Isometric Exercises: What Are They And What Are They For

I sometric exercises involve the contractions of a particular muscle or a group of muscles for a certain period of time. During the course of this exercise, neither does a muscle change its length nor does the joint that it is attached to move. Doing this exercise can do wonders for your health according to experts, so we thought it would be a good idea to present all of these benefits to you and also tell you some examples of isometric exercises. 

What Do Isometric Exercises Look Like?

Isometric Exercises can include a wide variety of exercises and some of them you will notice are actually derivatives of popular exercises you might already do. They include:

1. Plank 
2. Dead hang 
3. Pullup hold 
4. Wall sit 
5. Split Squat 
6. Low Squat 
7. Static Lunge 
8. Isometric Push up 
9. Bench press 
10.  Bridge

Impact of Isometric Exercises On Blood Pressure 

Studies have shown that isometric exercises can play a huge role in lowering your blood pressure. However, please beware that if you have high blood pressure start your exercises at a low intensity. Starting isometric exercises at a high intensity without giving your body time to get used to it would make your blood pressure skyrocket. 

Increase in Strength 

The most direct impact that isometric exercises have on your body is that of increased strength. However, it must be noted that isometric exercises only increase the strength of the particular muscle that is contracted which is why we recommend incorporating a group of isometric exercises that cover your entire body.  It must also be noted that isometric exercises do not necessarily translate to an increase in athletic performance but the increase in strength of a particular muscle has more so to do with stabilization during physically intensive activities. 

Helps with Arthritis 

Isometric exercises can do wonders for someone with arthritis. It can reduce the pain that is normally associated with arthritis and improve the functionality of muscles. Strength training is normally prescribed to such patients but that can be too intense for many, so isometric exercises can be a good starter regimen before they move onto more consuming routines. What we recommend additionally, is to move your joint through a full range of motion while performing these exercises for improved mobility. 

Helps in Healing Injuries

Normally when we are injured, a go-to instinct is to sit and rest. In fact, that is something that a lot of doctors would tell you to do as well. However, isometric exercises have been known to have a rehabilitating effect on your injury and can also reduce your recovery time. It also can help with injury prevention in the future due to an increase in muscle strength and stabilization. 

Reduced Cholesterol levels 

If you are looking to lose some weight due to some form of health concern, Isometric exercises would be a great place to start. It increases your metabolism rates and helps burn calories. Not only that, but isometric exercises also have shown to have a reducing effect on bad cholesterol (LDL) which can be harmful to your body and can help in building up good cholesterol (HDL). 

Increased Bone Density

People with osteoporosis can benefit from isometric exercise as it helps increase your bone density and leads to stronger bones that are less prone to fractures. 

Improves Breathing 

This one has less to do with a direct effect of isometric exercises and more to do with a habit you can build up while performing them that would increase your quality of life. Try doing breathing exercises while one of your muscles is contracted. This translates into better breathing during your average day-to-day life and that can have a wonderful effect on your mental health, stress relief, stamina, and posture. 

Flexibility 

These exercises are built around making your muscles go around a certain range of motions. If you allow that to happen for an extended period of time, you end up improving the range of motion of your muscles leading to more flexibility. 

Conclusion

You can see that performing isometric exercises can be very tempting if you suffer from a range of issues, such as stress, blood pressure, arthritis, etc. However, please always consult a medical practitioner first before going on an isometric regimen. It would also be ideal if you carry out these exercises under the supervision of qualified personnel such as a gym instructor or a physiotherapist. 

• This post is tagged in:

• weight loss
• blood pressure
• arthritis
• Isometric