We are so glad you are here. Congratulations on taking the first step toward getting stronger. We want to take a moment to give you some information that will help you know what to expect and make the most out of your training.
Your training will take place once or twice a week, at your allotted day and time slot.
ABOUT YOUR WORKOUTS
When to Arrive
Arrive 5-10 minutes before your appointment. Some clients need closer to 10 minutes to release the worries of their daily lives and get focused on their intentions for their workout.
What to Wear
The best outfit is form-fitted clothing that allows you to move freely within your full range of motion. Some people wear workout gloves (gloves that stop at the knuckles).
Please avoid:
Before Your Session
Workout Room Decorum
You may share your session with another client and their respective trainer. Please keep speaking volume low and conversations to a minimum to help everyone maintain their focus.
Your Session
Each appointment is a half-hour time slot. The workout may not occupy the entire 30 minutes. It depends on the needs determined during your consultation. The amount of machines, your fitness level, and age may all affect the total duration of the workout. Expect that you will perform 5-7 machines for 1:30-3:30 minutes per machine.
Time Under Load
We measure time in our workouts as opposed to repetitions. This is called Time Under Load (TUL). We use a stop watch to start the time at the beginning of your exercise and stop it at the end.
In terms of strength progression, this is a more precise measure of progress. With TUL, we can do partial reps which allows for a more gradual progression into a full repetition.
The minimum amount of time on a machine is 1:30 (one minute and thirty seconds) and the maximum is 3:30. Anything outside of these parameters typically requires a weight adjustment.
Speed
Each repetition is a 10-second positive movement and a 10-second negative movement performed as one continuous loop without stopping.
Breathing
Clients are to perform throat breathing. This is similar to the way you breathe after a hard sprint -- in and out of the mouth, with the jaw dropped and the lips pencil width apart. This allows for maximum oxygen to the muscles.
Head in Neutral Position
Your head should always stay in "neutral position." Neutral position is a fist-size between your chin and your chest. This is the ideal position to protect the spine. You should never move you head up or down or left or right during any of the exercises. Even if we are talking to you, please keep looking forward.
The Goal of Each Session
Once meaningful resistance is achieved, our goal for each session going forward is to guide you to reach failure on each machine. Failure is the point at which the muscles can no longer contract. One you hit that point in a given exercise, we continue to have you press or pull as we give you a countdown from 10.
Recovery
Please allow 24-48 hours after each session before engaging in any other intense activity. This recovery period is crucial for building muscle. Your body is in a weakened and vulnerable state after your highly intense session with us. Interruption of the recovery time can result in injury or failure to build muscle.
Rescheduling
You may cancel a session at any time, including the same day of the session. You can reschedule the missed session any time within the same calendar month. This is primarily for accountability as consistency is key in getting results. However, if you are sick or out of town, we will make allowances to make sure we get you your sessions.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The First Month
Your first month of strength training is focused primarily on helping you learn the technique while gradually increasing your resistance. Technique consists of form/positioning, speed, and breathing. Although a trainer will always be by your side to give corrections and coaching, your effort to perfect the technique will help you get the most out of each workout.
Meaningful Resistance
Somewhere between sessions #5 and #12, depending on your age, fitness level, and existing conditions, you will reach meaningful resistance. That means the weight is neither too light nor too heavy -- it is just right for you and your strength progression. At this point, the weight feels appropriately challenging.
Months 1-3
Within the first three months, you can expect the training to feel good as you steadily increase your resistance on each machine. As you learn the technique and as you gain strength, you begin to feel better all around.
It is within this time that some clients will add on additional activities or may return to activities they were unable to perform for a while. This is precipitous.
The first three months are crucial to establishing, or reestablishing, strength. Adding too many activities too quickly can interfere with your progress at the studio. We recommend waiting until month 6 to add other activities.
The 3-Month Syndrome
From months 1-3, your body is rapidly and steadily adapting to the new stimulus of strength training. However, at around the 3-month mark, the body comes to a point where it has encountered meaningful resistance.
