Modern isometric gymnastics - exercises, video. What is isometric (aka static) load and why is it needed

6. Exercise "Stool"

This classic exercise is a great compound workout in its own right, but it can also be part of a complex. Very useful for working out the anterior thigh muscles, especially those located close to the knees, as well as the buttocks. An excellent static exercise to strengthen the ligaments of the legs.

Do it with your back against the wall, feet shoulder-width apart, feet parallel to each other. We begin to squat, keeping our back pressed against the wall, until we reach right angle at the knees. Hands can be held along the wall for support, or can be extended in front of you. After a delay, we also slowly straighten up.

This exercise, along with the “plié” and “plank”, are the basic and most effective in static exercises and together cover all muscle groups. In addition, they have many varieties, having studied which, you can gradually diversify your workouts.

7. Plank on one leg

The exercise is difficult to complete at first. It simultaneously trains the muscles of the press, arms, back, hips and buttocks, and in this variation the emphasis is especially placed on the last two groups, which is why we decided to include this exercise in the “circular” complex. Promotes weight loss in the abdomen.

From a prone position, stand on your toes and elbows, straightening your entire body in one line parallel to the floor. Having fixed in this position, take one leg back - up, not forgetting pull the sock towards you. Stay as still as you can, then switch legs.

8. Reverse plank

This exercise is borrowed from yoga, and has the name "Purvottanasana" in it. It is also not suitable for beginners, besides, in addition to a strong body, it requires significant stretching of the arms. The fact is that the fingers of the palms should be turned exactly towards the toes, and this is despite the fact that the hands are behind the back and hold the whole body!

The reverse bar ideally strengthens all the muscles of the body, but the main “workhorses” are the back muscles of the thigh, calves, buttocks, shoulder girdle and back. In addition, it is excellent for stretching the shoulders and arms.

Take a position lying on your back, stretch your socks and place your feet on the floor next to each other. At the same time, pull straight arms under the shoulder blades and press the palms to the floor in a straight forward direction. These are your four pillars. Now slowly rise until your arms are fully extended behind your shoulders. Keep your back, buttocks and legs absolutely straight.

9. A bit of static-dynamic leg training - squatting

For a change, complete your "circle" with one of the static-dynamic exercises. In statodynamics, the exercise is performed with the smallest amplitude and with an increased frequency of movements. This creates an even greater load on the supporting muscles of the exercise, since dynamic work occurs without the opportunity to relax.

Do, for example, a static-dynamic squat.

Feet shoulder-width apart, back straight, arms extended forward. Get down into a semi-squat position and immediately begin to straighten up, but do not bring the movement to the end, but again lower yourself into a squat and so on. Keep your back straight, abs tense, hands in front of you or behind your head. Feet are parallel to each other do not come off the floor. With this performance, you create the most intense load for all the muscles of the thighs, buttocks, calves, as well as the back, arms and neck. Executed within 30-60 seconds.

How to perform a circular complex?

• "Circles" of static exercises should be repeat every other day alternating them with workouts of any other direction, but preferably aerobic or stretching (or you can alternate both).
• The primary complex for weight loss is designed for 2-3 months(depending on your individual characteristics, as well as on how correctly you create a psychological mood in yourself, adjust your diet, water balance, and alternating training with rest, and of course from your initial state!).
• After completing the course, to replace it for six months, for example, daily aerobic training (can be alternated with stretching training), and then conduct at least another 2-3-month course of static exercises to consolidate the result.
• The number of "circles" increases as you go: in the first week - one, in the second - two, in the third - three, and so on. At least this figure should be brought to 4-5.
• Before starting the exercises, you need (vigorous walking in place, then running or skipping rope - until the muscles are well warmed up).
• Between circles it is very important to do small warm-ups for stretching.
• During exercise, monitor the correctness of breathing, do not delay it, do not knock it down (for the correct process of blood supply and oxidation in the muscles).
• After a repeated course for consolidation, you can already alternately include certain exercises in the exercise complexes, which can be carried out no more than 2-3 times a week. Our wise body, taught by the previous intensive, will “get it” on its own on the rest of the days.

