Strength isn't always built on bodyweight or weights for Insta Likes. It's built on stillness. When it comes down to it, Isometrics especially that dials in that 7-12 seconds of pure contraction and power, you unlock a method that's fucking brutally effective and can still be done practically daily.
The Method Of Going To War For 7-12 Seconds
How does this work? You pick a position like a Curl using the WorldFit Iso Trainer and you hammer it out hard. Not for 30 seconds or a minute where you can tone down the intensity, but as high of intensity as you can make it.
Why that specific window though? If you were to get it to 100% max strength, it would be only for 1-3 seconds which isn't a bad thing when you've had enough experience. Steve Justa was a master at this along with holding for much longer times with less intensity. 7-12 in many cases is the sweet spot where you're blending the maximum motor unit and the peak levels of intensity without breaking your form.
You're not moving, you're becoming a machine. All those muscle fibers from the tendons to the trunk is switched to a serious capacity. You're not using momentum, no way of cheating, just you. The irresistible force meeting the immovable object. That's the true nature of Overcoming Isometrics.
Here Are Some Benefits The Fitness Industry Won't Tell You
1. At peak efforts, Isometric Training teaches your CNS to fire much harder. The recruitment of fibers that conventional lifting can't even begin to touch. It opens up the Mind/Muscle Connection to new levels of strength you didn't think existed. Next time you go for a deadlift or press, the bar might feel lighter.
2. Isometrics don't shear, it doesn't have ballistic loading, your knees/shoulders/spine get stronger without wearing and tearing down the ligaments. You get the prehab, rehab and strength training all rolled into one super entity. You are in control of the angle.
3. Brutal Time Efficiency
Within 15-20 minutes, you can hit the full body in an Isometric Session. Don't need much if at all of a warm up set. You don't have to wait around for anybody or anything, things like a wall, a doorway, your own bodyweight, the floor or the Trainer for that matter are all the best options.
The Power Of Doing Isometrics Daily
Overcoming & Yielding Isometric Training for 7-12 seconds create neural adaptation with less damage than typical weight training. Your CNS adapts fast (like Quicksilver fast). The tendons get denser and the ligaments thicken like steel chords. Adamantium anybody?
Legends like Bud Jeffries & Alexander Zass made Isometric Training an art form. The old-time strongmen called it Steel Sinew Training. They did them daily because Isometrics don't break you, they build your ass up.
If you ever thought you missed a workout, pick a few exercises and do 1-3 positions of that exercise before hitting the sack. Isos are the perfect training style for traveling because you can do them while waiting for your plane, work various muscles on the train, as a passenger in a car and many other things.
Purity In Stillness
You want to talk about the essence of strength training? This strips it down to its very core. You don't need to master a technique (although it'll help with your other techniques outside of the sessions). It's just straight up tension man. It's safe because you can't get out of the position. It won't crash on you and your form doesn't degrade itself. It's true honesty. It also doesn't lie to you. Work this type of training into your repertoire for a period and you'll begin to understand why the old timers said "motionless exertion, breeds motionless power."
It's not some silly gimmick or something generic and unoriginal that promises you a Rolls Royce but you end up with a broken down Yugo. Don't fall for bullshit scams like that. It's a foundation, the Game Genie Of Fitness and it has been waiting for you to tackle it with heart and soul.
Train hard, be smart, listen to your body and be amazingly awesome. For more info, grab the book Overcoming Isometrics By Matt Schifferle and learn what it means to open up a new world of possibilities with strength that will last and building a legacy that transcends generations.