At this point the workout becomes challenging and the body must now make a much larger adaptation -- one that helps it adjust to strength training as a regular endeavor. To do so, it must bring your muscle mass up to a baseline level.
This turning point goes just beyond the proximal zone of comfort for growth. This is the cusp where you must feel a little uncomfortable to make a real change. It could also be the point at which the body demands more rest or more calories to support this activity. This can manifest in a number of ways:
As with any activity that pushes you beyond your comfort zone, whether it's therapy, a new venture, or a physical endeavor, you are now being called upon to step up to the next level.
The good news is that if you can push beyond the 3-month syndrome and commit -- truly commit as in "I won't quit until I get the results I came for" kind of commitment, then the body does make the necessary adaptations and that is when the true change begins.
Months 3-6
After you push through the 3-month Syndrome, now comes a sweeter phase. The body has transitioned from a muscle tissue deficit to a break-even muscle tissue level. We call the break-even point "baseline strength." This means that you now have sufficient muscle to meet all of your daily strength and energy needs. You should find that it is easier to do daily tasks or you don't get winded going up stairs anymore. This point feels really good. But wait! Most folks are really itching to do more at this point. They feel great and they start going on long hikes on a weekly basis or make appointments for competitive tennis matches or start biking everywhere instead of taking a car.
We understand this feeling and we want to support you. However, we strongly recommend that you wait for the 6-month mark before embarking taking on more.We need more time for you to build muscle beyond baseline strength and move into true strength.
By month 6, you're most likely getting the endorphins after working out and sometimes that rush makes you feel like you can weed your entire front and back yard that very afternoon (just one example of the many things that can occur in your endorphin-induced mind). But please, resist the urge! We need you to get to true strength. Instead of weeding everything at once, wait 24-48 hours after your workout to avoid interfering with muscle building and then do the weeding in segments.
For folks with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis, we would encourage waiting until 9 -12 months before adding in other activities.
We know, this is contrary to what is commonly recommended by the majority of the exercise world but in the case of Clinical Strength Training where we are trying to achieve tangible results, we need to make sure that we keep everything the same as long as possible so that the results have a chance to come through without interference.
Non-Variation of Workouts
The longer you are with us, the more you come to realize that we have not changed your workout at all at this point.
This is intentional and it's called "Non-Variation in Exercise." It is specific to the SuperSlow and Clinical Strength Training protocols. In Non-Variation, we do not change your workout for at least a year (unless there is an injury or reason we need to make an adjustment).
The reason for this is, because our approach is clinical, we are operating similar to a scientific experiment. In science, when you want to prove a theory via experiment, you have to keep all of the variables controlled except for the one you are testing for. We want to keep all of the variables the same with only one variable that changes -- the amount of resistance on each machine and/or the time on the machine. We leave the workout as it is to gain consistent progression in all of the muscle groups over a significant period of time.
This is the other reason we discourage adding additional activities outside of the workout too soon. The addition of outside stimulus introduces other variables that we cannot control for and therefore makes it more difficult to ensure that you can progress with us the way you are want to.
After about a year (although sometimes sooner), we review your file and see if we need to make any changes to the workout.
Months 6-9
If you have been working out consistently, reaching failure in each session, eating enough nutritious calories, and getting enough recovery, then this is the time where you start to truly build some strength. Many clients will continue to see progress week after week in the form of longer times in each exercise.
At this point in your daily life, you may notice some moments of power. For example, you may be able to balance on one foot longer than you ever have before or you may be able to lift a 50lb bag of dog food as if it were nothing. You may be surprised at how much endurance you have for sustained activities such as walking or swimming.
Now is the time to add a hobby that you really love to do. We want to emphasize that you add something that you love doing because in terms of exercise, there is nothing else you will need to do.
