James thanks for the info on the holds, good stuf, keep it coming…I want to post the article I gor off of stackmag.com, it explains some stuff about jay’s program, did anyone see it, the site no longer shares it for free, I will have to type it up it is like five pages, when I get the time I will, Peace!!! 
James have you ever seen the ESPN bit on archuleta? They ask archuleta if he has been dropped? He says yes, from about six feet high, they then ask him what the theory on that is…he then says “that you better turn on all of your muscle groups or bad things will happen…” I took this theory and applied it to the iso holds…you wrote that “anyone can hold a postion for 5 min,” Holding a position such as a parallel squat or iso extreme push up for five minutes is not really that easy (even if you turn on all your muscles , for me at least) 
…anyway what I was wondering was, in you talks with Jay did you talk about this with him at all? I am guessing from what you wrote that the isometrics are used to strengthen certain muscles in certain movements and then once they are strong in the holds or specific muscles they learn to turn on lots of muscles to aid in power product??? (maybe kind of like Pavel’s theory of irradiation)…I am probably way off but just wondering what you though cause you know a lot about this topic… Peace!!!
one of the goals with training iso in the EXTREME JOINT ANGLE is that you are training the muscle to be extende/elongated when it is fatigued. when muscles become fatigued or injured they contract, its a natural mechanism. this contraction however is a negative response becasue contracted/short muscles are less able to absorb force and generate force. ie you are more likly to become injured. when your muscles dont contract when under duress they are less likly to fatigue. if u notice on the workout dvd jay says we follow each set of the work with and iso (for that particular excercise. im not saying they use the isos between every set). this teaches the muscle to stay long even as it fatigues. thus less injury and fatigue to a lesser degree. jay told me that adam maxed with 490 pounds some 40 times and out of all of that 40 times he olny missed the lift twice. some sets were only a 7 sec apart. and this was all done in one training session. how was he able to do it… adams muscles dont respond to fatigue the same way most of our muscles do. they have trained them not to.
in the example i mentioned the isos arent so much for increasing strenght but preparing the body to be able to train with extrem volumes.
the isos are difficult but with practice anyone can do them. but not everyone can do them in the proper position and muscles activated. doing it jays way takes intense concentraion. i dont want you guys to think that i know everything about jays training. but i have talked with him and i am sharing what he has told me. i am currently trying to get excepted into his gym.
Thanks for the info James! Adams benching capabilties is awesome, but why would he do this? Charlie or James Smith are far more well versed in this area, but my understanding is that this type of training would fry the CNS.
he has “trained to train” with this level of volume. jays methods and excercises are not uncommon, but his reasoingin behind them are truely out of the box. when considering his training methods you cant really understand the volumes and techniques he uses unless u understand the system as a whole. so things like frying the nervous system may not apply becasue he has put “methodics” in place to avoid this negative of high training volumes.
James, could you send me an email at James@powerdevelopmentinc.com
I have a question for you which I feel would be more appropriately discussed over a private interface.
u can just send me a private msg via the forum
James, never mind. I don’t use the PM. I spoke with Jay on the phone today and got the information I needed.
James what did you mean by “train to train”?
I was reading through some articles and found one by a guy name Ryabov…" as known the greatest effect in the development of muscular strength in ahtletes is acheived in a combination of overcoming, yeilding, holding, and mixed regimines of muscular activity. (vorobiew 1977).
In execution of exercises in the isometric (holding) regimine, the optimal time of tension is up to 4-6 sec. This depends on the amount of loads, which should be within the limits of 80-90% of the maximum result in the given exercise. The lesser the amount, the more time spent. The number of sets is 3-6 with 1-2 reps, it is also possible to include 1-2 exercises in training which are moderate according to the planned vloume of the training load. Isometric exercises are recommended for execution at the middle or at the end of the training session. But, after the classical and concluding portion of the training, it is beneficial to use exercises which involve jumping, flexibility, relaxation, and so on. …isometric regime shows high requirements of heart cirulatory system and have a definate effect on ligaments, joints, and verterbrae. Because of this, in the exercises with maximum weight it is recommended to plan no more than 6 repetitions. The position of the equipment relative to the athlete is determined in relation to the task placed before the athlete."
Thanks for the info James! Adams benching capabilties is awesome, but why would he do this? Charlie or James Smith are far more well versed in this area, but my understanding is that this type of training would fry the CNS.
Stabilization of increased strength
one of the goals with training iso in the EXTREME JOINT ANGLE is that you are training the muscle to be extende/elongated when it is fatigued. when muscles become fatigued or injured they contract, its a natural mechanism. this contraction however is a negative response becasue contracted/short muscles are less able to absorb force and generate force. ie you are more likly to become injured. when your muscles dont contract when under duress they are less likly to fatigue. if u notice on the workout dvd jay says we follow each set of the work with and iso (for that particular excercise. im not saying they use the isos between every set). this teaches the muscle to stay long even as it fatigues. thus less injury and fatigue to a lesser degree.
No offense but this sounds like someone trying to make up new terms and explanations just to sound cutting edge. Why not just do PNF? There is also information in supertraining that would cast a negative light on long isometrics as a strength training method due to ischemia.
jay told me that adam maxed with 490 pounds some 40 times and out of all of that 40 times he olny missed the lift twice. some sets were only a 7 sec apart. and this was all done in one training session. how was he able to do it… adams muscles dont respond to fatigue the same way most of our muscles do. they have trained them not to.
Take the average lifter with 3 months experience and have them load up 90% of their max and perform as many consecutive singles as possible with 1 minute rest intervals.
Next, take the average powerlifter with 5 years experience and have them do the same thing.
Note the differences.
If his descriptions were accurate then you’re training someone to function like a beginner.
Or you could also take a group of top level speed/power athletes at one end and a group of marathon runners at the other end. See which group can sit in a squat against a wall and hold it for 5 minutes with more efficiency. Then see which ones are cramping up after 30 seconds.
Why train for something that gives a negative adaptation?
Kelly, I kind of understand, but not fully, by having adam hold a weight like that for long periods of time could it be argued that by holding the weight, it is teaching his muscles how to operate in some kind of oxygen debt??? 
Maybe this would be useful to teach the muscles to sustain powerful contracts over long periods of time…in adams case, over the period of an entire football game. Now I think there maybe be different ways to train this, maybe by doing heavy singles for a time frame just like a football game (ie hit one then rest 30 then hit one, ect…for an hour or whatever the full duration of one football game. Yessis speaks of making training specific not only to the movement but to all parameter ( I think)…Please do not hammer me too badly if I am incorrect here I am no really that smart about what training methods to use and all of the science behind them, so sorry if my thoughts are way off!!!
Peace 
Kellyb, I understand the jist of your posts. But, would these really give negative adaptaions. I feel that it’s just a waste of training time and energy. Maybe time Archuleta could spend working on hanging onto INT’s 
kelly im afraid that your understanding of jays techniques are flawed. you are basing your opinions on previous research and experience of those who use isometrics in a different manner than jay. if you notice he dosent say just isometrics but isometrics in the extreme joint angle. he has told me that not much research has been done into this ie clinical studies. when a muscle is stretched the architecture of the myofilimants and biding sites is completly different (check enoka he has a nice diagram and section explaining this) this change in muscle architecture results in a weaker net force not because the muscle is weaker but because of availability of binding sites. this is why 5 min holds if done the way perscribed by jay activate stronger motor units ie fasttwtich fibers to maintain the contraction instead of slow twitch which would usually take over in contracions for this lenght of time in a more acute joint angle.
How about training for your event and not for impressing sports writers? Save that for when you become partners after retirement.