Isometric Holds: The game changer

Introduction

You’ve probably noticed that there are parts of certain movements where you suddenly feel weak.
The bottom of your squat. Somewhere in the middle of a pull-up. Or overhead position that feels weak.

You’ve tried different ways to fix it, but nothing really changed.
So let’s take a more surgical approach: isometric holds.

Thanks for reading Mobility under a Minute! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What is it?

First thing to know is that we split movements in 3 parts: concentric, eccentrics and isometrics.

• The concentric part is when the muscle gets shorter → think going up
• The eccentric part is when muscle is stretching → think going down
• The isometric is when it is not moving → think holding still

The 3 methods of contraction are very useful in training and being specific can lead to amazing results.

Today we’re focusing on that third one: holding the position and creating force without moving.

Why is it interesting?

Isometrics have mulitple benefit in rehab, especially for tendinopathies (more on that another day). But for strength and mobility, they’re just as useful!

Instead of trying to get stronger everywhere, we go straight to the exact spot where we’re weak.
We don’t train the whole lift, we train the part that limits everything else.

You’re as strong as your weakest link

How to do it?

We want to use more weights that we can handle or even an unmovable object.

We want to get in that weak position, and start to apply force as if we wanted to move. As the object is very heavy it’s not gonna move at all, which will result in no movement during the contraction hence isometrics.

Isometric contractions are very useful because they mimic maximal effort contractions, with very low risk.

How to integrate it in your training:

A simple template to start with:

• 5-10 seconds per contraction
• 3-5 reps
• 2-4 sets

Here’s an example is the case of mobility development.