The Ultimate Isometrics Manual is a nerd’s paradise, at least for this nerd. From the mind of Convict Conditioning author Paul Wade, and published by Dragon Door, this hefty 462 page book that is about as complete an overview of isometric training as you can get.

Isometrics is about easily accessible and yet outside of a dedicated group of practitioners, not something that gets much press. It’s a shame because isometrics has broad applicability for all populations of strength trainees including novices and seniors.

That’s because isometric exercises force you to stay in your lane. By that I mean that they are not like lifting a barbell or dumbbell in so far as you can’t overload, or under load, an isometric set and the risk of injury is, overall, much lower than more traditional exercises.

Isometric exercise is only as effective as the effort and the effort can only be felt if you are properly positioned to create the tension demanded. That doesn’t mean you can’t screw up an isometric exercise but you have to be pretty motivated to get it wrong.

What is Isometric Exercise?

Isometric exercise relies solely on the creation of tension with concentric contraction of the muscle against an immovable object. That object may be a device like the isochain, it may be a door jamb, and it may be your own body.

Invariably, any discussion of isometrics will refer to the seminal study done by Hettinger and Muller in 1953 (Muscle capacity and muscle training). The German researchers found that a single daily effort of two-thirds a person’s maximum effort for six seconds at a time for ten weeks increased strength by about five percent a week.

Melody Schoenfeld wrote on these pages that isometrics is working at standstill or the the act of using force against resistance without changing your muscle length. For example, holding a bicep curl at a 90-degree angle for 30 seconds.

Logan Christopher wrote about legendary strongman Alexander Zass who was a big proponent of isometric exercise who believed the secret of isometric training was that it stored energy instead of dissipating it, and that it allowed him to work against very strong resistance helping to build up his stamina.

Zass had little to no access to weightlifting equipment in his life. He was a strongman who bent bars and broke chains. Bruce Lee was also known for his isometric work, as noted in Bruce Lee’s 3-Minute Workout by Shane Trotter.

Unpacking The Mysteries of Static Training

Let’s get the biggest criticism of this book out the way: it’s a little overwrought in promoting the Isochain, an expensive isometric training device that isn’t being reveiwed here and isn’t needed to enjoy this book or take advatange of it.

You’d think that Paul Wade, the guy behind no equipment workouts would be less inclined to push a piece of equipment, but to be honest, his publishers should have done a better job of addressing this one minor flaw of the book.

To put it in perspective, this ebook is just under ten dollars and has plenty of great information and exercises that don’t need the Isochain. I’ll be generous and give the Isochain infomercial about 50 pages of overexposure, which leaves about 400 pages of other stuff.

Otherwise, I stand by my nerding out statement. I have a reference for isometric training. I have enough information to make an intelligent decision about its efficacy, and I have plenty of examples of how to apply isometric exercises.

More importantly, there is enough information here to justify exploring how isometric training can help increase weight and reduce the chance of injury.

I asked an older friend of mine, someone who is quite sedentary, to try 10 minutes a day of a set of isometric exercises that I had improvised for him during the lockdown, while he was working from home. Based on my sample of one, the impact of phenomenal.

Whether it was the 10 minutes a day only part of the routine or the actual palpable increases in strength that he experienced, my friend was sold and actually go the book himself.

Like everything else in the fitness industry, there are cycles, fads, and fashions. Isometric exercise isn’t fashionable or faddish, but it may need to have a refresh cycle and demands some modern-day appreciation. Paul Wade’s book may be all you need to freshen up your isometrics.

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You, my friend, have hit a plateau. The joyride is over. Simple things now feel complex; you have to drag yourself to the gym, and the roaring fire that was your progress has been reduced to a pilot light.

What to do? You have gone through your handy checklist of usual suspects, including reevaluating intensity levels, diet adherence, and regulating volume of work. But your detective work has come up with no obvious culprit. None of your usual tricks to break out of your rut seem cut it this time. You need something different, something unique.

The next time you smash face-first into a training plateau, look to the following intensifiers to breathe new life and flow into your program and progress.

