So why aren’t they mainstream? For starters, there’s no denying the commercial aspect. Given that you can perform isometrics with little equipment and a relatively short timeframe, you’d think they’d be far more popular in the training world. In other words, if you have a problem at a particular joint angle in a lift, you can do targeted isometrics to quickly overcome your problems. In contrast, an exercise that mimics the bench press, like a press against pins at the sticking point of the lift, may be performed for several seconds. It may take one to two seconds to perform with each joint angle only being trained for short periods of time.
Consider an exercise like the bench press. One of the main benefits of isometric training is that the body is able to activate nearly all the available motor units – something that is usually very difficult to do.īack in the 1950s, researchers Hettinger and Muller found a single daily effort of two-thirds of a person’s maximum effort exerted for six seconds at a time for ten weeks increased strength about 5% per week, while Clark and associates demonstrated static strength continued to increase even after the conclusion of a five-week program of isometric exercises.Īnother benefit of isometric training is simply the amount of time spent performing an exercise.
Examples of this are poses in body building or pushing against an immoveable object such as a wall. This type of contraction is known as eccentric and occurs when the muscle tenses while lengthening.Ī final type of contraction is called an isometric contraction, and it occurs when the muscle tenses while not changing length. It can also tense while lowering a load, or resisting it, such as when lowering the weight in a curl. This is called a concentric contraction, where the muscle tenses while shortening. It can do the obvious and contract to shorten the distance between joints, such as when doing a bicep curl. In simple terms, muscle can only contract in a few ways. Not long after, he started promoting this method of training through his mail order courses. He would push on the bars and chains that held him captive and quickly saw benefits. Not long after, he started promoting this method of training through his mail order courses.įamed strongman Alexander Zass credited much of his great strength to his isometric training as a prisoner during World War I.
Famed strongman Alexander Zass credited much of his great strength to his isometric training as a prisoner during World War I.