5 Isometric Exercises to Help Build Strength and Balance

When was the last time you did isometric exercises? If never is your answer (although you've likely done them before without knowing it), then it's time for a change. Isometric exercises can be key to boosting your fitness as well as helping improve normal functioning and movement in everyday life.

First, it helps to understand what isometric means. If you consult Webster's Dictionary, you'll find this definition: "Of, relating to, involving, or being muscular contraction against resistance, without significant shortening of muscle fibers, and with marked increase in muscle tone." Here's a simpler way to explain it. "It's a muscle contraction where the length of the muscle is relatively unchanged," says Mike Ranfone, CSCS, certified trainer and founder of Ranfone Training Systems and Ranfone Personal Consulting in Hamden, Conn.

In other words, isometric movement involves either holding a certain position of an exercise (e.g., trying not to lower a weight), or pushing against an immovable object (e.g., pressing against the floor in a glute bridge). This type of exercise works very particular muscles without actually changing the length of the muscle and without moving the surrounding joints.

It's very possible that you've already been doing isometric exercises without knowing it, as common isometric exercises include familiar moves like planks, wall sits, and glute bridges. "For the most part, they're a safe and effective training stimulus, especially if you're undertrained, older, or injured," Ranfone says. On the flip side, "they can also be used with advanced athletes looking to maximize results."

Numerous reasons should prompt you to add isometrics into your weekly activity, regardless of your age or fitness level. For starters, isometric exercises can enhance sensory-motor feedback, he says, which means you'll improve the connection between your mind and muscles. Isometric exercises can also aid with muscle damage you may have incurred from your fitness program, making it an effective solution for recovery and restoration. In fact, if you have issues with irritated joints, isometric exercises can help reduce what's called joint shear forces, essentially wear and tear. This is especially beneficial if you have acute or chronic issues like arthritis, Ranfone says. What's more, they can offer variety not only for the body, but also the mind. "Isometric training checks a lot of boxes physiologically and, maybe even more importantly, psychologically, for those looking to break up the monotony and discover some novel challenges without compromising results," Ranfone says.

If you're already doing traditional strength training workouts, you can easily add isometrics without changing the exercises. Ranfone does note, however, that because isometric exercises are more fatiguing, you'll need to decrease the weight you're using.

Below are five exercises with isometric variations. If you already know and do these moves, incorporate the variations (i.e., the part where you hold the exercise in a certain position) so you can benefit from isometric training, Ranfone says. Or complete all five moves in one workout, repeating each one once or twice.