The Stretch Reflex

This technique involves taking advantage of the body’s protective mechanism. The more a muscle stretches, the more it will contract. That’s a good thing when your goal is to increase muscle mass. The stretch reflex takes things one step further and puts a sudden and intense stretch on the muscle so that it may recruit even more muscle fibers than normal.

How It Works: On any exercise where there is a stretch component involved such as pec flys, incline bench biceps curls or overhead triceps extensions simply perform the set as you would normally however, in the stretched position “release” the tension on the muscle and allow it to relax into the stretch even more than normal. As soon as you achieve maximal stretch reverse the direction and forcefully contract. This should be a quick “twitch” at the stretch.

Spike Your Load

Gaining strength has always been linked, in some fashion, to adding muscle. In general, a larger muscle is a stronger muscle. There are some caveats to that, but one thing holds true: Most of us want to not only look strong, but be strong as well. Simply adding more weight on the bar each week will only work for so long. Over time, you may burn out, or get injured, or both.

Overload sets allow you to coax (not force) your body into lifting heavier. This is a sneaky way of letting your body feel a heavier weight without ditching your normal training plan.

How It Works: After your normal sets, load the bar, machine, or rack with a heavier than normal amount of weight and perform three to five slow and controlled reps with perfect form and without going to failure. This way your troubled area will be able to feel a brand-new load without too much work added.

Empty the Tank

We often think of pre-exhaustion as the technique of choice when it comes to training weak points. Why not reverse your thinking? Simply switch your isolation and compound moves for an intense workout that will still get you out of the gym in minimum time.

How It Works: Pair up a compound and isolation lift for the same area, such as bench press and dumbbell flys, or squats and leg extensions. Once you’ve completed your set of the compound movement, immediately go to the isolation lift and rep to failure. After the entire set is completed, rest for one minute before going again.

Hold Fast

Performing holds is another sneaky way to handle more than normal loads without overtaxing your nervous system. As stated before, sometimes you can’t seem to effectively increase weight during your normal training program, and need something a bit different to make progress again. Holds will make your entire body strong, when used the right way.

How It Works: After your normal work sets are in the books, choose a big, compound lift and load the bar with more weight than you can effectively lift for several reps. It can be as high or even a bit higher than your one-rep max. Next, lift the weight into the starting position and simply feel the weight for a specific count. Using squats as an example, load up the bar, get it on your back, and step back with slightly bent knees so your legs feel the massive amount of weight. Then actively hold the weight in this static but tense positon for a count of 20 or 30 seconds before returning the bar to the rack. This will provide additional time under tension, and teach your body what significantly heavy weight feels like.

Get Fatigued Early

Pre-exhaustion isn’t anything new, but most people perform it with one of two flaws: They either don’t go to failure with an isolation exercise, or they tend to go too heavy and stay in the low rep ranges. High-rep, pre-exhaustion sets to failure are a whole new world. The added bonus of higher rep sets is that they will put you more in touch with the area you are trying to improve.

How It Works: As an example, perform pec flys on a machine or with dumbbells. Make sure the load isn’t too heavy, as you will want to achieve reps in the 20-plus range. During your isolation set, perform each rep slowly and with textbook form—don’t simply rush through the set. Next, swallow your pride and perform a set of a compound movements. In the current example, you could use barbell bench press. You should feel every muscle fiber in your chest fire with every inch of the move.

Pause for One

With the recent resurgence of powerlifting and weightlifting, more people are seeking methods from the past to boost performance. Pause training is one such technique. Those who have tried it generally stick to traditional cluster sets of three, four or five reps. Applying singles to your pause arsenal is a good way to bring a little shock and awe to the table.

How It Works: Instead of the usual three to five reps with pauses, shoot for a heavy single for more overall sets. So instead of three sets of four, go with 8-10 singles. Just be sure that each rep is controlled and within your capability to perform safely.

