5 Reasons Why Men Over 40 Should Train With Isometrics

Isometric training may be one of the best options for men over 40 to improve important markers of health for longevity, like strength, muscle, and coordination.

Isometrics are exercises that contract the muscle without any dynamic joint movement. Also called static holds, isometrics demand you hold a position without moving while squeezing your muscles near maximum.

An example would be holding the mid point of a squat or pushing against a wall as hard as possible.

There are also two main types of isometric exercise; yielding and overcoming.

Yielding isometrics involves holding a position or weight while resisting gravity, like holding a dumbbell straight out at shoulder level for time.

Overcoming isometrics involve contracting against an immovable object, like pushing up on a door frame as hard as you can.

Both are valuable for men over 40 looking to build functional strength and muscle for longevity, and here are the top reasons why.

1. The Best Method For Building Strength

Strength is one of the most important qualities to maintain as we age. Strength training helps maintain muscle mass, preserves bone density, and makes you more resilient against dynamic forces like trips and falls.

Thanks to the scientific law of the force-velocity relationship, the more force a muscle produces, the slower it has to move. In other words, your muscles can produce the most force when they are static and joints are not moving.

Any movement immediately reduces the amount of force your muscles can make.

Which is why isometric exercise is the best way to build strength, because strength is directly related to the amount of force you can produce.

This means isometrics are actually better for building strength than conventional dynamic weightlifting, like barbell and dumbbell exercises.

More force, more strength.

2. Improved Neuromuscular Efficiency

The fancy term of neuromuscular efficiency simply means your nervous system’s ability to effectively recruit and activate muscle fibers to perform movements.

It’s also called the “mind-muscle connection,” and isometric training is the best way to improve this connection.

The ability of your brain to activate more muscle fibers means more strength, speed, and coordination.

By maximally contracting your muscles, you can activate neural pathways for better communication between your muscles and your brain.

This means more strength, better movement, better body awareness, and better resilience.

3. Less Risk of Injury & Reduced Chronic Pain

Injuries occur when muscles, bones, and ligaments are exposed to forces that exceed their capacity.

These forces can come externally in the form of load and/or momentum.

Isometric forces are produced internally with no momentum, significantly reducing the risk of injury.

So, you can dramatically reduce your chances of injury by holding static contractions instead of moving weight dynamically.

Plus, much of the “wear & tear” that comes from years of weightlifting is eliminated and even healed with isometric exercise.

Wear and tear comes from mechanical abrasion of the joints, or friction of the bones, tendons, and ligaments rubbing from dynamic movement.

By holding positions statically, the wear and tear is eliminated, and even healed, as isometrics have been shown to reduce chronic pain in joints.

Tendons and ligaments are also strengthened during isometric training, meaning more resilient joints, less chronic pain, and better injury resilience.

You can get all of your strength, muscle, and performance benefits with isometrics without the risk of injury or pain.

4. Bigger Muscles

Isometrics have been shown to build muscle as effectively as dynamic exercise.

Muscle growth is a result of muscular fatigue, or how tired your muscles get after an exercise.

And muscular fatigue is a direct result of sustained muscular force for time.

This is also knows as time under tension, and there is no better way to fatigue a muscle than contracting it continuously for time.

In dynamic training there are interruptions between the concentric and eccentric contractions, allowing small variations in the time under tension.

With isometric training, the tension remains constant throughout the entire time of the exercise.

This means more fatigue and bigger muscles.

5. Get More Gains In Less Time

Isometrics are also the most efficient way to train your muscles, making them the best option for quick workouts.

Because isometric contractions fatigue the muscles without pauses like dynamic exercise, there is no wasted time during a set.

Dynamic exercise, although effective, must make up for these dips in muscle contraction by adding reps and sets.

There is no wasted time during a rep of isometric exercise, which means you can fatigue a muscle more quickly.

You can get a complete total body isometric workout finished in just 10 minutes.

Plus, you can train isometrics more frequently than dynamic exercise because there is less microtrauma to the muscles, and therefore less soreness.

Isometrics are the ultimate, minimalist, time-saving workout.

Final Thoughts

Isometric training is a superior option for almost anyone looking to add strength, muscle, and resilience, but especially for those over 40.

As the consequences of injury multiply as we get older, having a method that dramatically reduces the risk of injury is a valuable tool to have.

That, in combination with the fact that isometrics are the best method for building strength, which is essential for longevity, makes them the best choice for older individuals.

Plus, they can heal banged up old joints while also saving time for those of us with busy schedules.

Learn how to train with and program isometrics here.