Why don’t you lift weights?

In My Humble Opinion
441

Isometrics, IMHO, have their place. They are best used in the area where one gets stuck in difficult lifts, or at the most difficult spot in the range of motion of whatever exercise. But how effective they are varies a lot because you need to use a lot of effort in them to get a good result for either strength or hypertrophy or technical hiccup, and this can be hard to measure. They are great for rehab, like you say.

Although too taxing on the nervous system to do every week, I prefer supramaximal lifts with a shorter range of motion. This might mean adding 20-30% more than 1RM and either doing just the eccentric part (such as just lowering the bar part of a deadlift) or something like a squat where you lift a heavy bar an inch above the supports and just hold it there so it is easy to rerack. This gives considerable strength and psychological benefits, feels great when you drop back down to 85%, involves some ego lifting and can be somewhat dangerous without assistance or experience.

Isometrics are safe. A bar that doesn’t move, say on a Smith machine, is also very useful for doing easier pull-up variations, where you row your body to the bar by bending and straightening the knees while standing on the bench or the floor. An easy way to add volume for hypertrophy.

The opposite of isometrics, ballistic explosive movements with 15-40% are helpful. Jump squats using a hex bar or throwing light weights skyward on the Smith machine are my favourite ones.

442

I’m a bit quizzical on that. If it was using body fat percentage I’d be okay but BMI is positively correlated with muscle mass and fat mass, so you’re effectively using the MET test to divide your high BMI individuals into obese and muscle-bound jocks. I don’t think anyone was confused about whether large, muscular guys are healthier than large, obese ones.

Sumo wrestlers, I think, are the best example of high fat, high fit individuals. On average, their lifespan is shorter.

443

You can have a lot of muscle and a lot of fat, like old school powerlifters. But yeah, it essentially confirms what we know, the BMI is of limited use. These old-school powerlifters reportedly had difficulty climbing stairs, so the definition of fitness is pretty liquid. I know little about Japanese wrestling but understand it can be cumbersome to do some of their “activities of daily living”.

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I’m not sure it is well established that a large muscular guy with poor CRF is healthier than a large obese guy with less poor CRF. And yes some large muscular guys have horrible CRF. Are there large numbers of the obese with very good CRF? Pretty sure not. But apparently there are some.

445

I’d agree, it’s about metabolic health. Your actual weight is much less important if your blood pressure and sugars are good, your heart and lungs and other bits work well, you can do forty push-ups in a row and jog for a short distance.

446

If you consider doing a forced pause during training to be an “isometric” movement, these are extremely useful. Particularly in muscles with a short range of motion (such as traps and lats; adding a two second hold to each rep makes a lot of difference) and in compound exercises (such as presses at the chest, or squats at the lowest point, or anything in difficult spots.

But isometrics on their own, popularized in the 1970s, are of limited use on their own. It’s not that they are useless, just a lot of other methods are superior.

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Depending on the target goal …

My wondering what place isometrics in a balanced varied program had been triggered by a study that got some decent press coverage demonstrating isometric exercise as more effective for lowering blood pressure than other exercise modalities. Only a few mm better but most meds only average a modest impact too.

The CNN spin on it, using planks and wall sits as their isometric archetypes:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/health/exercises-for-blood-pressure-squats-planks-wellness/index.html

I think planks, wall sits, to static yoga poses, and inclusive of various static gymnastic holds and progressions. Some of which I’ve rotated in for variety along the way. Yoga though seems to be the most isometric predominant.

When I had read of the study I was on vacation so used four two minute holds each of planks and wall sits as the major part of vacation strength training. (Also some other body weight exercise and running for cardio) It was hard, at least for me, clearly fatiguing all of the target muscles’ fiber types. Which made me think about why more reps is advised for hypertrophy… and the benefits of varying kinds of stimulus to our muscles. And doing a brief search I found this showing pretty comparable hypertrophy results to isotonic exercise (when balanced for volume and intensity)

Another plus, or minus, depending on POV, is that they do not cause much of a sweat. Presumptively that means less cardiorespiratory conditioning contribution and fewer calories burned, but easier to throw in a wall sit or plank while dressed for work waiting for the kettle to boil or as part of a brief break in the work schedule.

448

So the first thing is what you mean by isometrics. In the 70s they were advertised as bodyweight exercises at the back of comic books. But pulling on a static bar or paused hold are also isometric. Of course goals are always relevant.

To me a study looking at which specific exercise lowers the blood pressure absolutely the most is not that useful. People with high blood pressure may need to exercise, but they won’t do it if at some level it is never enjoyable. The best exercise is the one one sustains, and all of them also lowered pressure.

So say you mean isometric to mean “planks, wall sits, to static yoga poses, and inclusive of various static gymnastic holds and progressions”.

Planks and wall sits are good for building lactic acid. This has some hypertrophy stimulus and increases endurance. It isn’t great for strength, but has some effect. It is easy to do at one’s desk or of far from perfect shape and much better than nothing.

