The Complete Book of Isometrics: The Anywhere, Anytime Fitness Book (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Don't have time to exercise? Don't belong to a gym? It doesn't matter. Now you can get a complete workout, anytime, anywhere, with the secrets of isometrics.

Millions of people can't seem to find the time to exercise. Now they can with The Complete Book of Isometrics. Fitness expert Erin O'Driscoll has compiled the best isometric exercises that can be done in the office, at home watching TV, flying in an airplane, or even driving a car—no equipment required.

Rather than using expensive machines or lugging around a set of dumbbells, you use common objects and your own body's resistance to work out the muscles. Isometric exercises are especially helpful to people recovering from injuries that limit range of motion. A special chapter shows how even people with disabilities can use isometrics to build muscle tone and strength.

Using the secret of resistance, isometrics are the basis for yoga, Pilates, and all the core stabilization techniques that are so popular today. Now, learn the original, simple, and effective way to a complete workout without moving a muscle. 150 photos.

About the Author

Erin O'Driscoll, R.N., M.A., is a registered nurse, exercise physiologist, and certified health and fitness instructor. She lives in East Islip, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Hatherleigh Press (August 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578261678
• ISBN-13: 978-1578261673
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,206 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book for All Athletes, February 26, 2006

By	Longtimelifter (US) - See all my reviews

Ms. O'Driscoll has created an excellent book on isometric training that can be used by both beginners or advanced trainees. The book provides an excellent introduction into the history of isometrics and their practical application.

She goes on to point out that the individual needs to decide what exercise method is best for their goals. If a person is interested in adding muscular "mass" or creating hypertrophy (muscular growth), isometrics may not be the best choice. However, for strength gains, research has shown isometrics can create the same reults as quickly as standard training with less safety issues.

For trainees who want to work out at home or travel, this would be an ideal book.

Strength coach Pavel Tsatouline recently documented the same research & findings in one of his publications based on Soviet research. So, you know Ms. O'Driscoll's book is on the money!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Most of these aren't isometric!, August 26, 2006

By	Karla (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed the isometric exercises my physical therapist taught me to rehabilitate a shoulder I injured at the gym, and I was looking for a book that would have similar exercises for other parts of the body. Although some of the exercises in this book will be useful to me, most of them aren't actually isometric exercises (my PT agreed when I showed them to her), and a few I won't be doing because they put the body in precarious positions and I am prone to joint injuries. It's not a bad book, but it's not what I was looking for and I wouldn't have bought it if I'd looked through it at a bookstore.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurately researched and gracefully displayed , April 14, 2006

By	Mohamed F. El-Hewie (Hackensack, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book explains the differences between isometric, isotonic, and concentric exercises in fair and reasonable manner. It clearly demonstrates the benefits and drawbacks of isometric exercises such that the reader could apply what is beneficial and avoid the harmful effect of straining the circulatory system with longer stress of high blood pressure.

The book displays photographs for a man and a woman and clearly shows the graceful posture and extreme flexibility and fitness of the woman compared to a stiffed and inflexible man. The contrast of the hair style of the two also deserves notice.

The book's 184 pages are efficiently utilized to maximize the reader's understanding. After merely 27 pages of precise discussion of the subject of isometric contraction, the book turns illustrated with each page containing at least one or more photograph and relevant and clear text.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training