As a traditional martial artist I have explored a lot into the supplemental training of the old styles, and it baffles me how dismissive people are to isometrics. There is a massive amount of study and practice from thousands of years ago that are completely ignored today. It's sad.
@@juls5603 sure. Hand & knuckle conditioning, grip strength, more gymnastic , functional or monk bodyweight style training over all useless bodybuilding work, balance with static kicks, neck strengthening to absorb blows better, breathe holding, I can go on. But these would skyrocket any bbj or mma guys game tremendously if they incorporated it.
Greg Nuckkols talked about overcoming isometrics on a podcast he cohosts called Stronger By Science. He said that despite knowing about them and knowing how effective they are, he just doesn't do them and doesn't know anyone personally who does them because they're kinda boring to do. I did them as a kid when I didn't have any training equipment, and I stopped for pretty much the same reason. I only recently rediscovered them and decided to give them a 2nd chance because at least now I can test their effectiveness after a 4 week cycle against a barbell.
I remember a guy, telling me he is into "old school" excercises for building muscle, like pushing your hands together or sitting on a chair and pulling on the seating. And I thought "yeah, you aint build nothing with that 'workout' ". Poor me, should have listened.
I know just what you mean. I once knew a guy who was strong as hell and all he did was pull-ups from his door frame. at the time I was like "you're not optimizing your training by attacking your muscles from different angles." (*sigh*) live and learn I guess
Yeah, in the 1920s Charles Atlas made his dynamic tension approach to muscle building public and shortly was teaching all the heavyweight boxing champions of that era. That really is old school.
I guess Im asking the wrong place but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account?? I stupidly forgot my account password. I love any tips you can offer me.
I'm glad that you've found the "secret" ... I was doing Iso's before you were born Mat... Nothing new under the sun!! Animals do it all the time, especially the big cats... Its surprising how many uses I've found for a dogi belt, the Jo or short staff... You can vary your workouts to your hearts delight and its fantastic for bringing down high blood pressure!! The exact opposite to what the those who keep perpetuating the "myths" try to keep telling the uninitiated!! Once people start to realise this form of exercise actually works and it doesn't cost a penny, the health & fitness industry isn't going to like it.... THATS WHY the myths abound!!
@@RedDeltaProject Well Mat, your high Phd, tech guys need all that... Me? I just get on and do it... The beauty is, I've never had any injuries or muscle soreness practising Iso's... I was initiated into it by a Royal Navy PTI Petty Officer in his early 40's who was phenomenally strong for his size, wiry and ripped as you call it now... That was in 1970... That petty officer was taught it by his father and his father before him... Never used a weight in my life, and never looked back!! Old school works, as you're beginning to discover... Its been around for millennia.... I love it!! It will serve you well as you become older...
Really enjoying this isometric series. Two things: “chair” sit against wall to failure (pressing small of back against wall) brings new meaning to T.U.T. and check out The Bioneer on this topic. Both of you have great content.
I've had my doubts about OI in the past, but going from 0 to 10 dips, 6 pull-ups and 5-6 pistol squats with almost no other means of training and skipping all the regressions of the respective exercises speaks for itself.
Brilliant breakdown of the topic sir, love your channel. I can attest that isometrics are severely overlooked, yet they figure in every aspect of strength. Even today’s strongmen get to their level through forms of isometrics, think of farmers walks, atlas stones, hercules hold, all of these have a serious isometric component and set apart strongman from powerlifting. Once muscle I have noticed grow from isometrics are the forearms, every time. Therefore if one muscle grows, all muscles can respond to isometric stimulii ! Moreso, I have an observation of people who carry furniture for a living, they have great musculature in their upper body, and in a matter of months end up either really big or ripped, I have observed this at work. Essentially when you are moving around tables and filing cabinets, you are under prolonged isometric strain, as these objects are awkward to pick up, often for over 10-15 minutes at a time, and their muscles end up totally fried. I would go as far as to say Isometrics are at the root of what people call “old man strength” and they are the most natural form of development, for who in nature has to do repetitions, rather life is more about holding positions.
