Isometric exercise is strength training, but not the typical weight lifting you see at a gym. Isometrics exercises work by applying equal force in two directions so that the opposite forces cancel each other out, and no movement occurs. Pressing your palms together with equal force is an example, but the opposite force can also come from a separate object like a wall or another person resisting being pushed. Isometric exercises typically require a muscular contraction lasting two to three seconds, but it can be up to 10 seconds long.
Isometrics Build Muscular Strength
You can build strength using isometrics whether you are a beginner or an advanced exerciser. Beginners, even those who are drastically out of shape or weak, can use isometrics because it is easier to do isometric exercises than concentric exercises, but athletes and advanced weightlifters also do isometrics to increase their strength. Concentric exercises are when you lift weights, using movement at one or more joints to make your muscles contract. An example is when you bend your elbow to raise a weight during a bicep curl. This may also refer to lifting your bodyweight, such as when pulling yourself up during a pullup.
One limitation of isometric training is that usually when you need strength to perform a task, you need both concentric and eccentric strength. Eccentric movements are the opposite of concentric movements, such as straightening the arm after a bicep curl. Isometric training increases only isometric strength in a static position for stabilization and does not provide strength when moving.
Isometrics Build Muscle Size
You can use isometrics to build up your muscles, because isometric exercises isolate your muscles and hold them in a contraction for a long period of time. You can also add isometrics to regular weight training to increase muscle size by performing isometric stops, or pauses. Instead of moving smoothly from one weight training repetition to the next, stop at the top, middle or bottom portion of your movement and hold the weights steady so there is an isometric contraction.
Isometrics Only Strengthen the Angle You Work
Since you do not move your joints for isometric training, you only reap the benefits in the exact positions that you isometrically contract your muscles. The angle or degree at which you hold your limb while doing an isometric contraction is the only angle at which your muscles are strengthened. This is known as the principle of specificity. Muscles respond to stress by becoming stronger, bigger or more flexible only in the way that the stress is applied. For example, pushups build strength in the chest, but if you only go halfway down when doing pushups, then you only get stronger in half your range of motion.
Two Kinds of Isometric Exercises
There are two kinds of isometric exercises: submaximal and maximal. One way to do submaximal isometrics is to hold a weight still, such as at the top of a bicep curl or at the midway point during a bench press. Even holding a weight with your arm out to your side, palm face down, is an isometric shoulder exercise. People use this type of training more often for rehabilitation.
The other kind of isometric is maximal training. Pressing as hard as you can against a boulder, wall or any immovable object with your maximum force is maximal training. You still are not moving, but your muscles are working harder.
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