{"id":1068,"date":"2020-02-04T17:16:51","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T17:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifestyle.hussle.com\/?p=1068"},"modified":"2021-06-15T18:40:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T18:40:08","slug":"what-are-isometric-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/what-are-isometric-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"What are isometric exercises?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.9&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;18px||27px|||&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.9&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.0.9&#8243;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.7&#8243; custom_margin=&#8221;||36px|||&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; inline_fonts=&#8221;Euclid Light,Euclid Medium,Euclid Circular B Light&#8221; text_font=&#8221;Euclid Circular B Light||||||||&#8221; header_4_font=&#8221;Euclid Circular B Medium||||||||&#8221; header_4_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; header_4_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;Euclid Circular B Medium||||||||&#8221; header_3_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">When we\u2019re short on time and only have a quick 30 minutes in the gym, we need exercises that are simple, effective, quick, and need little equipment. Isometrics are a pretty good fit for this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Everyone from astronauts to new mothers can benefit from isometric exercises. So what are they, how do they help, and what should we be doing with them?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Medium'; font-weight: normal;\">What does are isometric exercises?<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The word has Greek roots, and the literal meaning is \u2018equal measure\u2019. That\u2019s because an isometric exercise means tensioning the muscles without changing their length.\u00a0 That&#8217;s different from normal muscle contractions, which either shorten muscles (for example, when lifting a weight) or lengthen them (when lowering it).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">An isometric contraction is when you hold a muscle at a fixed length for a period of time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">You may have already done isometrics without realising. Planks, wall presses and the wall-sit are all examples of isometric contractions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">And we weren\u2019t joking about the astronauts. They use isometrics because there is no muscle movement, so they don\u2019t end up flying around the space station.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Medium'; font-weight: normal;\">What are the benefits and drawbacks of isometrics?<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintaining and improving muscle strength is the most obvious benefit of isometric exercises is that they help to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/homepage\/goal-increase-strength\/\">strengthen<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/what-is-body-conditioning\/\">condition<\/a><\/strong> your muscles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Injury recovery. Isometric exercises are commonly prescribed by physiotherapists for muscle rehabilitation. Most of our joints rely on the adjacent muscles to support and stabilise them. Isometrics allow the supporting muscles to be strengthened without moving the joint. That means that when healing is complete, there will be much less chance of a recurrence and a quicker return to normal function. Isometrics can also help when the muscle itself is injured, as these exercises do not cause strain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Anyone, anytime, anywhere. Isometric exercises have no fitness prerequisites and can be done without equipment. Anyone can do them in a spare moment. Others around you probably won\u2019t even notice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">On that note, there is one unnoticeable isometric exercise that everyone should do. Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles that support bladder and bowel. If these muscles become weak, control can become an issue. That\u2019s not a problem anyone wants, and it can come on a lot sooner than middle age. Women planning pregnancy or recovering from birth particularly need to do their pelvic floor contractions, but they are a good idea for everyone. Yes, men too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">However, like any exercise, isometrics have their shortfalls. They don\u2019t benefit your speed of movement or muscle elasticity, so they shouldn\u2019t be done alone but part of a varied workout.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Medium'; font-weight: normal;\">Examples of Isometric Exercises<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Planks, wall-sits and pelvic floors done? Add these.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Shoulder flex: Stand straight, side on to a wall. Grab a towel or anything that makes a bit of padding. With your arm bent at 90 degrees and your elbow directly below your shoulder, make a fist and push the padding against the wall. Push, and hold, then release.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Pectoral squeeze: Stand straight with your feet hip width apart. Put your palms together in \u2018praying\u2019 position, press together for 10 seconds. Now try balancing on each leg in turn, continuing the squeeze.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Calf Raise: Stand straight with your feet close together. Then just raise your heels and hold for a minute. \u2013Hold on to something if balance needs work. Lower gently and repeat.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Medium'; font-weight: normal;\">Isometric Exercise Tips<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Like any exercise, correct form is essential, so get that position right.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">Squeeze it out. Tighten the muscles as much as you can to get the most benefit.\u00a0 And don\u2019t hold your breath; keep the air flowing in and out while holding the poses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Euclid Light';\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Adding isometric exercises to your workout for variety or as a finisher will help you keep things fresh. Or even do them at spare moments throughout the day. Your colleagues probably won\u2019t even notice.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=&#8221;4.4.7&#8243; title_text=&#8221;Conversion Banner&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Conversion-Banner-scaled.jpg&#8221; url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.hussle.com&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we\u2019re short on time and only have a quick 30 minutes in the gym, we need exercises that are simple, effective, quick, and need little equipment. Isometrics are a pretty good fit for this. Everyone from astronauts to new mothers can benefit from isometric exercises. So what are they, how do they help, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[106,3,4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"infloai":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What are isometric exercises?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A great exercise for those recovering from injury or wanting something low impact, an isometric contraction is when you hold a muscle at a fixed length for a period of time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/what-are-isometric-exercises\/\" \/>\n<meta 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