Happy Belated New Year's Everyone. It's a time of reflection and moving forward with new goals and making this year as awesome as possible little by little. Finding new things to discover, train a little differently and learning new skills.
Do you have any resolutions? Seriously, I hate that word because it doesn't hold any true meaning and 95-98% of the time, most people stop after two weeks of mainly anything that they try to jump into the deep end of. When it comes to experimentation, it's important to remember that coming in cocky and becoming too excited can spell disaster if you're not aware of the consequences. That's why if you have any new goals you want to set, start small and built yourself up, even if it's microscopic. It's ok to come into things a little scared and not completely knowing the outcome or what will happen in the middle.
For me, New Years is more about not just starting fresh but learning what is possible for what's to come. It's worth noting that focusing on what is important and not focus on what you don't want is better suited to understanding the real light shining at the end of the tunnel. There will be ups and downs and not everything you do will be perfect, but you keep moving forward inch by inch because you never know what will have an incredible effect on you.
An experiment I was playing with over the last few days before the clock struck Midnight was a different area of Isometrics that I wanted to see happen. In the spirit of Steve Justa and learning a few things from a book called Overcoming Isometrics, I got the idea of utilizing Isos in what I call "10 Breath Isometrics." It's an idea where you hold certain exercises (in the overcoming style even though it could be used in yielding Isos as well) for a maximum of 10 Breaths...
The first 9 breaths are as deep as possible while contracting at 40-60% of your strength like an aerobic hold but on the 10th breath, you exhale as you contract hard at 70-75% of your strength for 7-12 seconds. Deep Breathing mixed with great intensity at the end potentially has incredible benefits in how you become efficient at Isometric Training. It also allows you to find out how long you can hold for those first 9 breaths and go hard on the 10th. Some people just like timing a hold which is great but that's still focusing more on the timing than what's really going on. This is geared towards focusing on your breathing as best as possible and because of this, you can go longer than you may have previously and than on that last breath, use the last bit of strength.
I would still recommend the "ssss" sound on the 10th breath but if you wish to just go as hard as you can on that last one and just breathe out, go for it. Another alternative if you're not ready to go hard on that last breath, just stay at that 40-60% strength level and breathe deeply and keep it to a aerobic hold. Test it out and see how it is for you. This isn't some secret new way to do Isometrics but it is different than what is usually written and how to do them. I've gotten a few workouts out of it and it feels amazing especially the aftereffects with the strength and speed that is generated. You can use a strap, a towel, that is immoveable.
For the Yielding Isometrics (like a plank for example), you can just do 10 deep breaths. How long is each breath? That's hard to say, some can inhale and exhale only in a 10 second period, others can go longer so experiment and learn how good your breathing is. The big thing is focusing on the breath and not so much on the actual time held. Give it a whirl.
It's great to try new things, just don't try so hard where you hurt yourself, be aware and if something feels off, it's best to stop. Listen to your intuition and utilize what works best for you. Be amazingly awesome during the New Year and make the most of what is possible.
Here's a video I made that demonstrates the "10 Breath" Isometric Experiment.
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