Hello,

I had never heard of the Slow Burn method until I read about it on this forum. It intrigued me because I hate cardio, never see results from it, and it makes me more hungry like others have stated. I decided to give it a try after reading the mini book available online yesterday, however I don't think my weights were heavy enough. I'll have to use some of hubby's that are in the garage collecting dust.
My question is (and I'm asking the ladies because our bodies burn fat a little differently, or so it seems) what is your routine? Do you do any cardio? How often do you work out? Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Elizabeth

i will probably get thrashed for this, but your statement about ladies burning calories differently is silly.

I've been Slow-Burning for a while, and I'm interested in other women's experiences. I don't know whether females react differently to exercise than males, but I know for a fact that my view of exercise is pretty different from that of most men's postings I've read, and I've read a lot of them. I'm not interested in exercise as an end in itself. Frankly, I find it uncomfortable and boring. I've NEVER got that "exercise high" people are supposed to get, and I've been exercising for years. I do it because I like the results, though I highly dislike the process!

Having said all that ... I find SB once or twice a week works well. I exercise at a gym because the weights I have at home are too light, especially for the lower body. I don't do "cardio" because I HATE it. I do walk every day, and I do an at-home walking video 20 mins-1/2 hour several times a week to get the heart rate up. But it's the SB, not the cardio, that's making a difference in muscle tone.

Here's what I do: walk to the gym (about 15 minutes) and exercise 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. I usually do one set of 10 on a low-medium weight to warm up, then three reps heavy and slow, then move to the next machine, repeat. Then I stretch and walk home. Takes about an hour total, once or twice a week, and I can live with that.

Rachel

I didn't say calories, I said fat. And I guess I should clarify what I mean by this. It seems since men usually have more lean muscle mass, they lose weight faster. That's why I'm interested in what the ladies have to say. Take my DH and me for example. He just thinks about losing weight and it happens. I have to put 100% of my effort just to lose a few pounds!

Thanks for sharing your routine Rachel!

Hi Elizabeth/Rachel

I'm interested in starting doing the Slow Burn thing - I've just read that mini book and have a mind to have a go when I go to the gym tonight.

Anyone interested in having a support/accountability thread on this?

Sure- I'm game!

Sure, why not?

Rachel

Hey gals!

I was going to look out for a "Twice a Week Workout Challenge" because I really need to get motivated again after having taken a break from my usual routine. I go to an exercise class (Bums, Tums and Thighs) where we do 30 mins aerobics followed by resistance training with bands/balls/ropes etc. I've been going there for about four years now, and I love it.

I have the Slow Burn book at home and try to do a home workout (with a teeny warm-up bit because I like to dance!) once a week on a Sunday, but I have got out of the habit lately because I was ill. I'm pretty much OK again (although I have done something to my shoulder, so I didn't go to my exercise class today).

I follow the basic routine he describes for a home workout with variations. I don't always do it the slow way, but I try to aim for slow and tiring, rather than lots of fast stuff.

If somebody would like to start a challenge on the Challenges sub-forum, I'd be willing to join you all!

amanda

Hi
I've become a firm believer in Fred Hahn's Slow Burn method. About 12 weeks ago I started doing it and I've had amazing results. I'm down 2" on my hips and 1" on waist and thighs. This after doing 'normal' strength training for over a year (3 sets 10-14 rep type stuff).

I had a real hard time in the beginning - probably for the first 6-8 weeks - giving up the cardio. I just couldn't quite get on board with NOT doing cardio. I was at the gym prior to this 60-90 minutes, 5-6 days a week. Now I'm at the gym about 25 minutes, twice a week. What freedom! And, I seem to have broken my stall by exercising smarter rather than longer.

Having said that, I do some lifestyle exercise also - swimming, surfing, beach walking this time of year but only maybe 3-4 days a week on average.

I strongly recommend getting his book. I started without it and did ok but the book really brings it all together. I've read it twice since I bought it about 4 weeks ago. I find that I need to go to the gym to get heavy enough weights also.

I do about 10-12 different exercises/machines at the gym when I work out. I alternate between upper and lower body exercises and keep moving at a good pace in order to keep my heart rate up.

