In the beginning we focus on teaching the body to function properly. In recent years we have been incorporating what coach Jay Schroeder calls “extreme isometrics”. In Jay’s system you get into the proper position on seven exercises and hold each position for a total of five minutes.
Evolutionary Athletics incorporates five positions. They are:
Wall Squat
Lunge
Good Morning
Glute Ham Raise
Push Up
Pull Up
Generally athletes progress from the wall squat to the lunge and from the good morning to the glute ham raise. Once the athlete can hold the wall squat and good morning for 5 minutes they progress to the lunge and glute ham raise.
The goal is to master these positions such that the athlete recruits the appropriate musculature and mechanics in the stretch range position. Two keys to performance are actively pulling yourself into the proper position and maintaining a maximal effort of contraction during the entirety of movement. The extreme isometrics offer a tremendous motor learning benefit to beginners, increased mobility, strength, endurance, speed, and mental toughness.
A typical workout would look like:
Mobility warm up
Prehab exercises aimed ad strengthening weak links in the kinetic chain
“core” work
Extreme isometrics
Additional Prehab work
Upon extreme isometric mastery we progress into force absorption methods.