“…short duration maximal contraction method seems to be a more time efficient method as compared to submaximal contraction method of varying duration.” Lum & Barbosa (2019) What Joint Angle? The specificity of the EST group was such to improve explosive force production over a very short time period, whereas MST elicited maximal force gain. 11%, respectively) but early phase explosive force (at 100 ms) increased following EST (16%) and not in the MST group. The instruction “hard and as fast as possible” cues participants to rapidly activate the musculature and thus recruit the fast twitch units from the off.Īfter training, the strength increases were greater in the MST compared to the EST group (21% vs. Participants were instructed to: contract as fast and hard as possible for ~1 s (EST) or contract progressively up to 75 % MVC and hold for 3 s (MST). Participants either completed either MST (maximal strength training) or EST (explosive strength training) for 4 weeks. Tillin & Folland (2014) trained two groups of males. The principle of specificity is nicely illustrated in isometric training in a paper by a former colleague & co author. Think about the specificity of the training stimulus – would a low intensity sustained muscle endurance type protocol promote optimal strength gains …? Indeed I’d go as far to suggest 3-5s contractions at 100% MVC Therefore, opting for high-intensity (>70% MVC), short duration contractions (<10 seconds) are likely to elicit good strength gains. 2004), and thus the potential to hold for longer before fatigue sets in, we still need to optimise recruitment from the fast twitch motor unit pool to achieve the best strength gains. Whilst there might be a slightly reduced metabolic demand during isometric compared to concentric contractions (Beltman et al. lower intensity – remember the optimal range for strength is 3-5RM ( see here for a post on this topic). Look at the studies and you might get a decent response at 70% MVC, but the generally the greater the intensity, the greater the strength gain.ĭuring dynamic resistance training programmes, higher intensity contractions promote greater gains in muscle strength vs. As such 50% of maximal isn’t going to cut it. To what level (% of maximum) should we activate the musculature? Again, we want to as much as possible activate the fast twitch capacity of the muscle. If we think about energy systems and reflect on sustained MVC (maximal voluntary contraction) data, the length of the contraction should be less than 10s, which brings me to intensity. Remember the characteristics of fast twitch fibres? Yup, they’re fatiguable! If we want to optimise strength development … we want to optimise fast twitch muscle fibre / motor unit recruitment. Usually anywhere from 10 second upwards and often without much about intensity.
![static isometric exercises static isometric exercises](https://betterme.world/articles/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/shutterstock_1745073035.jpg)
Take to Google for this and you’ll get all sorts of answers. Optimally Dosing Isometrics: How Long, What Intensity? Furthermore, isometric training can be effective in effecting change in muscle size – hypertrophy. But as a modality to promote strength gain, there’s lots of evidence. So, in the absence of access to resistance equipment and closure of gyms is it worth thinking about isometric training? Bottom line, yes! I say yes with a caveat, we need to ensure the dose is right. However, let’s not be pedantic, the term isometric is commonly used, let’s define it as where ‘no appreciable external movement occurs’. I prefer to use the word ‘static’ to describe these muscle contractions.
![static isometric exercises static isometric exercises](https://assets.gqindia.com/photos/611fa5aa3c2393622e230a45/master/pass/isometric-exercises.jpg)
![static isometric exercises static isometric exercises](https://slidetodoc.com/presentation_image_h/8bbed805f51a161e49b191c85b0e4771/image-19.jpg)
Sometimes you don’t even need imaging to see it. We’re saying that during isometric muscle activation, there’s no change in muscle length….when in fact there is. “Relating to or denoting muscular action in which tension is developed without contraction of the muscle.” (contraction here means muscle shortening) Look it up in the dictionary and you’ll see something like: Why, isometric basically means same length. So, I have a little issue with the term isometric. In fact more so over the past couple of months, probably as we’re limited in what we can do to load musculature and create adaptations. One thing that tends to crop up frequently is the topic of isometric muscle contractions. What to focus on today? Well as you can tell from the title it’s Isometrics Isometrics For Strength Training Good or Bad ? I’m really fortunate to receive e-mails every day from therapists from around the globe asking me questions about strength and conditioning, and I’m delighted to answer them.
![static isometric exercises static isometric exercises](https://www.triathlete.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/shutterstock_439173466.jpg)
Hello all and welcome to post 46 of Strength & Conditioning For Therapists.