Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

isometrics

 
Dictionary: i·so·met·rics   (ī'sə-mĕt'rĭks) pronunciation
n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
Exercise or a system of exercises in which isometric muscular contraction is used to strengthen and tone muscles, performed by the exertion of effort against resistance, usually of a stationary object.


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
World of the Body: isometrics
Top

A form of strength training in which muscles are contracted strongly without producing significant movement, by opposing themselves against a fixed object or, more commonly, the same action of the opposite limb or the antagonist muscles of the same limb. The term is derived from the muscle physiologist's adjective, ‘isometric’, describing a contraction in which the muscle does not change length. Contrast ‘isotonics’ and ‘isokinetics’: both of these develop strength over the whole range of joint angles, which isometrics cannot do.

— Neil C. Spurway

Food and Fitness: isometrics
Top

Exercises in which muscle tension is produced without moving a joint (for example, when pushing against an immovable object). Isometric exercises (figure 34) produce good strength gains at the specific angle of contraction. Best results are obtained when maximal contractions are held for about 5 seconds or longer. These exercises have the advantage that they can be performed almost anywhere, anytime. However, they do little for cardiovascular fitness. In fact, such exercises are inadvisable for people with heart disease because isometrics increase the pressure within the abdomen, raise the blood pressure, and put the heart under stress.

Figure 34 Isometrics. Two simple exercises
Figure 34 Isometrics. Two simple exercises

Translations: Isometrics
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. pl. - isometrier

Nederlands (Dutch)
oefeningen waarin spieren tegen elkaar of tegen voorwerp werken

Français (French)
n. pl. - exercices musculaires isométriques

Deutsch (German)
n. pl. - isometrisches Muskeltraining

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. pl. - ισομετρική γυμναστική

Italiano (Italian)
isometrica

Português (Portuguese)
n. pl. - exercício (m) isométrico

Русский (Russian)
статические упражнения для укрепления мышц

Español (Spanish)
n. pl. - isométrica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. pl. - isometrisk träning (fysiol.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
定肌收缩运动

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. pl. - 定肌收縮運動
n. - 定肌收縮運動

한국어 (Korean)
n. pl. - 등척 운동
n. - 등척 운동

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 等尺運動, アイソメトリックス

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الجمع) رسومات أو مجسمات متساويه الأبعاد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שיטת אימון שרירים בה מופעל כח כנגד גוף קבוע‬


 
 
Learn More
Gilad: Ultimate Body Sculpt - Power and Grace (2006 Health & Fitness Film)
abdominal contraction
Ultimate Fitness for Martial Arts (2007 Health & Fitness Film)

Is a rotation an isometric? Read answer...
What is an isometric contraction? Read answer...
What are isometric lines? Read answer...

Help us answer these
What is an isometric design?
Examples of isometric?
How do you draw isometrically?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
World of the Body. The Oxford Companion to the Body. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Fitness. Food and Fitness: A Dictionary of Diet and Exercise. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more