Good points, as far as the progression and awareness bit I actually quantify the quality by how it transfers. As an example, I’m a modern day performing strongman ie I perform a classic feats of strength show in the style of the strongmen more commonplace during the turn of the century like Alexander Zass. If I implement a training strategy, and I’m able to perform my feats more easily or if I can bend harder stock...I know it’s working. I use a home made isochain to balance out the workloads from my “sport specific” isometric training sessions.
Alright Matt, I gotta tell ya, I was skeptical as hell, but because I respect the heck outta ya, I’m gonna give this a whirl...I know intellectually this works, but I’ve never thought I would practice it.....BUT, I see a difference in you, and I’ve been following you for over a year, this difference has come in just the last two weeks....and you haven’t changed anything about your diet? I’m impressed and will try this!
I did overcoming isometrics along with dynamic tension for quite a few years before moving on to calesthenics and never fell for the myth's. I just felt the need to do something different. time to revisit I think.
Hi Matt, 1st of all thanks for the great advise on RU-vid and your podcast. I am 63 and an avid calisthenics guy and recently added an isometric routine on non bodyweight days. All I have to say is what you do WOW Game changer!!!
You hit the gold Matt, I also had an epifani about isometrics a while back. It seems like the most optimal way to build muscle since you create constant tension in the muscle. I think that's why many bodybuilders go for shorter range of motion since it keeps the tension more intensive(with shorter waves) than full reps. I've always thought that full reps is the only true way of building muscle, until this point
Since I've incorporated overcoming isometrics, my mind-muscle connection has improved by leaps and bounds. That very last point that you made was also huge for me, that creating tension without a quantifiable number is actually a benefit! It's really helped me focus on the QUALITY of tension, as opposed to quantity. That being said, continuing to quantify my progression in the 6 tension chain movements, with isometrics supplementing my mind-muscle connection skills - that's the key for me!
12:30 Muscle ups use this range of motion: pulling from a deadhang until your arms are at your sides and your chest at the bar, the you pull your elbows behind your body into shoulder extension to the bottom of the dip position, from there you reverse the range of motion by completing a dip.
But that's pull + push, not solely either, and not a continuous range of motion starting from dip, to ohp. Closest I can think of is arm swing in jumping to dunk or some variation of a kettlebell swing
There is some research out there that demonstrates that the line is roughly 30 degrees of gains within a specific isometric hold at a specific range. Obviously, that’s probably going to vary amongst individuals and it is going to be a vague line or spectrum. But in general it appears isometric holds at 2-4 specific locations within a given range is probably advisable. I generally hold at the ends of a range and in the middle of the range as my attempt to invite a full range of gains.
I’d love an update. Just ordered my isochain but am too anxious so I’m pushing walls and door frames and trying to uproot trees with my glutes! I’m going to solely use maximum isometrics instead of trying to incorporate it with strong lifts 5x 5. I’m basically going to do the 5x5 workout but isometrically and for 6-8 sec holds and see if I get stronger over 90 days when I retest my bench squat and deadlift and military press
I believed all 3 of those myths before watching this video, so thanks for taking the time to disprove them. Looking forward to your next videos about isometrics!
It's certainly not an open and shut case at this point, but casting just a little doubt into the myths can open the door for amazing possibilities. check out my newest video on isometrics and calisthenics for super hard-core ab training: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-31dTcB9uqyg.html
Thanks so much for your concise and well-explained presentation Matt! I'd always wondered about the fact vs. fallacy of the effectiveness of overcoming isometrics. Now that you've cleared that up, I'm definitely gonna add O.I. to my practice. Rock on, bro!
I’ve been using a Bullworker for a few years now and in spite of all the nay sayers I’ve built muscle all over my body to the point that people think I train in a gym. The cool thing about a Bullworker is that you can measure your strength. Isometrics isn’t in the mainstream simply because they want you to buy a gym membership where as isometrics can be done in your home with no equipment and in half the time.
@@RedDeltaProject I use the Bullworker when I was 26 yrs old back in 1977, While I was going to a local gym weight training. "i found myself using the Bullworker more and more, Cause, I didn't feel like the trip to the Gym. But, After awhile I purchased a Bench and some Barbells and had a friend with me and we'd spot ea. other in my apt. But, As, i grew progressively older I ordered the newer model of the Bullworker Classic and Steel Bow. Im a Senior now, And, Work out with it alot. And , friends of mine have noticed the difference. Got some size especially in my lats , shoulders. And Triceps. Plus, I enjoy it. Especially late at night. it's quite and use for some exercises resistance. bands. Feeling great. /Thank you for your knowledgeable vids. keep up the great work.
