"Isometric exercises are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction." That is Wikipedia's way of telling you that during an isometric exercise you are not moving at all. You are using your muscles to push against something immovable generally. You may be surprised how quickly you can tire out doing this.
Why would you bother doing such an exercise in Mixed Martial Arts where
the action is dynamic and all of your moves are based around movement? The simple answer is that not all of your moves are as dynamic as you may think.
Take the clinch for example. When you have another guy (or gal) in a clinch you are both pressing your bodies together tightly using all of your muscles to gain position. Most of the time though you are pressing against an immovable object unless you are just significantly stronger than your opponent.
Another example is being on the bottom and controlling the opponents wrists. You hold on to their wrists and they push with all of their force creating something of a stalemate where you have to be able to use your strength and power to hold them in place.
The final example I am going to give is doing a guillotine choke. You wrap your arm around your opponents neck and squeeze with all of your might. How much you have trained isometric may be the difference between winning the match by submission and your arm gassing out and you ending up on bottom.
So we now know why we should be doing isometric exercises but what are some that we can add to our arsenal.
One easy exerce that helps with your core is to lay down with your legs straight out and bring your legs up at a 45 degree angle to your body. Hold this position until you just can't do it anymore.
A great way to work out your arms is to assume a pushup position but just hold it with your arms at a 90 degree angle. This simple exercise gives your arms and chest quite a workout.
Finally, you can simply hold your arms out horizontally to the ground, either with weights or not, until you just can't hold them anymore.
The great thing about these exercises is that you don't need any equipment and you can do them wherever you are.
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