Isometric Strength Training: One Position With 10 Breath Sets

 It has been said that Isometrics are at a peak from a Overcoming POV, the purest form of strength training. When you're pushing, pulling and squatting against something immovable, you're hammering out great tension for either a short or extended period of time. The greater of intensity, the shorter a set, so if you're going to be doing a 7-12 second contraction, you usually hit at best around 85% of your capacity. If you were to reach 100%, it can only go for no more than 3 seconds at best. Longer contractions has a much lower level of intensity at peak levels of no more than maybe 65% (this is merely out of experience, if you want more info on this research it).

There have been several formats on how to use Isometrics as a strength training system and one of the most important aspects out of all them is by using breath control. Never, under any circumstances intently hold the breath because this can cause blood pressure to spike and can cause hypertension along with building up headaches and possible migraines. The best way to utilize the intensity and control is through the exhale.

Guys like Bud Jeffries, Steve Justa, Gama, Bruce Lee, Chrys Johnson, Jarell & Lewis Lindsey, Alexander Zass and Matt Schifferle all have experimented with Isometrics in ways that have been extraordinary to the degree where some used them to enhance their strength and conditioning, others have developed phenomenal physiques that have shredded and thick muscle and some even used them to keep themselves energized for workloads and sport. Each man on this list has learned and even have/had expertise on how to channel that area of strength as a carryover to other aspects of life outside of training. 

I love learning things about the art of Isometrics and have experimented many things myself with them. One of them is through intense training using a 1-2 set protocol of holding a position (usually with the WorldFit Iso Trainer & A Strap) such as the mid point and I would proceed to take in a specific amount of breaths as I contract in that position at around maybe 60-70% of my capacity. Taking in 10 breaths as deeply as possible and on the 10th breath, I would shoot for as high of a contraction as I can to finish that set. Take in a breather and walk it off a bit. Repeat for a second set and move onto another exercise.

This particular workout protocol is very hard to do and you don't need to do a ton of exercises to make it work. Matter of fact, the fewer the better because it is so intense, it feels like going through a heavy weight session without needing to lift. You're not moving, you're not putting wear and tear on the joints but you are raising the stakes for building a great deal of strength not just in the muscles but the tendons and ligaments. Also, there may be a cardio factor thrown in because of the breathing aspects, it can raise the heart rate and have you sweating like a fucking faucet. My workout from yesterday were as follows. 2 sets per exercise, doing 10 breaths at a time with great intensity:

Curl

Standing Chest Press

Seated Row

Overhead Press

Hybrid Squat

Hybrid Push-Up

This was more than enough to smoke me and I was breathing pretty heavy in between sets. This is the type of training I like doing from time to time because it teaches me how to be humble and respectful to the training. It's not necessarily anything new, it's just an unorthodox style of strength training that can be useful when you're short on time and don't need a ton of space. It's very hard and at best, no more than maybe 2x a week, maybe 3 but that's pushing it. It's not easier than doing something like the 30/30/30 Isometric Program where you hold a position for 90 seconds where you increase the intensity every 30 seconds. 

This is powerful stuff and one of the best ways to strength train in my opinion and it requires minimum to no equipment at all. For the hybrid stuff, I would get the Iso-Loop but the rest you can use your bodyweight, a tabletop, a doorway or towel. Whatever works for you. Take a shot at it if you have been working with Isometrics for a while. For a beginner, because of the great intensity, I would start with 1 set of 3-5 breaths max. Also start with like 3 exercise (push/pull/squat) to get the feel for them. As you get stronger, add more breath counts until you reach 10. 2 sets is my sweet spot but if you're wanting to go for three sets, that's up to you, just don't overdo it. My workout consisted of 6 exercises which again smoked me but for you, 4-5 would be best but if you want to try and go for 6-7 exercises, cool and hope they give you a successful session. 

If you want more info on this type of training, send me an email through the Linktree below or shoot me a comment. I encourage you to read the *NEW* comment policy I now have in place at this time so we understand each other. Be amazingly awesome, train hard and hope you reach great success in your goals. 