Your workouts with us will continue to become progressively more challenging to match your new strength. We do not require you to add more exercise days or other exercise activities. We've got it covered here! We want you to use your time on something truly wonderful. That's the whole point about being efficient in exercise! Just make sure to keep allotting for 24-48 hours of recovery time after your sessions with us.
Months 9-12
Your progress continues at this point. You may hit a plateau where you have reached a certain level of strength and hang out around the same Time Under Load for a bit. That's normal and it doesn't mean you're losing strength. It means you are strong and you're at a higher level now so you'll hover around the same TUL for longer before you see an increase. You may need to make some caloric, hydration, or recovery adjustments to get out of the plateau. But don't worry about this -- it is our job to give you guidance and/or assurance that you're still on track at this point. Well done for getting to a place of strength!
One Year Anniversary
Congratulations! At this point you should be very proud of yourself. You have completed an entire year's worth of strength training. This is an accomplishment in and of itself.
At the one year mark, we check-in with you with a consultation, similar to when you first joined. We review your progress chart with you, get your feedback and any updates, and we perform a new body analysis assessment. We reset goals and make a new plan for you, including any potential workout changes.
Now What?
Many new clients ask, "Is there a time frame to this program?" or "How long will I need to train for?"
Typically, our answer is, "Is there ever a time when you won't need strength?"
You see, strength is so important, that it should become a part of your lifestyle. It maintains the health of your body the same way brushing your teeth maintains dental health. Many times, once you stop, you go through the process described here but in reverse. By month 6, you start feeling symptoms of strength loss. The best thing to do is to make strength training a part of your life and view it as a form of health insurance. It has now been proven that the more muscle mass you have, the more likely you are to survive catastrophic illness or accidents, and muscle mass is now considered the greatest determinant of longevity.
Your training will take place once or twice a week, at your allotted day and time slot.
ABOUT YOUR WORKOUTS
When to Arrive
Arrive 5-10 minutes before your appointment. Some clients need closer to 10 minutes to release the worries of their daily lives and get focused on their intentions for their workout.
What to Wear
The best outfit is form-fitted clothing that allows you to move freely within your full range of motion. Some people wear workout gloves (gloves that stop at the knuckles).
Please avoid:
- Baggy clothing -- can be a hazard if it gets caught up in a machine and it also does not allow us to see your form on the machine.
- Jeans -- often too restrictive for movement and the buttons can rip the upholstery.
- Sweaters or bulky Jackets -- can promote overheating
- Heeled shoes -- do not allow for proper form
Before Your Session
- Empty your pockets of any phones or keys
- Spit out any gum
- Get some sips of water before your workout
- Prepare to focus and give it your all during your session.
- Place your phone on silent to avoid any potential notifications during yours and others' sessions
Workout Room Decorum
You may share your session with another client and their respective trainer. Please keep speaking volume low and conversations to a minimum to help everyone maintain their focus.
Your Session
Each appointment is a half-hour time slot. The workout may not occupy the entire 30 minutes. It depends on the needs determined during your consultation. The amount of machines, your fitness level, and age may all affect the total duration of the workout. Expect that you will perform 5-7 machines for 1:30-3:30 minutes per machine.
Time Under Load
We measure time in our workouts as opposed to repetitions. This is called Time Under Load (TUL). We use a stop watch to start the time at the beginning of your exercise and stop it at the end.
In terms of strength progression, this is a more precise measure of progress. With TUL, we can do partial reps which allows for a more gradual progression into a full repetition.
The minimum amount of time on a machine is 1:30 (one minute and thirty seconds) and the maximum is 3:30. Anything outside of these parameters typically requires a weight adjustment.
Speed
Each repetition is a 10-second positive movement and a 10-second negative movement performed as one continuous loop without stopping.
Breathing
Clients are to perform throat breathing. This is similar to the way you breathe after a hard sprint -- in and out of the mouth, with the jaw dropped and the lips pencil width apart. This allows for maximum oxygen to the muscles.
