If You Don’t Have Heavy Weights at Home, Increase the Difficulty of Each Rep With This DIY Tweak Instead

Im an Exercise PhysiologistHeres Why You Shouldnt Worry About Cortisol Spikes When You Do HIIT Workouts.

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At 24 ounces, they only gave me a pound and a half of weight to work with.

Going a little slower is going to make it harder, she says.

woman sweating in the gym

certified functional strength coach and founder ofBodyRox

Heres What Experts Say

Thats likely because by slowing things down, youreincreasing the time that a muscle is contractingduring a set.

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

This brings mind-body awareness into our workouts instead of just going through the motions.

I can feel this in action firsthand as I follow along with Jones 18-minute standing workout for the legs.

Jones starts up with a light warmup to activate the major leg muscles.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

But I realize the effects of my slow-mo work most of all during an active recovery move.

However, as with most things in life, this is not a hard-and-fast rule.

Slower is not always better.

Happy woman dancing and listening to music near a green empty wall outdoor in the city.

Certain exercises call for quick or explosive movements.

Case in point: Jones uses the last five minutes of the class to work onkettlebell swings.

(Dont worryshe explains how to use a dumbbell for this portion if thats all you have.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

And yes, a pasta jar could even work, too.)

This is a move thats all about buildingpower and explosiveness, so going slow isnt going to serve you.

If youre concerned about what tempo to use for each exercise, dont fret.

A young black woman doing post-run stretches in the park on the road amidst green grass and trees.

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