Isochain 6x6: Week 5

Monday was 1-Rep Max testing day. Results in lbs:

Jefferson Lift: 237.3
Shoulder Press: 63.4
Drag Curl: 42.7

This was the first Isochain session with the new spring. Without the spring added to the chain, the nervous system limits the force of muscular contractions, because the chain will feel like an immovable load. This limit is referred to as "cortical inhibition". With the spring added, the nervous system will sense the chain being stretched when enough force is applied, and thus allow the muscles to exert more force. One fellow Isochain user reported that it takes about 110 lbs of force to stretch the spring, which led to discussion among other fellow users. If you cannot stretch the spring while exerting as much force as you can for a particular drill, it is as if the spring is not there at all. You can still train productively on the Isochain, but because of cortical inhibition, your progress won't be as fast as it will be on drills where you are strong enough to exert the minimum 110 lbs. of force. So naturally, this led to discussion about trying replacement springs that will stretch at lower force levels. The spring that comes with Isochain is said to have a 1000 lb. force capacity. Thus, I ordered a spring with 700 lb. force capacity. It cost $17, which I felt was a reasonable price for experimentation. The experiment of course is to see if progress in drills, where my 1-rep Max is less than 110 lbs., will be sped up by training with the lighter-capacity spring.

The 1-Rep Max results the two upper body drills reflect progress that is satisfactory to me. I used the lighter spring for testing these drills but did not feel the spring stretch. So the minimum force to stretch the spring, and thus reduce cortical inhibition more dramatically, must be greater than 64.4 lbs., which is the highest measurement I got for a single attempt - out of the 3 attempts recommended for testing.

I felt my Golfer's Elbow flare up when I first started testing my Drag Curl. I then realized I had set the bar a little too high. The lighter spring is longer than the heavier one that came with the Isochain. Lowering the bar made it easier to engage the shoulder rotators, upper back, etc. muscles to take the load off the elbows.

I'm still figuring out how to position my body in the Jefferson Lift so that I can productively stimulate gains, while minimizing risk of injury. It will be a while before I feel comfortable enough to put out more force. I don't feel any pain while practicing the drill but I'm still a little afraid that I might injure something if I pull too hard, even though I've read the Jefferson Lift articles assuring how good this lift is for people with back pain. I guess one could say a different type of neurological inhibition is in play here.

Wednesday session went well, with the new target loads for the 3 drills as set by Monday's testing - 70% of 1-rep max for each drill.

Friday session went even better. My last rep max in the Shoulder Press was 62.8 lbs. I did not expect to progress this close to my 1-rep max so soon. I had a feeling that I could shift the load a little more from the forearms to the biceps in the Drag Curl if I lowered the bar a bit. So I lowered the bar by 2 chain links. My last rep max was 47.6 lbs - so I already beat my 1-rep max! Just getting the biceps to work a little more, by changing the bar height, resulted in a 7 lb. increase!

My Jefferson Lift max numbers continue to be in the 250lb. range. Still figuring out the body positioning that will maximize safety, especially for my suspect low back and hips. This lift seems much safer than most other deadlift variations, but I'm being cautious nonetheless.

Some finds:

The Bioneer's new leg exercise video. Some exercises are familiar to me like Pistol Squat and Glute Bridge. Weighted Jump Squat is less familiar - interesting that the recommended weight is 30% of bodyweight.

The Cultured Food Life website encouraged me to start making my own kombucha and kefir. Their article on hesperidin is encouraging me to get an orange squeezer and start making fresh-squeezed orange juice.