Basic Isometric Exercises

First of all why does a program of basic isometric exercises work so well? Isometric exercise is based on the principle of the isometric contraction. An isometric contraction involves the muscle straining to contract but being prevented from doing so by some outside force. Imagine you are trying to lift a house. Obviously, unless you are superman, there is no way you can lift it. You can strain your muscles all you want but they will NOT contract. You will NOT be able to move the house. When trying to move the house you are performing an isometric contraction and this is where the magic occurs.

Let's back up a bit and pretend you are trying to lift up a paper cup as opposed to a house. When you pick up the paper cup your mind activates muscle fibers and orders them to contract. Every muscle in your body is made up of hundreds of muscle fibers. However your brain will only activate the bare minimum at any one time to accomplish whatever task it needs to. When you lift a paper cup you might only be using 2% of the muscle fibers that you have.

However what happens when you try and move something that you can't move, like a house? In this case your brain activates a certain number of muscle fibers. However when they cannot contract your brain activates more. However the truth is is that your brain can activate ALL of the muscle fibers (and it does do this) and you will still not be able to move the house. This is an isometric contraction. By attempting to move your muscles but not being able to you are able to work the ENTIRE muscle at once. With regular weight lifting this is why you have to perform 3 sets of 13 etc. In order to work the entire muscle you have to progressively work it. Tiring out one group of muscle fibers before moving onto the next.

Below are some videos of basic isometric exercises that I've found on the web. Although none of them are perfect they do give you an idea of what an exercise program based on these exercises looks like.