Thank you, these fit perfectly in the GSC format, but I am toying with the idea of writing a new OI book because a) people are asking for it and b) it would just be a ton of fun to write.
Hi, I've been following you for years and you keep me going - love your stuff. I find your approach holistic and simple in a field that desperately needs direction. Sometimes I find myself wanting you to just give a straight answer instead of 'well it depends' but that frustration is on me - wish I could get some consultation from you personally! (on a side note, if you haven't heard of Intuitive Eating, I think you'd endorse it. I use it as a therapist with clients) Anyway - Some thoughts/questions I have that I'd love to hear your input on. I recognize that this may just be nitpicking but... What about joint and ligament strength/health that I understand comes with ROM exercises? Also, isn't there something to be had with the mind-muscle connection potential that comes with ROM exercises?
Super appreciate the support, I'm currently working on a way to get some one-on-one services here at the RDP. Also, regarding the need for straight forward answers, be sure to check out the podcast next week for a very refreshing and liberating approach to things. And yes, IE was actually what kicked off the whole RDP thing and has lead me down this rabbit hole. A very important approach for sure. I will address the whole isometrics and joint health thing in the near future in a video. In some ways, yes they can be both good or bad for the joints. Stay tuned!
Look what i try that works , i push the wall of my house with my whole body tense as much muscle are possible.I touch the wall usually at the high of my chest.I push usually at 50% of power try to stay longer time that i consider more important than putting more power.I m trying to flex the muscles harder 90% than giving an actual push.I flex also muscles that dont help push the wall like neck muscles.I close my eyes when i m doing it more easy to go in the survival mode let say ,plus you use your whole body at once that trigger this mode and imagine pushing a rock and your trying to survive,like your life threaded
My own experience on isometric is that whenever you are practicing slow and controlled motion with a pause on the bottom range you usually do it only for technique purposes and with only moderate weights. BUTT if you use weight that allows you to do 1 rep with 10sec pause in the bottom range then it drastically increases your tension which helps you with explosion.
Great explanation Matt, don’t know how I didn’t see this sooner. DD is so good at marketing, but they were right about kettlebells and right about body weight so I’m confident in the isometric training they plan to revolutionize. Truly appreciate your perspective and application to get us started!
Hi ! Thank you again "Sensei" ! :) I know a story about guy from the past. His parents think hi is to weak for any trening and do not aloud him to do so at all with his friends bodybuilders. Hi doing only isometric in his room and ... hi become extremely strong and have great muscles - being femaus after that. Everything what you giving us here is very, very logic ! I will try it starting from today. I will mix it with my daily rutine. All the best ! :) Chris
Isometrics don't build strength? Size? Look at still ring gymnasts. Or gymnasts in general. I know some farm boys who would put your gym rat to shame and they don't lift weights, just farm work
i always used isometrics in a way that only pitted opposing muscles against each other. no tools needed or wanted. also, i kept the muscles moving slowly while doing so. definition, speed and overall strength increased. i got the resistance i needed which gave me all the benefits of the tools without using them.
Dorian Yates forearms. Purely from gripping. Just getting started now. This real cheap smith machine I have hooks into holes which means I can push the hook against the top of the whole to get max tension in both plains of the smith machine. I saw a guy on another channel saying 2 more benefits is blood can flow through the muscle through the whole static contraction (so breathing is necessary) and it also bypasses any affects of blood being forced back to the heart on the concentric portion of the movement. Loving your videos. If I make any progress with it I'll be sure to get some information back to you. I'm going to train everyday with an upper body lower body split. I definitely agree that dumb cells see everything as time and tension so won't be supplementing anything - purely isometrics on the major compound movements - holding for 30 seconds 3 times in the full range of motion (which I think this video said may not be necessary) but it will get me started.