A little more about the benefits of statics

The great importance of static gymnastics was spoken at the beginning of the 20th century by "Iron Samson", or rather, Alexander Zass, a domestic classic of bodybuilding and the founder of isometric gymnastics. According to him, it is better to have strong arms than big muscles. He drew the attention of athletes to the fact that often in a reckless desire to acquire powerful biceps, athletes lost their control over them. That is, in fact, the muscular relief became a useless landscape on the human body, which he was not able to use. Indeed, do we rarely see people with outwardly inflated body parts, but not able to pull themselves up even 5 times?

The fact is, as Alexander Zass taught, that it is not the muscles themselves that are responsible for the real strength of a person, or rather not their middle parts, but tendons that attach these muscles to bones. By the way, anatomically, any muscle consists of a central (active) part - the “abdomen”, and passive endings (tendons), with which it is attached to the bones on both sides.

So, it depends on the degree of development of the tendons how fully a person can use the active part of the muscles, since they set the latter in motion.

Imagine an emaciated beast of burden harnessed to a railroad trailer. Can it move him? The answer is obvious. Tendons are the driving force of your musculoskeletal system, and the great contemporary of our great-great-grandmothers spoke about the need for their development.

In this article, we are talking about static half-strength exercises that develop red muscle fibers, contributing to weight loss and good blood supply to the muscles. In contrast, the isometric complex, following the example of Alexander Zass, affects white fibers, the percentage predominance of which is observed in sprinters and weightlifters. These fibers are also called "fast" because of their ability to contract quickly, but they do not have long-term endurance. That's why sprinters run short distances!

Let's talk about red fibers. They are the physiological opposites of whites, which is why they are called “slow”, due to their inability to contract quickly. But thanks to them, athletes achieve high levels of endurance. In practicing sports in which endurance is important, the predominant number of red muscle cells is noted.

Benefits in strengthening lower body muscles

Of course, it is impossible to limit oneself narrowly to the development of only one or several parts of the body, forgetting about the rest. On the understanding of this, an integrated approach to most training is built.

However, one should point out the advantages in the development of precisely the muscle groups of the lower body, in particular, the legs and buttocks, over all the others. It lies in their maximum "fat-burning" effect for long-term maintenance of ideal weight. But that is not all.

So the leg muscles are the largest muscles in the body of a normally developed person. Many physical indicators depend on how strong and massive they are: weight, endurance, as well as the speed of metabolic processes. Well-developed thigh muscles have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the excretory, reproductive, and even digestive systems. At the same time, they also stand guard over the hip and knee joints. worth reading separately..

And the vital activity of the kidneys, in particular, depends on the healthy state of the knees, and as a result, visual acuity, good condition of the teeth, hair and even memory. It turns out that by training the legs, you are conducting a session of simultaneous therapy for the organs of the body so far removed from each other. And if the Chinese call the knees the “temple of the tendons,” then the thigh muscles could rightly be called the “forge of health.”

So what are static loads on the legs and are they needed? After citing such facts, no one will doubt the enormous benefits of increased work on the muscles of the legs, to which the muscles of the buttocks are automatically added. For it is paradoxical to imagine chiseled legs with flabby buttocks! In addition, the muscle ensemble of both the thighs and buttocks is an integral part of the “core” muscles (from English - “core”) - the general basis of human strength.

Conclusion

If you manage to overcome the entire described complex, and bring the time spent in each position to a minute, then consider that you have conquered the expanses of mastery of statics for the hips and buttocks. Now you just need to not leave classes, add other options, build up "circles" and follow all the above tips. Six months - and you do not recognize yourself!

In one of my articles, I promised to write about the exercises of isometric gymnastics, I keep my promise. Do you know what isometric gymnastics is? I think the majority will answer no. But in vain. This gymnastics (often referred to as static gymnastics) is a great way to strengthen your muscles in today's rush and lack of time.

• Sit at a table and try to straighten your leg under the table so that you lift it with your big toe.

Upper body exercise:

• Grasp the door jambs and move the jambs to the side with all your might.

Hip exercise:

• Spread your knees wide and, resting on them with your palms, begin to bring your knees together, while resisting with your hips.

Exercise for calves, hips, shoulders:

• Stand on the threshold on tiptoe, raise your hands and try to lift the top jamb.

Breast Strengthening Exercise:

• Stand half a meter from the wall, stretch your arms forward and push them apart, press your palms against the wall. And try to bring your hands together. Feet should be firmly planted on the floor.

