Breathe Fast and Stay Cool

Breathe Fast and Stay Cool
Minimizing the Body’s Governors
By Dan Carter
March 2008

Governor: A control that maintains a steady speed in a machine (as by controlling the supply of fuel).

SuperSlow students understand exercise intensity as the cornerstone of producing rapid, long lasting physical change. Muscle mass and other concurrent positive physical changes, such as extraordinary levels of functional ability and injury resistance are two of the many benefits. An exercise program which can continue much longer than 20 minutes lacks the required intensity, and produces minimal, short lived results. The goal becomes finding ways to increase intensity by maximizing muscular contraction. Two techniques to accomplish this goal involve minimizing the negative effects of muscular contraction on blood pH, and maximizing dissipation of body heat.

Muscle cells produce a substance called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to fuel muscular contraction. This metabolic process is most efficient at a blood pH of 7.4. As we reach the last 40 seconds of an exercise, lactic acid, a byproduct of fatiguing a muscle faster than it can recover, causes pH to fall as low as 6.9. The “burn” we feel results from this increasing level of lactic acid. Though we call this burn “the good stuff” (our goal being to fatigue the muscle as deeply and quickly as possible) the body views it as a threat to survival. It defends itself, in part, by governing ATP production, therefore compromising optimal muscular contraction. To overcome this governing process the SuperSlow student is taught to over-breathe or breathe like a sprinter during the last repetitions of each exercise. This process blows off CO2 (carbon dioxide), slowing the drop in pH, allowing the metabolic processes which support muscular contraction to continue.

The majority of body heat results from friction caused by muscular contraction. In its quest to maintain a temperature of 98.6°, evaporative cooling or sweating is the body’s last line of defense to cool itself. By the time this occurs, the body has already compromised muscular contraction to govern the source of heat. The SuperSlow studio is cooled to 68° with fans placed at each exercise to move body heat away from the student. This cool environment maximizes heat dissipation allowing optimal muscular contraction.

By breathing fast and staying cool the SuperSlow student minimizes the body’s governors, achieving the goal of fatiguing the muscles as deeply and quickly as possible, guaranteeing the best results in minimum time.

Dan Carter, SuperSlow Master
After more than 22 years of evangelizing the rewards of high-intensity strength training, I have been fascinated by results experienced by those who dare to challenge their bodies to improve. SuperSlow now provides a detailed process with which to safely apply proper exercise for any individual. I was so impressed by this process that I ended a 22-year career with a Fortune 500 company to begin a new profession as a SuperSlow instructor and studio owner. My previous position as sales manager, teacher, public speaker and troubleshooter has been beneficial in making SuperSlow of Scottsdale not only a place for excellent exercise instruction, but a place to teach and certify other SuperSlow instructors.