Head in Neutral Position
Your head should always stay in "neutral position." Neutral position is a fist-size between your chin and your chest. This is the ideal position to protect the spine. You should never move you head up or down or left or right during any of the exercises. Even if we are talking to you, please keep looking forward.
The Goal of Each Session
Once meaningful resistance is achieved, our goal for each session going forward is to guide you to reach failure on each machine. Failure is the point at which the muscles can no longer contract. One you hit that point in a given exercise, we continue to have you press or pull as we give you a countdown from 10.
Recovery
Please allow 24-48 hours after each session before engaging in any other intense activity. This recovery period is crucial for building muscle. Your body is in a weakened and vulnerable state after your highly intense session with us. Interruption of the recovery time can result in injury or failure to build muscle.
Rescheduling
You may cancel a session at any time, including the same day of the session. You can reschedule the missed session any time within the same calendar month. This is primarily for accountability as consistency is key in getting results. However, if you are sick or out of town, we will make allowances to make sure we get you your sessions.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The First Month
Your first month of strength training is focused primarily on helping you learn the technique while gradually increasing your resistance. Technique consists of form/positioning, speed, and breathing. Although a trainer will always be by your side to give corrections and coaching, your effort to perfect the technique will help you get the most out of each workout.
Meaningful Resistance
Somewhere between sessions #5 and #12, depending on your age, fitness level, and existing conditions, you will reach meaningful resistance. That means the weight is neither too light nor too heavy -- it is just right for you and your strength progression. At this point, the weight feels appropriately challenging.
Months 1-3
Within the first three months, you can expect the training to feel good as you steadily increase your resistance on each machine. As you learn the technique and as you gain strength, you begin to feel better all around.
It is within this time that some clients will add on additional activities or may return to activities they were unable to perform for a while. This is precipitous.
The first three months are crucial to establishing, or reestablishing, strength. Adding too many activities too quickly can interfere with your progress at the studio. We recommend waiting until month 6 to add other activities.
The 3-Month Syndrome
From months 1-3, your body is rapidly and steadily adapting to the new stimulus of strength training. However, at around the 3-month mark, the body comes to a point where it has encountered meaningful resistance.
At this point the workout becomes challenging and the body must now make a much larger adaptation -- one that helps it adjust to strength training as a regular endeavor. To do so, it must bring your muscle mass up to a baseline level.
This turning point goes just beyond the proximal zone of comfort for growth. This is the cusp where you must feel a little uncomfortable to make a real change. It could also be the point at which the body demands more rest or more calories to support this activity. This can manifest in a number of ways:
- Mental resistance to working out and therefore finding reasons to miss your sessions
- A feeling of dread upon entering the workout room ("not this hard workout again!")
- Boredom ("It's always the same thing!")
- Physical fatigue
- Indecision ("Do I really want to do this hard work every week?")
As with any activity that pushes you beyond your comfort zone, whether it's therapy, a new venture, or a physical endeavor, you are now being called upon to step up to the next level.
The good news is that if you can push beyond the 3-month syndrome and commit -- truly commit as in "I won't quit until I get the results I came for" kind of commitment, then the body does make the necessary adaptations and that is when the true change begins.
Months 3-6
After you push through the 3-month Syndrome, now comes a sweeter phase. The body has transitioned from a muscle tissue deficit to a break-even muscle tissue level. We call the break-even point "baseline strength." This means that you now have sufficient muscle to meet all of your daily strength and energy needs. You should find that it is easier to do daily tasks or you don't get winded going up stairs anymore. This point feels really good. But wait! Most folks are really itching to do more at this point. They feel great and they start going on long hikes on a weekly basis or make appointments for competitive tennis matches or start biking everywhere instead of taking a car.
We understand this feeling and we want to support you. However, we strongly recommend that you wait for the 6-month mark before embarking taking on more.We need more time for you to build muscle beyond baseline strength and move into true strength.
