Is it possible to exercise without moving?
Try getting into the final position of a squat, as if you were freezing. Does it seem easy to you? Hold this position for 30 seconds. You probably won't feel anything at first, but over time your legs and buttocks will notice and, if you do it long enough, you'll even feel sore. That is the challenge posed by isometric exercises, which consist of activating the muscles while maintaining a specific and fixed posture for a certain time. In other words, your muscles work but remain motionless.
“These exercises tighten or contract a muscle or several groups of them, so they help maintain strength in a specific area. During isometric exercises the muscle does not change noticeably in length. Furthermore, the joint that participates in the exercise does not move,” Gonzalo Martínez, coach at the Reto 48 training center, explains to La Vanguardia.
When we talk about static movements, we mean that neither the angle of your joints nor the length of your muscles vary during the exercise, unlike in isotonic exercises (those where you move weights), in which the angles of the joints and the length of the muscles change as you perform concentric and eccentric movements in each repetition, points out David Blázquez, fitness coordinator at the Metropolitan Galileo club.
Some examples of isometric exercises are planks, wall squats, or isometric holds. But these not only allow us to strengthen our muscles, but also help us improve stability and balance, and contribute to the rehabilitation of certain injuries, says Paula Vercauteren, fitness content specialist at Basic-Fit International gyms. “For example, if you are recovering from a shoulder injury, isometric exercises will help you stabilize and strengthen the area in that area, reducing recovery times,” adds Blázquez.
Isometric training increases muscle strength because it activates practically all the motor units of the muscle that are responsible for sending a stimulus to the muscles to carry out the contraction. The greater the number of active muscle fibers and filaments, we will generate more strength, Martínez explains. “In addition, it will help us progress in certain exercises to gain greater resistance and speed,” adds the coach.
There is a long list of benefits that the integration of isometric exercises into our training routine provides. A recent study by the universities of Canterbury Christchurch and Leicester (with more than 15,000 participants) found that isometric exercises are effective in reducing blood pressure, for the reason that they help to better regulate blood flow in the long term. "In fact, other research has also been able to show that even this training has an analgesic benefit in patients with pain," adds Martínez.
But there is more. According to Blázquez, isometric exercises prevent age-related muscle loss: “as muscles age they lose mobility and flexibility, they take longer to recover, in addition to having a less toned appearance, especially after 40, Hence, isometric exercises can be the best allies to delay these effects,” says the Metropolitan Galileo expert.
It is also a safe way to exercise. The reason? By eliminating joint movement during the exercise (isometric), the possibility of injury is drastically reduced by avoiding a possible bad gesture. Isometric exercises provide a source of strength training without the impact that more complex exercises may require, Blázquez emphasizes.
This type of exercise can be used whether you are a beginner or whether you have an intermediate or advanced level. And even more so if now after the holidays you are looking to exercise your body. Of course, specialists warn, the fact that there is no movement or that they seem easy to do does not mean that they are easy: we must remember that the body challenges itself, works and is pushed to the maximum point to maintain the posture or the effort more time.
And although when we work on isometric exercises we seek to give that extra or that specific effort at that moment, it is important to clarify that we cannot work on an isometric only session if our goal is weight loss or muscle mass gain, for example, Martínez clarifies. “We must also continue working on other exercises, since we indirectly work muscles in isometry. They could very well be added to our overall training routines,” suggests the Reto 48 coach.
They can also be incorporated into any training routine to complete dynamic exercises, adds Vercauteren. Likewise, Blázquez recommends them as a good complement to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), since it helps strengthen the joints.
Studies say that the ideal is to perform these exercises three times a week. We point out some examples that you can very well incorporate as part of your weekly training:
Apply these basic movements suggested by Reto 48:
1.Forearm plank
The isometric abdominal plank is the most popular. Lie face down, keeping your body completely straight. The only points of support with the ground will be the balls of your feet and your hands or elbows. Throughout the entire duration of the exercise, keep your body straight. To achieve this, contract your abdominal wall as it will help you avoid arching your back. Precisely the abdominal part is what we are going to work with this exercise.
