Balance and variety are, as always, the best way. Isotonic exercises are the exact opposite of isometric exercises. A good example of a patient who would use isometric exercises is a patient with arthritis that has limited range-of-motion due to joint pain.

Plus, it will also help work your muscles in ways you might not experience if you solely perform one exercise type or the other. Isometric exercises can be used all over the body for many ailments to maintain muscle strength and stability. In any case, mixing the two will make your workouts less boring. Isotonic offers a wider range of workouts, targets all major muscle groups, pumps more blood around the body (which boosts muscular endurance), and needs fewer repetitions. While most of the class will be spent performing isotonic exercises, isometric elements come in as you hold each pose. Isometric exercise helps you attain maximum muscle contractions and is perfect if you’re in rehabilitation following an injury. Exercises such as sit-ups, weight lifting, and squats involve isotonic contraction of the muscles. And while isotonic is clearly the best exercise to help you build bigger stronger muscles, it’s most effective when combined with isometric exercise.Ī good example where both forms of exercise go hand-in-hand is yoga - here’s a yoga tone workout to prove it. Isotonic exercises are more vigorous and burn calories faster. Isometric exercise helps you attain maximum muscle contractions and is perfect if you’re in rehabilitation following an injury. That depends on what you need from exercise.

SO WHICH IS BETTER: ISOMETRIC VS ISOTONIC EXERCISE?

Isometric exercises vs isotonic