Excellent isometric exercises for women, for a toned, beautiful figure, you can peep in this video:

• Get on your knees, lean on the wall with your arms wide apart. Lift your left leg forward so that the extended foot and lower leg are parallel to the wall. We don't touch the walls. Hold the leg in this position for six seconds, then change the leg.

Exercise for beautiful hips:

• Kneeling and leaning against the wall with your arms wide apart, lift your left leg slightly bent at the knee, turning the knee away from you. The lower leg and thigh should be at a 90 degree angle. Hold for 6 seconds, then switch legs.

Exercise for beautiful thighs:

• Get on your knees, lean against the wall with straight arms. Raise your left knee forward, press it to your chest, freeze like this for six seconds, then lower your leg onto a stand or stack of books against the wall and at the same time stretch your arms up with force. Then change your leg.

Exercise to make the chest beautiful:

• Sit on a chair and, with your arms extended forward, interlace your fingers. Press your fingers together for 6 seconds, then relax by lowering your hands. Inhale deeply and exhale 5 times, then repeat the exercise three times.

More chair exercises:

• Rest your forearms on the jambs in the doorway and try to push (straighten your arms).
• Stand on one leg, bend the other at the knee and grab the ankle with one hand. For six seconds, try to forcefully push your leg down, overcoming the resistance of the hand holding it tightly. Then repeat with the second leg.
• Put your hands behind the back of the chair, and, with your hands creating resistance, try to lean forward. The tension lasts 6 seconds, take a break for a minute, then repeat the exercise.
• We continue to work with the chair. Leaning forward, grab the front legs of the chair with your hands. Try to pull them up as if trying to tear them off the floor.
• Clasp your hands behind your neck and, strenuously resisting with your neck muscles, try to bend your head forward.

As you can see, there are a lot of isometric gymnastics exercises, the complex is very extensive. In this video you can watch another set of static exercises that are perfect for men:

If you have read up to this point, you may want to ask how to do isometric exercises in transport, among people, as I said at the beginning of the article? Easy - I tell you!

If you are lucky enough to be standing in transport, grab the handle and pull yourself up on it with one hand, squeeze and unclench the handles of the bag, change hands. If you are sitting on the seat, grab the handrail with your hands and stretch it to the sides like an accordion, while providing yourself with muscle resistance. If you are sitting at the table, no one will notice how you do a whole range of exercises. You can refer to this picture:

And finally, one more video about a unique person, one might say, a popularizer of isometric gymnastics Alexander Zassa - Iron Samson. With the help of tendon exercises, he achieved fantastic strength.

This is just the case when by properly exercising your muscles, you can achieve their elasticity, strength, but not pump over, not create an artificial volume.

Alexander Zass was able to twist a pretzel made of metal rods, carry a horse on his shoulders, smiling, get up after he was run over by a truck loaded with coal, hold a metal beam with his teeth, on which as many of his assistants were sitting and much more amazing.

Yes, you can see for yourself:

As well as a complex of stretch marks, isometric gymnastics can be no less useful for patients with muscular dystrophy, being a complex of static exercises. And its biggest advantage is that it does not injure the muscles in the way that often happens with dynamic exercises. Let's see what its essence is. The term "isometrics" comes from two ancient Greek words: "equal" (iso) and "size" (metric). It is noteworthy that during the time of the Roman Empire, isometrics was the secret of the combat training of the legions. Thus, isometric exercises are a special type of strength training in which muscle tension is achieved without movement of the body parts involved in the exercise, that is, statically. Therefore, in these workouts, the angle and length of the muscle do not change during contraction, which means that the meaning of the exercises is aimed at self-resistance. For a better understanding of the logic of isometrics, remember the following axioms and postulates of the theory of isometric exercises:

1. Muscles are attached to bones with tendons. It is the tendons that set them in motion when contracted or stretched.

2. Muscle growth is provided by the creation of new muscle tissue, and not through the compaction of the existing one.

3. To fully engage the newly created muscles, you need to build tendons.

4. Unlike muscles that grow during the recovery period after grueling training, tendons grow due to static stress.

5. Muscles are much weaker than tendons, so less force is needed to tighten them.

6. Tendons take longer to build up than muscle tissue.

7. Dynamic exercises in several sets with repetitions, basically train only the muscles, since the tension in the dynamics is not enough for the growth of the tendons.

8. Tendons need continuous tension in training to grow. Isometric exercises are the most effective way to train the tendons, and therefore, the development of true human strength.