Tips: If you support your palms and stretch your arms and toes, the exercise will be more difficult. If, on the other hand, you support your elbows and knees, the exercise will be easier and it is a good way to start doing it.
2.Side plank
It is a variation of the traditional iron. The methodology is the same, only this time we are going to stand sideways. The support points will be the elbow and forearm on the side that is closest to the ground, and the foot that is glued to the ground. In this posture what we will do, through the action of the core, is keep the body straight in its entirety. Both legs must remain completely together and the arm that is not resting on the ground is going to be placed parallel to the trunk.
3.Isometric push-ups
We are going to change muscle groups, specifically we are going to stop at the chest. The placement is similar to conventional push-ups or dips. That is, looking at the ground with the body straight and supported by the tips of the feet and the palms of the hands. On this occasion, instead of raising and lowering, what we will do is place our arms slightly farther apart than shoulder width apart and rise a little more than halfway. In this position we will remain still, keeping our body straight. This exercise will directly affect the pectoral muscles.
Also add these movements suggested by Basic-Fit and Metropolitan Galileo:
4. Lunge or static stride
Step forward with one foot and lower your body until both knees form a 90-degree angle. Hold this position for a certain amount of time.
5.Wall squat
Stand with your back against a wall and lower yourself into a sitting position as if you were in an invisible chair. Stay still in this position with your thighs parallel to the floor for a certain amount of time to achieve high tension in this part of the body.
6.Classic squat
Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Perform a triple flexion of the hips, knees and ankles simultaneously, performing a movement similar to sitting in a chair. Keep your spine erect, your knees aligned with your hips and ankles, avoiding them coming together, and look forward. Maintain abdominal tension while performing the exercise. Squats and all their variants are a very complete exercise, which allows you to tone the leg muscles globally, and which always involves the stabilizing muscles (core) and even the cardiovascular system.
What not to do? It is not necessary to go down to the ground. It is recommended to at least reach 90º hip and knee flexion. Likewise, you should avoid taking off your heels. Raising the heels is a clear sign that we are unconsciously carrying the weight excessively forward, this increases joint tension on the knees and muscle tension on the soleus and gastrocnemius, increasing a possible risk of injury. And we must avoid bringing our feet together or separating them too much as well as leaning forward.
Tip: This exercise can be performed simply using your own body weight or using specific materials such as weights and bars.
7.Hip bridge
Lying on the floor in a supine position (face up), we bend our knees until we place the soles of our feet a hand's breadth away from our buttocks. Next, we must raise the hips until the shoulders are aligned with the hips and the knees forming a diagonal. Once we are accustomed to this exercise without external load, we can begin to incorporate external elements that increase its intensity, a kettlebell, a disc, a dumbbell... This exercise allows us to work the glutes (especially the gluteus maximus area and the hamstrings), posterior area of the legs, and in the background abdominals and core.
What not to do? The feet should not be misaligned, both should maintain a distance in line with our hips. It is essential to place the soles of our feet a hand's breadth away from our buttocks, because the closer they are, the more the movement is challenged, thus favoring its execution. Also avoid closing your knees as this will make it difficult to lift your hips. And remember to contract the abdominals and glutes when lifting the hips, since by contracting the abdominals we protect our lumbar area, and in the case of the glutes, with their contraction we facilitate the elevation of the pelvic area, leading to alignment. and maintain the ideal position to better work this body area.
Tip: Once this floor technique has been mastered, an ideal option is to intensify these hip lifts even more. To do this, you will need a bench or specific equipment to support your back. The starting position is stretched face up with scapular support on the bench or specific equipment, align the knees (flexed) with the hips and shoulders, soles of the feet with good support on the ground. Finally, and with the weight above our hips, we perform an extension to lift the weight.
