For newcomers seeking to strengthen their muscles, here's an effective low-impact method that doesn't necessitate any equipment.
In the world of fitness, isometric training has been gaining popularity for its numerous advantages. This type of training involves the static contraction of a muscle without any movement of joints, making it an ideal choice for those seeking to strengthen their muscles and improve their athletic performance.
One personal trainer, Rowan Clift, who trains individuals and leads classes at The Gym Group in West Hampstead and works with Freeletics, an AI-led fitness app offering personalized fitness programs, is a firm believer in the benefits of isometric training.
For beginners, isometric exercises like wall sits and planks should be held for 20 seconds and built up to 30-60 seconds, with three sets of each hold. The wall sit, for instance, is an isometric exercise that builds strength in quads, glutes, and calves. In this exercise, one leans their back against a wall, slides their back down the wall until their knees are bent at 90°, adjusts their feet so their knees are over their ankles, and holds the position with their back flat against the wall and their heels on the floor.
Performing a plank exercise builds core strength and engages glutes, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. To maintain proper form during a plank, one should engage their core, keep their body in a straight line from shoulders to ankles, and avoid dropping or raising hips.
Isometric training is not just beneficial for beginners but also for rehab, gym novices, advanced gym-goers, and athletes. It can be used as a pre-exercise or for deloading on less intense workout days. Studies have found that isometric training provides similar benefits to explosive plyometric training in terms of increasing strength and power output, but with reduced impact forces and therefore less potential for injury.
Isometric training is also effective in enhancing tendon and ligament repair. Compared to dynamic exercises, isometric training is effective even with shorter daily sessions. It stimulates tissue repair at the molecular level and modifies gene activation in these tissues, aiding in the recovery of tendon and ligament injuries.
For athletes, isometric training enhances the rate of force development (RFD), enabling faster acceleration and quicker force production crucial in many sports. Examples of isometric exercises suitable for beginners include planks, wall sits, isometric glute squeeze, and static wall push.
The V-hold exercise, which involves lying on one's back, engaging the core, raising legs and torso off the mat, balancing on sit bones, and extending arms parallel to the floor or towards feet, is another isometric exercise that engages both upper and lower abs and recruits deep stabilizer muscles.
In conclusion, isometric training offers several benefits for gym-goers and athletes, including enhancing tendon and ligament repair, improving maximal strength, and increasing rate of force development (RFD), which helps produce force faster for better athletic performance. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced athlete, incorporating isometric exercises into your workout routine could be a game-changer for your fitness journey.
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- Rowan Clift, a personal trainer who specializes in isometric training, recommends exercises like wall sits and planks for beginners, stating that these core exercises can build strength and improve athletic performance.
- Scientific studies have found that isometric training, such as the V-hold exercise, can stimulate tissue repair at the molecular level, enhancing tendon and ligament repair.
- Isometric training, including exercises like static wall push, planks, wall sits, and isometric glute squeeze, is valuable for athletes as it can increase the rate of force development (RFD), essential for quicker force production in various sports.