Hey new guy in callisthenic training here ^^ I Like the concept of time under tension. I’m wondering if isometric and TUT could be an answer about a great mystery for me. Why people working in building or moving big weight more than 8 hours per days develops muscle (and not tiny ones ^^) with great strength? As far as I knowwith bodybuilding logic , they theoretically constantly destroying there muscle without enough time for growth possibility ? In fact when I see people working, they constantly HOLD and carry weight more than lifting. They makes hours of isometric training. The typically backs injuries with heavy weights carrying jobs are for me the proof that isometric contraction could be strong as hell , enough to hurt you without make the spin moving . I’m starting to think that, muscle growth are a multifactorial phenomena and a body response to several stress. Muscle cell destruction and energy draining could be two very used in gym factor and tension an everyday life factor kind of neglected with sedentary people. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to make a complete movement to have strength and mobility on the range of motion. Firstly if muscles acting that way we couldn’t move at all. Secondly muscles makes weeks to grow. Even if one body weight exercise have not the full range of motion , its’ very possible that in a weeks of bodyweight training plus everyday life you are hitting the muscle and joints in the full range of motion. Sorry for my English (not first language) and thank you for all of yours works and videos. You help me a lots in my beginnings with bodyweight training!
It's good to have a little mystery in fitness. it's helps motivate learning and experimentation. You're also very smart to observe what's going on around you and wonder what's really going on. From what I've learned, is that the idea that muscle get stronger because you break, tear and beat it down isn't the whole story. There's also hormones, neurology and energy systems at work too. from what I've gathered, building muscle isn't due to just one influence, like tearing muscle but rather several. Your body can and will adapt to a wide range of demands, It's not some porcelain doll that's too fragile that it needs 48 hours of bed rest after a 60 minute workout
@@RedDeltaProject Thank you for the answer ^^. I didn’t expect that , muscle formation are so complex and surprisingly not so well understand. The most illustrative example of time under tension I’m knowing are the astronauts. A prolonged exposition to weak gravity generate a lack of tension and that’s why they must training. ... I just realized that’s live on earth is kind of a permanent bodyweight isometric exercise.
The great thing about Iso's is they are so easy to integrate into any original plan. No need to overhaul your current plan. Just do a few sets of isos for the muscles you're going to work and BAM! you're rock'n on a whole new level
What I have noticed is that all the injuries I have gathered over my 75 years from sports, lifting and etc. Seem to be diminishing to disappearing with the more I do isometrics
@@RedDeltaProject Isometrics push and pull on the connective tissue. They apply force to them. So, very good for getting blood to them. I find eccentrics only are also good for injuries etc. Eccentrics and isometrics.
12:32 - I think the exercise that has the broader range of motion for the shoulders is muscle ups. I began to implement those exercises into my routine as you recommended on your videos, and I can say it is clear that I can "summon" much more of my fibers with that. It's really impressive how it is changed right away, from day one. I can feel ridiculously more tension on my back (something I've been fighting against for at least ten months, without much profit). I think now I can get somewhere different. Thank you for the heads up. I can't say much about it right now, but I feel it will be a game changer for me.
Excellent point, the resistance is a bit different, since half the muscle up is pulling, but the range is there which does lend itself to a lot fo value.
Without some form of measurement, you cannot accurately state that the tension remains constant. Pushing on a force plate would reveal almost constant fluctuations in your force output.
T2 isotrainer is the best of both worlds. Constant TUT throughout the entire movement, force multiplier, bungee and if you slow down enough, you can make it an isometric hold. No risk of it becoming boring since it allows full range of motion too.
A single exercise for full shoulder ROM would be the seated pullover machine, invented by Arthur Jones. Which to support your idea, is the most efficient back exercise period!
Regarding the second myth, can't you perform isometrics at any point throughout the entire range of motion? Shouldn't you be able to train the entire range by going through it step-wise, similar to one of your strategies to learn pull-ups which included starting at the top and going through a small range that was still managable, and progressing that range over time? Besides, there is one exercise that uses the entire range of motion of the shoulder: front leaver raise to back leaver raise and vice versa, or easier versions of that such as skin the cat.
hard call, certainly use them as a starter, but they can be very effective for a finisher too. I'll be showing an example in the ab training video tomorrow.