Benefits of isometric gymnastics:

1. The workout takes about 15 minutes. This is a huge time saver!

2. No special equipment needed.

3. Exercises can be carried out directly at the workplace.

4. There are different isometric exercises for each part of the body.

5. Various exercises can prepare you for certain activities.

6. Such exercises are available to everyone - from a person undergoing rehabilitation after an injury to a professional athlete who develops special muscle strength to prepare for competitions.

7. In statics, energy is not spent on fatigue-inducing movement, but only on tension, which allows you to achieve the greatest strength.

8. Isometrics increase flexibility.

9. The probability of injury when performing static exercises is much lower than dynamic ones.

10. Isometric gymnastics allows you to burn the fat layer covering the muscle fibers.

Disadvantages of isometric exercises:

1. If the exercises are performed incorrectly, there is a small, but still risk of injury and jumps in blood pressure.

2. It takes time to learn how to use isometrics correctly (but it's worth it!).

3. Isometric technique is not mindless pushing or squeezing a static object, your attitude and ability to take control of your body, muscles and breathing is very important here.

Isometric gymnastics rules:

So, if you decide to start practicing isometrics, you need to know certain rules. They will make your workouts as effective as possible.

1. The body is not a set of individual muscles, but a single organism. Learn to respect and understand your body.

2. Start doing isometric exercises while inhaling.

3. Keep calm breathing. If it doesn't work, stop, rest and repeat.

4. The wave of force must cover your entire body, only then can you achieve a strengthening of the relationship of muscle-tendon-bone.

5. The most basic thing to start strengthening the tendons is a preliminary warm-up. It will avoid any injury to the muscles and joints.

6. Do exercises with increasing strength: first apply minimal force, and then gradually increase it.

7. Don't rush! Maximum effort should come naturally. Start with a few seconds per approach and increase the time gradually.

8. Listen to your body throughout the process to know when to stop.

9. Perform static exercises correctly from the very beginning, as it will be very difficult to relearn later.

10. Use natural exercises and positions.

11. Learn to control the body and choose the right muscle, increasing strength.

12. If any exercise causes pain, try to determine its source and do not do this exercise for several days. Then you can try again.

13. Rest your muscles between exercises as you feel.

Here are some of the most common isometric exercises:

1) Sit on the floor, bend one leg at the knee. Strongly tighten the thigh muscles of the straight leg. After 6 sec. relax slowly and then repeat the exercise. Gradually increase the tension time to 15 seconds. Then repeat it on the other leg;

2) Standing in the doorway, put your hands on the loot, and try your best to enlarge the doorway;

3) Stand facing the wall, resting your hands on it. Now try your best to move the wall;

4) Clasping your hands in the lock, stretch them out in front of you. And now, with maximum tension, try to disconnect your hands;

5) Sit on a chair and put your hands under the seat. Try lifting a chair with you;

6) Sitting straight, place your hands in front of you so that the palms touch. And now for 5-6 seconds. push your hands against each other;

7) Sit up straight in a chair, put your hands on the back of your neck and try to bend it. In this case, it is necessary to provide maximum resistance to the muscles of the neck;

8) Grasp the back of the chair from behind. Try to compress it first, and then stretch it;

9) Pull a towel under your chin. Now try to lower your head, overcoming the resistance of the towel;

10) Stand on your toes, taking a deep breath. And while exhaling, lower yourself on your heels, giving yourself maximum resistance;

11) Without holding your breath, pull in your stomach with maximum effort. Stay like this for about 6 seconds, and then repeat the movement.

1) With your foot, firmly hold one end of the tourniquet. The arm is bent at the elbow and holds the other end. We pull our hand up. Repeat the same for the other hand.

2) Put your feet in the middle of the tourniquet. The arms are bent at an angle of 45 degrees and hold onto the ends of the projectile. We try our best to bend our arms as much as possible.

3) Legs on the tourniquet, half-bent at the knees. Hands are raised above the head and stretch up as much as possible.

4) Legs on the tourniquet, arms extended in front of you. We raise our hands up. Throw the tourniquet on the crossbar, hands firmly hold its ends. Hands to the sides, lowered slightly below the shoulders. We pull our hands down.

A very effective set of isometric exercises is a specially designed set of micro-exercises, developed by Dr. I.A. Borshchenko and aimed mainly at strengthening the back muscles, which is especially important for patients with muscular dystrophy.

