What is Isometric Exercise?"What is isometric exercise?" Simply, isometric exercise is a form of exercise where you contract your muscles against an immobile object, unmoving, like a wall or a bar you can't lift.1 When you do isometric workouts, you exert a muscle group as much as possible, building strength in the position the exercise is done in. It also trains your body to exert maximum muscle force, even though it looks like you're not doing anything.  Sometimes dynamic tension exercises are referred to when the question, "What is isometric exercise?" gets asked. Dynamic tension exercises are when you one part of your body to push against another part, such as pressing the palms together. Since your muscle length doesn't change, it's isometrics. History Isometric exercise was popularized in the 60's as a 'new' and improved form of exercise, promoted by Bob Hoffman and a few others. However, it lost steam when it came out that many of the bodybuilders using isometrics also used steroids. In recent years it has attracted interest as a useful compliment to traditional weight training. Just another excellent way to get stronger. Bruce Lee used isometric exercises to great effect, enhancing his usual weight lifting. It was one of the many unusual techniques he used to get strong.2 The Idea In addition to doing a regular lift at the gym, take a position at the top or bottom of the lift. With the bar adjusted so it can't move, push against it with all your strength for a short period of time. The angle of your joints and the length of your muscles don't change in isometric contraction. So, to build strength in a lift your should do several isometric positions throughout it; at the lowest point, a middle point, and the position right before you end the lift. Since the position is static, you can't see any result from the force you exert. You must continually push yourself to exert as much force as you can & avoid slacking off. Using Isometric Exercise Isometrics are not magic bullets, but can be very beneficial to do along with regular weight lifting. Find a basic routine that will compliment the lifts you're doing and try it for at-least a few months. Like anything real, only diligence and hard work will make it effective. But if you work it, isometrics will build you up. • Click HERE to learn more about isometric exercise! OR • Click HERE to leave 'What is Isometric Exercise?' & go back to the Home-page!
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