Workout System With Dopa Band That Promotes Heavy Conditioning

I do my best to keep my workouts to a minimum for maximum results that I can produce. Never waste time doing things just for saying you did something. I want to accomplish the best workout I can to get in better shape little by little each time. When your life can be a whirlwind at times and the people in your life depend on you, it's important to take the time to make an effort on your training so you can be strong and fit for those that need you. 

Experimenting with the Dopa Band has been wonders and testing out workouts has been awesome. One of the things I've come up with to get the most out of my workouts lately with the Band is to do interval training by going for a good period of time while resting only half the amount. This has led to doing a 30/15 For 4 Protocol that I enjoy doing because I can go hard, rest half the time and get in a few rounds per exercise to get whatever I need done. The idea is to work an exercise for 30 seconds, rest for 15 and repeat for a total of 4 rounds. Pick up to maybe no more than 6 exercises (you can do more if you want but the point is to be efficient and getting a workout in within 20 minutes or less) and do what you can with them. 

The most common exercises I would do are rows, chest presses (sometimes adding a squat to make it a combo), waves, sprints and lunges but also at times I'll throw in Bear Crawls, Duck Walks and shooting drills like in wrestling to really tackle the lungs. I'll even throw in the Sandbell doing a Clean & Press or a Slam by combining either a sprint or Bear Crawl to it. Doing this type of training a couple times a week will be more than enough, hell you're working more than resting and testing the limits of your body's abilities. Be sure to recover well between workouts and maintain a good level of mobility and flexibility training. This can feel like hell and it's very intense. 

I've done a few workouts with this protocol, even doing one after "warming up" with a Deck Of Cards Animal Workout that takes me roughly 16 min to complete. Do the deck, take a few breaths and went into the Dopa Workout with a vengeance. Went hard but not to push to the limit of a possible injury, you're not trying to break records here. I've only done that the one time and I wanted to sleep it off afterwards, the endorphin high was crazy. I rested as little as possible between exercises of the Dopa Workout only to mark off a set or putting tying the band around my waist. The most rest I would take is around a minute or so. 

I'm no wrestler or even a world-class athlete but I do admire the training these guys go through and want to test myself to see what I can do. I never thought I'd be doing this type of training in my late 30's going into my 40's, if I was able to do these back in high school or in my 20's, who knows what kind of shape I'd be in but certain things have led you on a path to this point and I'm able to train at a level most people in my age group think is fucking nuts. It's heart breaking seeing people my age or younger dying because of the dumb shit they put themselves through or what they put in their bodies to create this illusion of health at a rate that's scary to think about. All I care about is doing the best I can while lessening the amount of injuries. We can't 100% avoid an injury but we can reduce the chances by doing things in a smart way while challenging ourselves. The band has done wonders for me and I love what it can do to make workouts more interesting and taking less time to train for maximum results. 

Get one yourself or a bundle deal for friends, family, group classes, youth groups, wrestling/MMA school or whatever and take in the benefits of being able to train with top quality equipment that you can carry in a bag. Use my discount code POWERANDMIGHT to get 10% OFF your order. Train hard, train with intent and kick ass in whatever sport or fitness endeavor you're in. We all deserve to be in great shape. Be amazingly awesome. 

Dopa Band Conditioning Workout

 Yesterday, I did one of the most intense workouts I've ever experienced and if you know how intense I can be, that's saying something. It was one of those workouts that has that inspiration from Wrestling and testing my mental toughness to the point where I just needed to see what I can continue to do to keep going.

This particular workout was divided into two parts (all together did my best to rest as little as possible where I only really marked off the set) with doing work with the Dopa Band and Step Ups just using my bodyweight. The Step Ups provided a cardio element while the Band was done with explosive movements and fast paced work. It was so intense that by the end, I thought my heart was going to rip out of my chest. Did a total of three exercises with the band and 2 supersets of exercises were added in to really tackle my conditioning and mental toughness.

Here's how it went down....