Adding gymnastics and static yoga poses adds flexibility, maybe relaxation which also lowers blood pressure. You don’t see a lot of muscular yogis. Muscle isn’t incompatible with flexibility but it does affect it some. Gymnasts can be exceedingly muscular, due to difficult exercises like ring pull-ups, but much of the strength is built dynamically and the difficulty of pull-ups is not linear with weight; they are much more difficult for heavy dudes even if muscular.

Muscle is built by different energy pathways. I sometimes end workouts holding a static pose, say at the bottom of a machine assisted squat. It certainly doesn’t hurt to add the lactic pathway to those that use anabolic mTOR or recruit 2b fibres through heavy weights or doing some volume.

449

I find the proper type of bands (in pairs, a few feet in circumference, skinny, cheap, sold at weightlifting sites) are a useful addition, and highly portable.

To most improve general conditioning, you need to target all the separate energy systems. This is simplistic but not wrong: Increasing VO2 max (associated with longevity) best requires sustained energy in 3-8 minute bursts. Working for 1-3 minutes builds endurance and for 30-60 second bursts hypertrophy. Working for under 10-20 seconds helps anaerobic things and strength (maybe 30 seconds on machines which take time to get up to speed). Time affects the maximum effort one can apply, and whatever the span relative maximum effort is very important. Don’t believe me? Sure, too dumbed down and things overlap, but look at the very similar body types of the world’s most successful 100m runners, 400m runners, marathoners or any other sport, and consider how they spend their training time.

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What’s the best way to improve VO2 max, outside of losing weight? Even when I was running most days, I never had much luck with this. I can currently sustain a fairly high heart rate (170-180bpm) for 30-60 minutes without a problem.

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It’s hard to measure so hard to know. One way to do it is to run, row, bike, climb, etc. in intervals. You have to genuinely work hard the entire time (by perceived exertion, not just heart rate) and so it is wise to start easy and build up (as it is in weightlifting, but progress is made through intelligently and aggressively increasing total effort, even if by small amounts, each workout). Work hard for fifteen seconds and rest (not stopping but working without much intensity) for a similar period, even several minutes if just starting out, with the goal of working more and resting progressively less. Work up to going hard for three minute periods, (maybe up to eight minutes if running and walking for a few). Of course it depends on one’s goal and skills. Since you get very efficient at what you do the most, more types of things is better.

If you can run continuously for long times while exerting, better to train with fartleks, intense shorter distances Better still to use different machines unless being a great runner is the main goal and probably even then. Strength training for much quicker intervals would help general conditioning, but should be done under guidance if specializing in one event.

I’d say 400m might be the best running distance to improve VO2 but am taking the word of other experts.

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Other experts would say whatever running distance interval takes you three minutes, working too hard to talk to someone else. Doing this even just once a week, for three to eight intervals (building up), gradually reducing resting time, will make almost anyone’s VO2 higher. This might take thirty minutes or an hour or more, depending on rest and number of intervals.

[I try to sprint, once (occasionally twice) a week, for five intervals of 5-60 seconds, at a perceived rate of exertion of 80-95%, a bit lower percentage as work time increases. Professional sprinters spend a lot of time stretching their hamstrings to avoid injury. You must do so as well if sprinting or trying this at home or on a gym machine. Sprinters often concentrate on the 20-40 metre range in their training. Professional decathletes rarely run as much as 1500m in their training, even though this is an actual event, they basically train at half or a quarter of this distance.]

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The difficulty of defining and articulating, even just realizing, goals though is often underappreciated. There are often multiple goals. Increased healthspan with full function is my number one target. But I won’t deny I have some vanity and ego mixed in too, albeit not proud of that.

A wonderful bottom line, very much akin to how seatbelts only work if used, and the best rated bike helmet on the handlebar is pretty ineffective.

Still, given that any particular balance of activity is sustainable, maybe even enjoyable, some combinations have different results than others. Hence, above and beyond that variety is often more fun, the preference to have a mix of cardio at different intensities, some strength training, some balance work, etc. Given my number one goal, my read of the literature has me limiting strength training to once or twice a week of various sorts and otherwise a variety of aerobic conditioning. Vanity and ego is served there too. (My personal fantasy build is not bulky but more that of a middle weight boxer, or a wrestler, or gymnast. I’m settling on being able to wear my lower waist size pants.)

On that list probably isometric exercises are to me best placed as a lesser portion of strength training, which is a lesser portion of the total mix, maybe adding to hypertension prevention, definitely adding to prevention of boredom.

But I definitely find your takes of interest and informative!

As @Dr_Paprika says: intervals of various durations and intensities and sorts. Anything from Tabata inspired, to sprint intervals, to HIIT, to fartleks, to tempo runs, to running hills and/or stairs … but also by allowing real recovery between those efforts. Like 48 hours. Easy intensity in between. Recovery can be active recovery but it has to be disciplined low intensity or you both prevent the gains and risk injury.

