Personal trainer Fredrick Hahn, who developed the Slow Burn method, claims a time-efficient workout is just one of the benefits of his strength training program.
Similar to personal training or even physical therapy, clients meet one-on-one with a trainer and perform controlled exercises on strengthening equipment. The trainer tracks all progress in detail.
I was offered a sample session, so I decided to give it a try. When I met with Hahn, we discussed my medical history and what I wanted to work on most—enhanced flexibility, increased muscle tone and relief from lower back and neck pain. Then, as he does during every first-time session, Hahn explained the science behind the body’s response to exercise and food.
When we entered the gym, Hahn started the metronome, a machine that makes a slow, steady clicking noise. This helps clients move at a controlled pace. During sessions, an instructor coaches a client by timing each exercise and correcting their form. The hardest part for me was breaking from the mindset that exercise should be done quickly. At SlowBurn Personal Training, which opened its Montclair studio in 2014, each exercise is done for 60-90 seconds, uninterrupted, for a total of four reps.
Hahn says clients need to come only once or twice a week for a 15- or 30-minute session. The benefits of exercise come when your body is resting, says Hahn, which is why several days of recovery in between sessions are recommended. “We focus on the least you require, not the most you can withstand,” says Hahn, 55, who co-authored The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution.
Slow Burn isn’t just focused on strengthening muscles. Hahn says nutrition is number one when it comes to getting results. “You are what your body does with what you eat,” he says. “For example, eating 1,500 calories of chips and soda is not going to have the same effect on your body as 1,500 of salmon and vegetables.”
Safe for pain sufferers, Slow Burn is popular with the 40-and-over crowd—although people of all ages and fitness levels can benefit. New clients receive a copy of Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, one complimentary session with a nutritionist, a chiropractic evaluation at Family Chiropractors of Montclair and a massage at Remedy Massage Montclair. Clients also periodically receive body assessments on the studio’s InBody Test machine that analyzes body composition.
Whether you’re low on time, need a safe way to exercise or could just use some extra motivation, Slow Burn may be worth a try.
The first session at SlowBurn for first-timers is complimentary. Rates for 15-minute and 30-minute sessions range from $65 to $117, depending upon the package purchased.