hey guys i need help with this exercises…how do i do them?
Top squat, overcoming isometrics
Press against pins, 3 sets of 5 reps of 6 sec. each (3 sec. pause between reps)
the exercise is from christians vert program…Day 3
I am no expert but I believe the point is to push the hell out of that position for 6 seconds. The goal is not to move any weight or lift anything when you hit the pins, just to try like hell to.
If you are looking for how exactly to set up the exercise I think the picture is self explanatory. Just set up pins in the rack at whatever height it is that you get to the top portion of your squat and when you hit the pins push like hell for six seconds.
kobe, just fricken squat man, that’s all
i have no idea what ur talking about…
so go down and come up and hit the pins and keep pushing for 6 seconds…rest 3 sec and go down and repeat?
I would actually not recommend going down at all, just go all out pushing for the 6 seconds then rest, you can still have the bar against the pins but just don’t push then go ahead and push again for how ever many reps.
if you go down there is a chance you will try to come up to fast and do something dumb like bump the pins and there is likly not going to be much if any weight on the bar so the movement below the oins will be extremely easy.
the point of Iso metrics is not the movement but simply the try to produce the most force in the muscle as possible. Hope that helps.
P.S. if your doing IsoMetrics you should be going all out on the push, I mean heavy breathing and straining at the end of the set if your just pressing into it half ass then you will not get much of the trainng effect.
BB
plz can someone explain it a bit better i dont understand it and ig otta do it tomorrow
ok … ill try to summarize the replies so there easier to understand ( even though i had no idea what they were until now)
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your in the squat rack
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You place little of no weight on the bar
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You place the safety pins in a position on the squat rack a little under the top of your squat position…
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You do a regular squat… and when coming up come up under control place the bar under the safety pins and push as hard as you can for 6 seconds or how ever long it says
Kobe,
Can I ask how long you’ve been training? I ask because the explanations that have already been given should have been more than enough for you to understand how to perform the exercise.
If you’re new to resistance training, then you need not worry about things like isometrics, or speed work, or any of the more advanced, specific exercise methodologies. If you want to build up your leg size/strength, then just do regular squats (like was already suggested).
Once you’ve been training for a while and are familiar with resistance training, then come back to this exercise and see if it doesn’t make sense then.
As for the exercise itself, honestly I like to use the Smith Machine for doing a lot of isometrics. Sure, it doesn’t allow for as many options in terms of pin position. But, it’s easier to set up and one can step out from under the bar in between exertions without having to worry about putting the bar down.
Just set the Smith machine bar to the approximate height, then load on way more weight than you could possibly lift. Then, just push on the bar as hard as you can for the prescribed time. Stop. Rest. Repeat as needed.
Good training,
Sentoguy
wait…one of u say put little weight on the bar and the other put a lot?
Now I’m convinced, kobe is a troll
[quote]arnoud verschoor wrote:
Now I’m convinced, kobe is a troll[/quote]
wtf?
Kobe
Isometrics, in this context, refer to you forcefully contracting a muscle against a fixed or immoveable object. For this particular exercise, you are not concerned with any weight on the bar. You are using the bar to push against the immoveable object (the pins/rack).
Depending on the rack you are using, I suggest throwing some weight down on the rack’s bottom crossmembers to help weight it down to avoid movement.
Set the pins so that they stop you around 3/4 of the way up in your squat.
Put the bar on your shoulders and squat up into the pins.
push (contract) as hard as possible against the pins for the prescribed amount of time.
relax the forceful contraction to the point where the muscles are no longer tweaked (but maintain the same relative p0ostion in the rack-dont go down or rack the bar)
rest between the work (contraction) sets-you will have to play around to find the perfect amount of time for you but I would say starting with a time equal to three times your pushing time would be about right.
lather, rinse, repeat
YIELD NOT!
[quote]kobe4life08 wrote:
wait…one of u say put little weight on the bar and the other put a lot?[/quote]
Yes, because we are talking about using two different training apparatus to do the same exercise. Do you know what a power rack is? Do you know what a Smith machine is?
The point of isometrics, as someone already stated, is to not be able to move the bar. If you are using a power rack then you achieve this by setting the pins to the desired height and then pushing up into them with an un-weighted bar.
If on the other hand you’re using a smith machine, then you need to put loads of weight on the bar so that you once again can’t move it.
Once again, if you’re a beginner, forget about all of these advanced/specific training methods and just stick to traditional resistance training programs.
Good training,
Sentoguy
went in yesterday and did the workout…wow its a real good workout really felt it trhoughout…
so it was day 3 of christians vertical progrma and i did depth jumps, split squat jumps, power cleans from blocks, iso bulgarian squat, and pin squats…
i worked myself hard but i dont feel too sore today, i sipped Surge throughout the workout (1 scoop) and had Surge after the workout (2 scoops)…and popped a couple bcaas and mixed l-glutamine with my second Surge…
should i have been sore?? i havent done plyos for a while besides playing bball…?
If you didn’t already figure it out for your workout yesterday Kobe, you just need to use only the bar with no weight for those squat isometrics. The idea is that you are UNDER the pins on the squat rack. You get under the bar, under the pins, and you push UP against the pins. So its just an isometric squat for 6 secs.
You should have the pins set at a height just a little bit lower than the top of your squat. Remember an isometric is an excercise where you are pushing against something immovable. I can’t remember what isometrics are supposed to do for your muscles, but I think its something to do with priming your nervous system.
Regarding your soreness, I always noticed for myself, the full soreness from DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) didn’t hit until the second day after a hard plyometrics workout.
Oh, just noticed something else. Your nutrition during and after the workout looks pretty good. I think that BCAA’s are actually supposed to reduce the amount of soreness felt after a workout because they’re helping so much with recovery. I think its the BCAA’s that do that, maybe the Surge too.
At any rate, one thing I forgot to mention is not to judge your workout based on how sore you felt afterwards. I know its natural for us to think that, but a good workout does not always have to make you really sore.
Often, its only the beginning few days of a workout that will make us really sore. If you’re really sore after every single workout, it could mean you’re going too long between workouts, your changing workouts up too quickly, or your nutrition is crap.
Ok, I know this topic is old, but I have a question about this exercise. I want to do this program to increase my vertical for basketball. The problem is when I push on the pins, my squat rack comes off the ground. Any tips for a way to do this or a substitute excersize? Thanks.
Josh Bryant uses isometrics for bench and deadlift but says that he hasn’t had success using them for squats. Also, max effort spinal compression is not the best idea.
There is no substitute.
You’d need to bolt the rack down or weigh it down a lot.
Thanks, guys