@TedDK
From a nuts and bolts perspective you need to address two factors:
- long muscle length
- absolute resistance
Initially I did my isometric DL with a bar at about mid shin. This worked pretty well, but taking a wider stance and pulling from the floor work better. Carryover to picking heavy objects off the floor is much better. As low as you can get and maintain a neutral lower back.
You can simply stand on a strap, but if you add a board to the mix the increase in how much tension you can exert becomes quickly obvious.
Then use a timer or count inhale/exhale to hit the desired duration of about 8-12 seconds to start. Exert maximally on the exhale, hold the tension on the inhale. Rock fore and aft and or side to side slightly to prevent losing track of how hard you’re pulling and to change which muscles in the chain are doing the most work. Per the Red Delta video, really pack your shoulders.
Start off with about a 30% contraction pre-load, leaning slightly into or away from the anchor points. Really hit it when the timer says “GO”. A “ballistic” effort. For your first few pulls ramp up slowly, once your form and familiarity are solid you’ll want to use iso to improve power as well as strength, and that means firing faster/harder.
Will probably take 2-4 exhales to feel like you’ve hit a max effort. After reaching the target duration cease the contraction as rapidly as possible (remember, elite athletes are different from us not only do they fire more quickly, but they turn off unwanted activation faster as well). Rest for a few and repeat. This can be done in series with your swings or Good Mornings similar to RedDelta approach, or done on a separate day.
I’d probably start by using them on the same day, but def count it as a lot of added volume. Eg when using iso benchpress in superset with loaded pushups by my second set I have to fight to get 10reps in 20 seconds with a 40lb bag on my back, equivalent to about 205lb bench press. Thats less than 1/2 my reps when fresh. Reps on my first set snap off with no problem.
As a last consideration, give yourself a few weeks with this. Is going to feel very alien and ineffective at first. At about 2-3 weeks you’ll realize the first few weeks were nowhere near what you were capable of.
