I also tend to workout alone and have to plan around not having a spotter. I personally change up my routine fairly regularly because I get bored extremely easily. Your body weight doesn’t dramatically change while you’re running and it is a repetitious expansion and contraction. It bears noting that while when we think of isotonic exercises it’s the strength training workouts that come to mind, but pretty much all cardio falls under the banner of isotonic as well.
Interchange any pronouns you necessary to make the preceding examples apply to you. But this isn’t about him it’s about your legs!). Gals, instead of doing squats in front of that dude with the cool tattoos, try some lunges (though, now that I mention it he’d probably enjoy the squats more. Guys, instead of showing off for that one girl who comes to the gym every Tuesday with some bicep curls, wow her with some deadlifts (you know, or just let her do her thing, your call). Get off the bench press once in a while and work on the butterfly machine. The change could be as minute as adding more weight or doing more reps, but ideally the more you change it up the better it will be for you. Granted they don’t get any weaker, but they do stop getting stronger and really, what’s the point in working out if you aren’t going to get any stronger. If you keep teaching them the same thing over and over again, eventually they learn it, get bored and start slacking off in class. Like I said before working it out is literally training your muscles. Another key to isotonic training is to change it up fairly regularly. Doing one push-up isn’t going to make you swole, doing one sit-up isn’t going to give you abs (actually doing sit-ups at all, while great for strengthening your core, won’t necessarily give you abs at all, it’s more of a body mass body fat ratio thing, site targeted weight loss is a common misconception that isn’t actually a thing…but you get my point).
The key with all isotonic exercises is repetition. Push-ups, Sit-ups, Squats, Bench-press, Leg-press, essentially if it has the words ups or press in the name it’s an isotonic workout. Isotonic Exercise ExamplesĪs previously stated, most of the exercises you think of when you think of working out are isotonic. If your form is poor it can throw your body out of whack causing serious injury. When you work out you are quite literally training your muscles to be able to do things they couldn’t or didn’t do before. Doing incorrect motions or holding incorrect positions can be anywhere from ineffective to downright damaging. However, in both cases form is paramount. Many of them don’t require the aide of another person. Isometric exercises are what you’re doing when you do yoga, Pilates and some forms of martial arts.īoth of these forms of exercise are beneficial in that neither of them require any other equipment to perform. In a lot of ways isotonic exercises are about strength and power while isometrics is about strength and stamina and endurance. A push-up is isotonic and a plank is isometric. So the main difference between the two is movement. Isotonic comes from Ancient Greek and effectively translates to ‘same tension’.
When people think of exercise they are almost universally thinking about isotonic workouts. The next time someone tries to call you a meathead, drop some knowledge on them (frankly non-exercise related knowledge would probably go farther in conveying your point, but they’ll probably be impressed by this nonetheless).
This is however, the right place to learn the science behind what you’ve been doing all along (if you don’t know it already (no assumptions)). Unfortunately if you’re looking for something new you’ve come to the wrong place. The point being that there is more to working out than picking up and putting down heavy objects, even if that is an undeniably big part of it. The best way to see gains isn’t to work harder, it’s to work smarter…then work harder. Because of this knowledge, you that that there’s more to fitness than lacing up some Nike’s and just doing it.
EXAMPLES OF ISOMETRIC EXERCISES FREE
You’ve done it all before weights, free weights, body weight. Or perhaps you’re already in shape and you’re looking for a new way to maximize your workout. It should clear out by President’s day, leaving you plenty of time to get ready for the summer. Before I explain what isotonic exercise is, let me say this… It’s time to get in shape! The gym might be a little crowded this time of year.