RUN FASTER WITH ISOMETRIC TRAINING!
A Closer Look Inside the Program
CHAPTER 1
-Isometric Training
–Key Points:
The word ISOMETRIC is defined as follows: ‘Iso’ means equal or the same, and ‘metric’ means length. Combining these two definitions we get ‘equal or the same length’. Isometrics, as it pertains to muscle training, involves tensing muscles against other muscles or against an immovable object while the length of the muscle remains unchanged. For isometric training to be effective, this muscular tension must be maintained over a certain period of time. Therefore, isometric training is best defined as follows:
The sustained contraction of a muscle over a certain period of time where the length of the muscle remains unchanged.
The following are a few examples of an isometric contraction:
Example 1. Take a 20 pound weight and perform a biceps curl. Hold a position halfway between the repetition for 10 seconds. The length of your biceps muscle doesn’t change during this time. A force is still being applied. See Figure below:
(Additional information from this section is found inside the program.)
-Muscular Contraction
–Key Points:
In order for you to appreciate the value of isometric training, it will be necessary to briefly discuss some basic anatomical principles of muscular contraction. To start with, all skeletal muscles consist of three main fiber types. These fiber types are listed below:
1) Slow twitch fibers – Responsible for the endurance and strength of a muscle.
2) Fast twitch fibers – Responsible for the speed and strength of a muscle.
3) Intermediate twitch fibers – Possess qualities of both slow and fast twitch fibers.
All of these fiber types are arranged into groups known as motor units. A motor unit is defined as one motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it supplies. There are many motor units within the overall muscle. When a muscle begins to contract, an action potential is carried down the motor neuron across the motor endplate to the muscle fibers it supplies. Initially, only some of the motor units become active. As the demand on the muscle increases, more and more motor units are recruited to help support this demand. As the demand on the muscle decreases, the number of motor units also decreases. This is a general description of muscular contraction.
With isometric training, a muscle opposes some form of resistance and is contracted to a certain length and then held for a certain period of time, usually 10 seconds or more. There are no repetitions required here as in weight training.
The biggest advantage to this type of training is twofold. First, by forcing your muscles to hold a position for a certain length of time, your body starts to recruit more and more motor units to help maintain this contraction. Motor units that are rarely exercised within a muscle are now brought into use, perhaps for the first time. Second, the motor units that are recruited are forced to hold their contraction continuously, time after time, until your muscles achieve a state of maximum intensity safely and effectively. The end result is that the entire muscle matures very quickly.
-The Resistance Band
–Key Points:
One of the most popular forms of exercise training today deals with what is known as resistance training. Essentially most forms of training deal with some type of resistance aid (weights, etc.) but the way the term resistance training is used today means to utilize things such as rubber bands or flexible pieces of metal to provide you with a simulated form of weight training. One of the new and more popular types of resistance training aids is what is known as the resistance band or exercise band. See Figure below:
-The Running Process
–Key Points:
The Running Process consists of three main phases: 1) the push phase, 2) the swing phase and 3) the return phase. These three phases constitute a complete leg sequence for each leg during the entire time one is running. For example, the right leg will sequence as follows:
Push phase > Swing phase > Return phase > Push phase > Swing Phase > Return Phase etc.
The left leg follows a similar pattern however, the phases of running for the left leg are not in synch with the phases of running for the right leg.
The Push Phase. The push phase is perhaps the most popular of the three phases since it is typically associated with the start of a race however, like the other two phases, it is involved throughout the entire time one is running. It begins when the thigh of the foot touching the ground is perpendicular to the ground, and ends when the toes of this same foot are barely touching the ground behind you. Figures 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d show the stages of the push phase shortly after the start of a race for the right leg. See below:
The muscles involved in the push phase are the knee extensors, hip extensors and the ankle plantar-flexors. See images at the end of this section.
The Swing Phase. The swing phase begins when the toes of the foot that finished the push phase have just left the ground behind you and ends when this same foot strikes the ground in front of you. The distance covered by the swing phase is what many people refer to as their stride. Training to improve your stride is not very difficult however, it is perhaps one of the greatest oversights athletes make. Improving this phase of running can make a big difference in your running speed. Figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d below show the basic stages of the swing phase for the right leg:
The muscles involved in the swing phase are the hip flexors, knee flexors and knee extensors. See images at the end of this section.
The Return Phase. The return phase begins once the foot strikes the ground in front of you and your thigh is still flexed, and ends when the knee and thigh of the same foot are perpendicular to the ground directly beneath you. This is the shortest of all the phases and it too is often overlooked by a lot of athletes. Improving this phase of running can also make a big difference in your running speed. Figures 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d below show the basic stages of the return phase for the right leg:
The primary muscle groups involved in the return phase are the hip extensors and to a lesser extent, the knee flexors. Note: the hamstring muscles have two functions: 1) hip extension and 2) knee flexion. See images below.
This completes the basic motions of the three phases of running. Many athletes have different styles of running that best suits their needs however, the muscles involved all remain the same.
