Supercharge Your Fitness with Isometric Exercises

Pi-Yo… HIIT… Metabolic training…

If you’re into exercising, it seems like every day there’s a new fitness term to learn. 

And here’s another one you may not have heard before: isometric exercises. 

But even if you don’t know the definition, you’ve probably done them before. 

And that’s good news, because isometric exercises are a great way of building muscle strength and endurance well boosting other healthy habits. 

So what are isometric exercises? Let’s take a closer look at these unique, and uniquely beneficial, exercises and how you can successfully incorporate them into your current fitness routine. 

What Is Isometric Exercise? 

An isometric exercise is any strengthening exercise that holds your muscles in one position for a length of time. 

Essentially, your muscles are under tension—contracted—but neither the muscle length nor its angle change throughout the duration of the exercise. The key is holding the position with little to no movement. 

To illustrate the difference, we’ll take two popular bodyweight exercises for your lower body and use them as examples. 

• A squat requires you to bend your knees, lower your hips to the ground, then straighten your knees and come back up. You can add variations with different feet positions and weights, but the up and down movement remains the same. 
• When you do a wall sit, you stand with your back against the wall, lower your hips, and then hold that position for however long you desire. For the duration of the exercises, your muscles are contracted but not lengthening or contracting. 

Both exercises work very similar muscle groups, but holding your body still during the wall sit makes it an isometric exercise. And if you’ve ever tried a wall sit, you surely know that the lack of movement doesn’t mean it’s easy! 

Other Types of Strengthening Exercises 

Along with isometric exercises, there are two other types of strength training exercises: concentric exercises and eccentric exercises. 

Both eccentric and concentric exercises require your muscles to move, either by elongating them or contracting them. 

• Concentric exercises require you to contract your muscles, making them shorter. In the squat example above, the concentric part is when you contract your muscles by standing back up. 
• Eccentric exercises are when you elongate your muscles. Staying with our squat example, the eccentric part of the exercise is when you lengthen your quadriceps and glutes on your way down. 

Many exercises are both concentric and eccentric, like the squat. You can focus on one aspect over the other by slowing down that portion. To make squat more concentric, for instance, you can lower your hips quickly, then slowly stand back up. 

5 Benefits of Isometric Exercises 

Now that you understand what an isometric exercise entails, let’s look at some of the benefits you’ll see when you add them to your fitness routine. 

1. Build Core Strength

Because isometric exercises require you to brace your body in one position, they really force you to engage your core. 

And while many people might read the word “core” and think of abdominal muscles, your core actually encompasses the entire central part of your body. It includes the muscles of your abdominals, but also your pelvis, lower back, and hips. 

So strengthening your core isn’t just for those 6-pack abs. It can also help reduce or eliminate back pain and improve your posture.

2. Increase Muscular Strength

Many people, including gym-goers and exercise fanatics, associate strength training with grunting through multiple repetitions and heavy weights. 

But have you ever noticed the amazing shoulder muscles of a consistent yoga practitioner? They’re pretty impressive! 

Even more impressive, yogis achieve those toned shoulder caps by holding yoga poses such as downward facing dog—one of the best isometric shoulder exercises. 

Isometric exercises are proof that you don’t need to lift heavy weights or put in multiple reps to build muscular strength. 

However, isometric exercises aren’t known for building muscle size. If you’re trying to bulk up and build bigger muscles, you should add concentric and eccentric exercises to your fitness routine. 

3. Improve Endurance

Isometric exercises can also help you build muscular endurance through a concept known as TUT, time under tension. 

The idea is to hold challenging poses such as a plank or low squat for a challenging period of time. This can be anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds, depending on the exercise, any weights involved, and your overall fitness level. 

More importantly, due to the nature of isometric exercises, you’re contracting your muscles the entire time. 

With consistent effort, your muscles will be able to hold these poses for increasingly longer periods of time, building your endurance. 

4. Boost Your Overall Health

Aside from the benefits you might expect from any exercise program, isometric exercises also have benefits for your health. 

Research shows that physical activity in general can lower blood pressure. But studies show that isometric exercises are more effective than traditional strength training or aerobic exercise at lowering and controlling blood pressure. 

Isometrics can also be helpful if you have arthritis, increasing your strength without requiring a large range of motion that could aggravate your condition. 

5. Recover from Injuries

Isometric exercises are some of the best ones you can perform when you are rehabilitating and recovering from an injury. 

