OVERCOMING ISOMETRICS

OVERCOMING ISOMETRICS - WHAT ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY IN YOUR TRAINING

Probably something in your programme's that a lot of you won't have done before working with me, overcoming isometrics involve maximal effort against an immovable object (think pushing or pulling as hard as possible against a bar that doesn’t move).

Why are they included in your training:

1. Multiple studies show that footballers who produce more force (especially early in a movement) are faster over short sprints.

Mason et al. (2021) found that peak force and rate of force development during an isometric mid-thigh pull strongly correlated with sprint performance and countermovement jump height in professional academy footballers. Kuki et al. (2017) reported a strong relationship between isometric strength and both vertical jump and sprint speed across athletes, including soccer players.

In simple terms: stronger force output = faster sprint and better jump.

2. Overcoming isometrics train joint-angle specific strength.

That means you can develop force exactly where it matters For example: - In deep hip and knee angles for explosive sprint starts - In mid-range for top-speed stride positioning - In hamstring-focused angles to resist injury Folland et al. (2005) showed that isometric strength improvements are highly angle-specific, which is great when training for football's most common movement patterns.

3. Rapid Strength Gains in Just Seconds

Traditional strength training requires longer sessions with more fatigue. But overcoming isometrics Have shown to produce strength gains of 20–30% in 4–6 weeks using 1-8's maximal contractions Bimson et al. (2017) showed that just 6 weeks of overcoming isometrics (at multiple angles) improved knee extensor strength by +28.9%, plus a boost in kicking distance and jump performance. A 2022 study found that both continuous and periodic overcoming isometric training improved 5–20 m sprint times and CMJ more than control groups.

I cannot stress the importance of these exercises enough. Please do not skip them, they're a real game changer for your performance