Isometric exercises are strength exercises in which muscle tension is achieved without moving the body parts involved in the exercise. But this is not just muscle tension, as, for example, when demonstrating the biceps.
In isometric exercises, we strive to perform a particular movement, the execution of which obviously exceeds our capabilities. For example, lifting an extreme weight. Or better yet, trying to lift a truck off the ground.
This is a joke, but this is basically how isometric exercises are performed. We try to perform the movement, but we can’t, and the exercise turns from dynamic to static. For this, “shells” are used that are impossible to handle. Such objects surround us in everyday life. This means that equipment for isometric training can be found everywhere. A wall, a floor, a doorway, a window sill, a tree – all of this should be used.
The essence of isometric training is to apply the maximum possible effort. Let's say, trying to move a wall. Pushing, for example, a cabinet, you will most likely move it, and therefore will not be able to develop the maximum effort. Working with a “weight” that is impossible to cope with in principle will require exactly this kind of effort. Which is what we need.
Isometric exercises (like any other) do not necessarily have to be divorced from life. They can imitate some practical actions or those that can be useful in life. Often, the movements of sports exercises that we perform have no analogs in everyday activities and are not directly integrated into them. As for isometrics, it not only serves to develop strength (in this, isometric exercises have no equal), but can also be used to train movements that can be used in practice. In isometrics, one does not work on one isolated muscle group; the effort here must cover the entire body. We learn to powerfully push, pull, bend, tear, squeeze, turn. That is, to put force into certain actions, using large muscle groups.
Isometric exercises provide a striking increase in strength indicators. The peculiarity is that we will be able to develop this maximum strength in the very position in which we trained it. The solution is obvious: train various stages of movement, the extreme ones (beginning and end) and a number of intermediate ones.
Now a little about specific exercises .
Let's start with “pushing the wall” . Just lean against the wall and try to move it. We try sincerely: the effort, the work of the muscles must be real. You can push the wall in different ways: with two hands, one (in this case, the arms can be slightly bent or almost completely straight); with the shoulder; forearm; leg forward (as if you were kicking down a door); leg to the side or back, heel, toe or edge of the foot… And do not try to lift your leg higher. The higher, the more uncomfortable, the less effort you will be able to develop. But the task is to work with an effort of 70-90% of the maximum.
The next “projectile” is the window sill (of course, if it is firmly attached). Try to break it in half: with one hand up, with the other down. Try to tear it off (2 options: up and towards you). Press from above with your palm, the edge of your fist, with one or both hands.
There are also doorways in the house. Try to push the opening to the sides or up. Try to tear off the jamb using the strength of your whole body, especially your legs and back.
Take any stick (even a mop handle) and try to twist it, as if you were wringing out laundry. Try to stretch and tear the stick. You can also do a breaking movement, but choose a stick that you know you won't break. For example, a metal pipe. You can take the stick like a spear and, resting it against the wall, perform a “piercing” movement. This is done correctly using the muscles of the legs and pelvis, the arms act more as a conductor of the force.
A classic apparatus for isometric exercises is a chain , to the ends of which are attached handles or belt loops (attaching the handles to carabiners allows you to adjust the length of the chain). In the tendon training system of A. Zass (the first full-fledged and, perhaps, the best system of isometric exercises), chains are stretched in various positions: in front of you, over your knee, behind your back, etc. We can use a belt or rope , the main thing is that their tensile strength exceeds our capabilities.
The exercises of the Zass system are easy to find on the Internet, but in principle they can be very diverse. After all, Zass, being a circus artist, created the system for his own purposes. You can develop the efforts that you personally need. The main thing is not specific exercises, but the technique of their implementation. When performing exercises, a force wave occurs, covering the entire body. This is important! The muscles are included in the work smoothly, the tension increases to the peak and after a short pause smoothly decreases.
A number of exercises can be performed in everyday life (for example, while sitting at a boring meeting or standing at a bus stop). Apply the effort that will allow you to do the exercise unnoticed by others. If this happens during training, following the correct technique will add efficiency. Perform each exercise in 3-5 approaches with pauses of 30-90 seconds. The duration of rest depends on the amount of effort and the duration of tension, and most importantly – on how you feel. As you get more trained, increase the duration of the effort from 3 to 30 seconds, the maximum effort is developed in the middle approaches.
For example, you can do 3 sets of each exercise with an effort of 60-90-75% of the maximum. Then do 5 sets of 75-90-95-90-75% of the maximum. A full workout is recommended twice a week for an hour, on other days it is worth doing exercises with less effort and fewer sets. In general, focus on how you feel. Someone can do 3-4 workouts a week with full effort, and for someone it is enough to do each exercise in three sets at 70% of the maximum daily as a warm-up.
It is important that isometric exercises do not affect muscles, but tendons. When performed correctly, this provides a significant increase in strength without increasing muscle mass. And this may be important, for example, for women. But isometric exercises require a conscious attitude and internal control. After all, unlike exercises with weight (including your own), there is no objective, external indicator of the effort you are making. Only you control what you are doing. On the other hand, the cheapness of the “equipment” and the ability to do exercises anywhere, as well as high efficiency, make isometric exercises an excellent method of strength training.
