Strengthen Lengthen and Tone (SLT)

What is SLT?

For those that love to work out, and want to get the max amount of benefit in the shortest amount of time, they should consider the SLT routine. Many may not even realize what exactly does SLT stand for? The short version is that it means to strengthen, lengthen, and tone with certain types of exercises all combined into one intense workout. There are plenty of health benefits to this new routine combination, when done in the proper form, that can last hours after the session has been completed.

Why SLT Works

When it comes to working out, any type of exercise that a person does can produce certain health benefits over time. In addition, many will only do a certain type of exercise in one session, and thus may not get all the muscles worked. However, when doing the SLT type of workout, the instructors have designed it to be able to engage all the persons body movements to get the entire body engaged within a short amount of time.

The creator Amanda Freeman took pilates, and combined those additional movements into a more revved up faster paced routine to help the heart also to get the health benefits when doing a cardio workout. Having said that, she did not just stop there, she went on to add in certain toning, and strengthening type of exercise movements within the same routine time frame. By combining these type of movements when doing the exercises together, and at the same time, the body then has the ability to not only burn more calories, but also to strengthen the core muscles along the way.

For those that are just starting out with exercises they will want to be certain to consult with their own physician prior to getting started with not just this routine, but any exercise routine in general. Furthermore, while there are plenty of health benefits to doing the SLT workout, which will give the user plenty of exercises for getting their heart stronger, and also improving muscle strength at the same time, beginners will want to proceed with caution. For any person who has not been active prior to starting these certain routines, they might experience tremendous soreness the day after the routine is done.

In addition, many might consider this to be a form of exercise that only women would get the most health benefits from. This is not true, with this new method of putting the routines together, these classes can help both men and women that are looking into getting their muscles toned, and also improving their core and heart at the same time. When a person does the traditional Pilates, the key focus there is building up strength only.

In general it would be very hard to break a sweat as many of those movements are slow and focused on certain muscle groups. However, with a SLT type of workout, while the person will be using a machine designed for the pilates, the creators of this new routine added in movements with resistance bands, and intense faster paced movements that help to get the heart rate up. Many instructors will teach this class for about 45- 50 minutes in length.

This gives the entire workout routine they have created enough time to be able to use each muscle group with combined movements in a fashion that will make the muscles quiver and thus burn. For example, the routine will start out with warm up exercises to help get all the muscles and body parts ready for what comes next. This exercise section will last for about 5 minutes in length before moving onto the core section of the workout itself.

The SLT Megaformer

All the movements have been designed to be done on a certain piece of gym equipment called the SLT Megaformer. The machine itself allows the person to use their own body weight, along with the springs, and pulleys that are built on the machine to thus give the person plenty of variable choices on their resistance options. Each movement is done continuously without any breaks in between each exercise.

This helps to get the heart rate up to the level that is needed in order to reap the cardio benefits. Each exercise movement will be held for 1 minute at a time, before going onto the next, and repeated for either 10 or 15 reps, and uses the last five minutes out of the 50 minute class for the recover period. The instructor recommends to their clients that they do this routine every other day to allow their muscles to recover and thus strengthen.

Getting Started with SLT

When it comes to exercise routines, there are plenty of choices out there which can be confusing. However, for any person wanting to get their bodies, toned, strengthened, and gain tremendous health benefits all within a short amount of time, they will want to take a closer look at SLT. Once your doctor has given you the green light to exercise, this newly created workout can put you on the fast track to getting the body you have long been desiring for your own needs.

Image Credit: fitnessmagazine.com

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