Amazing Isometrics

[b38]

Hey Guys,

I was telling a friend about Transformetrics, power cals, DVRs and Isometrics. My friend practices martial arts and said the stance training they do is the same as isometrics.

For example one of the stances is called horse stance, similar to the wall squat except that you don't brace against a wall. They work up to 2 minutes each in a variety of stances, He was told that the stance training builds leg strength and specifically improves the circulation because it builds capillaries which increase the blood supply to the muscles.

Shortly after our conversation, I had a check-up with my doctor. I asked him if it was possible for isometric exercise to build capillaries. He said, "yes." He explained that at the point there the arteries and veins meet but do not touch and it is the slightly greater pressure of the arterial blood that moves it to the veins. He said that lactic acid created during isometric exercise would stimulate the body to produce more capillaries.

So when you are performing isometrics, you are not only building a strong physique on the outside, you are building a strong supporting structure on the inside.

Maybe a lot of you knew that already. Ir was news to me as during the past year, I have mostly been focused on push-ups and Tiger Moves.

My thanks and appreciation to Mr. Peterson for Transformetrics and for showing us how to be strong on the inside as well as the outside!

All the best!

B38

[Andy62]

Isometrics. DVR/VRT and Isometric Power Fexes give benefits far beyond normal exercises with movement. As Swami Rama says about the Isometric Power Flexes in his book Exercise Without Movement "The exercises in this book,however,are yoga practices with benefits far exceeding ordinary muscular movement" and martial arts exercises were origianlly derived from yoga.

[kenpopaul]

Arrrghh you just brought back memories of when I was about 14. Often in Karate we'd have to hold the Horse stance for long periods of time whilst performing punches etc.

One lesson I remember standing in Horse stance for over an hour. My leg's were shaking like crazy and I couldn't walk for a week afterwards haha.

Great memories (awful at the time).

Kenpopaul

[R.ticle One]

I'm glad to keep seeing points given to isometrics as something to strengthen more than just the most visible facets of the body. Yesterday, John Peterson said to me that the state of your tendons is "true strength" (to slightly paraphrase him), and that isometric contraction has/does help this to happen. A bit different of a point than capillary building, but similar.

Actually, years and years back when I was a kid, I took kung-fu lessons, for a little while - our teacher was hit by a train - thankfully, he survived, and may have even gone back to teach, but his recovery period was, obviously, long. I didn't stick the program out because our new teacher was very militaristic - I think he may have actually trained Marines before. I have no doubts about the physical conditions of the Marines - unfortunately, he projected a rather harsh persona onto our class made up of children from nine years old to teenagers of thirteen. :(

I digress - what I was going to say was that it was during a lesson with our original teacher, I was introduced to a sort of isometric exercise for what may have been the first time in my life.

Essentially, we had to perform a sequence of movements in slooooow motion, all the while resisting moving our limbs in the direction we wanted to move them, but not with other limbs - it was more like extreme muscular contraction with movement involved - you had to move your arm one way, but you made yourself push against the direction it was moving without touching it, if that makes sense.

It was a serious workout!

Raph

[xenonomicon]

It's the same reason isometrics are used in rehab for treating an injury. After I hurt my lower back in 98 I search for ways to rehab the injury and found out about isometrics. That was the point that I gave up the weights and lifted something that I couldn't move ever since. My back may twing me ever so often but not like it used to. Become strong from the inside out.

[gruntbrain]

Bennyb's bar bending is an amazing application of isometrics; the thrill of the bend lets you know you're really doing something

[A1C Evans]

Bennyb's bar bending is an amazing application of isometrics; the thrill of the bend lets you know you're really doing something

Any videos of him doing that?

[blackbelt]

IF I did this right, the thread is right here:

http://www.transformetrics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67

[John Peterson]

Hey Raphael,

You just described DVR/VRT in your post. To explain the concept to people that saw me exercising on the beach with it one morning in Jamaica several years ago, I said , "It feels like making yourself move with the brakes on". They immediately picked up on what I was saying and were amazed how quickly it exhausted their muscles when they tried it with me. One of them even said "No wonder your body looks like that."

Point is, what you just described Raphael was also the foundational strength and body sculpting method that Alois P Swoboda taught to his students. It is in fact the best strength building, body sculpting method that one can do that bridges the gap between Isometric and Dynamic Exercise. So much so that Ultra High Intensity DVR/VRT literally feels like a 'Moving Isometric Contraction' and is singularly the hardest form of exercise that I know of. Trust me, at Ultra High Intensity, it is brutal.


---John Peterson

[MikeNY]

John I use the exact words to help friends understand DVR/VRT and tell them it is slow moving isometrics. I've seen others explain it the same way too.

[R.ticle One]

Hey John -

That was an interesting example of it you gave. Only thing is, I may have just described DVR/VRT - yet I don't know what DVR/VRT stands for. Woops! I don't know if there's a glossary I missed or something, but I always see "it" in short form. Can someone enlighten me as to what these letters stand for? Cheers,

Raphael

[blackbelt]

DVR-Dynamic Virtual Resistance

VRT-Virtual (or Visual?) Resistance Training

[R.ticle One]

Thanks!

Raph

[John Peterson]

Hey Raphael,

You most certainly will in the very near future.

---John Peterson

[R.ticle One]

Hey Raphael,

You most certainly will in the very near future.

---John Peterson


I know it man, I know it. ;) Thanks, John!