"Be still and know that I am God" -The Bible
Life can be very busy. We rush down the halls, speed through traffic, and scarf down our dinners. It is important to not only slow down, but come to a complete stop. Remember the impacting words of Ferris Bueller: "Life move pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Stopping our movement is beneficial for our physical bodies.
There is more than one way to get stronger. An often neglected way to increase maximal strength for performance on the fireground is by the use of isometrics. Isometric exercises are those static movements (of lack of )that involve the length of the muscle to remain constant.
Zatsiorsky and Kraemer, from there book Science and Practice of Strength Training add, "Isometric training requires no expesive equipment, can be performed anywhere, and if the number of trainined postures are few, takes little tiime.
Iso's: A Great Tool
In the RKC system of strength, tension = force. In other words, the more tension a muscle can generate, the more motor units that can be recruited, the stronger the muscle is. Pavel goes into detail in his book, Power to the People about this phenomenon.
Isometric training allows us to activate our motor units very well. Ross Enamait, in his book Infinite Intensity explains, "One can activate almost all motor units during a maximal isometric contraction. Furthermore, one is able to maintain maximal tension for several seconds."
Here are several ways firefighters can incorporate static strength into their workouts.
- Pressing or pulling against an immovable object for 5 seconds
- Carrying heavy equipment for time
- Holding a squat position for time while wearing full turnout gear
- Holding a charged hoseline with a challenging nozzle pressure
-C.J. Brown
