Today more guys and gals are doing isometric muscle exercise.
The biggest reason is that isometric muscle exercise takes very little time as compared to traditional bodybuilding routines or cardio exercise classes.
Zass Used Isometrics
Many individuals have asked me time and time again– “Does Isometric Muscle Exercise Really Work?”
After having been in the fitness industry for almost 25 years now, I have had the privilege of meeting some of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the world.
Isometric Muscle Exercise Used in Pro Sports
It may surprise you to learn that isometric muscle exercise is part of most professional sports teams’ strength and conditioning programs. In addition, Olympic power lifters, martial artists, mixed martial arts, and bodybuilders use isometrics as part of their workout routine too.
The second most common question is — “Why Can Isometric Exercise Increase My Strength and Muscularity in Such Little Time?”
Intensity and not duration is the secret power of isometric exercise. The key factor in muscle growth lies in two principles.
- “Progressive Resistance” - In order for you to gain strength and muscle size you must continually add more resistance to the exercises you perform. That is why freehand isometrics in the end is not very effective at building strength and muscle size!
- Intensity - Scientific studies have revealed that intensity is a key factor in muscle growth. Duration – the time you spend working out – are not a critical factor according to many scientific studies.
Isometric Muscle Exercise Forces Muscle Growth
You see when you perform isometric strength training you focus all of your intensity into that particular muscle group to the point of exhaustion. This is very similar to a principle called “forced reps.”
Forced reps are a training protocol that works this way. Let us say you were doing a bench press. After you perform 10 or more repetitions, you may find yourself experiencing muscle fatigue. Here is where a workout buddy or a spotter comes in and helps you squeeze out a few more repetitions.
This is where all the muscle growth comes in. The first few repetitions are to get you to this point of complete muscle exhaustion. In isometric exercise, you are able to do this without having to do as many reps.
Third most common question is… “What Is the Best Way to Use Isometric Muscle Exercise?”
While the … “Best” method is different for everyone – most experts agree that using an isometric exerciser or isometric exercise equipment will yield the greatest and fastest results.
Why you might ask?
In order to explain this let’s take a look at this example. Let’s assume that you are capable of doing 10 push-ups right now. In addition, let’s further say that you workout everyday trying to get to a point where you can do 100 push-ups.
Would you consider yourself stronger now?
On the other hand, is it really that your muscles just have more endurance. The reality is that if we were to test you with a barbell bench press, we would have determined that you would be somewhat stronger. However, not a strong as you would believe.
Because once your body is conditioned to the same amount of weight, you can no longer respond by getting stronger or building more muscle mass. For that you need additional resistance or more stress. That’s where Isometric Muscle Exercise can help you out.
