Overcoming isometrics and HIT

[jonrock]

Hi, I'm Jon from Spain

Back when I was 15 I had scholiosis surgery, which hasn't slowed me down as I have always been active (krav maga, calisthenics, etc...) and hungry to overcome my limitations.

For the last year until 2 months ago, I have trained with sandbags almost exclusively following Jamie Lewis' chaos and pain philosophy and gained nearly 25 pounds(a few of them fat) training frequently and hard.

Growing bored with sticking solely to the sandbag(which is an amazing tool in itself), I added calisthenics, neck harness work(I had an "accident" with a sandbag ohp gone bad and learned the hard way I needed a powerful neck) and grew in muscularity.

A month ago, researching isometrics and Arthur Jones and inspired by silverlooks and this forum, I purchased Shen's Iso/suspension strap (already had the Hook, bands, anchor and Squat harness) and Drew Baye's TSC book. I must admit I was humbled at first by the intensity of the workouts.
Realizing its potential, I now train exclusively with the strap (adding the anchor, Hook and a neck harness) doing TSC 2-3 times a week, 20 - 20 - 20 seconds, using 2 alternating full body workouts based around Baye, Zass and Shen's exercises with some of my own (for example, a good morning with the strap around the neck and feet inside loops, near 110° angle, hands on knees, pushing up with your legs, low back, glutes, neck and arms, works the whole body specially the back, neck and legs, a favourite of mine). I use the strap with my bare hands except for shrugs and some auxiliar exercises, for those I use the Hook.

While in the past I could train 6 days per week with sandbags doing an abbreviated routine, HIT won't allow it because of its intense nature, wich is good as it leaves me time to pursue other interests. Even though I love to train frequently and long, a little bag with my strap, hook, anchor and neck harness plus some protein makes life easier: traveling, spending the weekend at the beach/countryside in a van with my girl and the dogs, etc...A 180 pound sandbag isn't that convenient and takes a lot of space. Dumbbells and barbells, even worst. I was always worried that I couldn't train when I spent the weekend out with friends, now I feel free.

I am 5'9, 175 pounds and 14% bodyfat(last year  in springtime I was 148 pounds 13-14% bodyfat), and this last month I have shed some fat and gained a little muscle. While this last year people complimented me on my physique, this last 2 months it has gone up. I feel like I am stimulating every muscle to grow, not even the sandbags made me feel this "worked" in the whole body.
I plan on gaining muscle and sheding fat this next year, up to 190 pounds and down to 10-11% bodyfat. My diet is high in protein, moderate fat and moderate carbs(if I go low carbs I underperform and feel like shit in general). For the time being I am sticking to this training, although in the future I will explore new things.

Silverlooks, do you have any suggestions or tips that could help me?
Whiffet, any advice on shedding fat?
And Shen, how much resistance is available per loop of the strap and as a whole?

Thanks to everyone here, specially Shen for these wonderfully crafted inexpensive tools, Silverlooks and whiffet.

[Deleted]

Hi Jonrock! I'm definitely fan of intensity over volume myself.

For shedding fat the best way I've found is 16/8 fasting. It's effective for me as I finding it relatively easy to create a calorie deficit without feeling hungry. So I eat between 1pm and 9pm.

If I have breakfast when I get up my appetite is much bigger throughout the day.

I also like 16/8 fasting as I can eat plenty of carbs.

I have tried low carb, but it does mess up my workouts too much -- except for low rep work.

[Bruce Tackett]

Great stuff, Jon! Welcome!

Jul 19, 2018 10:43:57 GMT jonrock said:

And Shen, how much resistance is available per loop of the strap and as a whole?

I'm not sure what you mean, here. Are you asking how many pounds of pressure each loop can withstand? The webbing, itself, is rated at 1,100 lbs. I use industrial thread on each loop and go back and forth sewing them six times. Weighing around 225 lbs. at the time, I have hung from one loop. I don't know how many pounds each loop will ultimately hold - thousands, I'm sure.

[jonrock]

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to know!
I workout shoeless and for squats, good mornings and the like I put my feet inside the loops and the strap around my waist or neck. I am curious how you guys do these exercises, as I find doing them this way the strap won't slip.

Regarding the 16/8 fasting, do you do it everyday or just when you need to shed fat?

[Michael]

Jonrock, I also put my feet through the loops when I do squats with the Sierra strap. Works really good.

[gruntbrain]

Since previously sewing on commercial stretch straps failed I was initially a Sierra Strap skeptic but I've been proved wrong - e.g. no sewing failures when I've used the Strap to lift heavy objects

[Bruce Tackett]

Someone once posted that he used the Sierra strap to haul his car out of some snow.

[mr potatohead]

Jul 19, 2018 12:36:33 GMT whiffet said:

.... I'm definitely fan of intensity over volume myself. ....

Me too.

Welcome jonrock. Nice shirt! I'm sure everyone who owns Sierra Equipment (most everyone on this forum) is just as pleased as you are with the value, quality & performance. You can't beat Bruce's equipment!

