Isometrics: A Quick Method For The Time Restricted Folks

We may only have 24 hours in a day but within that time, we get caught up in the "responsible acts" of life such as; getting to work, making a living, picking up kids, paying bills and doing adult stuff that never seems to end. When people want to work out, they feel that what they hear about how much time it takes to get results and what to do to get those results, it can be confusing and full of overwhelming anxiety that one of two things will happen; they'll either quit early or don't do at all because there's never enough time.

There's so much info out there that it can be daunting and hard to pick the right info for you to use to get the time in and what you're seeking. Some people can get to a gym even with tough ways to work around it and it works for them but it isn't for everybody. That's why I turn to Isometrics because it's quick and has great benefits of getting the most out of the time YOU need to get done. Isometrics are exercises where you don't move but you're exerting a lot of force. 

A great version of Isometrics is just simply flexing your muscles to a degree where you don't need more than a few seconds to really feel it. Flex your arms, your legs, your chest, your calves or whatever and hold it for no more than 12 seconds. The rule of thumb here is to not hold your breath as you flex. Instead, make an "sss" or "fff" sound as you exhale. This can help with blood pressure.

Another way to get a good Isometric workout in is taking a few minutes and do Self Resistance type training where you resist against yourself (muscle against muscle) and do various parts of the body like working your biceps, resist trying to lift your shoulders up, push your hands together for the chest ect. You can use a table, a park bench, your chair, pressing into the floor, holding a horse stance, these are all great ways to use isometrics. You can do a quick workout in about 5 minutes. If you do them right, you can also get a good cardio workout in it too. Think about it, using isometrics for cardio and never needing to force yourself to do 30 minutes on the treadmill or have to drive to the gym.

Some of my Isometric workouts last no more than 20 minutes, others, 5 is more than enough. I can give you some great courses to check out so you'll never have an excuse to not get something in. Make the timing count, don't let it steer you away. Get fit without moving whatsoever and do so anywhere from the park to a hotel room, your living room, backyard, at the beach, sitting in a chair or wherever you wish. 

Here are a few courses to check out that help you find cool ways to do Isometrics:

Super Isometrics for Maximum Strength and Muscle Gain

Isometrics By Henry Wittenberg

Developing The Isometric Mind : All 7 Volumes 

Isometric Power Revolution: Mastering the Secrets of Lifelong Strength, Health, and Youthful Vitality

Within minutes, you can get some awesome training in and never have to worry about getting the right time in. Make it work for you and take care of yourself. Strengthen your body anywhere and get the most out of it without being so restricted. 

Step Ups: An Alternative To Running

Some people love to run or jog, it can be meditative, often times a way to escape and get into a better state of mind, but it does have consequences. A good run is one thing and doing so for a few miles is more than enough for most people but if you push it too long/hard it can put a damper on your joints and can cause knee problems. 

I was never much of a runner and with the way my shins and ankles are, running is not a great option or exercise. I have known people who do a lot of running and one of them i'm related to and she runs like a madwoman. Running can be good to a degree in the sense where you're not putting your joint health at risk and tearing ligaments from overstraining or putting too much stress. 

Many use running as a form of cardio which can be good but can only take you so far and if you do exclusively, you're missing out on incredible other forms of exercise that has a safer alternative to your cardio/muscular conditioning. I've been doing Step-Ups lately and the few times I've done them, it's given me a hell of a cardio workout that does better for me than running on a treadmill or a track. I got the idea from learning more about Bob Backlund, the famous world champion wrestler from the late 70's to the early 80's.

I had written before about Backlund doing Step-Ups & The Ab Wheel as a means for developing awesome conditioning. He was an avid runner in his day to get great cardio for keeping up in the ring but once he found out about the Harvard Step Test, he was off and running with it (no pun intended). Once he transitioned to this exercise, his cardio shot through the roof and was considered as one of the best conditioned athletes in his prime. 

It's a simple exercise but a very effective one that builds the legs to last in the long haul and has a safer application on the knee joints and ankles. One workout I've been doing lately is Backlund's workout but alternating back and forth between the wheel and the step ups. 15 min non-stop is a hell of a workout and is a great start to see where your condition is at. How long I'll keep at it that remains to be seen but when I get the urge, I do what I can. 