Today's routine....
Chest Press
Single Leg Press
Lat Pull Down
Double Leg Press
Row
Shoulder pull down
Dead Lift
Shoulder raises to side
Calf raises
tricep pull down
Another leg machine (can't remember the name)

I do this routine twice a week. Last week I increased the amount of weight on most machines and found that I needed an extra day to recover but typically I do either Wed/Thur and Sunday workout.

People kinda look at me strangely but I just carry on. I figure they can do what works for them and I'll do what works for me. Plus, for the most part, I don't see other people's bodies changing....they just seem to show up and do the same things over and over again whereas I am definitely seeing changes in my body. Then again, that sounds kinda judgemental.....they are probably just in a place of maintenance where I still have a considerable amount of fat to lose.

I think a support/accountability thread would be great. There's not a lot of people doing this method of exercise so any support we can give each other would be very helpful. I'm in!

Thanks for sharing your routines! I will definitely get the book. I have started the accountability thread in the challenges forum, and posted my workout for today.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...687#post7728687

I've just posted in the challenges thread. I agree that we need a space for sharing our SB experiences. Fred Hahn has a forum on his web site, but it's full of guys having pissing contests and sneering at each other. I find very little useful information there. I don't think any women post there. Not that men CAN'T provide useful information and be pleasant on a forum, she hastened to add, but those ones don't and aren't!

I'm always looking for tips and hints to improve a workout too, so please share if you have any!

Rachel

Oops, my mistake.

Elizabeth, I can't believe I almost missed this thread (and I'll check out the SB thread in Challenges after this) since I've talked about Slow Burn ad infinitum here for the last several months. Given my own experiences with it, I believe it's the best, most effective workout a woman can do, regardless of age. After months of talking (and showing off my biceps) I finally got my 70-year-old friend (with 2 artificial hips) to do it - and the results have been nothing short of amazing!

I started off by doing two 20-30-minute routines a week at the Y - always doing some legs, some chest, some delts and pecs, some triceps, some biceps, etc.

After a few months of steady progress and slowly increased weights (and after watching the video on YouTube of a really ripped guy do a Slow Burn routine), I realized that my self-competitiveness was getting in my own way for real progress. I was keeping my weights just low enough so that I could complete a full 6 reps in a set. That's like only 'sort of' trusting the science behind eating low carb. Just enough to cut out the sugar - but not enough to start eating a lot of fat.

So I took a deep breath and upped my weights so much that I could only do maybe 3 or 4 reps before failure. Yes, it's counter-intuitive - but what about LC isn't counterintuitive? I mean, eat a lot of fat to lose a lot of fat? Who'd believe that, besides those of us who actually do it?

Two weeks later, my weights had dramatically increased - my muscles had grown amazingly - and, most interestingly - I could no longer do a twice a week routine. I now needed a full week of recovery, just like the book says will happen! So I started doing one 30 minute session a week, which felt just right.

To the person doing a 'warm up' of 10 reps/1 set lighter weight before doing the slow set, I would respectfully advise you to stop: you are defeating the purpose of Slow Burn, which is to fatigue the muscles as quickly, and with as much weight as you can. Drop the warm up and up your weights a fair bit. Bring yourself to absolute failure on a machine within 3-4 sets and move on. You will see some amazing results in a few weeks.

What's equally interesting about this is what happens when you stop for a while. I live in New England, and this has been one of the worst winters in a decade: lots of snow and ice and bitterly cold weather. I just cocooned inside the house for the last two months, not even taking the pooch for our daily walk. She just ran out to the back yard to do her business, then quickly ran back in again, and I was grateful I work at home and only had to go out for groceries.

I still have muscles. Not as hard, not as pumped, but still there. That's amazing to me. I'll start back up at the gym next week - twice a week for a while, and probably with reduced weights - but I suspect it won't take me long to get back up to speed.

Slow Burn rocks!

Lisa

Do you guys eat before you exercise, and if so, when and what? I like to hit the gym at about 9:00 am, and I don't like brekkie - besides which, I do intermittent fasting, which means I usually don't eat until about 2:00 pm. I find I'm hungrier on days I do SB, though, so I eat earlier those days.

Some people say exercise empty, some say carbs before, some say protein before ... any ideas?

Rachel