Performance Results for Bodies AND Businesses Using Brad Thorpe’s Isophit™
With movement there is risk. That’s an undeniable and unfortunate fact about sports and exercise. While we’re trying to stay active and healthy, we literally run into the possibility of injuring ourselves. According to fitness innovator Brad Thorpe and the numerous scientific studies he can cite off the cuff, isometric movement is the ideal way to minimize risk and improve performance.
“Dynamic exercise is the practice of movement; isometric exercise is preparation for movement,” says Brad, who has helped everyone from accident victims to Olympic athletes (including client-turned-investor Kurt Browning) mend injuries and discover (or rediscover) their fitness mojo. A graduate of the Fitness and Lifestyles Management at George Brown College, Brad started as a personal trainer in the early 90s when it was still novel. Hoping to one day open his own gym, he embarked on a quest to differentiate himself in the marketplace.
What started you on the road to Isophit?
“I basically sought out the world’s leading experts in the exercise space… I completed the Resistance Training Specialist Program, which basically honed in on the why: why you do these exercises? Why do you feel what you feel what you feel when you change a position in space? At the same time, I did a certification program in Muscle Activation Techniques, a systematic approach at identifying and correcting muscle weakness or imbalance that relates to impaired function. [Back at work] I focused on isometric-based exercise for neuromuscular reeducation with manual therapy,” predominantly using a wall as the immovable force.
One momentous day, two separate clients complained about the lack of wall space in their gyms where rows of cardio-focused machines and dumbbell racks line the gym perimeter. “I ran to my home office and designed the first model for Isophit using a piece of cardboard, a paperclip, a pair of scissors and some glue. Basically, it’s a wall you can put in the middle of the room – it happens to be able restrain all human joint motion at every spinal level at every muscle level at every joint position or multiple joints at once. So it’s a pretty fancy wall.”
The multi-patented Isophit Strength Trainer rolled off the manufacturing line in 2015, and there are currently 118 units in use at 110 different facilities across 19 countries, including the US Army, Canyon Ranch and EXOS.
How does Isophit work?
“Our Force Matching Technology™ is built on Newton’s Law: as you’re pushing into the crossbar, it’s going to match your output in real time 100% of the time. With traditional weightlifting equipment, the load gets heavier relative to your fatigue state, which is why there are so many people unnecessarily injured during exercise. [Isophit] allows you to maximize strength output at that given joint angle and then string them together… Let’s teach you how to contract muscles, stabilize joints, reduce blood pressure, accelerate your metabolic activity, all through isometrics, then add motion after we’ve created a solid foundation… From a rehab perspective, isometrics is the fastest, safest way to get the body back online for active
movement patterns [and] allow people to do the exercise they want to do more safely, effectively and efficiently.”
How do isometrics compare to dynamic exercise?
“Muscle activation in isometric [contraction] is near 100%, eccentric and concentric around 85%…. When sustained for, say, 45 seconds or greater, there is an element of occlusion to the muscle and blood flow gets diverted into the local adipose tissue… it actually increases the catabolization – ie. spot reduction… In the literature, one minute of isometrics is the equivalent to six minutes of resistance training on selectorized equipment, so the effectiveness or efficiency is significant… We promote 30 minutes of exercise six days/week – so basically 18 hours of exercise in three hours of time…Simply put, the results we see defy logic – until you read all the literature.”
How did Covid change your business?
“In 2020, we pivoted heavily and rolled out the Isophit Mobile Strength Kit (MSK) which is a small portable unit meant for the home environment or small sports facilities… Isophit MSK is 39 lbs (vs. the larger’s nearly 300 lbs), and takes up less than 7 s.f… The goal is portability, [and] to be able to deadlifts and squats and leg press and bench press and all that… It’s more of a consumer-focused product [for] anyone who wants to have an exercise apparatus at home or mobile trainers” who take it on the road.
What’s the Isophit advantage for business owners and their clients?
“We’ve created a new revenue category for fitness facilities because they’ve never monetized isometrics. And the individuals who are using our products, the ones that listen to our advice are making tens of thousands of dollars of additional revenue per unit per month…”
Isophit in the Park and 30inThirty™ group classes (30-exercises in 30-minutes) will also be a huge draw – especially as clients remark on the results! To find out more about franchise or partnership opportunities, Isophit MSK or professional training, check out isophitmsk.ca or send a request to: brad@isophit.com
