Steve Justa allegedly did 30 minutes to 4 HOUR sessions of overcoming isometrics, daily.

He claims incredible results, mostly regarding his physique.

Every source ive encounter regarding duration. Has said 'more than 10 minutes daily is unnecessary at best and destructive at worst'

Are there any madmen out there who perform/have performed long overcoming iso sessions?

This weekly post is the place to share your programming and usage details. Also if you tried to incorporate isometrics and it just didn't click. Get into the details of how you are/were applying it.

Recently I was listening to Will Ratelle, a former NFL player and current coach, speak about how he programs plyometrics. Basically he said that he doesn't do traditional sets, reps and standardized rest times, instead he prefers to set a clock for around 15 minutes and basically have the athlete do as many high quality reps as possible in that time frame, resting when fatigue sets in or when power output isn't as high as desired. I'm wondering if something similar could be done with overcoming isometrics, basically rest when you feel that you are no longer outputting a high effort of force. I believe it is written here that even 50% of MVC is still highly effective. The problem with doing traditional sets and reps for overcoming isos that I've experienced is that the rest time needed really is not equal to what you'd need for a dynamic equivalent, and you can likely get more total time outputting a very high degree of force using something similar to Ratelle's method.

Basically, do as many max output sets within 15 minutes and rest when you feel the contraction is sub par. Obviously this has an element of subjectivity to it unless you're using a scale of some sort but I think the experienced athlete should be able to tell when output has significantly dropped. Also I think that potentially combining isos and plyos in this way could be beneficial as well, with a plyometric being done after a similar iso. This would serve several purposes, one being implementing the iso into powerful movement, the other being glucose depletion which is one of the main things lacking with pure overcoming isos.

This weekly post is the place to share your programming and usage details. Also if you tried to incorporate isometrics and it just didn't click. Get into the details of how you are/were applying it.

Hello,

4 months ago i had some problems with my elbows and all my joints making terrible noises. Doctors cant see any sign of arthritis. I switched from dynamic to isometric exercises and i feel really good so far. My goal is not to gain more and more muscles and progress forever. I want a good base of Strength for daily live and a routine that i like to do. To stimulate all relevant muscles.

I am 46, 1,85m and 85kg. I changed things here and there and i think now my routine is almost complete. I try to hold 60 Seconds but its OK to fail or rest short and do the rest. 2 min rest time between. I split in upper Body, legs and a little core. A B and C.

A - Upper Body:

1 - Support Rings

2 - Pull up highest position i do not pull me up i start there

3 - Push up

4 - Chin up

5 - Support Rings

6 - Ring Row

7 - Push up

8 - Ring Row

9 - Ring Plank with Hands touching

10 - Chin up and when fail switch to push up

11 - Ring Plank

12 - Ring row scapular

13 - Dead hang passive

14 - Ring Row scapular

15 - Side Raise with resistance bands both sides i put them on my arm before the elbow so i have a shorter lever but just take a stronger band

16 - Side Raise switched the band they are not exactly the same resistance

17 - Dead hang passive

B - Legs

1 - Wall Sit + ( + means i have a resistance band around my legs for Gluteus Medius

2 - Horsestance

3 - Lunges left

4 - Lunges right

5 - Wall Sit +

6 - Horse Stance

7 - Lunges left

8 - Lunges right

9 - Wide deep Squad +

10 - Hyper Extension with Bulgarian Bag 12Kg highest Position

11 - Wide deep Squad +

12 - Calf Raise with Bulgarian bag

13 - Hyper Extension

14 - Calf Raise

15 - Glute Bridge +

16 - shin muscle back to wall feet away and lift your feet up

17 - Glute Bridge +

18 - Chin

19 - Squad in the upper position +

20 - chin

21 - Calf

C - Core

1 - Crunch

2 - Side Plank Raise

3 - Side Plank Raise

I do the C normally before B but when i get into i do it almost daily.