Pair Up Your Compounds

Performing compound supersets for the same body part is oftentimes reserved for arm or deltoid work. These smaller areas react quite well to this type of training, which requires you to perform sets back-to-back for the same body part. However, many can get even greater reward applying it to the larger, multi-joint areas such as chest, back, and legs.

How It Works: Every so often, spice up your bench press, rows, and squats. Pair up incline presses with flat or decline presses, rows with chin-ups, and squats with leg presses or lunges. Take a few minutes of rest between each set, as these are rather taxing and deserve a bit more recovery.

Pulses to Finish

If you’re thinking I mean partial reps, you’re right—partially. Pulses can be considered a specialized type of partial rep designed to squeeze every last ounce of effort from the muscle fiber in the targeted area. They are meant to be used at or near the peak contraction of a body part, when you are no longer capable of performing full-range reps properly.

How It Works: Choose an exercise that achieves a peak contraction such as a preacher curl, triceps press-down, or hamstring machine curl. After you’ve completed all of the full-range reps you are able to do, end the set with pulses until you can’t move. For example, for preacher bench curls, once you’ve reached failure, raise the bar to the top position. Begin performing pulses by lowering the weight only a couple of inches, then curl back up to the contracted position. Rep out until you can no longer move the bar.

Break the Routine, Bust the Plateau

Adopting intensity techniques during a plateau doesn’t have to be as exciting as eating dry chicken breast. Break out of your normal routine and try a few tools you’ve never tried before. Get brutal, intense, and apply a little shock and awe to your program. You’ll only have new muscle to gain.

Looking for variety in your weightlifting routine?

The Role of Split Lifts in Improving Athleticism

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I hear you. Many times scholarly studies and terms are frustrating. You’re seeking reasonable training advice without complication. What can you do to apply the science to your personal training program?

I’ll break down this study, recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, so you can apply it without being confounded. It’s about the potential value of isometric training when it comes to your back squat.

Some Terms You Need to Know

• Kinetic variables – Kinetics is the study of movement and its cause. In this case, we are talking about dynamic (moving) muscle contraction. The variables are force and torque (the amount of force that causes an object to rotate), which can both be created in different capacities. Examples would include the force exerted during a bench press or javelin throw.
• Isometric contraction – It’s static. Whatever muscle is contracting, the joint angle and length of the muscle remain constant. Imagine lowering into a squat position and holding it for ten seconds. That is isometric.
• Isotonic contraction – This is muscular strength exerted dynamically with joint movement. Here the muscle force remains constant while the velocity of movement changes. An example would be any free weight exercise where the same resistance is used and movement speed varies during its range of motion (i.e., an overhead barbell press).
• Isokinetic contraction – In contrast to isotonic contraction, this is a constant velocity but with changes in force output. An example of would be any exercise performed on a pneumatic device. The desired force can vary as the speed of movement remains the same.
• Isoinertial – This simply means the exercises maintain a constant inertia or mass through a specific range of motion, similar to isotonic exercise. The range of motion can alter the direction of movement, but the force on the limbs remains constant. An example is a bent-over row performed with a barbell. It changes direction at the mid-point of the movement, but the mass of the barbell remains constant.

The Hypothesis

The isometric squat has previously been used to determine changes in kinetic variables resulting from training. That stated, some questions still remain relative to the practical application of squatting to dynamic, multi-joint work. Knowing that, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between isometric back squat kinetic variables and isoinertial strength measures.

It was hypothesized the isometric back squat would correlate to measures of strength and explosive outputs between dynamic and isometric measures at specific joint angles. And that isometric maximum strength would strongly correlate to 1RM results when compared to explosive measures.

Study Design

Here’s how the study was set up:

• For an isometric test to correspond to a dynamic movement, there must be a high degree of specificity relative to body positions, specific joint angles, and kinetic similarity.
• Additionally, the position of the exercise at the sticking point of the back squat (the point of least mechanical advantage) would correspond to the parallel position of the femur (thigh bone) at ninety degrees to the squatting surface.
• It was hypothesized that an isometric squat performed at ninety and 120 degrees would indicate a correlation to a 1RM squat strength and dynamic changes in power output of the legs during back squatting.

