Book Review - Hahn, et al, The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution (Muscles, Exercise, Weightlifting)

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BOOK REVIEW

 

 

 

The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution

The Slow-Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week

 

Frederick Hahn, and Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D.

 

 

 

ISBN: 0-7679-1386-8

 

©2003

 

181 pp

 

 

 

From the Table of Contents:

 

Part I – The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution

 

 

 

1. The Exercise Myths

 

2. Slow-Burn Strength Training

 

3. Turn Your Body into a Fat-Burning Machine

 

4. The Heart of the Matter

 

5. Enhancing Flexibility

 

6. Stronger Bones

 

7. Bye-Bye, Back Pain

 

8. Improving Athletic Performance

 

 

 

Part II – The Slow Burn Total-Fitness Routine

 

9. Slow Burn at Home

 

10. Slow Burn in the Gym

 

 

 

Appendix

 

 

 

A. Resource List

 

B. The Slow Burn Progress Chart

 

C. The Slow Burn Power Eating Plan (not recommended)

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

 

 

This book’s title says it all: Slow Burn.

 

Pages 27 – 29, “The Slow Burn Technique” summarize the methodology, doing

each

repetition very slowly, in perfect form. Each rep takes approximately 20

seconds, ten each

 

way, as further explained below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Slow Burn Technique

 

The revolutionary Slow Burn technique is designed to quickly bring about

deep fatigue of the lesser muscle fibers and ignite a burn sufficient to

fatigue even those power­houses, the big, fast fibers. The key element is

that each exercise must be performed with slow, precise repetitions, in

perfect form, with a weight heavy enough to take the mus­cle being worked to

total fatigue in just a few repetitions. Total fatigue is the point at which

the muscle cannot move the weight anymore with any amount of coaxing. At

that point, the muscle Fibers send out a cascade of chemical sig­nals that

stimulate growth, increase strength, and improve metabolic functioning to

ensure that should a similar work demand arise in the future, the muscle

will be ready to meet the challenge. As a consequence, continued application

of the technique quickly builds strength and restores the mus­cle mass,

power, and quickness that have been lost to disuse or to age.

 

In a typical slow Burn workout of a specific muscle group. you'll spend a

mere sixty to ninety seconds perfectly per­forming a single set of only

three to six repetitions. With each repetition, you'll take three seconds

just to initiate the motion, allowing the muscle fibers to sit up and take

notice that there's work to be done, then lift arid lower the weight

precisely and slowly. When performing a Slow Burn exercise with weights

(either at home or in the gym), you’ll want to select a weight so heavy that

for the first second or two you feel like you won't be able to budge it.

Just keep breathing calmly and pushing slowly, steadily, and with focus. If

it's really too heavy, it won't budge. If you can lift the weight slowly,

with good form, for at least sixty seconds, it is not too heavy. If you

reach failure before about forty seconds. it's too much weight. If you can

continue slow repetitions in perfect, slow form for longer than ninety

seconds, the weight is too light. The ideal weight choice for any given

exercise is one that allows you to complete three to six slow repetitious

within the sixty-to ninety second time frame, before failure occurs. Your

goal is to bring the muscle to utter fatigue without letting momentum or

gravity do any of the work for you—in good, slow form, not to lift a

particular amount of weight.

 

 

Despite its terminal sound, " failure " isn't some catastrophic event during

which the muscle collapses, but merely the point of deep, total fatigue at

which no matter how hard you try you can no longer lift the weight, and

still maintain perfect, relaxed form. No twisting or arching your back,

as­sisting with other body parts, grimacing, jerking the weight, or letting

it fall with gravity. These maneuvers so commonly seen in traditional gym

settings, only invite injury and rob you of part of the benefit you would

otherwise derive from your workout. Welcome failure—it is your sign of

success and the targeted endpoint for each exercise.

 

 

 

If you spend a couple of minutes on each exercise with a minutes or so in

between as you shift from one exercise to the next, you'll he able to

complete the entire Slow Burn fitness regimen in less than half all hour and

without breaking much of a sweat. You will have taken all your major muscle

groups to deep fatigue and in doing so, you will have stimulated the growth

and strengthening of all the muscle fiber types including the big

fast-twitchers-----as you could do in no other way. And at the same time,

you'll have reduced your risk of osteoporosis. increased your flexibility,

improved your cardiovascular health, and, as you’ll see in the next chapter,

traded some body fat for muscle. Not bad for thirty sweat-free minutes a

week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part II – The Slow Burn Total-Fitness Routine – (more)

 

9. Slow Burn at Home

 

Expanded – I like the inclusion of home exercises: not requiring the use of

a gym. This section includes the following exercises:

 

 

 

 

 

No.

 

Exercise

 

Muscles worked

 

 

1

 

Push-ups

 

Chest, arms, shoulders

 

 

2

 

Doorknob squats

 

Buttocks, thighs

 

 

3

 

Side-lying leg lifts

 

Buttocks (sides)

 

 

4

 

Single-leg curls

 

Rear thighs, calves

 

 

5

 

Side-shoulder raise

 

Shoulders

 

 

6

 

Overhead press

 

Shoulders, arms, neck

 

 

7

 

Single-arm back pull-ups

 

Back, upper arms

 

 

8

 

Bicep curls

 

Upper arms

 

 

9

 

Shoulder shrugs

 

Upper neck, shoulders

 

 

10

 

Abdominal crunches

 

Abdominal muscles

 

 

11

 

Heel raises

 

Calves (lower leg)

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Slow Burn in the Gym

 

 

This section includes 13 exercises, with most of the above, plus

a neck and lower back extension machines.

 

Both sections have excellent pictures.

 

I’d recommend this book for a read from a library loan – once you’re read

it,

you won’t need it on your home library shelf.

 

Personally, I’m just two weeks into it: too early to report. It does feel as

if the

muscles are responding.

 

 

 

Best,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Farrell

co-founder, Path of Health group

part of an exchange-based community

HYPERLINK

" sPathOfHealth- " PathOfHealth-@

groups.com

 

 

 

 

 

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