IsoMax 6x6: Week 1

After 12 weeks of tossing a kettlebell for conditioning, it's been nice to change to isometric strength training with the IsoMax under the 6x6 program. Just apply as much force as possible for a few seconds, and repeat a few times per exercise, and finish the workout feeling energized rather than wiped out.

My disappointing ring dip test made me think about what I need to do to regain my previous skill with that exercise. So I decided to warm up with knee raises and reverse shrugs on the rings. I got the idea from Red Delta Project's video on how to achieve your first ring dip or improve your ring dip performance. These are the same exercises I practiced last year to regain the ring dip skill. This time though I'm not doing ring pushups because I'm already doing the isometric overhead press as part of this 6x6 training block.

In any case, I want to do Easy Muscle Schedule B for my next training block. Easy Muscle requires testing for repetition maxes in each of the scheduled exercises. The dip is one of the Schedule B exercises. In the case of the dip, rep max testing will determine whether or not the dip will be done with only bodyweight, or with a dip belt with added wieght, and if so how much added weight. I wouldn't mind doing Easy Muscle with bodyweight-only dips but I want to make sure my rep max test is not impacted by poor stability on the rings. Practicing knee raises and reverse shrugs on rings as part of my warmups for 6x6 should ensure my dip rep max won't be affected by stability issues on the rings.

I had forgotten how demanding 6 seconds of high effort in the Zercher Lunge position can be. I was sweating by the 3rd rep. Since I hadn't practiced training in this position for a while, I struggled a bit with balance and alignment. Adding extra challenge is the pressure on the toes of the back foot. Every video I've seen of the Zercher Lunge shows rear foot dorsiflexion (toes bending towards shin). I cannot find a reason to justify dorsiflexion of the back foot while practicing isometric Zercher Lunge. Thus I'm thinking of pointing the toes of the back foot to the rear, which would be much more comfortable for that back foot. Then pressure on the back toes would be one less thing to worry about - freeing my mind to focus more on keeping the chest up, squaring the hips, and maintaining balance.

My performance in the overhead press is in the 102 lb. range which is close to the goal of 106 lbs. This is about the weight of double 24kg kettlebells. On the day that I press at least 106 lbs. I will try to press a 24kg KB. It will be interesting to see if a 106 lb. press at the lowest possible position of the overhead press means I can dynamically press half that weight overhead with one arm.

My curl perfomance is in the 170lb. range. The high amount of force is probably the result of combining forces from the upper back, abs, and biceps. I feel the abs working harder than before. It will interesting to see if any increase in curl force will correlate with an increase in pullup rep max.