What's better on exercises such as Jumping jacks and work outs with light weights? going fast or slow? To add, if I do them slower I seem to get soarer which I guess could mean they're working my body better.But if I go slow I can do like 60 jumping jacks in 60 seconds. Opposed to like 80 in 60 seconds, and I don't seem to get as sore.
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Faster or slower?
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I would go slow AND fast, for fast twitch muscle response.
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I think sometimes, in certain exercises, it's better to go slow because you want to let the strain take its toll on the muscle because sometimes, if you do it too fast, you won't feel as stressed, as I think you pointed out.
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While enrolled at Sojourn Past Martial arts academy, we did concentration squats. Only 10 mind you, but one minute each....VERY slow. It took ten minutes to get through that portion, then it was on to kicking.
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If you go fast with weights then do it on the lift, but be sure to keep control. Then proceed to bring the weight down slowly. You need to apply greater force to lift the weight quicker, thus recruiting more muscle fibers (though you'd recruit more with a heavier weight, but fast contractions may help with more explosive movements such as sprinting).Don't restrict yourself to fast movements and don't do it with too heavy of weights, you obviously don't want to injure yourself.Here's the other side though. When you're in the decline part of a lift, such as lowering down in a squat, you're muscles are contracting eccentricaly. During this phase you put greater stress on your muscles as they actually stretch prior to contraction. This is good for developing a muscles strength because it is harder on the muscles (and will often leave you sorer for longer). An example of this when not lifting weights is running. Your calves and other leg muscles contract eccentrically every time your foot lands on the ground, and that's one of the prime reasons running can leave your calves so sore after a hard run, particularily if you have not been training regularily. I'd imagine it would be the same for jumping jacks where your feet are contacting the ground with great impact every time you land.Hope that helps.