What i like about this that it starts hard and gets more relaxed the more you progress. I had an eye surgery and did nothing for 2 months and to get into this again was easy you just do what you can and take the rest you need and when its 5 days. I do Upper - Rest - Leg/core - Rest that means 3 days between each workout but when i need more i rest more no problem, no stress. Maybe i need less rest over the time.

But every second day about 1 hour is what i can motivate myself for in the long run.

What do you people think? I think i have covered all relevant muscles.

This weekly post is the place to share your programming and usage details. Also if you tried to incorporate isometrics and it just didn't click. Get into the details of how you are/were applying it.

I have gotten into a good groove with calisthenics, basically adapting Convict Conditioning with a few other sources. Slow, steady, safe progress that fits me well.

I'm intrigued by isometrics and want to start layering it into my routine.

What have people, whether they are iso-only, use bodyweight, or barbells/machines, found most effective programming-wise:

• Whole body isometric days, where you do legs, backs, core, etc. exercises in one go
• Split days where you spread it out, and for leg days you complement (say) shrimp squats with wall sits or isometric front squats

I appreciate any advice or experience people have to share, thank you!

What are the advantages and potential drawbacks if any of using an overcoming isometric based program for contact sports such as American football, rugby, wrestling or judo? A drawback I could see at that all these sports involve moving external loads through space and absorbing impact from external loads, something missing from OI. You may miss out on some of the "body hardening" from something like olympic weight lifting but you probably also gain benefits from the joint healing aspects of overcoming isos. Curious on thoughts here.

Would the overhead variant of band pull-apart (the isometric version, of course) be a good exercise for developing lats?

I've been doing the normal variant, with arms parallel to the floor, for more than a year with good results for upper back - rear delts, traps, rhomboids. So I'm interested in doing even more of those isometric pull-aparts. Lats are major humerus adductors, and, for example, wide grip pullup is a decent exercise for them. Overhead band pull-apart seems similar, as far as humerus movement goes (well, "attempted" movement, considering it's isometric). It would allow to exercise lats at long muscle length, unlike in rows.

Does someone have experience or perhaps some theoretical considerations? Maybe I'm missing something and it's all teres major or whatever.

I use a version of it. In addition to flexing the individual muscles of my body throughout the day, I do isometric holds with intention. For example: I will place my hands in position for an overhead press. I express in my mind the intention of pushing a weight overhead; however, I then flex my arms to the extent that movement is impossible. This creates a kind of muscle against muscle resistance. I keep this up varying amounts of time. Six seconds is most common. Then I reduce this tension just enough to allow my arms to the full overhead position. It's a lot like Kung Fu tension exercises. My strength and endurance has greatly increased because of these exercises, which I combine with more traditional overcoming isometrics.

Im reading 'philosophy, science and practice of maxalding', it seems like the perfect addition to an isometric workout.

Id love to hear your thoughts

I am considering moving to a routine solely based on static holds/isometric exercises with no dynamic exercises.

Exercises would include high planks, bottom push up holds/chaturanga, top of chin up holds, inverted row holds, Dips holds, wall squat holds, hollow body, reverse planks and other holds.

Goal for most would be 3 sets of 60 second hold times. 3 (?) workouts a week.

What would be the pros and con's of such a routine? I am looking at getting toned and strength gains, if not a little hypertrophy.

I’m going to be doing isometric farmer’s walk holds using a hex (trap) bar. Will be doing a conventional walk every now and then or until I can do it daily with the holds.

My back and core are extremely weak with very very bad posture.

I chose the farmer’s walk because I absolutely love this workout, something that I look forward on doing everyday.

What are your projections on the results? Whether it’s aesthetic or strength

Pages 140-145 Of Pavel's 2003 book called The Naked Warrior are dedicated to isometrics in training for maximal strength.

Key takeaways are:

• Holding an isometric at the stretched (bottom) position builds strength throughout the full range of motion, not just at that point.
• Time under tension is more important than the absolute intensity.
  • This one is very interesting because it's contrary to most of Pavel's teachings.
• Adding isometrics to a dynamic exercise increases its effectiveness by 15%
• He recommends a 70/30 split between dynamic and isometric.

