Washington Post Features The Perfect Workout

We would like to thank the Washington Post for choosing to spotlight us in an amazing article that helps spread the message about Slow Motion Strength Training and the amazing results associated with this scientifically proven method.


Here's the original article:

Slow-motion strength training is hard — and fast

By Rachel Pomerance Berl

One of the newest fitness studios in the D.C. area feels less like a gym and more like a physical therapist’s office. The Perfect Workout, which opened in August in Bethesda and Falls Church, offers clients personal training in a quiet, no-frills space filled with Nautilus equipment and framed testimonials (many from clients of an advanced age). It promises a complete workout in just two short sessions per week.

The drill: A high-intensity, low-impact program known as slow-motion strength training, in which gradually lifting and releasing weights without the aid of rest or momentum brings muscles to exhaustion. It’s extremely difficult. It’s also only 20 minutes.

Though The Perfect Workout, a California-based outfit founded in 1999, is new to the East Coast, the concept isn’t.

The Perfect Workout and other slow-motion training companies such as SuperSlow Zone, which has a location in Sterling, Va., and InForm Fitness, which has a studio in Leesburg, Va., cite principles outlined just over 30 years ago by fitness professional Ken Hutchins. In slowing down movements to safely train women with osteoporosis, Hutchins concluded that the technique builds muscle more effectively than conventional weight training, although others have contested this assertion.

The effectiveness of slow-motion strength training depends on the individual, according to Lee Jordan, a Florida trainer and spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, but it offers a broad range of people a safe and viable program.

Like high-intensity interval training, Jordan says, it seeks to remove the top barrier to exercise: time. But unlike high-intensity interval training (“by its very nature, it’s extreme,” he says), slow-motion strength training is accessible to anyone.

While advocates of slow-motion strength training claim it satisfies the need for cardiovascular activity, Jordan and other fitness experts argue that people require a mix of aerobic activity and strength training.

Still, the key to an exercise routine is sticking to that routine. And some clients say this program works.

“People love to hate this place,” says Nicole Gustavson, owner of Leesburg’s InForm Fitness. “But they keep coming back because they get results.”

At SuperSlow Zone in Sterling, Jannet Anmahian, 83, makes a show of exhaustion from her weight machine — sticking out her tongue and clasping her hands together in a sarcastic plea for help.

“I always complain,” she says, calling it “part of the game.”

Anmahian adds that “there are no words” to describe the value of this program, which she’s followed for more than 30 years and has no intention of stopping.

Mark Ello, 51, of Leesburg, began training at SuperSlow Zone in 2002 to shape up for his 20-year high school reunion. Since then, he reports better body composition plus lower blood sugar and cholesterol.

“It’s like a Chevy,” he says of the workout. “It’s not sexy, but it gets you from point A to point B.”


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Lorraine Has Dropped Two Sizes!

Lorraine says, "Some 60-year olds look like old people.  I've got to be lean and sexy in my 60's!  I tell other people to try it.  The Perfect Workout works so well.  It helps you stay young." 

Like a lot of women her age, Lorraine Waldron has struggled with her weight. After menopause, “things went awry,” she says. A low thyroid condition, a love-hate relationship with sugar, and an on-the-go lifestyle that left little time for healthy eating all contributed to added pounds. She’s tall, so she carried it well, but it got to a point where she knew she needed to do something about it. “I was in pretty bad shape. I knew I was in trouble with the lack of muscle in my body.” When she heard about The Perfect Workout in November of 2011, it made sense to her and she thought, “That’s exactly what I need.”

Her trainers at the Tustin studio worked through all her issues, including a past issue with pulled tendons and low bone density levels. There’s a different level of motivation when you have someone working with you one-on-one. Lorraine says, “Because you’re paying, you go! You don’t miss a session. I get a lot out of it. I have someone who keeps me accountable and encourages me. You get to know them.” Her current trainer is Britty, and Lorraine says, “She has a great attitude, and she pushes me. I’m a little cantankerous on the machines.” Lorraine’s discipline is paying off. She’s up to 50 pounds on the bicep curl, 62.5 on the abdominal machine, 50 on the chest press, and 50 on rows. She’s gotten up to 250 on the leg press and has a goal to hit 400 pounds. “I have a nice v-shape on top, and a nice shape overall,” she says. “Underneath my layer of fat is hard, lean muscle. I can see the muscles building up! They’re growing.” In addition, her sugar levels, which were at a point of metabolic syndrome, are all back to normal. Her bone density levels have improved by 7.5%, too, and she attributes all the improvements to slow motion strength training.

Lorraine stays active outside of her twice a week workouts by playing pickle ball, the fastest-growing sport in America. It’s played on tennis courts, and she plays doubles with her husband and son. She’s also a regular bowler, and enjoys playing Mahjong, the Chinese tile game. Her goal this year is to get outside more, do more walking, lose another 25-30 pounds, and once and for all, get skinny. “Some 60-year olds look like old people. I’ve got to be lean and sexy in my 60’s!” Lorraine says, “I tell other people to try it. The Perfect Workout works so well. It’s helps you stay young.”

The Perfect Workout Tustin

17291 Irvine Blvd #320,

Tustin, CA 92780, United States

+1 714-599-9051

http://www.theperfectworkout.com/personal-trainer-tustin/