I have a personal isometric story of real results. I just recently started doing isometrics, especially hand/grip isometrics. While I sit and watch videos, or drive, etc., I squeeze towels as hard as I can anywhere from 7-20 seconds and I doing lots of sets of this. After only doing this for 2 weeks my grip strength has greatly increased. I didn't notice too much difference until doing some hanging exercises and I noticed that I was able to hang much longer before my hands started to get tired. Another benefit I got from it is the soreness in my right wrist has gone away. I spend a lot of time on my PC and over the years my right wrist has become sore due to the movements with my mouse. If I don't spend a lot of time on the PC it will actually not hurt at all, or very little. Since I've been doing the hand isometrics, the pain in my wrist is gone and I've still been spending a lot of time on the PC. Isometrics definitely work.
Nice video. One thing is I didn't hear to say why isometrics didn't work for you in the past - You said you got not results from it. Would like to know what you had done "wrong". Thanks!
Most of it was just due to my ignorance in understanding how hard I had / could contract my muscles. back then what I thought was hard work was more like only half of what I could actually do.
Hi Matt, I would’ve thought that the front squat, back squat & Farmer’s walk also fall into the isometric tension for the top half? And the standing overhead press for the bottom half? Also the shoulder range of motion is taken care of in the not much used pullover and press. All the best👍
You're right, many ground-based dynamic exercises have an isometric component to them. Although, I would say the farmer walk is still more dynamic for the lower body, but isometric for the top half.
very much so. I've known power lifters to use that strategy back in the day when I first got into training. I thought they were dumb for doing all of that. now I know I was the fool.
How would you teach/ employ this concept to a complete beginner’s workout program? And would you recommend it for beginners? Golden content as always Matt 🙌
I believe that coming up with a number (let's see out of a scale from 0 to 10, I'm at 4 hungry) forces you to become more aware of the feeling. In science/engineering coming up with good numbers (called a scale or metric) is the key to improvement. You can do this with awareness however that takes more discipline. This is both good (as you pointed out) and bad. In any case, It sounds like you might be reviewing Dragondoor's Isochain when it comes out.
Great point Doug. I often ask clients to base their level of exertion on a scale of 1-10 so I can get a sense for how hard they are working. It's a very useful tool
The last point You made should reach as many people as possible. People these days are so much dependent on numbers to such extents that they become blind to the impracticality of it.
Numbers are great, they are a very useful tool, but like all tools, they have their limits. It's very important to work beyond them with other techniques.
Well, you have Alexander Z. and Bruce Lee as prime examples. Another great video as usual. Look at gymnastics those on rings all have huge biceps as they do tons of isometric holds. Negatives on isometrics is usually based on ignorance. Bodybuilders do tons of isometrics to point of sweating when they practice posing
I've tested something with my grip strenght with a grip device (such as captain crunched but for newbie the 0-100 lbs) and I started low, easy mode at like 30 lbs grip, but I stay my grip fully for like 5min on set and did that for both hands several times with maybe a total of 15min T.U.T each and for a week and I'm not kidding, but my muscle connection never been the same after that. Maybe it's just newbie gains but I was already capable of doing like 15 reps with 100 lbs resistance and after that week I was able to do like 25 rep each hands and very fast and easy. I find that very fascinating, it is so still mysterious. I wonder if you the muscle can handle 2 x the amount its weight, let's say you are working your biceps and your forearm weight 5lbs and you just add another 5lbs into your forearm and hold it for like 1h, wouldn't that be mean that the muscle would be 2x stronger?
I embraced iso training at the end of each workout for 10 weeks. I did it under time, meaning i did 15 minutes of iso 5 days a week after a workout. What i can say with complete certainty is that it made a pretty significant change in my body. It didn't change my strength levels, just appearance.
A lot of the difference was in my perceptions and expectations of the exercise. Back then, I didn't really understand that the point was to create more tension, i was just tensing up and not concentrating on progression.
16:10 (I guess if you are rehabbing an injury it would be much different.) With overcoming isometrics it shouldn't feel any different. If you have been doing one isometric exercise for two years, it should feel the same as the first time you tried it (at least with the same form). Because every time you do it you are exerting maximum effort. Maximum effort will feel the same at every point in your progress. You can see the results doing something else, but you can't see/feel them with just the exercise.
