isometrics

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isometrics 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

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