Isometric exercises take advantage of a third, lesser spoken about type of muscle contraction known as isometric contraction. This differs from concentric contractions (muscle tension from shortening) and eccentric contractions (muscle tension from lengthening), in that it describes tension placed on the muscle, without the muscle itself necessarily undergoing any movement.
When, for instance, you hold a squatting position, push up against an immovable object or simply flex a muscle and hold the tension, you are applying an isometric contraction to it.
Exercises that utilise isometric contractions in muscles have been hailed as an excellent way to see results from workout routines. Beyond that they are accessible to anyone since they require no equipment, can be done anywhere, and also take up very little time.
With this in mind, here are a few reasons why they would fit perfectly into your workout schedule, no matter how full it already is.
Reason to fit Isometric training in your workout
Retaining Mobility and Flexibility
As the body ages, it begins to lose its muscle. By the time you get to the age of 40, you muscle have already lost much of their mobility and flexibility, and this is especially the case for those that have not actively worked on maintaining muscular stamina.
Ask any personal trainer what the best way to minimise the onset of age-related muscle loss is, and they will likely tell you that exercises that build and maintain muscle stamina and mobility through isometric contractions, are one of the best ways to go about it.
An added benefit to regularly including isometric poses in your workout routine is that it significantly shortens the amount of time it takes your muscles to recover from strenuous workouts, allowing you to get more out of your existing routine.
No Equipment Required
Isometric exercises are perfect for the modern day workout routine simply because they require no equipment.
Just about any other fitness activity, whether it be running or a sport, requires some degree of equipment. This makes them inaccessible to some people, especially those without space to keep the equipment.
Isometric contractions can be achieved simply using your own bodyweight, by holding certain poses. Leverage from solid, heavy objects in your environment can also be used. This benefit of not needing any equipment leads us to our next point, the fact that they can be done just about anywhere.
You can do Isometric Exercises Anywhere
Life gets busy, and there isn’t always time to, or place to set aside for additions to a workout routine. The fact that isometric training requires no equipment, and utilises your bodyweight for the most part, means that you can perform these exercises anywhere.
This makes them the perfect exercises to incorporate into your current routine. You can perform them at the gym, before a run, following or preceding a sporting event, or in your living room when you get home from work.
This makes isometric training a flexible approach to working out, especially when combined with other activities, that fits snuggly into your own schedule, no matter where you need to be.
They Take Up So Little Time
Unlike cardiovascular exercises and weight training, isometric routines generally yield results in less total time than other exercises. That is not to say that you can supplement time spent on the road or in the gym with time spent holding squats; it just means that they will be easy to add to your current schedule, and you will notice a difference in less time.
Isometric training routines can be done in a matter of minutes, or can be extended depending on your ability and fitness goals; still they generally can be completed in less time than it takes to get those same results with other means of working out.
Further time can be saved by the fact that isometric routines can be done just about anywhere, since you don’t have to travel back and forth to do them.
Learn More at the Trifocus Fitness Academy
Isometric training is only one part of a large sphere of activities that can be specialised in, in the fitness industry. If you would like to learn more about the industry by obtaining an internationally accredited personal training certificate, visit the Trifocus Fitness Academy website, or contact one of our representatives for further details on all of our courses.