The subjects used in this study were seventeen college-aged men with the ability to back squat an amount greater than 1.3 times their body weight. Their average 1RM was 326lbs (148.2kg).

Each subject was pre-tested on a 1RM squat, 1RM partial squat, and isometric squat at ninety and 120 degrees of knee flexion. They performed back squats two days per week for twelve weeks with a minimum recovery time of 48 hours between sessions.

Isometric Test Procedures

• A dynamic warm up preceded each session followed by two warm-up sets of squats at 50% and 75% of effort. A two-minute rest then occurred.
• The barbell was placed on the upper back in the same position used in training and placed against two solid metal stops to prevent movement upward.
• Two different angles were tested, one at ninety degrees of knee flexion and then at 120 degrees of flexion. The subjects were given a five-minute rest between each angle tested.
• Knee angle and barbell height were recorded for all test sessions by the same test assistant for reliability.

Before the test, the subjects were instructed to retain a constant pressure against the barbell. Measurements were taken using Labview software. The subjects were instructed to push as hard and as fast possible on two maximal efforts separated by three minutes of rest between each. On each effort the tester said, “Push,” and the participants then exerted maximally into the floor. When peak force was reached the tester said, “Stop,” to end the test.

Dynamic Test Procedures

• Following a warm up, three attempts were allowed with the goal of achieving a maximal effort 1RM squat and partial squat. A four-minute rest period was given between each attempt.
• The depth of back squatting was defined as the femur (thigh) bone at the hip joint being lower than the knee.
• Rest time between 1RM and partial squat tests was at least five minutes.
• Regarding partial squat testing, the barbell was positioned on safety racks at a height corresponding to full knee flexion. This was determined in the initial introductory sessions.
• The subjects performed the concentric portion of the squat to a full lockout position. They then lowered the bar eccentrically to the safety pins.

Study Results

A strong correlation was indicated between the following tests:

• Isometric peak force at ninety degrees and 1RM squat strength.
• Isometric peak force at 120 degrees and 1RM partial squat strength.
• An impulse of 250 milliseconds at both ninety and 120 degrees showed a moderate to strong correlation with the 1RM and partial back squat.
• The rate force development at both ninety and 120 degrees showed a weak to moderate correlation with the 1RM and partial back squat.

In conclusion, the researchers felt this study demonstrated that performing an isometric squat at ninety and 120 degrees could accurately test improvements in dynamic strength and explosiveness.

What This Study Means to Your Training

Including isometric exercises to your current training program can be of value. Isometric overloading techniques can add to productive training sessions and offer variety to your training to program to keep you progressing.

Without the mumbo-jumbo? Adding isometric exercises to your strength training plan might be a good idea.

More Like This:

• Front Squat Versus Back Squat: Which Is Best for You?
• Isometric Training: What It Is and How to Do It Correctly
• Working at a Stand Still: How to Do Isometric Training
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Bazyler, Caleb D., George K. Beckham, and Kimitake Sato. “The Use of the Isometric Squat as a Measure of Strength and Explosiveness.” Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 29 ( 2015): 5, pp. 1386–1392.

Photo 1 by By Sgt. Spencer Rhodes via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 by Kemberly Groue via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by Em Bhoo via Wikimedia Commons.

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When it comes to exercise, people love to pick sides on what is better. Today, I’ll be looking at two different styles of exercise, isometrics and weight training, and seeing which side comes out on top.

Isometrics

Isometrics is largely unknown in comparison to weight training. This is a style of static exercise that involves either holding a position (historically related to martial arts stances) or resisting against an immovable weight (pushing or pulling a metal railing that won’t move). In the world of fitness, isometrics are generally used by Pilates trainers, physical therapists, and lifters.

And in my opinion, most of these people use isometrics incorrectly:

Pilates usually caters to a female audience and often uses isometric exercises with the mindset that it will exercise the body without building muscle bulk.