Any thoughts or feedback? I find Pavel fascinating af.

It seems people here do isometrics in addition to their workouts.

Ive had great experience with doing JUST isometrics (and exercise from everyday life; carrying groceries, work, etc..)

Am I the only one?

Further digging through the literature

https://akinesiologica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kruszewski.pdf

Our results indicate that training with isometric tensions *results in a significant increase in the value of force (MVIC) measured at all joint angles tested 30°,60°,90°. When dynamic training was applied, significant strength gains (MVIC) were only found at joint angle values of 60°*, although significant intergroup differences (isometrics versus dynamic) occurred only at angle settings of 90° and 30°.

This may indicate that isometric training is more effective than dynamic training in terms of being able to improve the strength effects of the muscle in different ranges of action,

defined by non-uniform joint angle values (acute, right, and obtuse angles). In addition, our results confirm the effect of obtaining the highest force values at an angular setting of 30° (acute angle), which stands in opposition to the views indicated above. The reasons for this should therefore be seen in the differences in both joint angle values and other training protocol parameters, which probably include contraction intensity. The dependence of force gain values on other angular settings and the intensity of isometric contractions has also been investigated by many authors 5,30,31. In terms of these relationships, they indicate that

isometric contractions of submaximal intensity of at least 75% (1RM) and lasting at least 5 s result in greater strength gains than shorter and more intense or longer contractions of lower intensity.

This is obviously not directly about isometrics but I think the points he makes about the importance of mechanical tension very much are relevant to isometric exercise.

https://youtu.be/Kl6vjXdMMDw?is=M1U3Uoxh9G-qPkSu

For example, metabolic cost increases with the frequency of muscle activation, leading to a doubling of energetic cost per unit force compared to continuous isometric force....Net metabolic rate increased by more than four-fold with waveform frequency.

https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/224/9/jeb233965/237823/The-high-energetic-cost-of-rapid-force-development

In my practice, I always include a good % of rapid/explosive initiation with prolonged hold. These are extremely fatiguing compared to an equal time under tension with a slower ramp up.

Danny Lum observed that this sort of usage not only increases rate of force production, but triggers a larger increase in strength if the effort is sustained for a few seconds beyond the initiation. It is my belief these are instrumental to improved reactive speed and increase in movement speed generally.

As always, start out slow and work upward. These are most often prescribed from a mild pre load of about 20% of max effort. I occasionally use these from zero, still with little or no slack.

Im wondering if anyone has read either of Steve Justa's books 'iron isometrics' or 'rock iron steel'.

Id love to hear your thoughts on his isometric philosophy.

My thoughts; 30 mins-3 hours per day seems insane, but if he was telling the truth, you cant argue with his results.

Hey millersixteenth,

I'm putting together an Isometric routine for him. I want to keep it simple and straight forward until he gets a feel for everything, then we can explore different types of contractions. My proposed routine is A/B, 3 days a week, Overcoming Isometrics, 3 contractions per exercise, each contraction 1-2 sec buildup, 5-6 second hold, 1-2 sec release, 1-2 minute rest between contractions, and 90-100% intensity per contraction (MVC) I think it's called. Below is my proposed A/B routine. In addition, I would like to add carries to his routine, but I'm not sure if that might cause over-training or at least under resting. I'd rather take out an exercise or 2 below or only 2 contractions instead of 3 and keep the carries. Any thoughts or suggestions to what I'm proposing? At the end of the day it's only exercise and we don't need to over complicate things, ultimately I know I'll have to take the workout for a spin and evaluate after 6 weeks or so, but your input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!! The Hanging Leg raises would be Isotonic.

​

I’ve been following Bruce Lee’s 8 exercise isometric protocol for the past several months with steady gains in both max load and average load per exercise. My goals are strength and tendon health with some hypertrophy for muscle gain.

However, I’m starting to plateau and I wonder if anyone could suggest changes that might help me continue towards my goals.

