First off, let us approach a tough argument. For myself, I recommend isometrics in replacement of even proper weight-lifting - as an absolute. However, proper weight-lifting - not the meatroid kind - is quite beneficial. It also has some isometric properties, as you have to focus very specifically on slow movements and proper form.
The two reasons for this advice are first - that I feel isometrics are more beneficial, and that second - without a seasoned trainer - it is hard to do proper weight-lifting without avoiding doing weight-lifting improperly and getting badly hurt. Isometrics can be dangerous, but weight-lifting is far more dangerous.
However, even though I am so absolute - it is "not always so," and there are many benefits to good weight-training. Further, there are certain physiques that respond better to weight-training than others. For me, even a very consistent weight-training practice did build strength and endurance, but did almost nothing but build just a small amount, while isometrics changed my life.
Weight-training is usually more beneficial to people who begin with a stockier build, as the muscle-mass they already have responds better to the practice. Try out what seems good to you. Further, understand that world-class athletes today usually combine isometrics with weight-training. This is fine in most cases. However, remember that world-class athletes have world-class trainers. It really is good to see both a doctor and at least do a consultation with a seasoned trainer (sadly, expensive) before beginning any kind of exercise routine.
Further, anyone should do some strength exercise and some cardiovascular exercise if they are to maintain good health. If you are very ill like me, then you need to be very moderate, but you need both practices as part of your life. You do not have to be working my own plan to do these things.
My own regimen is not exactly spot-on today, and I have had to cut out many of my isometrics exercises because the intensity is too great for my physique - as I am simply too ill. Alright, let me start with an ordered list of principles for an isometrics routine, and then I'm going to check on three books that I recommend for those beginning a practice at borders.com and see if I'm remembering them right, and if they are still in print. I may have to save a draft if things get difficult, but I'll find three books that will be worth owning for you - dear readers. The list.
1. You need to know your limits. The urge is to exercise too hard, and then to give up and just lay around. Stay moderate and pay attention to how you feel. If you feel like you're about to faint, its because you're about faint! Pay attention to your body when you exercise!
2. You do isometrics slowly. A true isometrics routine is very intense and builds a sweat and a great deal of shaking in the muscles. However, it is not safe to do quickly. There are tons of reasons, and the big two are that isometrics stretch both the tendons and the muscle fibers, and therefore you must not snap your limbs during the exercises. You can bust a tendon or a muscle in a way that means - it is over for that tendon or muscle.
3. The goal with isometrics is to move between positions with control. In most hatha yoga schools, they do not teach this at all. In hatha yoga, doing the asana develops strength and flexibility, and in some cases endurance, but the body control comes through moving between positions in a very controlled manner. It is very dance-like when done properly, and is also a very good training for dance. I do not strictly teach hatha yoga, but it is the largest influence on my own study and understanding of isometrics. In Pilates, this control is given a great deal of lip-service, but few of the Pilates exercises - some of them considered fundamental - can be done with enough slowness to allow for such control.
Okay, so I'll list the books next, and then we'll go into some things about the books, and I have another idea for an article about isometrics on my platter. My Dad sees a doctor today and will arrive at perhaps - 11:30 or so - and I'm going to go spend most of the day at Dad's. I may use his computer or simply nap-a-lot, but I will certainly consider doing more public blog work if another activity doesn't call to me in the evening. I'll save a draft, we'll list the books and just go over those very quickly, and then I need a break. Then the next article, and then - a split in the day's activities.
1. The Inner Guide to Yoga: A Guide to Yoga Philosophy for the Contemporary Practitioner. Michael Stone. ISBN: 1590305698. The major problem with choosing a book is that there were either academic-type books that are way too abstract for most people, or books filled with a bunch of chump. This isn't a sterling example of a good yoga philosophy book, but it is the best out of those I searched that I'm aware of and that isn't an academic-style philsophical text. It is generally good-form for someone practicing hatha yoga to at least have some awareness of yoga philosophy, and so I include this one here as part of good form. Also - a yogi should generally be a vegetarian - in the traditional sense of a, "yogi." The conservative Hindu diet is a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, and as a hatha yoga practitioner that is the traditional diet. We will talk nutrition in an article, and vegetarianism requires a great deal of explanation.
2. Total Pilates. Malcolm Muirhead. ISBN: 1571458018. This is a very nice standard book on the revisions of Pilates that have been made to make it more accesible to the general public. The only problem is that many of the exercises use fast motion to build intensity. It isn't that the exercises are without merit, but a better way of approaching isometrics is to build intensity through slow, flowing control. Still - it is an interesting book to try.
3. Essential Yoga, An Illustrated Guide. Olivia H. Miller. ISBN: 0811841154. This is the real hatha-yoga-book winner. It contains almost no theory or philosophy, but clearly sets out asanas and provides excellent basic routines. There are some asanas in the book that I would suggest that no one should practice, but most of the book is quite realistic in its expectations, and again - the book is quite clear as to the asana forms. It is definitely the best guide to the asanas in English, even if it doesn't have a potentate title or format. It is also still in print. I checked all three books, and they are all still in print.
So I break for just a few moments longer, and then I will return with another article, and then I'm going to need to rest for a while, and will also be going to my Dad's house until sometime later this evening.
