Isometric Training - Why it Works and why You've probably Never Heard of it

Isometric training is a fantastic form of exercise that can build incredible strength while sculpting the body at the same time. It involves exercises that force the muscles to TRY to contract, without actually allowing them to do so. If you place your palms in together in front of your chest and press them together, tremendous force can be generated although there is no movement. This is called an isometric contraction and it has been a major part of such disciplines as yoga and the martial arts for thousands of years.

Here's why isometric training works. Every muscle in your body is made up of thousands of individual muscle fibers. Further, your body is always trying to do things in the most efficient manner possible. So, when you pick up an object, your body will activate the bare minimum of muscle fibers required to pick up that object. If you are weight lifting, the whole goal is to do as many reps as are required so that most of the muscle fibers get worked, leading to "muscle failure". This forces your body to add more muscle and build strength for the future.

This is where the power of the isometric contraction comes in. When your work your muscles against something that can't be moved, either another body part or a wall, your body keeps recruiting more and more muscle fibers in an attempt to contract the muscle and move the attached limb. As the muscle is never able to contract due to the nature of the isometric exercise, your body will recruit ALL of the muscle fibers available. This is why it's possible to exhaust a muscle with only one isometric contraction lasting between 7 and 12 seconds, whereas something similar might take 3 sets of 12 reps without standard weight lifting.

Old time strongman like Alexander Zass were famous for the feats of strength they would perform. Zass, known as the "Amazing Samson", was famous for bending bars, breaking chains by expanding his chest, as well as carrying small horses. How did he get this strong? Through a program of isometric training exclusively.

Due to the ease in which they can be learned and their extreme effectiveness, isometric exercises grew in popularity until they reached their peak during the 1960's. It was at this time that isometrics went mainstream, for a time. Famous athletes like Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and Bruce Lee ALL used isometrics. President Kennedy practiced isometric contractions as well on the advice of his doctor. Books and pamphlets sprang up promising amazing levels of physical fitness with almost no effort. Although isometric exercises do work and work amazingly well when done properly, this craze soon died out and isometric training declined in popularity till it was almost forgotten. Why?

Two reasons. For a time at it's peak, isometrics were almost a fad. Those books and pamphlets I talked about had ridiculous titles like "Isometrics: Total Fitness with NO Effort" and "The Lazy Man's Guide to Physical Fitness". Now, isometrics are EASY to learn, but they are HARD to do. Once the "quick fix" crowd learned this, they moved onto the next fad (these are the kind of people who have undoubtably have thighmasters in their closet collecting dust).

A second issue was that isometric training became unfairly associated with steroids. Here's what happened. During the 1950's the Soviet weight lifting team started to dominate their American counterparts. The coach of the Amercian team, Bob Hoffman, was furious at this and though he smelled a rat. He had one of his doctors investigate to learn what the Soviets were doing. Soon enough, he had his answer. The Soviets were doing two things:

1 - They were training with a new German Technique called "Functional Isometrics"
2 - They were taking steroids.

What comes next is interesting. Instead of blowing the whistle on steroid abuse, Hoffman had his doctor develop better steroids for use with his weight lifters! He didn't even tell his athletes what he was doing. When asked, the weight lifters were told they were getting vitamin B-12 injections. Soon enough, the Americans started to dominate the weight lifting events again. When asked how this was possible, Hoffman replied that they were using a new system of isometric training. It was partly true, but it wasn't the whole story.

As steroid use began to spread through the athletic world, many of the athletes adopted Hoffman's line. How have I improved so much? Isometrics! When the truth came out (like it always does) that steroids were being used, isometric training, Which does work, became tarred with the same brush. It fell out of favor and was largely forgotten.

Nonetheless, the truth remains, isometric training does work. If you are looking for an exercise system that sculpts your body and builds strength in the quickest time possible, you might want to give isometric exercises a try.