About Isometrics

It's no secret that resistance training is key in developing muscles, increasing bone density and decreasing body fat. Adding variety to your resistance training program is easy and necessary for continual improvement. Isometrics is a form of resistance training that challenges the muscle without changing the muscle length or joint angle. In addition to the gym, isometrics are easy to perform at your desk, in line at the grocery store or in your car during the drive home.

The Facts

Isometrics, also known as isometric exercise, is a form of resistance training. With isometric training, the muscle contraction is static; the muscle doesn't lengthen or shorten. An example of isometric training is bending the elbows to 90 degrees, and holding this position for 60 seconds, while holding dumbbells in each hand.

History

Isometric training came to public attention in the 1953. Two German physicians, Hettinger and Muller, discovered that when they attached an immovable object to one leg and a movable object to the other leg of a frog, the leg attached to the immovable object got stronger, according to "Health Fitness Instructor's Handbook." After publishing their research findings, isometric training increased in popularity.

Benefits

Isometric training does not require specialized equipment or a large amount of space. There's a variety of equipment available for isometric training. Dumbbells, weight machines and resistance tubes all work for isometric exercise. Though, muscle development is possible with isometric exercise, gains are joint specific. If training at 90 degrees of isometric contraction, benefits are limited to that angle. To reap the full benefit of isometric training, resistance training programs must focus on training at varied angles.

Training

The training guidelines for isometric exercises follow a pattern. Select a challenging weight for the chosen muscle group. Determine the desired angle for training. Lift the weight to the desired angle, hold the angle for three to 10 seconds and release, this counts as one repetition. Repeat this action for five to 10 repetitions. A frequency of five days per week is sufficient. To reap the maximum benefit of isometric exercise, train the muscle or group of muscles using a variety of angles. For example, if training the biceps muscle, train isometrically at 90 degrees, 60 degrees, 40 degrees and 20 degree ranges of motion.

Warning

If you have high blood pressure or other cardiovascular problems, consult your physician before beginning a program of isometrics. Due to the static nature of isometric exercise, the tendency is to hold the breath or perform the Valsalva maneuver. The Valsalva maneuver reduces venous return to the heart while increasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure. To avoid the Valsalva maneuver while performing isometric exercise, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth during the entire muscle contraction.