dancers with dislocated joints.) And I would tend to believe them, except for the fact that the tone of this whole section totally turned me off. Frankly, it sounded less and less like an exercise book and more like an infomercial. Hey, guys, if your facts are persuasive enough (and they seem to be), I should be able to figure out on my own that the Slow Burn program is good without you screaming at me to "Join the Slow Burn Revolution!" every third paragraph. Enough with the hard sell!
Anyway, the second half of the book, the "How" section, describes several Slow Burn exercises to perform. And they include two sets of exercises: one you can do at home without much equipment, and one you can do at the gym with machines. I focused mostly on the second section, and found the descriptions to be pretty helpful. They include photos of each exercise at the "start" and "end" stage, along with a list of pointers to remember.
I do have some complaints with this section, though. They give you several odd rules to follow -- for example, to do exercises in exactly the order they describe, to spend the first three seconds lifting the first inch and the remaining seven seconds lifting the rest of the way, or to only spend a minute resting between exercises -- without really telling you why any of that is important. That kind of information would have really been helpful. Especially, say, if I needed to improvise or change my routine in any way.
But anyway, all of this is well and good, but it doesn't really matter unless the program works, and so far, it's been working really well. I've been doing a slow lift routine, once a week, for about a month now, and there's a noticeable improvement in my physique. I've definitely gained muscle in my chest and back, and my abs are regaining some definition, too. I also feel great the day after. I'm sore in a "I worked out pretty hard" way, not a "Jeez, I think I tore a tendon" way. Could I have gotten the same results if I had worked out with an old "25 minutes of cardio, 45 minutes of lifting three-to-five times a week" routine? Probably. But, unlike the 3-5 times a week routine, this one I can actually do and still have a life outside the gym.
"Okay," you're thinking, "There's gotta be a catch." Right? Well there is, kind of. The catch is this: This workout saves you _time_, not _effort_. Sure, it's only a 30 minute workout per week, but it's not the same 30 minutes you spend on the stairmaster. This is the most intense 30 minute workout you'll ever have, and it requires some willpower and discipline to see it through. The whole point of the technique is to bring your muscles to failure as soon as possible, and you can't do that if you quit because it's starting to get hard or you don't feel like working. So ask yourself this: Are you not going to the gym because you have other things you'd rather do with your time, or are you just lazy? 'Cuz if it's the latter, there's no exercise book out there that'll help you.
Oh, and I'm not quite sure why so many reviews around here are focused on the diet. The section on diet is this tiny little 5-page appendix at the end, and it's a pretty moderate, "Try eating more protien and fewer carbs" approach than anything crazy. Personally, I haven't really changeed my diet at all.
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188 of 191 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, good workout, but we couldn't stick with it, January 23, 2006
This review is from: The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution: The Slow Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week (Hardcover)
Both my wife and I tried the Slow Burn workout for about a month and I thought I'd share our experience. We're middle age and in better shape than average. We ended up switching to another workout routine but not because Slow Burn wasn't working for us "physically". It was working, but it ended up not being a good "psychological" fit for us.
Slow Burn, the book, is good. The author lays out his case logically and makes it easy to get started. He anticipated and answered about every question we had and provided good, practical advice. The home workout described can be done with just a modest investment. As others have said, though the workout is designed to do just once a week for 30 minutes (that's what attracted us initially), if done properly it's very intense.
The book actually lays out two different routines, one for the home with basic equipment, and one for the gym with weight machines. We worked out at home. The first week, as suggested in the book, we did the workout 3 times to speed up the learning process, then switched to 1/week once we were comfortable with the routine and had figured out the appropriate weights. Having a partner really helped with the time-keeping for each exercise. The book recommends getting a metronome. We didn't have one but I think it would help, escpecially if working out alone. The 2nd and 3rd week sessions went well. We were left drained and wobbly but in a satisfied way. But then a few days after the 4th week session we admitted to each other we really weren't looking forward to the next workout, and agreed to make a change.
An intense workout just 1/week sounds good, but at least in our case we learned we prefered a lower intensity routine we do more often. Maybe it has something to do with our age. As we grow older we like a daily routine more. After getting recommendations from friends and some trial and error we settled on the Joe X routine which we do each morning now. Joe X takes more time overall than Slow Burn each week but it keeps us motivated and lifts us up instead of wearing us out. We also looked at 5-Factor Fitness and Body for Life. Though we ended up doing something else, these two programs also seem good and are worth considering. I guess the point I'm making is we're all different and the physical side of fitness is only part of the issue. Like a diet, the best workout routine is probably the one that you can stick with, and it may be different than the next persons.
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107 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this work out, June 19, 2005
This review is from: The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution: The Slow Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week (Hardcover)
I'm female, 55 and was not fit, though I used to be in my 20's. After two kids and 30 lbs of slow slide into middle age I was ready to find a way out but nothing had worked much. I'd done most of the standard recommended programs. It helped some. I wasn't a couch potato but hardly what I'd consider fit.
2 years ago I ran across Slowburn Fitness and started doing it. I was SO grateful for something short, simple and effective. 2 years later I'm as strong (or perhaps stronger) than I was in my 20's. I have endurance and stamina. I also have lost 30 lbs and am down to a very good body mass figure. And ALL of this with two 15 or 20 minute sessions a week. I couldn't believe they meant it but they did.
The people who write negatively about this program say that its hard to do or it "hurts" and so people wont want to do it. I found just the opposite. I was SO glad I could do it at home, virtually for free, and not have to be at a gym (though later I've come to use gyms sometimes.) I was SO grateful that it was working they way the authors promised. And I can't believe that it really delivered what it promised, but it did.
So get it and do it! It is the least dangerous, safest and most effective program --especially for us older types for whom injury during exercise is an issue. Just be aware that you do not have to HURT to do this, just work out till your muscle fatigues. The exercises are designed to fatigue muscles fast, in only a few repetitions. If you are not used to the feelings you might consider them unpleasant but. . .just remember, its ONLY FIFTEEN MINUTES. (twice a week at that) and you get as much fitness or more than if you were spending hours doing other programs.
For me that is exactly what I needed.
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