[jonrock]

What a warm welcome!
Yes, the shirt is to me the same as silverlooks red shorts to him, haha

By the way, has anybody here trained HIT exclusively and what results did you obtain?

[donovan5]

Have a look at posts from drunkenmonkey ,or maybe he will reply.
He changed over to HIT after reading project kratos and had fantastic results

[Deleted]

Jul 19, 2018 15:32:16 GMT jonrock said:

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to know!
I workout shoeless and for squats, good mornings and the like I put my feet inside the loops and the strap around my waist or neck. I am curious how you guys do these exercises, as I find doing them this way the strap won't slip.

Regarding the 16/8 fasting, do you do it everyday or just when you need to shed fat?

I do the 16/8 fasting most of the time. But I'm not obsessive about it. If I've been very active and am very hungry when I wake up I'll eat first thing. Also if I'm staying in a hotel I'm sure as hell having the all you can eat breakfast!

[jonrock]

Jul 20, 2018 21:45:24 GMT whiffet said:

Jul 19, 2018 15:32:16 GMT jonrock said:

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to know!
I workout shoeless and for squats, good mornings and the like I put my feet inside the loops and the strap around my waist or neck. I am curious how you guys do these exercises, as I find doing them this way the strap won't slip.

Regarding the 16/8 fasting, do you do it everyday or just when you need to shed fat?

I do the 16/8 fasting most of the time. But I'm not obsessive about it. If I've been very active and am very hungry when I wake up I'll eat first thing. Also if I'm staying in a hotel I'm sure as hell having the all you can eat breakfast!

That sounds right, I will experiment with 16/8 fasting on non training/little activity days 2-3 days a week and see how it goes.
On training days and the next day I eat a lot.
I have read about people who do the high calory/low calory thing and they swear by it.

[mr potatohead]

Assuming the obvious - avoidance of processed, non-food and toxic "foods" with a focus on obtaining nutrient density from real food - my daily flex-schedule is to eat when hungry, breathe as needed, drink when thirsty, and rest/sleep when tired.
Some days I eat early, some days late, some days mostly protein, some days mostly veggies, and some days, an unscrutinized mix of those, although I do avoid mixing starchy carbs (or sugary foods) with fat in one meal. I don't eat by a clock or a schedule that could be considered to be rigid. I eat according to how I feel, what I'm hungry for and the level and type of activity in which I'm engaged or will be engaged. Sometimes, eating nothing and just drinking water is the best choice.

[Silverlooks]

Hello jonrock,

Welcome to this forum , it's always good to hear about fitness enthusiasts exploring overcoming isometrics.

You made two excellent purchases, the Sierra Hook + Iso-Strap, the best isometric trainer out there, and Drew Baye's TSC book, in my opinion the most informative and practical book on overcoming isos. So you have all what you need.

The only suggestion I can give is that you do 30-30-30 instead of 20-20-20 to get the most benefit, you can complete the first two 30's, and do as many seconds as you can of maximum intensity, gradually working your way up to a full last 30.

And when you do the 30-30-30 with genuine effort I advise you limit your workout to twice per week, you need that much recovery.

The full-body workouts A & B in the TSC book are great for this purpose.

I have been alternating them (2 sessions/ week) exclusively for more than two months, with very good results.
I only replaced Rear Delt Fly in workout-A by Lateral Raise, as I think it is redundant with the Compound Row in workout-B.

Now using the strap with bare hands ?! I don't know about that. If I do the Arm Curl with full intensity holding the strap loop only, it would put my knuckle bones in great compression and dig in palm flesh, unless you pull the strap by your forearms, but in this case you lose wrist/grip strength gains. It is thus better to use the hook handles.

I'm also doing minimalist stretches, two only, that target most muscles: Inactive bar hang for upper body, and for lower body deep squat with arms in prayer position and elbows pushing against the inside of knees opening hips. I do each a minute or more on second recovery day.

Keep us updated with your training and results !

[macky]

Just a big thank-you to Silverlooks for putting me onto the 30-30-30 protocol back a few months. For me it is a breakthrough in hold time/intensity. I have done 60-second straight full-effort, and 90-second "70%" holds in my workouts, pulses etc.  All beneficial. 

Trying on the 30-30-30 progressive-intensity holds is something different again,  and as I've mentioned on other threads it feels like I've been back on the weights next day except that the muscles are not sore, just feeling tight and compact.

Yes the next day I've felt tired all day depending on how many exercises I've tried with 30-30-30.   I believe it's a worthwhile goal to be able to do the full 90 seconds, on some days I do the first and second 30, then futt out around the 12-15 second mark in the final phase.  Still a great workout, and yes there's only one set per exercise.

Drew Baye's ebook is very good and so is Steve Maxwell's.  I understand the 30-30-30 is around 20 years old and came from Ken Hutchins, probably overshadowed at the time by the Super Slow methods.

Thanks once again Silverlooks.  You da man all right !