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Jeremy Styron

Laura Keese of Westminster breathes while performing what is dubbed a 'super slow,' high-intensity workout Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 at Ultimate Exercise in Seneca. The weight training technique is the subject of a new book, co-authored by Dr. Doug McGuff, an Oconee Medical Center emergency physician.

Photo

Click on photo to enlarge

Jeremy Styron

Laura Keese of Westminster breathes while performing what is dubbed a 'super slow,' high-intensity workout Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 at Ultimate Exercise in Seneca. The weight training technique is the subject of a new book, co-authored by Dr. Doug McGuff, an Oconee Medical Center emergency physician.

SENECA — No mirrors. Clocks with only second hands. Fans cranked to the highest setting amid a controlled 61 degrees. A surgically clean room containing little else but strength training machines, and perhaps, some pencils and progress sheets.

To newcomers, these environs may seem bleak and far removed from typically shiny and clanging weight training facilities. But frequenters of Ultimate Exercise in Seneca would have it no other way.

“I’ve never seen dedication like this,” said manager Ed Garbe about the facility’s clientele. “It’s almost like it’s addictive.”

Laura Keese of Westminster had just finished an intense and slow-moving workout in which she was in and out in less than 20 minutes. Clearly nearing her limit during one of the upper body exercises, she said between deep breaths, “Walking uphill was a lot easier,” as she slowly moved with the machine.

The training protocol is the subject of a new book titled, “Body by Science,” co-authored by Dr. Doug McGuff, an Oconee County Medical Center emergency physician, and John Little, exercise guru from Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. Though the duration can vary slightly by person, the workouts are designed to last 12 minutes. During that time, clients engage in high-intensity, full-body exercises with their eyes fixated on an ergonomically positioned clock.

In the book, the authors explain the mechanics of muscles and how they respond to exercise. In outlining the weight training method that includes slow, resistance training, McGuff and Little show how participants can increase their strength and muscle mass and lose fat, thereby achieving a high level of physical fitness.

According to a press release by McGraw-Hill, “After analyzing ‘BODY BY SCIENCE,’ consumers may rethink their lengthy cardiovascular routines and high frequency strength training workouts in favor of this documented once-a-week approach to obtain complete development and its associated benefits.”

McGuff said the book outlines the large body of research behind the technique, which sprang from the work of Arthur Jones, who founded the Nautilus line of exercise equipment, in the early- to mid-1970s. “He made a radical discovery in the value of training by raising the intensity.”

Explaining the progression of research through the years, McGuff said the trend has been toward “harder and harder, shorter and shorter” workouts.

“The beneficial results are always brought about by raising intensity,” he said.

And the method used at Ultimate Exercise has remained unchanged since the facility was founded in Seneca by McGuff more than a decade ago.

“This is the exact same thing you would have seen 11 years ago and exactly the same protocol,” Garbe said.

Garbe pointed to a results sheet sitting by one of the few windows in the room.

“There’s no guesswork whether we see improvement or not,” he said, noting progress on a sheet compiled over the course of numerous workout sessions.

For Keese, her improvement has been palpable.

“It’s great,” she said. “I’ve not lost any weight. I didn’t come to lose weight. I came to get my muscles stronger, and I can tell a difference.”

Garbe said the facility’s clientele ranges in age from 28-83 years old, and people in their 40s or 50s are the norm.

McGuff noted that when people are taken to such intensity levels, their muscles are spent to the point where the likelihood of injury actually decreases. At typical gyms, Garbe said exercisers are more likely to sustain injuries because of sudden pressure applied to their muscles.

“You see guys doing this,” Garbe said, pumping his arms in the air as if quickly lifting a piece of equipment. “Those folks are gonna hurt themselves.”

McGuff will give a short lecture on “Body by Science” and be available for book signings at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 at the The Booksmith in Seneca.