Lagree Fitness Senior Master Trainer, Heather Perren, discusses the Time Under Tension method used in all of our Lagree workouts so you can have a better understanding of why your body gets fast results and your muscles shake the way they do throughout your workouts.
Lagree has so many beneficial components to it and one of these is Time Under Tension, which is considered to be one of the most effective ways to increase hypertrophy (increasing strength and building muscle). Time under tension is the amount of time a muscle group is under resistance during a specific exercise. Lagree Fitness differs from most other types of fitness in that we don’t count reps, instead, we focus on time. Specifically in Lagree, we have set durations for each muscle group that we continue working through for the entire duration to keep the muscles under constant tension to achieve maximum results. Your muscles should be actively working for the entire duration so that you can hit the aerobic (Cardio) component of the workout.
In upper body and core moves our duration for the movement starts at a minute and for our lower body moves the duration starts at two minutes. We never stay in a move for less than these durations, but the instructor can always keep the clients in the move longer. When you can stay in the move longer, you are able to increase your muscular endurance and muscular strength. As you build endurance, you’ll want to progressively add more time to the moves to continue working on challenging your muscles and reducing the chances of plateauing in your workouts.
During the workouts, as you are approaching the end of a move, the last seconds are typically when you find yourself or your clients wanting to stop and take a break because the muscles start burning and shaking (if they weren’t already). This is because the muscles have been under constant tension for the whole duration of the move. The muscle fibers begin to break down and this is how they strengthen.
To master Time Under Tension in your workouts check out these tips:
* Avoid taking breaks during the movement
*Prevent the carriage from closing against the platform. This will keep the muscles and the springs under constant tension.
* Always maintain a soft bend in the joints, you don’t want to feel them locked.
* Embrace the shake! If it’s shaking, the muscles are working, that’s a good thing!
* Keep it slow so that the workout is safe and even more effective.
Want to try out the Time Under Tension method with Lagree? Check out our endless array of Lagree On Demand classes! Want to learn more or have questions? Leave a comment below or email us at info@lagreeingathome.com!