It trains your muscles to withstand tension (read: hard effort) mile after mile.

Muscular endurance is the key to helping you go the distance on your runs without breaking form or getting too fatigued. “That constant tension on the muscle can help improve muscle endurance and strength.” “ help build muscle because you’re performing a static exercise that requires the muscle to hold a certain position over a period of time,” Elbaz explains. This can help you build foundational strength for running, Elbaz says. They build muscular enduranceĪlthough your muscles aren’t lengthening or shortening during isometric exercise, they are still firing.

In fact, we have plenty of reasons why you should add them to your workout ASAP. Isometric exercises don’t involve intense movement, but that doesn’t mean they’re easier or less effective than other types of exercise. But after you lower down and before you stand back up, that’s the isometric hold.ĥ Lower Leg Exercises to Prevent Shin Splints 5 Benefits of Isometric Exercises When you push off of your front foot to stand back up, that’s the concentric phase. The isometric phase is the middle phase-after your muscle contracts but before it lengthens, says Jacqueline Elbaz, a NASM-certified personal trainer and USA Track & Field coach.įor example, when you’re doing a lunge, the eccentric phase is when you’re bending your knees and lowering your back knee toward the ground. When performing an exercise, there are three different phases: concentric (shortening), isometric, and eccentric (lengthening). When you’re holding a plank, for example, you’re firing your core to stabilize your body and squeezing your glutes and quads to enlist the lower body-but you aren’t moving, say, your arms or legs. Isometric exercises contract a muscle or group of muscles without changing length or altering the position of the joint (think: plank, wall sit, or hollow-body hold). → Join Runner’s World+ today for exclusive access to more muscle-building, injury-preventing training advice like this! So, how can exercises that require you to just hold still help you run faster and longer? Read on to learn everything you need to know about isometrics, including benefits, the best isometric exercises for runners, and how to incorporate them into your workout routine. That’s right, they simply require you to stay steady instead-and those types of moves are called isometric exercises.

After all, running itself is a dynamic sport that involves plenty of arm and leg coordination.īut some of the best performance-boosting exercises for runners don’t really involve movement at all. From squat jumps to snatches, you’d think that all you really need in your strength-training script to power your runs are exercises that require your muscles to move.

When to use isometric exercises