Thus, isometric exercises are often associated with pastel colored yoga mats and three-pound dumbbells. But many of you already know that females do not grow muscle the same way that males do, so I will save that argument.

Physical therapists use isometrics sparingly for patients with injuries. The isometric exercises are used to maintain muscle function until the patient has healed enough to return to weight training for proper rehabilitation. This is from an incomplete understanding of how isometric exercises function.

Finally, some lifters will use isometrics in the same way that partial training is used. When there are sticking points in their lifts, isometrics will help to strengthen the movement in that range of motion. Otherwise, isometric exercises are rarely seen.

All of these applications are viable, but they show only a moderate understanding of isometrics. Isometric exercise training has a few different applications, two of which are most important: muscle growth and connective tissue training.

Isometrics for Muscle Growth

You can develop muscle using isometric training, but doing so using isometric holds, such as doing a plank or holding a heavy weight until your muscle fatigues, is not the most ideal way. There are active and passive isometrics.

Active isometrics, which involve you exerting force to fatigue your muscle, will develop muscle and strength much quicker than passive isometrics, such as holds and stances.

You can make a hold active by adding tension, such as driving your feet into the ground during a wall sit, rather than just seeing how long you can hold the stance before your legs collapse. This is useful for more than just sticking points because isometric exercises can indeed aid the full range strength.

Think about it this way: when the brain tells a muscle to contract, it only activates certain motor neurons to contract the muscle, but the entire muscle contracts.

Since a heavier object requires more strength, the muscle fires more motor neurons to increase contractile strength, but the whole muscle still contracts. In order for isometric exercises to only strengthen the muscle in a certain range of motion, the muscle would have to contract in parts.

As long as you put forth an appropriate amount of strength, preferably maximal, into an isometric exercise, it can and will strengthen the muscle as a whole.

In fact, many performing strongmen use isometric exercises to develop the strength to bend metal wrenches and scroll pieces of steel with their hands.

Try wrapping two thick pieces of cloth or leather around a wrench and try with maximum force to bend it. You will fatigue your muscles quickly, but you will also find that with practice your hand strength will increase exponentially.

Thus, using maximum tension in isometrics will also save you time, as opposed to doing a hold for hours at a time.

Isometrics for Connective Tissue

In terms of physical therapy, the wrong aspect of isometrics is being viewed. Often, the injuries that require the most rehabilitation are tendon or ligament injuries.

These connective tissues have relatively low blood flow and take much longer to repair. Isometric exercises develop the strength of the tendons more than muscle strength.

So, for physical therapy, isometrics should be utilized more for their tendon strengthening aspect than their muscle maintenance potential. Isometrics are ideal for tendon injuries because there is tension of the tendon but no movement, so the tendon avoids strain.

It is best to do isometric exercises for tendons in the strongest range of the movement.

Someone with elbow tendonitis will want to perform isometric exercises with their arm almost fully extended to have the least possible strain on the tendon.

Bud Jeffries, the first man to squat a thousand pounds from the bottom position, suffered a knee injury while running years ago. Using isometric exercises, he repaired the injury and got back to doing things like 625lb Zercher squats.

Isometrics Versus Weight Training

Weight training emphasizes movement, muscle strength and size, neurological strength, and technique.

I have put technique last, but it is perhaps most important. I have heard attacks on the merits of weight lifting to the effect of, “Squats will hurt your knees,” or, “You can easily tear a muscle.”

You can avoid doing either of those things one of two ways: sitting at home watching television and engaging in no physical activity or using appropriate technique while lifting and knowing your body.

For instance, the squat works the glutes, abs, quadriceps, hamstrings, lower back, and more when done properly. Meaning they are done with the feet shoulder width apart, lifting with the hips instead of the knees, and with the butt back. When done incorrectly, the squat works just the quads, and the weight is lifted with the knees, increasing potential for injury.

Weight training can build incredible strength throughout the body. Doing lifts that emphasize the use of many large muscle groups can encourage muscle growth, often more than isometrics has been commonly shown to do. Furthermore, countless stories of weight loss, health benefits, and community have been attributed to weight lifting.

