[John Peterson]

Hello Everyone,

I have received an e-mail from a guy that should probably pass on Isometric Contraction and the reason I am making that assertion here is because there may be others that will fall into the same category.

Simply put, he wants me to tell him how to measure the intensity of his own contractions and the answer is that it is impossible to explain to another man how it feels. Isometrics are self regulating and they teach the muscle fibers to contract in unison with great power but it is an acquired skill.

It's like explaining to someone how to ride a bicycle for the first time. The way you ride a bike is by doing it. It can be a little rough at first but you gradually get the hang of it and you become more and more adept at it as you practice. Before long it dawns on you that it has become second nature. Same applies to Isometric Contraction. The individual alone knows how hard he is contracting and it becomes progressively more obvious and intense as he develops the ability to contract his or her muscles.

In fact, as you begin daily practice you will develop the ability to contract muscles you may have never previously contracted. At that point the only real drawback to Isometric Contraction exercises is that all other forms of exercise seem almost pointless by comparison. That has been a very real problem for ME personally, but I remind myself that the other exercises serve the function of infusing the muscles with highly oxygenated blood and putting my joints through a full range of motion. Both Isometric and Dynamic Exercises are necessary BUT if you do your Isometric Exercises correctly, you will need only a fraction of the Dynamic exercises you once practiced.

---John Peterson

[solytrain]

it's actually quite simple to measure your maximum contraction, it will always be different from day to day based on many factors, sleep, stress, how you're eating, underwork, overwork, etc. but for that particular day it's actually easy to measure if your doing your maximum, and it goes like this, if towards the end of the 7 second max contraction, you feel like you will not be able to complete the 7 seconds because of the effort you're putting in, then you know that for that day you did your max

[John Peterson]

Hey Solytrain,

It wasn't until three years ago that I consistently achieved the fantastic results from Isometrics that I have enjoyed since then. YOU may not remember it but you told me during a phone call how to do the three stage contraction and once I got it---I REALLY GOT IT! Bottom line: the three stage contraction gives you a frame of reference for any given day by doing HARD, HARDER & ABSOLUTE HARDEST!

My point in my post is that I can't tell some guy what "HE" is supposed to be feeling, I can't explain to another man THE RUSH of feel good hormones that are released as a result of properly applied Isometric contraction. BUT let me say this Soly, when someone, anyone---learns how to contract their muscles as in a carefully applied 3-stage contraction they will literally become addicted to their own body chemistry and the 'feel good' hormones released. THIS I cannot explain to anyone that isn't willing to apply themselves to the maximum and believe it or not my friend---NEITHER could YOU or your mentor THE MIGHTY ATOM. I learned from YOU because I was willing to experience extreme discomfort until I realized that the brief discomfort (and make no mistake it was extreme discomfort for 7- seconds) would yield hours of feel good hormones that had my wife and everyone else asking me during an extremely stressful time,"Why are you in such a good mood? You were just screwed out of $100,000.00 dollars by Byron W and you act like it doesn't matter." To which I replied, "Sweetheart, you wouldn't believe it...."

Bottomline: I can't tell another man what he is supposed to feel and that is where those crazy Isometric courses that were so prevalent when you and I were young kids were totally wrong with headlines like "Total Fitness Without Effort in Just Minutes Each Day ". Total Fitness? YES! Minutes each day? YES! Without Effort? Bull Shit!! There is nothing that is harder or more intense than a real Isometric Contraction but once you experience those 7 Ultra intense seconds you won't be willing to train any other way. At this stage I literally have to make myself do the movement based exercises to get a pump and keep my joints as flexible as Gumby but otherwise its Isometrics for me.

Sorry to vent Soly. BUT I KNOW WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED and YOU are to blame.

---John Peterson

[solytrain]

I don't understand... what am I to blame?

[John Peterson]

Hey soly,

YOU showed me how to make Isometrics work without burn out. Before I started your protocol I would always burn out and hit the wall on Isometrics and experience CNS fatigue. Going from contraction to contraction and going all out every time I ended up pulling muscles and not fully understanding the importance of building tension to the peak and then to begin counting. I tried too hard and expected myself to do far too many contractions. Now days I max out at 30 to 36 3-stage contractions and every one of them feels good.

Truth to tell, every contraction that I perform is a full body Isometric contraction with emphasis on a specific muscle group performed in 3-stage contractions. My workouts require 20 to 25 solid minutes each. My best workouts are upper body one day and lower Body the next.

At this stage I am doing Isometrics six days each week.


---John Peterson