Today’s show welcomes back chiropractor and neurology expert, Dr. Mark Wetzel.  Mark has been on this show numerous times talking about the effectiveness of long isometric holds, as well as digging into many aspects of their performance.

So often in the training and performance field, we just look at exercises, sets and reps, but then don’t desire to dig into the nuance of those movements we are programming.  With isometrics, we can certainly get results by simply having athletes hold positions indiscriminately, but we can multiply those results by understanding the underlying mechanisms that help make isometrics more effective.

One of the beautiful things about isometric holds is that the lack of movement brings one’s awareness to a high level, and one’s ability to focus on things like breathing, posture and muscle tensioning, on a higher level.  One’s mental and emotional state has an extremely close correlation with the length of time that you can hold the movement. Holding isometrics for extended periods of time also has an impact on the fascial lines of the body, and even the meridian lines (if your belief system takes you that far).  Isometrics are truly a “total body”, functional experience.

On today’s show, Mark Wetzel gives his thoughts on how a positive mental state can increase one’s ability to hold an isometric position (or increase muscle-endurance in general).  He’ll speak extensively on the postural and muscle-tone aspects of holding an isometric, as well as speak on the connections made between the fascial/meridian lines, electric signals, an organ function.  Finally, Mark gives his take on what he feels “neurological” strength truly is, and how this is manifested in a program.

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Timestamps and Main Points:

5:24 – Mark’s thoughts on the mental and emotional aspects of fatigue (and perceived fatigue) during a difficult or taxing movement such as an isometric

14:34 – What it means to be “in position” as an athlete gets into an isometric hold

24:47 – Why some athletes have a lot of trouble “pulling down” into an isometric position, and discussing the use of “constraints” such as a band around the shin, to help an athlete pull down into an isometric

34:19 – Using a one-arm bench press hold to help improve the pushing ability and breathing of individuals who struggle with isometric pushup holds

42:01 – What “good posture” means for Mark

47:05 – Mark’s take on organ health, meridian lines and reflexes, particularly in light of utilizing isometric exercises

57:52 – What it means to have “neurological strength” from a Mark’s perspective as a chiropractor with neurological training

1:05:35 – Depth jumps and drop landings as an assessment of neurological efficiency



“When I am in those moments (of fatigue) I try to bring up some sort of happiness or joyful emotion to try and take my mind off of it”

“The “fear based” mentality is almost a traditional way of training”

“Posture comes back to the breath; typically when people have bad posture it is because they have bad breathing mechanics”

“When you do a bunch of calf rebounds in a row, your body will position you in a way that (you have to be in to keep breathing under fatigue)”

“You can accomplish so much in an isometric exercise by focusing on “where is my breathing””

“I always back up (a chiropractic adjustment) with exercise”

“The meridian lines are all connected to an organ”

“What’s cool about an isometric is that you are creating a lot of tone throughout the whole body”

“If the brain is telling a muscle to stay weak, then it is going to stay weak no matter what you do”

“The more you can stay calm, breathe, smile to yourself while you are going through that discomfort,