Isometric exercises can target very specific muscles. If you have an injury, surgical incision, or a particularly sensitive spot, you can limit your range of motion to protect that area. 

For example, you don’t have to go as low during a wall sit if you need to protect an injured quadriceps muscle. 

Isometric exercises can also help you recover from joint injuries, since your joints aren’t being forced to constantly change angles throughout an exercise (as your knees would do if you were squatting).

6. Work Out Anywhere and Anytime

You can achieve fantastic results with isometric exercises that require zero equipment and only use your body weight! 

If you prefer to work out in the privacy of your own home, isometric exercises are ideal. You can keep in shape and strengthen your body without having to invest in expensive, space-consuming gym equipment. 

Isometric exercises are also a great option for travelers without access to a hotel gym. 

The Best Isometric Exercises For Your Body

Are you ready to add isometric exercises into your fitness schedule?

Here are some isometric exercise examples to get you started. 

• Calf raise and hold
• Glute bridges
• High plank
• Hollow body hold
• Low squat hold 
• Overhead hold
• Planks 
• Prayer pose
• Reverse plank
• Side planks
• Triceps wall push
• V-sits
• Wall sits

Here’s a guided video of some isometric exercises.

Be sure you rotate exercises, to benefit more muscle groups and achieve greater results. 

And as with any new exercise program, check with your doctor before beginning. 

Bonus: Tips For Isometric Exercise Success

Now that you have some isometric exercises to practice, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your workouts. 

Add Variety

The key to any effective workout routine is variety. 

Isometric exercises are anaerobic exercises, with little to no aerobic benefits. For your overall health and wellbeing, you should also do cardio exercises such as walking, jogging, biking, swimming, dancing, or any other option you might prefer. 

You can also add variety with different weights, such as dumbbells, kettlebells, or a medicine ball. 

For example, try holding a pair of dumbbells at your side while you hold a wall sit for an added challenge. 

Or, wrap an exercise band across the back of your shoulders while you hold a plank to make your planks even more difficult. 

Breathe Through It

You get down to a plank. You start counting. You brace your body. And… you forget to breathe. 

Sound familiar?

It’s easy to tense up and hold your breath (or take shallow breaths) when you’re doing your isometric exercises. 

But that’s not good for your workout—or your respiratory system! 

Take deep, filling breaths while you’re holding your isometric poses. Try counting five seconds in, really concentrating on the air filling your belly. Then exhale for five seconds. 

Squeeze Your Muscles

Your success with isometric exercises is based on holding your muscle contraction. 

Squeezing the muscles while you hold your pose makes them more difficult, yielding greater results. 

Watch Your Form

When you perform an isometric exercise properly, you stay in the same position for its duration. If your form isn’t correct, you could end up hurting yourself. 

For example, if your hips dip down during a plank, you could wind up with a sore or even injured back. 

To make sure your form is correct, make sure you know the exact position you should be in. You might even want to work with a trainer until you’re used to holding these poses. 

Even after you’ve learned the proper form, it’s always a good idea to do them in front of a mirror whenever possible, so you can check yourself.

Be extra careful towards the end of your workout. The more tired you are, the more difficult it is to maintain the right position. 

Stay Healthy

You shouldn’t work out if you’re sick. Not only would you risk spreading germs, if you go to a gym, but your body needs that energy to heal itself. 

Did you know a probiotic supplement keeps your entire body in prime workout condition? 

Probiotics reinforce the colonies of good bacteria in your body, balancing your gut microbiome. And since roughly 90% of your immune system is found in your gut (yes, really!), they boost your immunity, too. 

Not sure which probiotic to take? We recommend Just Thrive Probiotic. The probiotics in Just Thrive are protected by an armor-like endospore shell that allow them to survive the bile, digestive enzymes, and stomach acids it encounters as it works its way to your digestive system—conditions that kill nearly all other probiotics, rendering them useless.

Then, when they arrive in your gut, the spores are 100% alive and ready to get to work, keeping you healthy enough to crush those workouts! 

Probiotics also have other health benefits that can maximize your workouts, such as giving you more energy and helping you sleep better at night, which also bumps up your energy levels.

Final Notes

Exercise routines are as unique and individual as the person doing them. At the end of the day, the best fitness routine is one that works for you. 

Luckily, highly beneficial isometric exercises are a great fit into almost any exercise program. 

Challenge your muscles and add them to your routine today! 

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