-Dopa Training & BW Step Ups

Alt Waves x 15/15 For 10 Rounds

4x50 Step Ups (25 per leg) = 200

Superset 1

Alt Rows x 50 (25 Per Arm) 

Step Ups x 50 (25 Per Leg) 

4 sets totaling 200 of each exercise 

Superset 2

Run/Sprint & Slam 20 lb Slamball (video below) x 10 

Step Ups x 50 (25 Per Leg) 

4 sets totaling 40 + 200

Total of 600 Step Ups during the workout.

So as you see the first part was just doing a timed exercise for several minutes and than going into Step Ups, the next segment was the Supersets. The second superset just about killed me as I was literally doing a sprint to the slamball and then picking it up and slamming it repeatedly until I hit a number of times and then doing step ups immediately afterwards while my lungs were still on fire. Only by marking off the set and getting back into position was my only rest and pacing myself with both exercises tested me in a way that I haven't experienced before.

This was the type of training that isn't meant for beginners and it takes on another level that was just unbelievable. I have no clue how I'm not sore AF today. It was hard and even for me, I wouldn't do it again any time soon because this wasn't something I had planned, I did it because I wanted to see if I could do it. This was more of a challenge than anything. This was probably the closest to a workout outside of wrestling that was so damn crazy, you'd have to have a sadistic mind to even try it. It was explosive, exhausting and it nearly put me on my ass. No question wrestlers have done workouts far worse than this but I'm proud that I was able to do it. 

I don't recommend you do this if you're not in shape or new to training. I would also say, be sure you're flexible and loosened up your joints because your whole body will come into play and you don't want to tear something especially in your knees or ankles. It's hard, it's rough and it doesn't care who you are, if you're still standing there's something to write home about. 

To get an idea of the Run/Sprint & Slam, here's a 30 second video of doing only 5 reps of the exercise which is more than enough for most in and of itself, adding onto it is just part of the nastiness. You will sweat, you will think about quitting and you will discover something you didn't know was there. If you're a wrestler or a world class athlete, you may find this workout tickling your feathers a bit. 

Animal Conditioning With The Dopa Band

 Finding different ways to train with the Dopamineo Band is turning into a habit and the more I've used it, the stronger and better healed up I've gotten. I can't get enough of it and it's one of my top equipment to promote right now. It is a game changer and I'm testing myself doing hard workouts, methodical and a bit slower, intense, rugged and just plain having the time of my life with it. 

You can do so many exercises with this thing that even with all the instructional videos, there's something to discover. Today was one of those discoveries as I did another test to see where I was at; I did my Animal Dice Game Workout while I had the Band around my waist and went a few rounds. The objective in this workout was to go as far out as possible and repeat as many times for a specific animal so one rep was going as far as you can stretch it. Bear Crawls, Crab Walks, Tiger Crawls, Primate and Frog Jumps; did a total of 60 reps and that was more than enough. Rested when I needed to but my lungs were firing and was feeling it in my legs and my shoulders. Full Body workout that every exercise hit multiple muscle groups.

I would say that was a hell of a conditioning workout that really took that particular Animal Workout to another level. Normally I can go for 20 min or more without much of a rest other than rolling the dice but this was just nasty and because of the resistance, you're fighting a hell of a lot more and it just tortures the muscles more. Although shorter than usual with that workout, I made it count and went as far as my body allowed me. That's the point of training is to work with what's possible and intuitively know when you've had enough.

Wrestlers & Football players have done similar workouts but I don't know about this specific using a dice to come up with a random animal and go hard. They've done Animal style movements forever and there's a good reason why they're incredible for conditioning. Grab a band for yourself and try a few animals and see how you feel. Hell, I'll even throw in a discount for you by throwing in 10% off your order when you use the code POWERANDMIGHT at checkout. Check out the instructionals, find the type of band suited for your size (just like weight classes in wrestling) and have at it. If you want multiple bands, you can get discounted for those as well by customizing your own bundle and use my code for even more of a discount, how bad ass is that? 

Train well, get fit and keep being amazingly awesome. 

Here's another video of doing Duck Walks, these particularly are torturous when you do them for several times going out in a row.