You're right, the intensity should be about the same, but that intensity should certainly feel very different over time. Kind of like how running a lap around the track as fast as possible will always be done full-bore but it will certainly feel a lot faster as you get faster.
@@RedDeltaProject I don't see it, but I might just be different. Either way, you are putting out great stuff. Keep learning and experimenting and we will all come out on top.
i was living in a rented a room,,worked all day at work. when in the room only thing i did was a static frozen pushup, same with legs - half or so squat frozen till i coudnt hold. one day i go with a friend to local gym. i couldnt believe myself how i pushed metal. 30 at the time, average physique....................... younger 23's, puffed on gear in wife-beater shirts were ''looking -not looking'',,who the hell is that slim not buffed guy in plain jeans and regular t shirt who just walked in here from the street and was pushing o lot more iron than they did,,,isometrics are great asset
8:44 I feel like tension increases the most when I change positions during a pushup. So the wave is kinda lopsided with one trough being higher that the other and the most tension being on the push. I'm just writing this in terms that I understand better. But maybe I am misunderstanding the meaning of "tension"?
@@RedDeltaProject In terms of physics, it seems to makes sense that when you are forcing a rapid change in position, but not necessarily an explosive movement, only the initial accelerative force is needed to start a momentum. I suppose this is what is considered to be a _wrong_ pushup, as it barely keeps tension in any position other than the extremes. A fitness coach once suggested that form and tension were related, and that mastering making and holding microadjustments in all positions of an exercise wears me out physically to the degree that eventually I was gonna put on muscle. On the other hand, I've heard some horror stories of slow dynamic reps (reverse tension) causing permanent injuries. But I've never heard the same for static tension even when the muscles are weaker.
Anything will work as long as it's something you can pull or push against. I have a commercial iso-trainer I bought off of Amazon coming later this week I'll be doing a review on.
I have a fun gadget you can get quantifiable results with your smartphone or tablet (Activ5). I like that you can measure the force. Even if it's not accurate, you can track your progress with it. I just got it yesterday as a birthday present. I even used it to measure my pinch grip on each hand.
I use this excercise you pick up a chair by the front legs and bring it right to your body level and press it straight out and up making a half u almost and flex my muscles as hard as possible try it.
@@RedDeltaProject yeah especially different angles and one arm variations...one of the main reasons how i fixed my chronic lower back pain! Btw I really experimenting a lot with your isometrics ideas over the last few days! using only a large bathing towel & squeezing the hell out of those muscles. I guess this was missing link for me. Feels good!!!
It's a great way to get the chest engaged, which a lot of people struggle with, not due to weak muscles but poor scapular stability. The wall squeeze is a great way to improve both at the same time
@@bigbruvofenglanduk big bruv, I remember your name on a old isometric website around 2009. The wall squeeze I think I meant to say, a 🚪 door, you pull your shoulders down tight and and flex lats and keep the hand low and squeeze the door. I think playing with different heights to see how it effect chest. There also one Steve maxwell uses, it’s like those old machines at the gym were you use your forearms to crush the weight towards chest. That could also work as isometric.
Thanks for the watch Ossi, it's been quite the experience so far and I'm only a few weeks in! Can't wait to see what I discover by January. Stay tuned for more updates!
I started training with it after a couple of green bay packers told me to give it a try. It had dome good ideas but poorly marketed and limited the use. That was a really long time ago but I still have the original version. I am 75 and I was 15 when I started training with it.
For sure, technically that's a style called yielding isometrics where you have a given level of resistance. in this video I'm referring more to overcoming isometrics which is where you create resistance through applying force against an immovable object.
Chris 5150@ if you do isometrics properly it's a lot more strenuous and difficult than you think. Breathing and relaxation is important between each rep. circular breathing [breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth] I went from doing zero exercises, to being at full strength in six days (do the isometric exercises for 6 days rest on the 7th day) that beats the gym any day, at least for gaining pure strength.
@@RedDeltaProject its feels like 2K13 again pls sensei if have time makea video r in your Q and A on how to trin if you have strict neck and urved lower back pls
