By Team Beachbody

Beachbody has created a new technique for slimming the body, called "Slim Training®", which is the basis for a new program called Slim in 6® - but it's something you can create on your own as well. While Slim Training® is not a revolutionary fitness concept altogether, it is the first time it has been tested andorganized into a system to work for everyone.

Slim Training® combines many elements from traditional fitness programs into one routine that specifically targets all of your energy systems in order to slim down your body. If you have ever done basic training in the military or completed a pre-season "hell week" for a sport, chances are that you have done a similar type of program. What makes Slim Training® unique is that instead of being targeted at a sport or performance-related goal, this program is designed to target the way you look and feel!

Sound science: Slim Training® is, for the most part, sound science. For six weeks, six days a week, each session you should warm-up, stretch out, work out all of your muscle groups, and your cardiovascular system, then warm down. The 6-week program starts at an easy pace and increases in intensity over time until you peak around the sixth week. Then you should take a break for rest and recovery.

Revolutionary science: Slim Training® differs from most techniques in that you work all of your muscle groups every day for 6 consecutive days. This is in stark contrast to what most professionals say is optimum. The reason it works is that each workout doesn't totally max each muscle group. While the overall workouts should be intense, you shouldn't overload each muscle group to the point where it needs the standard 48 hours for recovery.

If you decide to use Slim in 6® to get the results of the Slim Training® technique, the program's "coach" and creator, Debbie Siebers (also of "Thin Thighs Guaranteed!™") is there to make certain that you don't overdo it. If you decide to construct a Slim Training®™ routine of your own for six weeks - for instance combining the Sculpt and Sweat tapes of Power 90® into one daily "Slim Session", each workout should tax your system enough so that you can ensure strength gains and maximize your body's fat burning capabilities WITHOUT OVERTRAINING. Use low weight and high repetition resistance training. This allows for only very slight muscle hypertrophy (growth), which is offset by the body's fat loss over the course of the 6 week program. The result is a slimmer, fitter you.

Important: If you decide to turn your current program into a Slim Training® program: If you are working your body to its maximum right now and try this, you could overload your body and "overtrain". Overtraining can lead to compromised progress, injuries, and eventually illness. When you workout hard (like in Power 90®), your body breaks down. You need to wait for it to recover to train again. That's how you get stronger. But if you work out too soon, then you will actually reduce your strength and weaken your body's systems. You must exercise caution not to overdo it if you decide to put your own Slim Training® program together!

Overtraining is why the time between resistance workouts should normally vary from a day to as many as 6 or 7 days, depending upon individual recuperative ability, size and type of muscle, efficient use of supplements, diet, rest and other restorative techniques, and the severity of the overload.

Six to seven days for recovery is for severe overload only and is in the realm of the serious athlete. "Normal" gym type workouts will not generate this much "microtrauma" to your system.

Overload is what we call intensity of the workout, with intensity meaning purely resistance training. Meaning simply that for Slim Training®, the amount of weight that you push around should be reduced. You don't want to attempt to lift your maximum weight. If you ever fail at less than 12-15 reps, then lighten the load. You can recover quickly from daily aerobic exercise but resistance training (heavy weights, plyometrics, etc) will hammer you if you attempt to do it to the max each day. This doesn't mean that you don't work hard. It just means that you need to re-set your gauges for the purposes of Slim Training®. Don't attempt to lift the same weights you were lifting when you were resting a day or more between sessions. That would be a recipe for overtraining. But if you can make yourself re-adjust and go backwards (hard for some), then you can turn your current program into a Slim Training® program and expect results.

Finally, remember that Slim Training® was designed to only last 6 weeks. It can be a taxing program. You should back off once you peak and give yourself some time to recover while you get ready to blast away at your next program.

So if you want to change your body shape from say, a pear shape to a V shape, you'll find this Slim Training® technique is a great tool for you when utilized correctly!

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