Planks

“It doesn’t have to be complicated: you’ve probably already been doing isometric training without realising,” Miller explains.

Think: planks, side planks, or anything where you’re not moving but muscle is contracting and holding one position is isometric training.

“Isometric exercise is often about finding your sticking point,” she continues. “For example, if you’re finding it hard to move fully through a press-up, you could do an isometric hold at the bottom of the move. It’s the same with weighted moves when we do pause reps. For example, you might hold at the bottom of a back squat for a few seconds before you come out.”

Holding

Obayuvana flags the following moves:

Wall sit
Squat hold
Lower press-up hold (holding an inch off the floor)

“You can also utilise isometric training by statically pushing or pulling. For example, if there’s a deadlift bar that’s too heavy to lift you can pull against it and it will work the muscles even if it’s not coming up off the floor,” Obayuvana explains.

What is isometric exercise? Fitness trainers explain the benefits of static training