3 seconds may make a difference.. Why is it recommended to slow down your movements during exercise?

- You may feel satisfied after completing a set of squats, push-ups, or arm curls with weights, especially when your heart beats faster. But speeding up the repetitions may deprive you of an important opportunity to enhance your muscle strength.

Although high heart rate is an important indicator of cardiovascular activity, it does not necessarily reflect the quality of strength training. When the goal is to build muscle, how to control resistance during movement becomes more important than speed.

Slowing down the movement by just three seconds per repetition can make the exercise more difficult and effective, and gives you an opportunity to improve your posture and control your movements. Three seconds can make a difference Most strength exercises involve two types of muscle contractions: When you raise the dumbbell toward the shoulder, the biceps muscle in the front of the arm shortens.

When lowering the weight, the muscle gradually expands while continuing to contract to control the descending movement. Eccentric muscle strength helps slow movements and control resistance, whether when lowering weights or sitting on a chair.

However, many treat the descent phase as a quick one-second break before the next repetition. According to recent scientific reviews, prolonging the descent phase to three seconds increases muscle effort and fatigue, which makes the usual weights more challenging without the need to increase the load.

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Sports Science also showed that lengthening the descent phase may produce greater strength gains in people who are experienced weightlifters. Slow down for better control Slowing down the exercise also helps monitor joint movement and improve muscle coordination.

In the squat, descending slowly allows you to focus on aligning your hips, knees, and ankles, and avoid suddenly descending into an unmanageable position. Performance can be assessed through simple questions: answers help determine the need to adjust the weight, range of motion or difficulty level of the exercise.

This does not mean that slow is suitable for all exercises. Muscular endurance training, which aims to produce force quickly, requires faster movements and appropriate loads.

The American College of Sports Medicine's updated guidelines recommend performing the lift phase quickly when training for muscular endurance. But jumping jacks and deadlifts are different from doing reps with a wheel just to finish a set.

Therefore, the speed of movement should be chosen according to the training goal. Three exercises To apply the three-second rule, it is recommended to start with two sets, each of which includes four to eight repetitions, two or three times a week.

It is preferable to lower the object or weight smoothly within three seconds, then return at a comfortable and controlled speed, while breathing normally and avoiding tension in the neck and shoulders. 1. Squat exercise: Stand with your feet approximately hip-width apart, then descend gradually over three seconds until your hips approach the level of your knees, according to your ability, and push with your feet to return to standing.

For ease, use a firm chair behind you or lean on a suitable surface. This exercise helps strengthen the front thigh muscles and buttocks, which expand during the descent and control the movement. 2.

Push-up exercise: Start in the plank position, bend the elbows to lower the chest and pelvis together within three seconds, then push your body up while exhaling. The exercise can be made easier by placing the hands on a raised surface, or made more difficult by raising the feet.

The chest muscles and triceps muscles behind the arms work to resist the descent and control its speed. 3. Arm curls with weights (dumbbells) Stand or sit upright, holding the weights next to your body, with your palms facing forward.

Bend the elbows to lift the weights toward the shoulders, keeping the upper arms close to the body, then lower them within three seconds. You can use lighter weights or train each arm separately, and gradually increase the resistance as strength improves.

The exercise targets the biceps and brachialis, which remain active while lowering weights. As your strength improves and you can maintain proper technique, you can gradually increase repetitions, sets or resistance, without having to prolong the descent phase further.

But unfamiliar eccentric training may cause temporary muscle pain, so it should be introduced gradually and allowed enough time for recovery. Remember that slower movement does not automatically mean less stress on the joints, and slowing down exercise alone is not a proven way to prevent injuries.

The most important thing is to choose the right weight and range of motion that suits your abilities.