Hi,
I saw a man doing squats too slowly (about 20 seconds each rep).
When I tried it, I found it difficult and I had to decrease the weight in order to be able to do it.
What are the pros and cons of doing exercises too slowly?
Thanks in advance.
Slow exercises
Moderators: cassiegose, Boss Man
Re: Slow exercises
Basically the main difference is the emphasis on the muscles. I personally don't see enough added benefit to favour it over nomal duration reps of say 2-3 seconds a rep
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Re: Slow exercises
While 20 seconds for the squat sounds extreme there is a benefit to the "negative" of the weight lifting exercise. The negative is the bringing the weight down after pushing it up. Many people do the negative too quickly it should be done slow.
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Re: Slow exercises
The main idea of doing slow exercises is to control the concentric and eccentric muscle movements. For example, increasing the time it takes to do a dumbbell bicep curl minimizes momentum and more accurately targets the muscle that is being worked by the exercise. The pros to slowing down the concentric and eccentric muscle movements are to reduce momentum and specifically target one muscle or muscle group. The cons to slowing down these muscle movements is that it takes more time at the gym if you don't have the weight set correctly and have a targeted range for the number of reps to complete. When doing these slow exercises it is best to go for only one set, but to go until complete muscle failure. For example, when I do leg extensions, I started with 78lb and I was able to do 10 reps but I took 3-4 seconds for the concentric and eccentric muscle movements and I was aiming for 10-15 reps. Then once I was able to get up to 15 or more until I physically couldn't do a rep anymore I would increase the weight next time, now I am currently at 112lbs and it has only been a couple weeks.
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Re: Slow exercises
When I first started training, I also did everything slowly. The coach says it's to feel the muscles better and not to get hurt. The body is not ready to work out, so this option is suitable for beginners. Besides, slow exercises are really harder to do, even if you do a lot of exercises. I still use it while doing something new to me.