A great question came in recently. And it’s a common question about how to combine different forms of training, if it can be done well at all.
Robert asks:
First of all: congratulations on your fantastic website!! I’m lovin’ it!
Well, I train seriously since two years now, one year of it only calisthenics, based on convict conditioning. But I want more, so I looked for more strength-building methods.
That got me looking for isometrics and by chance I ended up on Legendary Strength. I was immediately excited about it. You have created a great work!
I spent hours on reading about different strongmen until I found Alexander Zass. I bought “The Mystery Of The Iron Samson” very soon and was so impressed by Zass’ strength (espescially considering his small frame!), that it gave me a lot of inspiration. Now my Question:
I want to integrate overcoming isometrics into my routines. BUT I discovered Maxicks system of muscle control and wanna learn it as well because I think it would be great for me.
Do you think that calisthenics, isometrics and muscle control can be combined, or is it just too much to learn?
To the information: I additionally practice Krav Maga once or twice the week.
Short answer is yes, they can all be combined.
Long answer is that you have to do it right, if you want good results in doing so.
A common mistake (one I made early in my career several times) is to try to put together multiple programs covering different things just one on top of the other. For instance, doing a complete calisthenics plan three days a week, then a complete isometrics plan three other days of the week. Doing this you end up doing too much and not recovering enough.
So how do you do it right?
As with all things, it depends on your goals. Is one of these things more important than the others? Does your progress in calisthenics come first? Is it Krav Maga? It doesn’t really matter what is your priority, just that you actually take the time to prioritize them.
What follows is just one possible way to do it:
On top of this you can add some isometrics specific towards those exercises, or isometrics to cover other areas. In January’s Strength Health Mind Power Inner Circle newsletter, the topic is All About Isometrics, and will cover both of these options and more.
Then muscle control can be thought of as more of a thing to practice than as a workout. Practice the skillset of controlling you muscles, and it can actually aid in recovery from the other training. Of course, that all depends in how you do it.
As I said before, this would be just one possible way. Ultimately, it depends on many specifics. That being said this is a solid overall plan that could apply not just to these three training methods, but others as well.