Did I remember to emphasize recovery? :slightly_smiling_face:

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All of these things are excellent ways to improve conditioning and will help VO2 max, but the best interval length for building VO2 max is still 3-8 minutes. It’s very hard to sustain maximum effort for more than thirty seconds, and it can’t be done just anaerobically, especially with reps.

Tabata was originally doing as much as possible of an exercise for twenty seconds, resting ten seconds, repeating that cycle seven times, being exhausted after that four minutes, resting a bit, then maybe repeating that maybe with different exercises. It works both aerobic and anaerobic systems, is very hard, and is great for burning fat and improving VO2 - (note that this four minute period includes 80 seconds of rest and 160 seconds of very intense work, very close to the three minutes that is at the lower end of an optimal VO2 interval. So gives quite a lot of the benefit.)

There are different types of recovery. Nutritional, biochemical, muscle repair and central nervous system. It might be too complex a topic to broach now in detail, but it is almost as important as good eating and frequent exercise.

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Long thread and the actual original protocol was reviewed here before! It was intense enough that there was no maybe repeat. Serious athletes were laid out. Very effective at increasing VO2 max but not something the rest of us will do. Hence using the phrase “Tabata inspired” :slightly_smiling_face:

I think one could get a passionate debate going in fitness science circles over “best”, for whom … and over what degree VO2max is trainable. But here your previous point holds true even more: what is best is what an individual will do!

Still I’ll argue for polarized training as having the upper hand over any other approach for someone wanting to get close to their own best VO2 max. With biggest mistake most of us make being that we work too hard on easy days.

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VO2 max is trainable but decreases with the decades. Tabata is hard but you can build up to it and do multiple exercises. CrossFit uses some of the same ideas. If you do Tabata after several weeks you will be doing a lot more in a twenty second block than when just starting out (as in escalating density training).

Recovery is complicated: it could take four days or more to recover from a heavy deadlifting session, but far less time for yoga or doing exercises of muscle groups like abs, calves, traps or lats. The amount of recovery time needed depends on muscle damage and also varies with age, person, intensity, exercise structure, exercise length and actual muscles.

48 hours is very, very approximate but possibly applies to moderate general strength training and longer cardio sessions, especially for older people. I’d say not realizing long cardio often needs more recovery time than strength training is also a common error - but this might be the same as working too hard on easy days. Just walking the dog might sometimes be a better choice than going to the gym, if there very frequently.

Training in blocks of several weeks prioritizing strength, hypertrophy (volume), power (speed) and other things (sport dependent skills, flexibility, endurance, weight loss) often works way better than trying to do everything at once. Again, it depends on one’s goals.

But you could do them all in one exercise; say bench pressing 3 sets of 3 at 90%, 5 sets of 5 at 60%, then 5 sets of 10 at 20% and maximum speed; resting only moderate amounts. If you don’t think weights can give an aerobic workout you might not be pushing hard enough.

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Things like Tabata and CrossFit are better done in groups. Seeing others suffer through it gives you strength and motivation.

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For the purposes of most of us who are not serious competitors or pushing like we are, or lifting very heavy, not really. It is just shortchanged.

Yes exceptionally strenuous (deadlifts heavy qualifies) requires more recovery, and an older body requires more recovery from the very strenuous as well. Or at least the younger bodies are a bit more forgiving of it being shortchanged, sometimes.

But in general most weight training counts as strenuous. Interval training sessions, tempo sessions, significantly longer than the routine sessions of cardio (such as the weekly long run build on a marathon training plan) all count as strenuous.

Trying to not do two of those days in a row as the routine will generally do it. Easy exercise in between. Low effort run or bike of moderate plus volume. Yoga (not crazy intensity), balance work. Heart rate mostly green. Able to talk. Not hitting orange at all. Or the off day.

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Currently I am finding the way to get myself started is “just one set” every day. Sometimes I do more, though at present, I am acutely asthmatic and physical activity exacerbates my asthma. I have been careful not to do the same muscle group twice in a row. For example yesterday I did squats, today I’m probably gonna do overhead press. Right now I am at a pretty low resistance weight.

My goal is just to get stronger little by little, and hopefully expand into longer workouts on days when I have the time and health. My goal is just to do something every day. I figure something is better than nothing.

Cardio and improving VO2 max is something I see as a secondary goal, because basic mobility is more important to me. Not that they can’t be tackled concurrently, but with my insane schedule I often need to prioritize. I’m already getting up at 6am most days without scheduling in a full length workout.

As far as I know my health markers are fine, but I am overdue for a wellness visit/checkup. That’s also on my list.

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Something is lots better than nothing. Hugely better.

But sorry no sympathy over too busy as an excuse. Much can just be integrated into the course of a day. Doing a wall sit or a plank or a yoga pose or air squats while waiting on something else. Do you drop your kid off at preschool? Walk part of it briskly. More as your asthma gets under control. Think about how and the ways to fit more exercise into your life in bits and pieces will become obvious.

Exercise does not need to be a major time drain.