Isometric gizmos, bullworkers, zass chains, etc

[ShrinkingGuy]

I know we are all eagerly awaiting John's isometric webbing gizmo, but how many people use something now?

Are bullworkers any good? Are they isometric? It looks in the manual like they move.
Anyone using an Auto-Flex?

I have some home-made stuff. I have an "iso-comb" which is a three foot pip with smaller "handle" pipes every 6 to 12 inches, and a Zass style chain with two D handles, two ankle cuffs, and quick snaps so I can reconfigure on the fly. That combo is pretty versitile. I can do anything from the bullworker poster with that, except nothing I have has any "give" so I wonder if I am missing out. Still its perfect gear for TV hour. What else would I do, just sit there passively watching a "No-Spin" zone?

[gruntbrain]

Bullworkers & resistance bands can be used to perform hybrid isometrics( isometrics + isotonics); push/pull your gizmo to achieve an isometric stop. Some will find that the pushback provides valuable feedback( live isometrics)

Squeezing a basketball( or ...) is yet another way to perform hybrid ISOs; don't forget to "squeeze " the ball with your head & legs. Bennyb should be careful with this; he'd likely burst the ball

[John Peterson]

Hey ShrinkingGuy,

There is only one thing that truly matters in the procurement of great muscular strength and that is the ability of the muscles to contract with greater and greater intensity. That's it. When Alexander Zass was a prisoner of war during World War I, there was not anyone telling him how to use his chains to focus his muscular contractions or how to pull the bars and at what angles, or for that matter how long to hold his contractions. I'm convinced that Zass did exactly what Steve Justa did. By that I mean he experimented until he came up with exactly the right combination that fit his physiology perfectly. This is exactly what I recommend that each of us do.

Now, let me re-assert something that I have stated many, many times and that I get e-mails about on a relatively frequent basis. I get asked if Isometrics with Equipment are more effective than those performed without. Answer: It is the intensity of the contraction that produces or yields the result. No doubt at some angles or positions it may be advantageous to us use something outside of yourself. The great Gama of India tried to throw down a tree that he belted himself to. He never threw the tree but men were easy by comparison. Bottom line: it is the intensity of the contraction alone that produces the result and not whether or not one uses or does not equipment.

---John Peterson

[gruntbrain]

I like the reference of Gama "belting" himself to a tree. It's an example of a total body isometric that maximally involves the hips & thighs. without such a belt one would be hard pressed to maximally contract the hips & thighs. BTW, padded wide webbing( eg 4") works best; you don't want unnecessary pain that'd come with a narrow unpadded belt

[John Peterson]

Gruntbrain My Friend,

I could not agree more. A certain level of "comfort" is highly desirable when one is subjecting themselves to a great deal of "intense discomfort" while performing Intense Isometric Contraction (and lets be real, if one is not experiencing intense discomfort, then one is not experiencing intense Isometric Contraction). In fact, preventing actual pain rather than "discomfort" (which is a given)may be the difference between success and failure with Isometric Contraction.


---John Peterson

[Viking Dan]

What's an Auto Flex?

[ShrinkingGuy]

Auto-flex.. you know, all the kids were doing it in the 70's. There was this guy..the muscle dancer. I will check youtube for him tonight when I get home..LOL that would be a hoot. Anyway.... He sold a device called the Auto-flex (which was neither automatic, nor did it in any way flex) to help you isolate individual muscles for Maxalding type power flexes. It looks like a trombone slide with no open end, or..a giant paper-clip. **tink tink tink...it appears that you are writing ransom note...would you like help?** Most of the kids in my school made their own. One used an old steering wheel. I used some of the exercise ideas in his manual to design my "iso-comb". I can't think of that guy's real name. Blast! Tony something. If I found an Auto-flex on eBay today I would totally buy it!

[Andy62]

Tony Holland

[gruntbrain]

Bennyb's training serve as a reminders to perform isometrics using somethin' that'l move,l bend or break( chains, rebar, ...). Since you have zero chance of budging a tree, belt yourself to somethin' that gives you a fighting chance( eg, a big rock or a dreaded stack of weight plates). Give yourself 3 cheers when you move the "immvovable". Even consider making a bet; if you don't create movement in 3 months then you have to donate $1000.00 to the opposing political party