By month 6, you're most likely getting the endorphins after working out and sometimes that rush makes you feel like you can weed your entire front and back yard that very afternoon (just one example of the many things that can occur in your endorphin-induced mind). But please, resist the urge! We need you to get to true strength. Instead of weeding everything at once, wait 24-48 hours after your workout to avoid interfering with muscle building and then do the weeding in segments.
For folks with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis, we would encourage waiting until 9 -12 months before adding in other activities.
We know, this is contrary to what is commonly recommended by the majority of the exercise world but in the case of Clinical Strength Training where we are trying to achieve tangible results, we need to make sure that we keep everything the same as long as possible so that the results have a chance to come through without interference.
Non-Variation of Workouts
The longer you are with us, the more you come to realize that we have not changed your workout at all at this point.
This is intentional and it's called "Non-Variation in Exercise." It is specific to the SuperSlow and Clinical Strength Training protocols. In Non-Variation, we do not change your workout for at least a year (unless there is an injury or reason we need to make an adjustment).
The reason for this is, because our approach is clinical, we are operating similar to a scientific experiment. In science, when you want to prove a theory via experiment, you have to keep all of the variables controlled except for the one you are testing for. We want to keep all of the variables the same with only one variable that changes -- the amount of resistance on each machine and/or the time on the machine. We leave the workout as it is to gain consistent progression in all of the muscle groups over a significant period of time.
This is the other reason we discourage adding additional activities outside of the workout too soon. The addition of outside stimulus introduces other variables that we cannot control for and therefore makes it more difficult to ensure that you can progress with us the way you are want to.
After about a year (although sometimes sooner), we review your file and see if we need to make any changes to the workout.
Months 6-9
If you have been working out consistently, reaching failure in each session, eating enough nutritious calories, and getting enough recovery, then this is the time where you start to truly build some strength. Many clients will continue to see progress week after week in the form of longer times in each exercise.
At this point in your daily life, you may notice some moments of power. For example, you may be able to balance on one foot longer than you ever have before or you may be able to lift a 50lb bag of dog food as if it were nothing. You may be surprised at how much endurance you have for sustained activities such as walking or swimming.
Now is the time to add a hobby that you really love to do. We want to emphasize that you add something that you love doing because in terms of exercise, there is nothing else you will need to do.
Your workouts with us will continue to become progressively more challenging to match your new strength. We do not require you to add more exercise days or other exercise activities. We've got it covered here! We want you to use your time on something truly wonderful. That's the whole point about being efficient in exercise! Just make sure to keep allotting for 24-48 hours of recovery time after your sessions with us.
Months 9-12
Your progress continues at this point. You may hit a plateau where you have reached a certain level of strength and hang out around the same Time Under Load for a bit. That's normal and it doesn't mean you're losing strength. It means you are strong and you're at a higher level now so you'll hover around the same TUL for longer before you see an increase. You may need to make some caloric, hydration, or recovery adjustments to get out of the plateau. But don't worry about this -- it is our job to give you guidance and/or assurance that you're still on track at this point. Well done for getting to a place of strength!
One Year Anniversary
Congratulations! At this point you should be very proud of yourself. You have completed an entire year's worth of strength training. This is an accomplishment in and of itself.
At the one year mark, we check-in with you with a consultation, similar to when you first joined. We review your progress chart with you, get your feedback and any updates, and we perform a new body analysis assessment. We reset goals and make a new plan for you, including any potential workout changes.
Now What?
Many new clients ask, "Is there a time frame to this program?" or "How long will I need to train for?"
Typically, our answer is, "Is there ever a time when you won't need strength?"
You see, strength is so important, that it should become a part of your lifestyle. It maintains the health of your body the same way brushing your teeth maintains dental health. Many times, once you stop, you go through the process described here but in reverse. By month 6, you start feeling symptoms of strength loss. The best thing to do is to make strength training a part of your life and view it as a form of health insurance. It has now been proven that the more muscle mass you have, the more likely you are to survive catastrophic illness or accidents, and muscle mass is now considered the greatest determinant of longevity.