It’s March. Spring is just around the cornerand many of us stop to wonder what exactlyhappened to the fitness routine to which wecommitted ourselves back in January.
More often than not, we can chalk it upto excuses such as a busy schedule, a loss offocus, or simply no accountability because wetry to do it alone. One San Antonio businessis helping to address each of those excusesand give our city a clean bill of health, oneclient at a time.
SuperSlow Zone, 700 E. Sonterra Blvd,isn’t your big box gym by any means, butthey don’t aim to be either. Their niche canbe called ‘boutique fitness’; they work withclients strictly one–on–one, develop personalgoals and train by appointment only. Clientswork out on state–of–the–art Nautilusmachines that were developed specifically forSuperSlow Zone. Workouts typically use fiveor six machines in one appointment and areswitched up according to progress.
Franchise owner Harvey Mabry says theychart every aspect of a client’s workout,which allows an individual to make significantgains in a short period of time.
“As you gain muscle mass and lose bodyfat you are improving your cardiovascularefficiency,” Mabry says. “Many clients comein with low back pain, and because of ourprogram we strengthen the lumbar spine.There are so many people who are essentiallydisabled because they are overweight and outof shape.”
The philosophy of SuperSlow Zone, asindicated by their name, is also differentfrom a traditional workout facility. Instead ofcompleting many repetitions of an exercise ata frenetic pace, SuperSlow Zone trains withfew repetitions at a very slow rate until themuscle reaches failure.
Each station is completed within oneand–a half to three minutes, forcing theclient to focus on the muscle, breathing, andmaximizing the time on each machine. Whatmakes SuperSlow Zone even more differentis that clients complete their entire workoutroutine in 20 minutes, and that’s addressingthe whole body.
“We have a very muscular client who isfocused on weightlifting,” says instructorAmanda Antonini. “The first time he came inhe said, ‘Are you sure I’m going to get a fullworkout here?’ After his first appointment, hewas a believer. He gets a better workout hereon the Nautilus machines than he ever didbefore.”
The majority of SuperSlow Zone clientssimply didn’t find a traditional gym effectiveor couldn’t fit working out into their busyschedule.
“I’ve tried the typical gym,” says clientDavid Blazer. “I always quit. I didn’t have atrainer and I didn’t have an hour to give everyday. They say you need to work out for anhour, five days a week. Who has that? I didn’t.
“And here, two times a week for 20minutes? Everyone’s got 40 minutes a week towork out. And to have an instructor watchingand guiding me … Before, I liked to cheat if itgot too hard. You’re not allowed to cheat herebecause you have someone telling you thatyou can go further.”
Another client, Karen Quillian, is a breastcancer survivor. Working out in a traditionalgym wasn’t appropriate for her because ofthe need for one–on–one attention, a focuson safety and the need for a nurturingenvironment.
“It’s a comprehensive package,” Quilliansays. “It’s the ability of my body to rebuilditself, and to do it in a safe environment. Iwas used to working out at a gym with allthat cardio where you’re really doing yourselfin, wondering how much more you have topush yourself. Here it’s easy but it still makesa difference.”
Whether it’s the need for a more privatesetting, personalized attention, a therapeuticfocus or simply a more effective workoutbecause of time management, SuperSlowZone clients are finding that they finally havea choice in their workout regimen, that thereis a fitness facility that doesn’t need to be allthings to all people.
“People have such a busy lifestyle,” Mabrysays, “and this is a unique concept. They canwork out for 20 minutes twice a week andreally get terrific benefits out of SuperSlowZone.”