Isometric gymnastics by Dr. Borshchenko is aimed at training all three parts of the spine, as well as all large joints: the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, shoulder and elbow joints, hip, knee and joints associated with the hands and lower leg.

This gymnastics helps to train the necessary muscles while not overloading or destroying the joints. Here, muscles are simultaneously tensed, muscle fibers, joint capsules are trained, but there is no movement in the joint itself. Isometric gymnastics is saving in relation to intervertebral discs, joints and all structures, not only of the spine, but also of any joint to which it is applied. Gymnastics includes a combination of simple and important exercises. This makes it possible to use it both as a preventive technique and as a direct treatment for various diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Basic rules of gymnastics Borshchenko:

• each exercise must be done very quickly. It should not take more than six seconds. In general, the whole gymnastics will take you about half an hour. This is with preparation, warm-up and restoration of breathing.
• exercises should be performed almost without interruption, you can stop for only a few seconds.
• we constantly keep our muscles in tension, remember that we want everything to be smooth, in general it is necessary to forget about sharpness.
• Dr. Borshchenko's isometric gymnastics implies huge resistance, you must strain during training and exercises must be performed with the expenditure of energy and strength.

if you want to achieve the desired results, then you will need to find time every day for your studies. Can't be interrupted.

However, it should be remembered that any overstrain for patients with muscular dystrophy is unacceptable, so we do all the exercises until the first fatigue and taking into account the characteristics of our condition (the condition of your child). Exercises are recommended to be performed in the morning, an hour before meals, and after training, take a contrast shower (end and start with warm water).

If all of the above recommendations are followed, after 2-3 weeks of admission you will be able to observe certain results; the joints will develop, the load on the back will decrease, discomfort in the spine and joints, if any, will disappear.

Summing up, we can say that isometric gymnastics trains tendons, muscles, develops joints, supports the lungs, improves mood through the harmonization of body and spirit. And all of these aspects are extremely important for patients as an element of maintenance therapy.

Very often you can find such a picture: a person with very thin legs is much stronger than an athlete, whose legs are a mountain of muscles. A logical question arises - why is this happening? And the thing is that big muscles do not mean strong muscles, only complex training of muscles, ligaments and tendons gives real strength. In terms of density, tendons are inferior to bones; without them, a person would simply turn into a jelly. It is the development of tendons that is the basis of real strength, so they need to be as hard as muscles. The picture described above is quite common when muscular athletes are not able to do what a person of modest physique can.

Bulky muscles are of no use if they are not complemented by strong tendons, because the very basis of strength is missing.

Many bodybuilders fail to use their full strength when they really need to. So there is little practical benefit from giant muscles alone.

Muscles grow in volume through movement, but tendons are strengthened in a completely different way. The best option is to try to move some immovable object, such as pushing a wall. It is from resistance that tendon strength increases.

Probably, any athlete knows such a name as Alexander Zass or know this person as Iron Samson. It was he who created the system for the development of strength, which is now used by people not only in our country, but throughout the world.

Speech by Alexander Zass:

Alexander managed to develop phenomenal strength through exercises that strengthen the tendons. He was short, weighing about 70 kg, and with such data he acted as an athlete in the circus. What he saw amazed and shocked the audience: a very weak-looking man easily defeated giant artists, tore chains and horseshoes, bent metal rods and could keep horses running in different directions. Some viewers suspected cheating, so Alexander had to do exercises with dumbbells to gain mass. But, his weight never exceeded 80 kg.

In general, tendon training has been known since ancient times. Strongmen in the old days raised animals, bent rods, even dragged trees ... And Roman gladiators climbed the platform in robes, all of which reached 400 kg.

However, it was Iron Samson who compiled all this into a system and introduced it to the world in 1924.

Muscles are based on tendons, they must be developed in the first place.

In the 60s of the last century, athletes from America made a "rediscovery" of this technique, and called these exercises isometric, or static. Since then, tendon strengthening has become a mandatory part of many training programs. But these workouts are just separate exercises, and Alexander Zass created a whole system!

Unfortunately, most sports coaches and scientists prefer to remain silent about this fact. But this system is unique in many ways: it does not require any training equipment, just a little free space and time is enough. And the effectiveness of these classes is simply excellent. Many modern circus athletes, such as Gennady Ivanov and Ivan Shutov, developed their phenomenal strength using the Zass technique.

