I was at the gym the other day pulling on the lateral pull down machine. I had the weight set at 120 pounds mindlessly pulled the bars down and let them rise again. A trainer came up to me and said he couldn't stand watching me do this wrong anymore. He said I was using momentum and wasn't getting the full benefit of exercise. He moved the weight from 120 pounds to 70 pounds and told me to go slower. He said I should pull down for two seconds and release for 2 or 3 seconds. He said I should start by blowing out a breath and pull down for as long as it takes to say one one thousand, two one thousand and then slowly go up one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand. I gave it a try. "This is so freaking slow," I told him, "But thanks for the advice." I repeated my lateral pull downs at only 70 pounds, going slow, and by the end of my third set of 12, my arms were shaking. Was this guy a butinski? Yes, but I do believe he was helpful. I am grateful he said something. Are 3 slow sets of 70 pounds more beneficial than 3 fast sets of 120 pounds? The jury is out on that one. My goal isn't to become a weightlifter or to develop buff arms. My goal is to burn more calories throughout the day by becoming toned and stronger. Maybe a combination of slow lower weights and fast higher weights is the way to go.
3 comments:
Your arms get a better workout (burn more calories, build stronger muscle) if you go slower. It's like running down an incline versus running up an incline. Your body has to work harder.
Strength training isn't cardio! It's not supposed to burn more calories, but it is supposed to make your body better able to burn them.
I thought I heard your body burned more calories all day if you lifted weights.
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