Isometric Exercise is a form of bodyweight training in which neither the joint angle nor the muscle length change. If you bring your palms in front of your body and press them together hard you are engaging in an isometric contraction. Although you may be applying tremendous force to your palms no joint (such as your elbows) is changing it's angle and therefore no muscle is contracting either. Compare this to an exercise like a bicep curl. When you perform this exercise the angle of the elbow DOES change and the muscle DO contract.
- Isometric exercise can be done in a variety of ways. These include: - Using the body's own muscle (e.g. pressing the palms together as I outlined above) - Structural Items - pressing against a stable object like a door frame or wall - Free weights, weight machines or elastic equipment - holding a free weight in front of you without moving it is a form of isometric exercise - The History of Isometric Exercises
Isometrics, or static strength training, have been around for thousands of years in disciplines such as yoga and the martial arts. During the early part of the 20th century legendary strongmen such as Alexander Zass and Maxick used isometric training to build their incredible physiques and great strength. Alexander Zass actually developed his own form of isometrics when he was captured by the Austrians during World War I. In his cell he began pulling and pushing on his chains in an effort to maintain his strength. To his great surprise however he discovered that this method of training actually allowed him to get stronger! He became so strong that he was able to bend his prison bars and break his shackles in order to make his escape.
During the 1960's isometric exercises were probably at their height in popularity. Famous sports stars like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris used them, as well as Bruce Lee and President John F. Kennedy. Bruce Lee because a dedicated practitioner of isometrics when he sustained a serious back injury from lifting weights. There were isometric training courses available for purchase in every book store and newstand. This craze fizzled out though when the "Fad" crowd realized that although isometrics were easy to learn they in fact required effort to DO. Isometric exercises were not a quick fix as far as getting into shape (despite the titles that promised "The Lazy Man's Path to Superior Fitness").
The second reason for the decline in the popularity of isometric exercise is that they became associated with steroid use. Many of the most popular and well known bodybuilders and weightlifters had started to use steroids at this time. However when asked how they were achieving their strength gains they would often answer it was due to their use of isometric exercise. Although this was partially true they of course didn't mention their steroid use. When the truth came out the general public thought that ALL of the gains they had made was due to steroid abuse and none to isometric training. This was simply not true, but the public had their story and that was that.
Despite the fact that isometric exercises are no where near as popular as they were they are still a great exercise to perform. Some of the advantageous of isometrics are as follows:
They can be done anywhere They do not require equipment They are extremely safe They can be done extremely quickly They are fantastic for building strength They are great at sculpting the body
If you are looking for a way to get in fantastic shape in record time isometric exercises might be just the thing you are looking for.
David Nordmark is a Vancouver based fitness consultant as well as the owner and operator of animal-kingdom-workouts.com/index.html Animal-Kingdom-Workouts.com, a fitness site with a unique twist. For more information on body weight workouts, yoga and animal-kingdom-workouts.com/isometric-exercises.html isometric workouts check out his website.
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