Meanwhile, experts are trying to find white spots in the sun. What they don't come up with...

They talk about how isometry is harmful to the cardiovascular system of unprepared people (needless to say, this is a blatant lie); sometimes they present alleged evidence that dynamic training is much more effective than static training (that is, they convince everyone that complex training is better than simple); many say that maximum tension injures muscles and causes tears in muscle tissues.

And recently they came up with another way to mislead people who do not understand all these training methods. The method is quite simple - mixing concepts. According to some of these “smart” people, isometry is essentially no different from Anokhin’s gymnastics. Or they come up with “safe” training systems, they say, the maximum tension should be kept for no more than 6 seconds, and after about a year you can increase the time to 8 seconds. And holding the voltage for 12 seconds is extremely dangerous for health. If you have a headache, stop exercising immediately. And no more than 15 minutes a day!

As for spots, the modern history of the development of isometry can be considered a real spot. In the 60s, Bob Hoffman started manufacturing special frames for static exercises. As evidence of the real benefits of tendon exercises, he touted the achievements of Billy March and Louis Riquet, who achieved incredible gains in the all-around in just 6 months. Many then began to engage in isometric exercises, some achieved very good results, but no one could come close to the achievements of March and Rike. And at one point, this “static boom” came to naught when it turned out that their amazing progress had another reason - the use of steroids. A big scandal broke out, as a result of which the reputation of tendon training was damaged for many years.

And yet, these events were the first experiment of their kind. All the equipment created in those years was later used for research. The result of one such study speaks for itself: 175 athletes were engaged in isometric exercises for a certain period of time. Each week, their strength performance improved by about 5%! As they say, comments are superfluous.

Immediately after these studies, interest in this type of training increased dramatically, and static exercises became firmly established in the world of sports practice. However, new difficulties arose, now they were associated with the athletes themselves ... Many athletes were simply bored with these monotonous exercises, which, moreover, are narrowly focused. What can we say about ordinary amateurs who recognized only dynamic training and did not consider it necessary to waste their time on this nonsense, and they almost did not believe in the effectiveness of such training.

It was in such a difficult way that the development of what was once created by our hero Zass went. But everything could be much simpler, one could simply reprint 2 books of Iron Samson and show in practice how effective the Zass technique is, that is, training with iron chains.

Now it is worth giving some clarification regarding the various objections and discussions on this topic:

• The basis of the system was chain exercises, but it also included dynamic exercises with heavy bags. Nowadays, bodybuilding is slowly but surely approaching this system. And athletes try not only to approach it, but also to improve it;

• It is wrong to develop the strength of tendons only by isometry, they must be pumped, strain the entire volume of the joint. Thus, the tendons must develop in several directions at once, from the development of the tendon spring to the distribution of force density throughout the entire range of motion. Several types of training should be used: stops, work with “iron”, lifting and lowering with support from the body, etc. There are quite a few ways to train.

• There is a direct link between the danger of straining for health and violation of the regimes of physiology and energy. The main danger lies in improper breathing during the exercise. Another danger is a violation of the recovery process. And finally, narrow-profile training, which can lead to energy imbalances. These factors apply not only to static activities, they can be found in any kind of activity, most often in sports.

• It has already been said that many consider isometry to be an ordinary copy of Anokhin's gymnastics. Indeed, some of the exercises from this gymnastics can be a good addition to tendon training. But, this gymnastics refers to muscle training, not tendon.

• There is a type of gymnastics that can be called a close relative of isometry. We are talking about the gymnastics of self-resistance by Vladimir Fokhtin. With statics, this gymnastics is related at least by what it also gets from the so-called “experts”. It is equated with Anokhin's gymnastics, attempts are being made to instill in the townsfolk that all the benefits of exercising are only toning the muscles, and it is only suitable for keeping fit during business trips or business trips, and some argue that it is no less dangerous than isometry. The next sign of kinship is the focus of training: in addition to muscles and joints, gymnastics also has a very effective effect on tendons. And again, training requires only a little free time and a minimum of equipment. The most important thing here is not to try to do as many exercises as possible, if you do 80 exercises in one course, then it will not end in anything good. It can be considered that Fohtin took the next and very important step in the development of tendon training.

