Muscles get stronger and bigger when they are forced to contract during exercise. A conventional exercise, such as a biceps curl, involves a steady movement of a weight. The word "isometric" is used interchangeably with static, and this type of training works muscles without a steady range of motion. An isometric leg workout is advantageous, provided you know some key points.
Isometric Exercise
Isotonic exercise is the type that involves moving a body part through a full range of motion. This action causes a muscle to lengthen and shorten. Isometric exercise on the other hand, involves holding a position with no shortening or lengthening of a muscle.
Focus Muscles
The main goal with an isometric leg workout is to target all of the major muscles below the waist. These include the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. The best way to make gains is by incorporating compound exercises into your routine. A compound exercise works more than one muscle at a time, leading to more overall muscle fiber recruitment. Wall squats and lunges for example, work the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves all at the same time. Include other exercises like leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls, hip extensions and calf raises for a well-rounded workout.
Form
Even though you do not move in a repetitive fashion, proper form is still important when doing isometric leg exercises. To reap the best benefits and prevent muscle imbalances, your body needs to be in good alignment and you have to forcefully contract your focus muscles. Take an isometric wall squat for example. Begin by standing with your back to a wall and spacing your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back flat against the wall, move your feet forward slightly and slide down the wall until your knees form 90-degree angles. Hold this position until you get fatigued and slowly rise back up.
Timing of Holds
When you first start doing your workouts, you may be able to hold each position for only three to five seconds. The goal is to slowly increase the duration of your contractions as you get into better shape. Three or four sets per exercise and three workouts a week on nonconsecutive days is a sufficient amount of work to make progress.
Range of Motion Tips
When doing your exercises, keep in mind that you will only strengthen a muscle at the point you are holding it. Take leg presses for example. If you hold the weight half way down, you will only strengthen your muscles in this one position. The goal is to perform holds from numerous positions to gain as much overall strength as possible. Using the leg press as an example, include holds with your legs three-fourth extended, half extended and one-fourth extended. Follow this same procedure with all of your exercises.
Body Weight vs. Resistance
The weight of the body is satisfactory for isometric exercises, but you can gain an advantage by adding resistance. Leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls are performed on machines, so they already give you resistance. However, exercises like calf raises, wall squats and lunges are done with body weight. To increase the resistance, hold dumbbells at your sides.
Member Comments