I did the high intensity strength training workout. It is about what I expected but more interesting and I would say impossible to do without their equipment.
Their are five exercises including one balance on a vibrating plate and then 4 machine isometric exercise machines.
Balancing on one leg on a vibrating plate takes some practice. The first 10 seconds I get to fixate on a spot on the wall, the next 10 seconds looking up and then close my eyes for the last 10 seconds. I got about 3 seconds with my eyes closed for a total of 23 seconds on each leg. The vibration is designed as part of the warmup.
However, before I went to the place, I did a warmup muscle activation routine at home to prepare my muscles for a max effort.
The first exercise is a leg press. The machine looks just like a traditional leg press but includes a computer screen. The trainer sets up the machine for me and my legs are fairly extended but not straight. Using a protractor, she sets the angle for my leg. The first exertion is a 20% effort. The goal is to increase force slowly, hold for 5 seconds and very slowly release. The second effort, is a maximum hard as I can push increasing the force slowly and once at max, hold for 5 seconds and slowly release.
I get the force in pounds via a graph shown on the screen as well as a multiple of body weight. The setup puts my legs in the most powerful position and I was able to generate a lot of force. I mean a lot more than I could ever do using a leg press machine with weights.
So the workout is a one max isometric exercise with feedback and recording. According to the science, this is not an ATP PC exercise like we see in sprinting or leg presses. It is about neurology, muscle recruitment and joint compression. What happens is the body senses the joint compression due to the force and stimulates bone density. With added bone density, the bones send a signal allowing more strength to be added. Maximum force isometric exercises increase myofibril fibers and increase strength. That is a very oversimplified idea of how it works.
The next station was a seated chest press and the same protocol is used.
The next station was more interesting. It was an max effort isometric crunch. There was a bar to pull on similar to a pull-up and the thighs were under pads. I had to pull up on the pads with my quads and pull down on the bar above while holding the correct posture. This was a little harder to execute compared to the leg and chest press.
The final one was a deadlift. My wife told me about this one and I was a little concerned about a max effort vis a vis my back. The alignment put me and my back in the strongest position with my legs bent at the best angle and then with perfect posture, I executed an isometric deadlift. It was very cool. I could generate a lot of force but it felt great.
They only allow 1 session every 5 days.
I would say the chance of injury is much lower than the gym and there is no way I could generate the force at any gym I am aware of for those 4 exercises. And even if I could do an isometric max exercise, I would have no idea how much force I was generating.
I have a key fob and the next workout, I touch the key fob to the machine and the machine sets up for me and shows me my stats and progress with latest number.
Assuming the science is correct, this is a cyclist dream workout. It does not generate much fatigue and adds bone density and strength. Declare victory.
According to my trainer, they get power lifters, low bone density patients, athletes looking to increase strength and etc. So they have a high physical therapy component and hence, not a gym.