• As for the widespread opinion that each exercise should last no more than 6 seconds, and the maximum effort no more than 3 seconds, it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer here. Alexander Zass himself did not say anything about the duration of training.

However, the following facts are known for certain:

1) While in prison, Iron Samson did 20-second tension exercises. It can be assumed that in the conditions of ordinary life this time reached a minute.

2) In the first 8 seconds, the ATP reserve is burned, then glycogen is burned, and after 40 seconds, fat is also burned. But, the dynamic way of spending and restoring energy is completely different, and may conflict with the isometric way. If you have no desire to change something drastically, then it is best to choose one type of training. If isometry is selected, then 4 time types of tension can be defined: 6-12 seconds, 15-20 seconds, minute, 3-6 minutes. Each of them must first be awakened, and then developed. Otherwise, the only result of training will be a state of overtraining, leading to stress.

The technique of working with iron chains is not forgotten today. And this is not surprising, because it simultaneously develops strength, strengthens ligaments and tendons, and forms a reserve for natural development. So much pleasure in one bottle!

If women decided to take up the Zass technique, then there are a few comments. Muscles practically do not increase in volume from classes, just as veins do not increase. During training, subcutaneous fat is included in the process of general energy metabolism, which leads to its resorption and improvement in skin condition.

To perform tendon exercises, in addition to iron chains, you can use the following projectiles: metal rods, thick cord, wooden sticks, etc. Walls, closets, heavy furniture, doorways are great as fixed objects that you can try to move with maximum effort. You have to try to bend metal bars, lift the door jamb, break chains, squeeze sticks ... In general, do everything you can with these things. During any such exercise, muscles, ligaments and tendons are tensed, all strength gradually passes into a state of maximum density. And then the whole body calms down again. Several exercises performed in one training set develop and condense the strength of our entire body. Do each exercise once, or can you do it 2-3 times a day? There is no consensus on this, but there were no negative effects from several repetitions of one exercise.

Basic rules for doing exercises:

1) The subject you train is your body. When working with chains, it is necessary to create a dense wave of the body, then the chain will break itself.

2) Throughout the exercise, breathing should be calm.

3) A wave of force should take over the whole body, while the whole body should be pressed into force, this will strengthen the connection between the tendons, muscles and joints.

4) It is necessary to achieve a good power wave, the input is smooth, the amplification to the maximum occurs without breaks, then the same smooth output.

5) A positive attitude before training, the attitude is much more important than the exercise itself.

6) Action on the principle of tension-relaxation, together with the force you will feel some energy, it is impossible to realize it.

7) The interval between exercises is 30-60 seconds, if a more powerful effort is required, then you can increase the break to several minutes, you can experiment with this.

8) If you feel discomfort, a frantic heart rate and are having difficulty breathing - stop and calm down, and when you return to training, do not apply maximum effort at first.

9) You don’t need to immediately try to hold the tension for 15-20 seconds, by this time you need to come gradually, for a start 5 seconds will be enough, and then there will be a smooth transition to a longer voltage.

10) Perform 5 to 8 exercises daily, in each exercise do 3 sets in sequence, first at 60% tension, then at 90, and the third at 75%.

11) A full workout should not be done more than 2 times a week and take more than an hour.

12) And once again - the main mood, without it you can train as much as you like, and this will not bring results.

After strength training, you can do a small test: try to stretch the chain or towel, hands down, we apply 95% of the effort. When finished, listen to the sensations of your hands, if everything is in order with the muscles, then you can raise your hands first to the sides, then up. You can conduct this test only once a week, it will be an indicator of the progress of your strength and its quality over the week. Lack of progress means that you are doing something wrong, think about what it might be. Perhaps you didn’t get enough sleep, overate, didn’t fully recover from a previous workout, or re-exercised on this one. And you also need to decide on the goal that you set for yourself before testing, if you cannot stretch the projectile for more than a minute, then be very careful with surges. And if you are able to do this for more than 90 seconds, then this is just fine, your strength progress is obvious.

Tendon chain exercises

The original Zass technique is a set of exercises with chains. If you attach handles with hooks to the chains, then the chain can be lengthened or shortened if desired. To fix the legs, it is tedious to attach to the ends of the chain, which, like belts, will hold the legs. Thus, to begin classes on this system, you will need 2 chains, the length of which is the distance from the floor to your outstretched arm. In addition, you will need 2 handles for hands and 2 loops for legs.