Is weight lifting better than isometrics? Could isometrics possibly be better than weight lifting? On both counts, no. Find a Shaolin monk who has done isometric exercises for years and can hold an easy two-hour horse stance.

There is an incredibly slim chance that he can squat 500lbs. On the contrary, find a powerlifter who can squat upwards of 500lbs, and he may have trouble holding a horse stance or plank for ten minutes.

Both methods of strength training should be incorporated for someone seeking full fitness. Rather than taking sides, a harmony between the two should be reached.

Just like the Tao symbol, yin and yang are in harmony, and there is a little of each side in both. Isometrics trains stability (connective tissue and nerves), but doing so can also give great benefit to movement.

Weight training develops movement (muscles and nerves), but can give rise to increased stability. Adopting both into your workout menu can make all the difference.

References:

1. Mercer, L. “Does Pilates Start With Isometric Movement?” The Nest. Accessed May 5, 2014.

2. Laskowski, M.D., Edward R. “Are Isometric Exercises A Good Way to Build Strength?” MayoClinic. Accessed May 5, 2014.

3. Bryant, J. “Obliterate Your Sticking Points.” T-Nation. Accessed May 5, 2014..

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Famed strongman Alexander Zass credited much of his great strength to his isometric training as a prisoner during World War I. He would push on the bars and chains that held him captive and quickly saw benefits. Not long after, he started promoting this method of training through his mail order courses.

What Is Isometric Training?

In simple terms, muscle can only contract in a few ways. It can do the obvious and contract to shorten the distance between joints, such as when doing a bicep curl. This is called a concentric contraction, where the muscle tenses while shortening.

It can also tense while lowering a load, or resisting it, such as when lowering the weight in a curl. This type of contraction is known as eccentric and occurs when the muscle tenses while lengthening.

A final type of contraction is called an isometric contraction, and it occurs when the muscle tenses while not changing length. Examples of this are poses in body building or pushing against an immoveable object such as a wall.

One of the main benefits of isometric training is that the body is able to activate nearly all the available motor units – something that is usually very difficult to do.

Back in the 1950s, researchers Hettinger and Muller found a single daily effort of two-thirds of a person’s maximum effort exerted for six seconds at a time for ten weeks increased strength about 5% per week, while Clark and associates demonstrated static strength continued to increase even after the conclusion of a five-week program of isometric exercises.

Another benefit of isometric training is simply the amount of time spent performing an exercise. Consider an exercise like the bench press. It may take one to two seconds to perform with each joint angle only being trained for short periods of time.

In contrast, an exercise that mimics the bench press, like a press against pins at the sticking point of the lift, may be performed for several seconds. In other words, if you have a problem at a particular joint angle in a lift, you can do targeted isometrics to quickly overcome your problems.

Given that you can perform isometrics with little equipment and a relatively short timeframe, you’d think they’d be far more popular in the training world. So why aren’t they mainstream? For starters, there’s no denying the commercial aspect.

With isometrics there’s no valuable equipment to sell. Secondly, there has been some selective use of the science involved in isometric research. Many will cite potential drawbacks such as decreases in coordination and speed of movement or decreases in muscle elasticity.

Like all good training methods, you need to know how and when to apply isometrics, and how to overcome whatever shortfalls it has. Every system has holes and it is your job as the trainer to overcome them.

Potential decreases in muscle elasticity and speed of movement are easy to overcome with the use of relaxation and stretching methods between sets. The famous RKC Fast & Loose drills apply here, as would something even as simple as pranayama from yoga or even jumping rope.

One of the biggest issues people often cite is that isometrics will only work at that specific joint angle. However, Mel Siff noted in his book Supertraining:

…isometric training also produces significant strength increase over a range of up to as much as 15 degrees on either side of the training angle. Moreover, as with all strength measurements, there is a specific force or torque versus joint angle curve for each type of muscle contraction, so that it is highly unlikely that a strength increase would be confined to a very precise angle and nowhere else in the range.

