Intensity In Overcoming Isometrics
PRE
Intensity In Overcoming Isometrics
Intensity Applied To Weights/Movement Difficulty
Gauging Your Progress
Wrap Up
PRE
Perceived Rate of Exertion(PRE) is a term used to loosely quantify how difficult an exercise or a movement is. In terms of at-home overcoming isometrics without much equipment, it's a way to gauge how hard you think you are exerting against an immovable object. Not perfect I know. But the more we do it the more we’ll gain better awareness of our bodies. This awareness as well as fine-tuning will reveal itself in little ways. That pop-tart you ate one year and didn’t feel anything, the next year after some serious strength and muscle increases, will make you say the next day, “What the heck was I just eating?!?!?”
It’s like putting 87 Octane in a race car. Driving a Honda Fit the 87 Octane won’t change a thing. But in a higher operating vehicle, it will. The things you eat, and the things you drink, whether they are good or bad for you will become more pronounced the healthier you get. Overcoming Isometrics will speed up this process.
Although we don’t have access or much money to spend on specialized equipment to measure our strength output, we can use our minds which provides us with benefits outside of the workout.
So whenever I talk about the intensity of our force generation you can think of it in terms of PRE. Now for the video…
Intensity In Overcoming Isometrics
Intensity Applied To Weights/Movement Difficulty
A high enough intensity in your overcoming isometrics will be similar to maxing out on a lift or achieving a new personal record with one’s calisthenics as long as you’re engaged. Unless you’re superhuman, you might not be able to get this on the first try. But after a few workouts, you’ll get the hang of it.
When I was working at a gym franchise in North Texas I would have my clients warm-up by overcoming isometrics at varying intensities. I would place them in a machine and set the weight at its heaviest point so they couldn’t move it. Over time, despite the weight on the machine being at its heaviest setting some of my clients were able to move the weight, especially on the horizontal leg press.
I couldn’t do this on every machine just those of the horizontal nature. But my clients knew how to generate the right intensity eventually. And you will too after a while. Your strength will surprise you.
Gauging Your Progress
There are many ways to gauge whether you are applying the right intensity. One of my favorites is the feeling of vibrancy and weightlessness. When I first started doing OCIs on a consistent basis back in 2015 I found that my stamina improved drastically on some of my Marine Corps fitness tests all without the standard approach of performing an endless number of burpees. If you feel lighter then you can move faster. You can also move farther.
There are other ways by testing your max in weightlifting as well as the efficiency with which you execute the more difficult calisthenics movements.
But when nothing is changing, either you’re working out too much/not providing enough rest, or your intensity is not where it should be. This will take months to get down but good thing you have someone that has been there before am I right?!?!
Wrap Up
Intensity + time = benefits
But there are a few more things I need to cover before we truly jump in.
Thank you for reading/listening to me and let me know your thoughts below.
Until next time…
