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Old 04-16-19, 04:44 PM  
susan p
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what role does SPEED play in strength training?

Lately I am getting away from video strength workouts because in most cases, the speed is quite fast. I love BodyPump. . . LOVE IT. But the older I get, the more I feel that the speed of the reps is too much, on the verge of dangerous.

I don't feel as PUMPED when I do slower workouts, though. I'm about to embark on Steph Gaudreau's Made Strong program, which is a paper program, in part because I'm tired of keeping up with the SPEED of following along with a DVD.

But it makes me wonder if speed has VALUE in some way. For instance, if I do 100 squats with 2X12 dumbbells at BodyPump "singles" speed, is that developing something that doing 100 squats with the same weight at a more comfortable pace is not?

It makes sense that the speed requires more POWER somehow, even though the amount of weight lifted and number of reps is the same.

Does anyone know anything about this? Do I lose anything by doing slower strength workouts? Although slower reps probably take less power, there is probably, in most cases, an increased range of motion. I wonder if that makes slower better, or if the need for power makes faster better?

I just know that my joints are a little more tetchy than they used to be, and avoiding injury is better than rehabbing injury. But I do wonder if I'm losing something by not keeping up the speed.

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Old 04-16-19, 05:32 PM  
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Interesting question. Sorry I don't have an answer, but I am also curious. I find a lot of the weight training workouts seem to go too fast for me also, but at the same time I don't really like paper workouts and just don't find the motivation to do them.
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Old 04-16-19, 05:42 PM  
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Generally if workouts are too fast, I won't do them. Or I'll skip reps or sets. Or lower the weights. I feel that my form suffers if I go too fast. Plus, my knees are twingey. I'm just not going to do it. If I go slower, I can usually lift heavier.
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Old 04-16-19, 05:50 PM  
Annie S.
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This is my opinion only, not based on anything scientific, but I think speed may have more of a cardio effect than anything. Also, I think it lessens the strength aspects. For example, you could do 100 squats really fast and not-deep, or you could do 100 slower with better form and go deeper, which would build more strength. (Not that you're ever going to see me doing 100 -- at least not in one day! LOL!)
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Old 04-17-19, 06:00 AM  
Rhonda
 
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I prefer slower weight workouts. I guess that is why I haven't like many strength workouts of late as they all seem fast and I don't like compound movements.

I prefer only upper or only lower not a combo move as it feels awkward to me.
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Old 04-17-19, 08:42 AM  
anjabear
 
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Speed trains fast twitch muscles. As we age we tend to use those less and less. I don't like to train with weights fast either anymore. I'm thinking of Supreme 90 Day system as I type this. I used to like it a lot. Now I don't think I'll ever do it again.
Miranda, in Classical Stretch, sometimes will do moves and say they are for the fast twitch muscles. So I'm guessing it's all relative.
Maybe do some "sprints" or intervals in your cardio work to get in some fast twitch muscle action. Or do some sort of body weight work faster sometime after you're good and warm.
I don't want to get sidelined either.
I also will use the pause button to take my time. I would rather go heavier in weight and go slower now.
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Old 04-17-19, 11:32 AM  
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Susie Hathaway includes a few quite fast strength moves in her band workout.

https://strengthtrainingforosteoporosis.com/dvds/

She says that fast moves help our reaction times. I think some of it is more for your brain than for your muscles. The body reacts more slowly to messages from the brain as we age.

This kind of training could help prevent falls. Sounds good to me!
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Old 04-17-19, 12:17 PM  
Sue B
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From what I've read about "metabolic strength training" (faster moves with lighter but not necessarily LIGHT weights, such as Body Pump) it improves your endurance and conditioning. So I try to include both high weight/low rep and lower weight/higher rep exercises. A lot of newer programs include both kinds in each workout - you might find that to be the case in Made Strong.

I mostly do paper strength workouts now since the vast majority of weights videos go too fast for me to focus on good form. James Crossley's Get Fit at 40+ and Xtrainfit Toning are two rare exceptions.
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Old 04-17-19, 02:12 PM  
bzar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by susan p View Post
I don't feel as PUMPED when I do slower workouts, though.
you can increase the poundage when you lift slower to feel pumped.

another idea is to select workouts where the instructor uses a timer rather than count reps, ala body building. P90x is like that, as is Tony Little's Body Express series. Cory Everson's workouts tend to be slower and more controlled. Cathe's Slow and Heavy, Pyramids, and Pure Strength tend to go at a more controlled pace.

speed can make it more AWT, as others have said, adding a cardio effect. also, speed adds momentum.
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Old 04-17-19, 08:51 PM  
JackieB
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I don't lift free weights much anymore.

That said, when I did my L4 Essentrics training, it stressed the importance of working both slow and fast twitch muscles in your strength training program. So, I would gather that applies to both body weight and free weights.

If you're training for life....we need both of those types of muscles for day to day living....whatever we do....I recently had to sprint through an airport and I was glad to be able to do that.
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