There is hardly any movement, but the target is contracted and activated. These exercises are perfect for building strength and burning 2 to 5 calories a minute. They are a godsend for people with shoulder and/or knee injuries and may even help reduce blood pressure (1), (2), (3). In this article, we look at the nine best isometric exercises to do at the gym or at home, how to do them, their benefits, and more. Let’s get started!
What Is Isometric Exercise?
Isometric exercise is a static strength training exercise. It activates or contracts the muscles without visible movement of the body. These exercises use self-resistance instead of weights/resistance bands to contract the muscle fibers (4). Isometric exercises are popularly practiced by physiotherapists for rehabilitation. They also reduce muscle fatigue, neck pain, and blood pressure and improve flexibility, core strength, and walking speed in elderly people (5), (6), (7), (8), (9). Let’s take a look at a few examples of isometric exercises below.
12 Examples Of Isometric Exercises
Before we begin, here’s the golden rule of performing isometric exercises: Golden Rule: Squeeze your muscle fiber, take a deep breath, perfect your posture, hold it, and release.
1. Isometric Shoulder Internal Rotation
Muscles Activated – Subscapularis, pectoralis, and deltoids. How To Do
2. Isometric Shoulder External Rotation
Muscles Activated – Subscapularis, pectoralis, and deltoids. How To Do
3. Isometric Lateral Raise
Muscles Activated – Deltoids, serratus anterior, upper traps, and supraspinatus. How To Do
4. Isometric Lying Leg Raise
Muscles Activated – Hamstrings, quads, and abductors. How To Do
5. Isometric Quad Exercise
Muscles Activated – Quadriceps How To Do
6. Isometric Hamstring Exercise
Muscles Activated – Hamstrings, quads, and calves. How To Do
7. Isometric Ball Squat
Muscles Activated – Quads, hamstrings, and glutes. How To Do
8. Isometric Hip Abduction
Muscles Activated – Abductors, hamstrings, and quads. How To Do
9. Isometric Hip Adduction
Muscles Activated – Abductors, hamstrings, quads, and glutes. How To Do
10. Plank Hold
Muscles Activated – Abs, glutes, lower back, chest, shoulders, and arms. How To Do
11. Side Plank
Muscles Activated – Abs, glutes, lower back, chest, shoulders, and arms. How To Do
12. Isometric Neck Exercise
Muscles Activated – Serratus, scapula, semispinalis capitis, splenius capitis, scalenes, traps, sternohyoid, sternocleidomastoid, omohyoid, and biceps. How To Do
Are Isometric Exercises A Good Way To Build Strength?
Yes, isometric exercises help build muscle strength. They are used by physiotherapists to rehabilitate muscles, restore muscle strength, and speed up the recovery process. Apart from building muscle strength, toning, and injury recovery, here are a few more benefits of isometric exercises.
Benefits Of Isometric Exercise
It helps strengthen the muscles. It improves muscle tone. Improves body posture and spine alignment. It helps recover from injuries. May help lower blood pressure. It helps reduce arthritis pain. May help improve heart function. Increases resistance power. It can be done anywhere and anytime. It does not require any equipment. At most, a set of dumbbells is enough. Good for the elderly with limited movement.
What is an example of isometric exercise? An easy example of isometric exercise is joining your palms together and pushing them against each other. There is no visible movement, but you feel the muscles contract in your biceps and shoulders. This, in turn, helps strengthen these muscles. Is yoga an isometric exercise? Yes, yoga is an isometric exercise. It helps strengthen and improve the flexibility of the muscles. What are the best isometric exercises? Here’s a list of a few good isometric exercises: • Plank • Side plank • Wall squat or wall gym ball squat • Isometric lateral raises • Isometric leg raises • Calf raise and hold • Isometric neck exercises • Isometric shoulder internal and external rotation What are the benefits of isometric exercises? • Isometric exercises improve muscle strength. • Burn calories. • Improve muscle tone. • Help in injury recovery. • Good for the elderly with limited movement and walking problems. • May lower blood pressure. • May improve heart health. • Good for people with osteoarthritisi XA condition where the cartilage around joints starts degenerating (common in the joints of hands, hips, and knees). . • Build core strength. Are isometric exercises aerobici XCharacterized by the presence of oxygen, and the associated exercises improve the efficiency of the cardiovascular system in absorbing and transporting oxygen. or anaerobici XCharacterized by the absence of oxygen, and the associated exercises are fast and high-intensity that don’t let the body use oxygen. ? Isometric exercises are anaerobic. Do isometric exercises raise blood pressure? Yes, isometric exercises may also increase blood pressure. Talk to your doctor if you have high blood pressure before doing isometric exercises. Can I do isometrics every day? Yes, you can do isometrics every day. How long should you rest between isometric exercises? You can rest for 30-60 seconds between isometric exercises. Are push-ups isometric? No. In fact, push-ups are isotonic workouts that use your body weight as resistance to build your muscles while moving through a full range of motion. What’s the difference between isometric and isotonic workouts? Isometric workouts, such as planks, engage muscles with no movement. On the other hand, isotonic workouts, like squats, engage muscles while moving the joints and applying a fixed amount of weight.
