Ben's Power And Might Writings: Building A Suit Of Armor Using Isometrics

Isometrics isn't a big mainstream method for a reason and it's mainly because many see it as inferior to other methods or have boring entities that is completely misunderstood. The truth is, Isometrics are a forgotten art of exercise that strongmen of the past used to not only crush plateaus but to help perform better in certain acts such as Steel Bending, taking shots to the stomach or twisting horseshoes (look up Alexander Zass and The Mighty Atom).

It's slowly making a comeback but for reasons that have nothing to do with certain aspects of strength, conditioning or performance (even fewer today make these attributes a priority) but to shed fat, look far leaner and have a more approach to bodybuilding. The seekers of strength and/or conditioning rely heavily on strengthening beyond the muscles but more of the tendons, ligaments and joints to help protect them from injuries and utilize their power for purely functional reasons. Isometrics help develop not just leaner muscle but muscle density and hardness that is tough to match.

Isometrics help develop a kind of suit of armor for your body to help prevent injuries as much as possible. Steve Justa was heavy into weights and picking up odd objects so heavy, an inch off the ground was the best he can do (partials really) and became so heavy himself it started tearing him up and having type 2 diabetes really solidified where his health was going. After focusing more on Isometrics than anything else, it helped get his health back in order and rarely gets injured these days. With the endless ways to do Isometrics, having a strong body is one thing but to have strength that keeps you from breaking apart is a whole other ball game.

Look at it this way from a comic book perspective; Wolverine's entire bone structure is laced with adamantium and has a remarkable power to heal much faster than the typical human; when you practice Isometrics, your bone structure develops strength that tends to be more of an anomaly than anything else and gives you that extra juice of power within your system that makes injuries less likely to happen and to heal at a greater rate. Now this isn't to say to test that theory in stupid stunts or to see if someone can try to break your arm with a bat, injuries happen but the less chance of that happening if your structure is strengthened and maintained properly. This is a perspective of the inside of the body.

From a perspective of the outside of the body, let's look at it from Batman's Suit; in various films seen such as the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy, Batman V Superman and The Dark Knight Returns, his suit has armor that is extremely difficult to penetrate and helps him keep fighting and keep pushing the limits of his endurance and will to keep going. The only villain that broke him (literally) was Bane and that was a 1-1000 odds of happening with any other villain. Practicing Isometrics can help up the odds of breaking the body from the outside as well and help you fight off certain aspects of injuries to the shoulders, back, legs and wrists and develop greater durability and endurance. Now this isn't meaning to go out and fight and test your durability and see how long you last while hurt. Bruises happen, scraped knees happen and we can't completely prevent an ankle injury but with proper training, the odds are in more of your favor than against you. You can create your own suit of armor.

The more you strengthen your structure, the stronger your armor is. We can't always prevent injuries from happening but we can definitely up the score in our favor. People like Steve Justa, Bud Jeffries, Logan Christopher, Steve Maxwell, Batman O'Brien and others have done and practiced Isometrics along with other methods to the degree where injuries are less likely to occur yet can do things with weights and other things that baffle the human mind and can do them at a superhuman level. Who's to say you can't do the same thing? Isometrics are hard but that doesn't mean their inferior, they can do things for your body other methods can't come close to touching and your conditioning will soar when you work them with intention, safety and focus.