How high of a step do you need for it to be effective? I don't think you'll need one where your step goes higher than a couple inches past your navel point. This is because you don't want to overextend or put too much flexion on the hip joint because although the legs are strongest in the body, your joints need to be strong too and exercised with safety. So a good 10-14 inches is more than enough but depending on your height and the health of your joints go accordingly. 

How many reps do you need to do to get an effective workout? This can vary from person to person depending on timing, the amount your body can go with and what the goal is. With my superset of step ups and the wheel, I would do 20 step-ups (10 per leg) at a time and do as many rounds as possible without stopping in the time I put up. In the 15 minutes, I would do close to 10 rounds which totals up to a couple hundred step-ups which is pretty decent but if I just did the step-ups alone for 15 min straight, I could probably do more than 300 if I really pushed it. It all depends.

So if you want to use a safer alternative to running and still want to get cardio in just about anywhere, go with step-ups and see what's possible for you. Backlund was known for doing step-ups for more than an hour on a consistent basis. That puts him in elite class when it comes to conditioning and was doing this past the age of 40, 50 and 60. He once did step-ups for a period of 8 hours with a small break in between, that just puts him in a universal class, not just world class. You don't need to go that long to get the benefits, a good half hour is more than enough. Any more, that's up to you.

Get in shape the best ways possible and the simpler it is, the better off. 

Here's a good step up implement you can use at home.... 

Have an amazingly awesome day. 

The Three Bears Concept Of Fitness

What a name for an article huh? What the hell does a children's story have to do with fitness? Well, more than you think because it's quite simple. In life, there's either too much of something, too little or not enough and there's the middle ground that hits the right spot and puts the right things in perspective. Fitness is a lot like that. When we work out, we want the best out of that session or having the best program we can do at the time but at times, we do too much and breakdown or burn out, other times we go cold and don't do enough to get the results we want but we do find that sweet spot and gives us what we seek.

Training is a series of victories, failures, experimenting with what works and what doesn't and finding the best for what suits us. Exercise is like the porridge in the three bears story and we are Goldilocks. There are some sessions where we do too much, we do things to the point something just doesn't feel right and than something clicks in and a workout becomes enjoyable and we get the most out of it because it's what worked. Papa Bear likes his porridge hot and steamy, it works for him, mama bear likes it cold and the baby bear has just enough to where it suits him best. Different things work for different people but like Goldilocks, we try different things and at times it'll feel hot and burns us, it could also make us feel we're not doing enough and goes cold but one way or another, we find that perfect blend and we get the result we seek.

Now unlike the blonde haired runaway, we don't want to just walk in and see what happens. We're hungry for results and we want them now. She just breaks in and starts eating someone else's food and not consider the consequences. Similar thing happens in fitness, we want to just break through and not consider what we're getting ourselves into because we don't know anything and don't grasp the concept of possible injury, not understanding if you're doing the right thing and seeing if the sweet spot is there. We learn from mistakes and not march into something we don't realize what can happen later. Like the bratty, Pollyanna looking ditz, when we do suffer the consequences we don't know what to do and end up with a lecture on what we need to learn from.

Let's take a look at the beds of the three bears and compare the way you recover. Goldilocks goes upstairs and decides to sleep off the porridge she just ingested and have a nice little nap in the process. One bed is too hard and doesn't have any support, another is way too soft and not firm enough and then that perfect bed that just is cozy enough and feels awesome to pass out in. For recovery, you want just enough that you feel good that when you go back, you'll be better than before and be able to progress. Being sore can be a real pain in the ass so you don't want your body to be so hard that it can't do what it needs to do and rest, you also don't want it to recover too much otherwise, you won't want to go back so you want to have that enough of a recovery where your body did it's job and you've got that energy and full tank to get back out there and not only that, progress and have your muscles in order.

Once you find that sweet spot in your training and in your recovery, things fall into place and you have your perfect set up for what you want to accomplish. It may not always go your way, things can happen along the way but make the most of your journey and if you happen to run into some bears, don't break in and see what happens, learn what is just right.