Hi this is Alvan…. this week, we will talk about strength building exercises involve concentric or eccentric movements, which are both isotonic contractions.
Many strength building exercises involve concentric or eccentric movements, which are both isotonic contractions. Concentric movements cause the muscle to shorten, and eccentric movements lengthen the muscle. Isometric exercises do not involve the muscles shortening or lengthening. During isometric exercises, the joints are still, and the muscles do not change shape or size. People will typically hold the isometric contraction for several seconds or minutes. Incorporating isometric exercises into an existing exercise routine can improve muscle performance.
Isometric exercises, also known as static strength training, are contractions of a particular muscle for an extended period of time. Isometric exercises place tension on particular muscles without moving the surrounding joints. For example, in a plank or wall sit, the muscles are working, but not actively changing lengths. By applying constant tension to the muscles, isometric exercises can be useful for improving physical endurance and posture by strengthening and stabilizing the muscles.
In positions like these, the muscle fibers are activated but since there are equal forces against each other, there is no movement. There are two types of muscle contraction: isotonic and isometric. Isotonic contractions occur when muscles become shorter or longer against resistance, and tension remains the same. Isometric contractions occur when tension increases but the muscle remains at a constant length.
How can you benefit from isometric exercises?
Isometric exercises, when added to a functional strength training program, have been shown to help athletes produce more speed and power. In addition, As you get older, you lose muscle tone, flexibility and the ability to digest essential amino acids, but regular isometric exercises can allow you to maintain your muscle strength. In fact, isometric exercises are a necessary kind of strength training for an older person who would like to stay healthy and mobile and for everyone else who would want to avoid muscular decline.
Including isometric exercise in your training routine has the dual benefit of injury prevention and strength building. If you have or have had damaged muscles in your lifetime, this method can help you to rehabilitate your injury and reduce recovery time of your muscles. While it may seem like a good idea to just sit and rest, you may recover healing muscle more quickly by training. Isometrics are great at this because they don’t put too much strain on your muscles and joints. These isometric exercises build a foundation of functional strength to support you when you advance to more dynamic, explosive routines. They are particularly beneficial when rebuilding from injury.
1. Plank
- Get on all fours with your feet together, your body straight from head to heels, and your hands in line with (but slightly wider than) your shoulders.
- Clench your glutes, draw your shoulders down, and brace your core to lock your body into position.
- Hold until fatigued. (Can also be performed on forearms and on each side.)
2. Low Squat
- Stand tall with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart and your hands by your sides, toes pointed forward.
- Keeping your back flat and core braced, push your hips back, bend your knees, extend your arms forward, and lower your body as far as possible.
- Hold for time.
3. Split Squat
- If you have weak glutes and quads, then you are running a high risk of runner knee and a plethora of other overuse injuries – Split squats will help off set that risk.
- Take an athletic stance with back straight and core engaged, then step into a lunge position.
- Make the pose more challenging by sinking down until your front knee is bent to a 90 degrees and your back knee nearly touches the floor.
4. Wall Sit
- Stand with your back against a wall, your feet hip-width apart and your hands by your sides.
- Slide down the wall until your hips and knees are 90 degrees, with your shoulders and butt touching the wall.
- Hold until fatigued.
- Start by using with both legs, raise your heels and lift your body off the ground.
- Once you get as high as you can go, hold this position for 1 minute, then slowly come back down.
- As your body gets comfortable with this new stress, you can add another 30 seconds at a time you until you reach 5 minutes.
- Make the pose more challenging by sinking down until your front knee is bent to a 90 degrees and your back knee nearly touches the floor.
7. Isometric Push-up
- Get on all fours with your feet together, your body straight from head to heels, and your hands in line with (but slightly wider than) your shoulders.
- Bend your elbows so that your upper arms flare out diagonally from your torso (you should form an arrow when viewed from above).
- Lower your body until your elbows form 90-degree angles, and hold until fatigued.
9. Dumbbell Curl
- Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length by your sides, palms facing forward.
- Keeping your elbows tucked and your upper arms locked in place, curl the dumbbells until your forearms are parallel to the floor.
- Hold until fatigued.
11. Dead Hang
- Grab a pull-up bar with an over- or underhand grip, your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Allow your body to hang with your legs crossed behind you or toes pointed toward the floor.
- Hold until fatigued.
12. Pull-Up Hold
- Grasp pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart.
- Pull yourself up until your upper chest is even with the bar.
- With elbow down, focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together and hold the position for 1–2 minutes.
13. Scapular Retraction
- Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, your hands shoulder-width apart, and let your body hang.
- Draw your shoulders down and back to raise your shoulders just slightly toward the bar.
- Hold until fatigued.
Source : Vertimax