Chains are sold at any hardware store. Handles can be made as follows: thread a wire or cable, bent at the connection into a hook, into 2 pieces of pipe of approximately the same thickness. As for the leg loops, a tarpaulin, materials for trunks and even a women's handbag can work here. First you need to experiment with the fabric: take the ends of the fabric in both hands, step on it with your foot and pull it up. So you can evaluate the thickness, width and usability of the loop.

And finally, it's time to move on to the exercises themselves. Below will be described 2 sets of exercises, they were collected from articles by Alexander Zass' nephew, Yuri Shaposhnikov. The chain is always tensioned in its original position.

First complex:

1) Take the ends of the chain in your hands. Bend your right hand and stretch the chain with it, hold the other end in a straight left hand. Then change hands and repeat the exercise.

2) Hands in the starting position are held shoulder-width apart or slightly wider than shoulders. Stretch the chain, but at the same time strain not only the muscles of the hands, but also the muscles of the chest and the latissimus dorsi.

3) Stretch your bent arms in front of your chest and stretch the chain. This exercise works the muscles of the arms and chest.

4) The chain stretches behind the back. The primary effect is on the triceps.

5) As in the previous exercise, stretch the chain behind your back. But this time, in addition to triceps, tighten the muscles of the abdomen and chest.

6) Before starting the exercise, you need to exhale. After exhaling, wrap the chain around your chest and secure it. Then take a deep breath, tighten your pecs and lats, and stretch the chain.

7) Here we need two chains. You need to attach leather loops to one end of each chain, and thread the feet through these loops. The chain is stretched, while the trapezius muscles and arm muscles are strained.

8) When stretching the chain, change hands in the starting position. Triceps and deltoid muscles are tightened.

9) As in the previous exercise, change the starting position. In addition to the arms, change the position of the legs.

10) When stretching the chain, use the right thigh first, then the left thigh.

11) This time, change the position of the arms, legs, and torso as you stretch. It is necessary to make 2 inclinations, to the left and right legs.

12) The chain is stretched while lying on the floor, the muscles of the shoulder girdle and triceps are tensed. The body must be in constant tension.

13) Now you need to stretch the chain in the handstand, using the muscles of the arms, back and neck. When looking for balance in the rack, try to transfer the entire load to the fingers.

14) To complete this exercise, you will need to use two loops. When stretching the chain, the neck muscles and spinal muscles should tighten.

15) When you do an exercise that develops the muscles of the arms and quadriceps, change the position of the arms and legs.

16) As in exercise 14, two loops are needed here. The main effect is on the muscles of the back of the thigh, and they must be strained while stretching the chain. You can diversify the exercise a little, and take your leg to the side when stretching. Change the starting position of the legs and repeat the exercise.

The second set of exercises:

1) Take the chain in your hands, bend them and stretch them in front of your chest, your elbows should be approximately at shoulder level. Apply force and try to stretch the chain.

2) Bring your bent arms behind your head. While stretching the chain, change its working length.

3) In this exercise we will need two chains, handles are attached to their ends. Pass the feet of the hands into some handles, take the others in your hands, bend them and lift them to your shoulders. Stretch the chains straight up. Next, position the handles at head level, and then above the head.

4) And again I will use two handles. Pass the foot of the right foot through one, take the other in the right hand and lift it up. Slight bending of the arm at the elbow is allowed. When straightening the arms, the chain should stretch upwards. Then you need to repeat the exercises with the left hand.

5) While inhaling, wrap the chain around your chest and secure it. Then take another deep breath and try to break the chain by tensing your chest and lats.

6) In the starting position, put your feet wider than your shoulders. In a straight left hand, take one handle and hold it at the left knee, the other handle is in the bent right hand at the waist. In this position, the chain is stretched, then the hands change.

7) Take one end of the chain in your hands, and the other must be fixed. If you have a hook in the wall at waist level, then fasten the end to it. Put your feet wider than your shoulders and pull the chain. Try to pull her out of the hook.

8) Now you need to fasten one end to the hook in the floor, and attach a handle to the other end. Then you need to take hold of this handle with both hands at knee level, and try to tear the hook off the floor. At the same time, the muscles of the back, arms and legs are tensed. Then you can repeat the exercise, holding hands on the handle at waist level or behind your back.