Why isometric exercises are good for you

Exercise is good for improving heart health. But the thought of hitting the gym or running can put some people off. And, if you already have a heart condition, such vigorous exercise may not be safe to do.

The good news is, you don’t have to exercise vigorously to see cardiovascular benefits. You can even improve your heart health by holding back and trying hard not to move.

Isometric training, as it is called, is becoming more and more popular as a way to reduce blood pressure and blood pressure, and to improve muscle strength and stability.

Normally, to build strength and power, our muscles need to change length throughout the movement. Squats and bicep curls are good examples of exercises that cause the muscles to change length throughout the movement.

But isometric training involves only contracting your muscles, which produces force without needing to move your joints. The tighter the muscles are, the stronger they are (and the stronger the muscles, the more powerfully we can move).

If you add weight to an isometric exercise, it causes the muscles to contract even more. The bench press and plank are examples of isometric contractions.

Isometric exercises are associated with a high degree of “neural recruitment”, due to the need to maintain the contract. This means that this exercise is effective in attracting specific neurons in our brain and spinal cord, which play an important role in all the movements we make – voluntary and involuntary. The greater this level of nerve activity, the more muscle fibers are recruited – and the more force produced. As a result, this can lead to gaining strength.

Isometric exercises have been of interest to strength and power athletes as a way to prepare their muscles to produce high power by activating them. But research also shows that isometric exercises are good for other areas of our health – including lowering blood pressure and promoting good blood circulation.

There are several reasons why isometric exercise is so good for the heart.

When a muscle is involved, it expands its size. This causes it to compress the blood vessels that supply these muscles, reducing blood flow and raising the blood pressure in our veins – a mechanism known as the “pressor reflex”.

Then, once the contraction is relaxed, blood flow suddenly flows through the blood vessels and muscles. This blood flow brings more oxygen and (hardly) nitric oxide to the blood vessels – causing them to dilate. This also reduces blood pressure. Over time, this action will reduce the stiffness of the blood vessels, which can lower blood pressure.

When blood flow decreases during isometric movement, it also decreases the amount of available oxygen that the cells need to function. This causes the release of metabolites, such as hydrogen ions and lactate, which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system – which controls our “fight-flight” response. In the short term, this leads to an increase in blood pressure.

But when isometric exercises are done repeatedly for many weeks, there is a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This means that blood pressure is lowered and there is less stress on the cardiovascular system – which makes this exercise good for the heart.

Isometric exercise may be even more beneficial for heart health than other types of cardio exercise. A study that compared the benefits of isometric exercise against high-intensity training found isometrics led to a significant reduction in resting blood pressure during the study period between two and 12 weeks.

How to use isometric exercises

If you want to use isometric training to reduce blood pressure, it is recommended that you do any isometric resistance for two minutes around 30-50% of your maximum effort. This is enough to start physical development.

You can start by doing this four times a day, three to five times a week – focusing on the same exercise. As you progress, you can begin to vary the exercises you do, add weight to the exercises, or add more than one isometric exercise.

Some good isometric exercises to start with include the static squat, wall bench or plank. Even during this small amount of exercise, your heart rate, breathing and blood pressure will increase – the same responses that occur during regular full-body exercise, such as cycling and running.

Beneficial improvements in blood pressure begin to be seen 4-10 weeks after starting isometric training – although this depends on the person’s health and fitness level at the start.

Isometric training appears to be an easy, low-impact form of exercise that offers great benefits for cardiovascular health — all while requiring a small time commitment compared to other exercises.