Yes. And let me say this -- be wary of the word "fitness." Health is what we are after not necessarily fitness. The exercise scientists use a treadmill fatigue/oxygen uptake test to guesstimate a person's level of fitness. They have created parameters from testing thousands of people to determine who is fit and who is not. However, it is entirely possible to be extremely fit by way of this test and yet at the same time smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, and be riddled with cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, it is entirely possible to perform poorly on such a fitness test yet upon a physician's routine physical examination, be perfectly healthy. There are tens of thousands of fit yet, unhealthy people - and vice versa. This is probably the reason why doctors do not require this sort of test when examining people. It tells them very little about a person's actual health.

Slow Burn exercise stimulates positive adaptations to every aspect of your body including the cardiovascular system. Once stimulated, the body needs time, roughly 48-96 hours, to produce the benefits. Science indicates that if the quality of an exercise program is high, 2 sessions a week of exercise is more than adequate to cause optimal positive results. More than three sessions produces little added physical benefits. Remember, exercise itself doesn't make you "fit" or healthy. In fact it is sort of a necessary evil. The body becomes healthier if the exercise stimulus is adequate and if rest and recovery is allowed for. Quality not quantity is the key.

Barring any unforeseen disease which no amount or kind of exercise can cure, if all you do for exercise is Slow Burn twice weekly, you will score very well on one of those treadmill tests if you ever find yourself taking one.

It is important to understand the difference between aerobic exercise and cardiovascular exercise. Strength training, performed properly, challenges the cardiovascular system more than adequately enough to keep your cardiovascular system healthy - genetics aside (even champion runners can have heart disease and die of heart attacks at an early age). Strength training alone will not make you into a champion runner or swimmer. But you do not need to be an aerobic champion to have a healthy, strong cardiovascular system. If you already enjoy recreational "aerobic" activities, adding slow burn to your aerobic activities will allow you to perform these activities better, safer and for many years to come. Conversely, if you do not enjoy physical activity, don't worry! Slow burn is all you need. Along with a healthy diet your doctor will be pleased (and I'll bet you amazed) with your overall health at checkup time using slow burn alone.

Losing unwanted pounds of body fat is almost entirely a matter of eating the proper amount of food, meaning, the right amount of calories per day. This is best achieved by reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates (sugars) in the diet. Exercise has almost nothing to do with fat loss. One could lose many pounds of fat without exercising at all.

And while it is true that you can aid fat loss with exercise, the amount of calories burned when exercising is surprisingly less than what you've been led to believe by the fitness industry. However, without strength training exercises, weight lost on your bathroom scale will come from both fat and muscle. Muscle loss is the last thing someone wishing to lose fat wants to happen. Muscle loss is a dieter's unseen nightmare. It is the main cause of the Yo-Yo diet syndrome. That's why I make sure to educate my clients as to the difference between fat loss and weight loss.

No. Becoming very muscular like a body builder (or even close to that) is almost impossible for 99% of all people (especially women). You need to have very rare genetics to become overly muscled. Even with such genetics the large muscles you see on most body builders are due to steroid (illegal body enhancing drugs) usage. So don't worry, you won't get a neck like a lineman or biceps like Arnold. And men, well, for most of us (me included) your muscles will grow larger but not very much. Your body will change the most if you follow a proper diet to lose fat and follow the slow burn exercise regimen.

Yes and you should! Of course, always check with your doctor as there are several medical reasons why some women should not exercise at all during their pregnancy. But if your doctor gives you the thumbs up to exercise there is no safer or more effective exercise regimen to stay strong, powerful and back pain free right up to your due date. Pregnant and powerful is the way to be! (Ask your doctor about the few concerns regarding pregnancy and exercise.)

Yes and no. Slow burn exercise will challenge your cardiovascular system to a great degree. Some folks with existing heart disease should not work harder than a certain level. Medical supervision is sometimes necessary even if working at a moderate level of intensity for certain people in case of a cardiac event. Talk to your doctor first to find out how advanced or severe your level of cardiovascular disease is. Follow your doctor's recommendations on this one closely.

It's possible that some people can do slow burn 3-4 times a week especially in the beginning of a program (first 6 months) and get "better" results. This is usually a false perception. Training more often in the beginning can be beneficial for learning purposes but after a time you'll need to remember a very important concept: exercise is the stimulus for benefits - recovery from the stimulus creates the benefits. Most working, family oriented people are already running on half battery life as it is. Most people like this require more rest from the exercises than those who have little stress in their lives and those who get 8 hours of sound sleep every day (is there anyone out there who actually lives like this?) So stick to your 2 sessions per week. You'll get adequate exercise and adequate rest keeping to a twice weekly program.

Absolutely. Speed is simply another way of saying power or force and power is generated through the muscles. To some degree, speed or the ability to perform athletic activities with great "quickness," or "speed" is genetically inherited. However, the stronger your muscles become the more force you will be able to generate and thus the faster you will be able to move - in any sport or activity. The idea that a person needs to train fast to be fast is a myth. While it is true that, to some degree, that training fast with weights or other supposed speed enhancing devices will make the muscles stronger (and so give the illusion that it was the fast speeds that did the trick), training fast to be fast is about the most dangerous way to go about it! Parents of young athletes should be especially wary of coaches and trainers who require their children to perform such dangerous activities!

Yes if the safety rules are applied. Holding your breath increases blood pressure. As long as a person breathes freely at all times the slow burn method will improve hypertension. Many studies have shown strength training to have positive effects on blood pressure. And the slow burn method is the safest and most effective method of strength training currently known.

It is not that stretching is unnecessary. When exercising using the slow burn method, you are stretching your muscles to the degree necessary for a healthy range of motion in the joints. Excessive ranges of joint motion seen in gymnasts, dancers, etc. are undesirable for the typical person. Such extreme flexibility can cause joint laxity leading to problems in joint stability. Stretching to achieve such extreme flexibility can also cause injury in the process of stretching. In fact, muscular flexibility is a bit of a misnomer. Joints flex - muscles contact. Full range joint flexibility is desirable. But certain joints like the ball and socket joints (hip and shoulder) have the ability to be stretched past what would be considered normal.

When a muscle contracts, the opposite or antagonist muscle stretches. This will be more than adequate to keep your joints flexible enough for normal everyday tasks. Ever see a dog or cat stretch in the morning? They don't actually sit there and passively stretch. They actively and strongly contract their muscles which causes a stretch in the opposite ones.

On the other hand, if one was to engage in a sudden, very quick activity like a sprint or a jump, it might first be wise to prepare the muscles for such a sudden burst of activity. Slow Burn has no such sudden movements! Slow burn will maintain a person's normal range of joint motion and in some instances enhance it.

Absolutely. Slow Burn will improve your results using any exercise device imaginable. Follow the instructions in the book as closely as you can. You'll be amazed how much better your home device will feel!