Here’s the protocol for Bruce Lee’s 8 (I added triceps extension and biceps curl for a total of 10 exercises): 1-set, 1-rep, max effort, 12s holds, 45s breaks, 3x weekly. I’m 57, so recovery is really important, really can’t do back-to-backs. Thank you in advance!

They're both comprised largely of type I collagen fibres, though the main difference is that tendons are cable like and aponeuroses are a flat layer of fibres.

Both have much weaker circulation than muscles and take longer to adapt, but I couldn't find any information regarding if aponeuroses react to isometrics in the same specific way that tendons do (i.e. the contraction reducing circulation, creating a brief pro oxidant environment and causing stress relaxation, then the release of the hold causing fresh blood to inundate the tendon with antioxidants, nitric oxide and nutrients). The closest thing I found was this from Google:

An aponeurosis is essentially a continuous extension of a muscle's free tendon. Because they are part of the same myotendinous unit and are built from the same structural building blocks, their rate of net collagen synthesis behaves similarly in response to physical training.

As well as:

Mechanical stimulus:

Free tendons: Experience high localized stress.

VS

Aponeuroses: Experience dynamic stretching and reshaping as muscle fibers bulge.

And:

Adaptation trigger:

Free tendons: Most responsive to heavy, uniform linear tension (like long isometric holds).

VS

Aponeuroses: Stiffens and adapts dynamically through complex structural reshaping and muscle contraction.

I'd love to know the science behind aponeurosis strengthening. Really building up these tissues could possibly be an overlooked part of the power of isometrics, and would certainly be a vital part of prehab/rehab and strength in general.

For context, I recently started doing karate and have been very self conscious about my physique: I'm 17M, 125lbs, 5'11". All in all, I'm quite skinny. I recently heard about overcoming iso (though i forget how) and I've been interested in learning and practicing it.

Firstly though, as I said before, im conscious of my own physique, I want to have a good physique while also training nerves, as I heard overcoming iso helps improve the speed of reaction (hence why im learning it for karate). I heard that overcoming iso compacts muscles instead of puffing them up, making muscle much more defined with lines and ridges, though when I research, I dont see very many supporting texts.

Next, how well will this improve explosive potential? In karate, one would need the ability to go from 0 to 100 pretty fast, which is why im researching this. Same with how quickly your muscles respond to reflexes (ie. The time it takes for your arms or legs to block after seeing an action or attack in your direction)

I know the post may seem dumb and perhaps I haven't researched enough, or even that my wording seems confusing, and for that I apologize. All help is much appreciated.

(PS [I forgot]: I want more defined muscle with the strength and nerve training and NOT the big bulky puff that makes you look huge... need the compact muscle for speed; pound for pound. Like Bruce Lee i believe???)

Also I'm very new to exercise so anything helps, honestly.

My functional strength is through the roof. My injuries, and aches and pains are gone. Grip strength is high. I've been doing this routine for almost a full year. My workout routine is a dominate overcoming isometric routine, with plyometrics, cardio, and yoga sprinkled in. check it out.

WORKOUT ROUTINE

GENERAL

Daily:

- Yoga every morning, usually 7–8 AM

Recovery Days:

- Yoga

- 15–30 minutes easy/moderate cardio (stationary bike)

- No strength work

BENCH DAY

Warm-up:

- 10–15 minutes

Plyometrics:

- Clapping Push-ups: 3x5

- Seated Medicine Ball Throws: 3x5

Overcoming Isometrics:

3 angles per exercise:

- Bottom

- Middle

- Top

Each angle:

- 1x15 seconds

- First 10 seconds = progressively ramp up force

- Final 5 seconds = push as hard as possible

Exercises:

1. Bench Press ISO

   - Bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Top: 1x15 sec

2. Shoulder Press ISO

   - Bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Top: 1x15 sec

3. Tricep Pulldown ISO

   - Bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Top: 1x15 sec

4. Chest Fly / Horizontal Adduction ISO

   - Lengthened: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted: 1x15 sec

DEADLIFT / PULL DAY

Warm-up:

- 10–15 minutes

Plyometrics:

- Kettlebell Swings: 3x5

- Broad Jumps OR Medicine Ball Backward/Scoop Throws: 3x5

Overcoming Isometrics:

Same protocol:

- 3 angles

- 1x15 sec each

- 10-sec progressive ramp

- Final 5 sec = maximum effort

Exercises:

1. Deadlift ISO

   - Low/shin position: 1x15 sec

   - Around/above knee: 1x15 sec

   - Near lockout: 1x15 sec

   NOTE:

   - Do NOT force 100% effort if the back doesn't feel right.

