Slow Lifting (1 of 4): Definition and Motivation
What is Slow Lifting?
How can you trigger muscle growth in less than 2 minutes?
- Find a moderate weight.
- Pick up the weight.
- Lift the weight slowly.
Not enough detail?
Read the Cliff Notes below or skip to the specifics in Part 2.
Slow Lift Protocol Summary
- Pick an exercise – Squat, Deadlift, Row, or Press.
- Pick a weight that’s about 50% of your 1 Rep Max.
- Lift slowly so each rep takes 10 seconds – 5 up and 5 down.
- Don’t pause at the top or bottom of the rep. No breaks.
- Complete 7-10 reps for that exercise.
- Grab a chair and collapse.
- Enjoy the rest of your day.
- Seriously, you’re done.
That’s it. That’s the whole post.
That’s also HARD.
Excruciating.
Why Lift Slowly?
- Because you can add muscle in 2 minutes when it takes most people 20 minutes.
- Because you don’t have to spend much or any time planning your workouts.
- Because the stronger you get, the less frequently you’ll work out.
Wha-wha-WHAT?
As you get stronger and lift heavier, your muscles need more time to heal. That means you need more rest each day and/or more days between workouts.
How Slow Lifting Helped Me
Strategy is making choices and deliberately choosing to be different.
Michael Porter
I chose slow lifting because I wanted to let my body heal from five years of heavy CrossFit workouts and a lifetime of Sparring. I still love both, but I wanted to save time, focus on flexibility, and maintain my strength.
Those choices aren’t for everyone. That’s my strategy. I wanted to lower my body fat levels with less exercise time. I wanted to reclaim physical energy from long workouts and redirect it towards speaking, writing, business, and family.
Sounds weird? If you’ve ever felt brain-dead and couch-bound after a long workout, remember the hours you spent recovering to function normally. I traded off peak physical performance for more hours in the day with mental clarity. Overachievers might want both and trade-off something else.
If you’re interested in getting fit in less time, the good news is: Slow Lifting paired with Low Carb Eating worked. My body fat went down. I increased weight substantially on my major lifts using the slow lift criteria. I gained back time and energy for the rest of my life outside the gym.
There are no solutions, only trade-offs.
Thomas Sowell
Read Part 2 for how I exercised on the Slow Lift protocol, Part 3 for how I ate to support muscle growth and fat burning, and Part 4 for results, analysis, and who would or would not benefit from this workout.