Just wanted to tap in MAP fitness experts' great big vault of knowledge to get some info on this, some sources said isometric exercises r good while some say they be bad........can anyone give me a good overview on them? |Cain|
Every exercise has it's use. For example you wouldn't use a powerlifting routine for tennis right? What did you want to use the isometrics for?
I heard that they are excellent for increasing punching power and even for stretching, but somewhere I read that they are not good for ppl unger 20 yrs old, also that they r for increasing the strength of the joints n muscles........but somewhere I again read that they r no good that they are like those 5 min exersices u see on tv........can anyone enlighten me on this? |Cain|
My understanding ( and I may be wrong) is that isometrics are exercises where you resist the muscle with your own body/flexing. I USED to use them in the mornings to get the juices going and they did that quite well. The exercises would involve either flexing and holding a muscle or pulling against it with another (ie. flexing your arm while pulling against it with your other. As far as them being no good, I don't know and I am not sure most people really do. Different exercises are the constant subject of debate. It could go on like the debate of weight lifting for MA's for example. Some say it shouldn't be done, others say you are a fool if you don't. Try them out, see how they work for you and make your decision.
Hopefully I can give you a little bit more insight, but once again I could be wrong and I'm sure some of the more knowledgable people here will correct me when I'm wrong. Isometric exersizes help with strengthening the tendons which are useful for gaining power and stability. Use punching as an example... If you try to apply the movement of your punch to some type of lifting movement you could probably apply it to bench press (i.e. training your pectoral (chest) muscles but this would be incorrect. Ignoring all the other factors much of the strength in your punch comes from your back. Put your fist on the wall, with your arm almost fully extended and put some pressure in. Which muscles are you using? Not your chest. And this is isometric training, hold the position for a minute or so and then move on to something else... This can be applied to kicks and other strikes. (Now I'm going to say something that I'm not sure I agree with!) When you strike you want to eliminate muscular tension until the last moment (thus increasing your speed). Using isometric training should help you to increase the amount of power you can add at the end of the movement. Is it good?...Yes, I believe so. Is it the most effective way to acheive the required outcome?...Not sure, starting to believe maybe it isn't.
Hi, Well I haven't ever heard of Isometric exercises being bad for you. I think the debate is over exactly just how valuable they are. Its like all things in the martial arts they go through trendy periods and then drop out again. Quite often isometric exercises are used to assist people with muscle injuries like rotator cuffs and that sort of thing... and friend of mine has a list of them to try and rebuild the strength in one of his shoulders after stupidly continuing to train for a year after injuring his shoulder - thought he could tough it out. Now he cant train at all! Anyway, like I say I haven't ever heard of them being bad but I might be wrong. As for not doing them before you are 20 I can't imagine a reason why as you are exercising against you own body strength and therefore unlikely to be able to hurt yourself... although I do remember a story about a guy at one of the kung-fu clubs I used to go to who supposedly gave himself a hernia due to the strain... but this could have been just a story as we used to make them up all the time to get on his ****. A book that I have that has plenty of exercises is: Dynamic Strength H Y Wong Paperback - 134 pages (1 January, 1990) Unique Pubns, US; ISBN: 0865680132 Available from pretty much every martial arts bookshop and Amazon. I've had it for years and never really gotten around to sorting out a routine or a time to add it into my schedule. Obvious advantages that spring to mind are that you don't need equipment and you can therefore do it at any time and any place. Great if you're travelling alot or have no weights at home. I think there are some exercises that people are using to combat day-long stints in an office chair also... Again as binski20 said try them out and see how they work for you. Might be best if done in conjunction with a bodywight routine too. Thinking about it are you sure it wasn't Plyometric exercises that you weren't told to steer clear of? I seem to remember Yoda saying that a Plyometric regime wasn't necessary until certain weight training goals had been met...
Thanx for the info guys I will look into that book which dredleviathan suggested, I will try them to see how they work for me.......I was just a little jittery about trying them because of the warnings. |Cain|
when u get up in morning don't u do that stretch which feels soooooooooo damn good...it's isometric... it didn't hurt u, me or anyone else for that matter.. -TkdWarrior-
For me isometrics has been very useful in increasing my mobillity of the use of my legs at height. There's fantastic books about this by Thomas Kurz http://www.stadion.com/author_kurz.html
he's the man i really liked his articles, used to do the kind of training he talked about... -TkdWarrior-
What? We're all in agreement... no nay-sayers!!?? Gotta be a first - can we archive this? Of course I forgot to mention that I thoroughly endorse Isomaterically exercising until you pass out... preferably from a great height or onto broken glass... purely to make it street applicable...