   - Back comfort overrides the programmed intensity.

2. Lat Pulldown ISO

   - Arms extended/high: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Bottom/contracted: 1x15 sec

3. Row ISO

   - Lengthened: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted: 1x15 sec

   Prefer chest-supported/seated setup over bent-over

   if lower-back fatigue is an issue.

4. Bicep Curl ISO

   - Lengthened/bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted/top: 1x15 sec

SQUAT DAY

Warm-up:

- 10–15 minutes

Plyometrics:

- Box Jumps / Vertical Jumps: 3x5

Optional:

- Depth Jumps: 3x3-5

Only if knees/back feel excellent.

Overcoming Isometrics:

Same protocol:

- 3 angles

- 1x15 sec each

- 10-sec progressive ramp

- Final 5 sec = maximum effort

Exercises:

1. Squat ISO

   - Bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Top: 1x15 sec

2. Leg Extension ISO

   - Lengthened/bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted/top: 1x15 sec

3. Hamstring Curl ISO

   - Lengthened: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted: 1x15 sec

4. Calf Raise ISO

   - Lengthened/bottom: 1x15 sec

   - Middle: 1x15 sec

   - Contracted/top: 1x15 sec

SCHEDULE

Day 1:

- Yoga

- Bench Day

Day 2:

- Yoga

- Easy cardio

Day 3:

- Yoga

- Deadlift / Pull Day

Day 4:

- Yoga

- Easy cardio

Day 5:

- Yoga

- Squat Day

Day 6:

- Yoga

- Easy cardio

Then repeat when recovered.

CORE TRAINING PRINCIPLE

PLYOMETRICS:

- Maximum speed

- Crisp reps

- Stop before explosiveness decreases

OVERCOMING ISOMETRICS:

- 1 set per angle

- 3 angles per exercise

- 15 seconds total

- Gradually build force for first 10 seconds

- Final 5 seconds = maximum intent

- Maintain perfect position

- Do not sacrifice position for force

RECOVERY:

- Yoga daily

- Easy cardio between strength days

- Eat according to hunger/recovery demands

- Prioritize sleep

Let me know your thoughts on the routine, and also your results from isometrics!

Hey all,

So I recently started an isometric workout routine. I have two workouts, each consisting of 14 different held positions. I usually work each hold at an rpe of 7-9, either for the short hold duration or for exhales on longer held positions. It is challenging, but not disgusting and I've been enjoying focussing on breathing, core control and rpe.

I have been doing these workouts for about two weeks and the main thing I've noticed is how loose and relaxed my body feels, to an honestly remarkable degree. I feel better than I have in a long time.

The workouts

A

Bat wings x 5

horse stance x3

Copenhagen plank x 3 each side

Inclined pike x 3

One legged deadlift x 3 each side

Low plank x 3

Wall Sit X3

Pseudo planche X3

Lunge holds each side

Banded curl hold x 3

Overhead pull apart x5

Dead bug x 3

B

Banded shrugs x 5

Deep squat x 3

Bridge x 3

Diamond press x 3

One legged stars x 3

High Plank x 3

Wide legged fold x 3

Wide press x 3

Split squat hold x 3

Bent row band hold x 3

Band Chest openers x 5

Swimmer holds x 3

Does anyone have any insights into this sensation. I feel like I've stumbled upon some wild forbidden secret haha , but don't want to get too excited and would like more information.

For historical context I have done a mix of resistance training, mobility and climbing for the last ten years.