In other words, it is more likely than not that strength gained at one joint angle will carry over to others. The caveat is that this seems most likely when the joint is at its most lengthened and the regional specificity of isometric training is most noticeable when the muscle is at its shortest.

How to Use Isometrics

I’m going to give you two versions of application. Both will work, but one will require some equipment and the other can be done on your own.

The equipment variation is suitable for someone looking for fast increases in strength, while the solo version can be used for performance but is also great for injury rehabilitation.

Version #1: Isometrics With Equipment

To do the equipment variation you’ll need a bar, a bench, a power rack, and a lot of weight. We’re going to use three exercises – the bench press, squat, and deadlift.

Bench press and squat: To perform these two we’re going to set the bar on one set of pins at the mid-range of the movement, usually where a sticking point occurs, with a second set of pins slightly above it. You don’t even need load on the bar for either of these variations.

On most power racks simply set the second set of pins at the next available height. Performing the isometric contraction is simple. Assume your position with either the squat or the bench press and drive the bar into the higher set of pins as hard as you can for six to eight seconds.

Deadlift: To perform the deadlift variation load the bar with a weight that is well beyond your one-rep max. It is important that the bar will not budge at all once you start the pull.

As a side note, you will get a lot of looks at the gym when you just load plate after plate after plate onto the bar. Like with the bench and squat variations, you will pull as hard as possible for six to eight seconds.

Version #2: Isometrics With Bodyweight Only

The main problem many will have with these bodyweight variations is the lack of sensation of actually pushing or pulling the weight. These exercises are performed as static contractions in a single position.

The three exercises to be used are the squat, lunge, and push up. For any of the three, assume a position midway through the range of movement and tense everything you can in your body as hard as possible.

What makes this tricky is that not only will you have to tense what would be the agonists (the muscles contracting while you squat or lunge), but also the antagonists (muscles that oppose the action, such as the back in the push up).

My experience is that many people don’t have good enough body control to be able to execute this well. Regardless, many will still find that a single rep is spent chasing tension around the body.

As soon as you have one thing tight, you’ll realize that your calves aren’t turned on, and then that will switch your glutes off, which in turn will cause you quads to let go, and on and on. With practice this chase does go away and you will become more skilled at getting everything switched on quickly and fully, which is the exact purpose of this training – to teach you to recruit more motor units.

Conclusion

In either plan, you can change the joint angle workout-by-workout, or week-by-week to minimize any potential loss of ability at different angles. For the deadlift, either raise the bar a few inches or work from a slight deficit in successive workouts.

Russian sports science great Yuri Verkhoshansky recommended that isometric workouts be limited to ten minutes per session. This would be total time of isometric contraction for the whole workout, so for example, if you did 3 x 10 second holds in each position (for either workout) you’d have done ninety seconds total.

The greatest success I’ve had with people is working up to five sets of ten-second contractions in each position. I know that is well short of the maximum ten minute time span, but if you do these right, meaning that when you turn everything on you really make sure to tense everything maximally, you will find your CNS can’t handle too much more.

I generally recommend people start with three six-second contractions for each exercise and add a rep per week, before adding time to the length of each rep. In between reps perform Fast & Loose drills, breathing exercises, shadow box, or anything else that will shake off the muscle tension.

Isometric sessions should be used just like regular strength training with peak frequency for the week at around three to four sessions. Be careful with how much you do.

These sessions won’t leave you sore or tired, but CNS fatigue is easily hidden. It can take the nervous system up to five times longer to recover than the muscular system, so the effects of isometric training can last a long time after your session.

I had a volleyball player who was on an isometric program years ago. We were using the bodyweight plan to get his knees back up to speed after an injury. In a single week he hit the session five times and then wondered why he couldn’t play on the weekend.

The CNS fatigue from many all out maximal attempts during the week had seen him unable to serve a single ball in during a tournament!

So, take heed – isometrics work, just use them like any other high intensity method, and a little goes a long way.

References:

1. Mell C. Siff, PhD, Supertraining (Denver: Supertraining Institute, 2004), 401

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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