Aside from some specific applications, like neck training, I just can’t get very excited about isometrics. In the absence of feedback, I find my attention wandering, and never know if I am making any progress.
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Same here, I just can’t get into pushing against an immovable object whether it works of not. Same for super slow, I prefer the feel of faster reps. Maybe it’s good for old timers or rehab but I doubt you’ll find many serious bodybuilders following Hutchins methods.
Scott
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I have used timed static contractions quite a bit and they can be very effective. I can’t disagree with any of the comments though. It is hard to maintain concentration due to the lack of feedback and I did miss the satisfaction of seeing a weight moving. On the other hand returning to dynamic exercise made me miss the pure, intense contractions of TSC and the absence of soreness.
I trained my lower body this way exclusively for almost a year. I maintained size and full range strength, in fact I was slightly stronger when I returned to conventional training.
I’m 56 and have been training for over 30 years so nothing is going to dramatically change my physique now. It does make you question some of the conventional wisdom though.
May I ask why you had such an approach? Would you mind sharing what your lower body static workout looked like?
In times near overtraining, this could serve as an alternative workout for recovery. Also, I’m still rehabilitating from an adductor strain two months ago - about 80-90% of my former self, but careful not lifting too heavy though almost there.
It was a mixture of curiosity and being forced to train at home due to Covid.
The routine was:. Hip belt squat, hip abduction and addiction and leg extension. I continued to do calf raises in a conventional fashion because I couldn’t find a satisfactory way to do them TSC style.
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I forgot to mention a static deadlift too. This tended to irritate my lower back and was quickly replaced by a dynamic dumbbell version.
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I’ve been persisting with 10/10 cadence on calf raises for a while now. I got the idea from Drew Baye. You also do a 3s stretch at bottom and squeeze at top. One set to failure for 6 or so reps. Haven’t noticed anything special about it. I also do it more frequently than he endorsed ans add a weighted stretch afterwards, which ensures a mild dose of DOMS. Gave it a generous trial run but time to move on to something different.
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After getting pretty strong with Mark Rippetoe type novice → intermediate programs, I tweaked an old non-lifting related shoulder injury that made pressing movements tough & painful. Lost a fair amount of strength. Should note that the years prior to that I did gain significant strength and muscle using HIT, w/ the main difference being consistency and a lot more calories with the higher volume barbell only approach. I’m not pedantic w.r.t. training methods, I’ll try anything and use whatever works.
Once the shoulder healed up a bit and I could do Dips and Chins w/o aggravating it, I got pretty strong at them and then decided to try Negative Only for those two… First three workouts were 1 set of 60 second eccentric, then moved to 3 sets of 5 Negative Only w/ 5 second eccentrics (3m rest between sets) as the 60 second singles were just too difficult to quantify for me. It was easy to setup a Tabata timer for the sets of 5 seconds.
This was Oct 23 → Nov 6 2017, a total of 6 workouts. Before over-training myself w/ too much frequency / volume at this intensity, I got very strong, very fast. From my notes I set new e1rm PR’s in both Dips and Chins, and also almost matched a Press PR while 10lbs lighter (w/o doing any heavy pressing during that time). My top weights for 3sets x 5reps x 5second Negatives (Only) were +145 for Dips and +45 for Chins.
The RPE based estimates for full reps a week after the last workout were: BW+145x5@6 for Dips (PR), BW+45x5@8 for Chins (PR; have always sucked at those) and 215x3@9 for strict Standing Press, about 20lbs e1rm off my best but as I said 10lbs lighter. This was at 53 y/o / 5’6" / ~195lbs. I am gearing up to do those again after a layoff from serious training here. Probably won’t set new PR’s at 57 y/o 4 years later but at the least they should be useful to re-gain some lost strength pretty quickly.
This time around I will moderate the frequency and volume and see how it goes. Hope this helps a skeptic out there at least give Negative Only training a try. Just don’t do too much too often as I probably did the first time around.
ETA: Also add that I got massive / long-lasting pumps from these workouts for the upper body. My opinion is there is both enough mechanical and metabolic stress provided by a workout like this to move progress along quickly.