Sport Benefits
There is a lot of information to unpack here. However, what the immediate takeaway should be from these study conclusions is that isometric strength training for athletes is much needed.
If you have any questions related to the below conclusions we would be happy to speak with you.

Sports Benefits
- Explosive isometric training has been shown here to provide similar benefits to that of plyometric training with respect to the measured variables, but with reduced impact forces, and would therefore provide a useful adjunct for athletic training programs.
- The affecting variables of the Change of Direction (COD) performance differ according to the angle of COD and the leg used to turn. Moreover, isometric strength of the lower-limb muscles represented a major determinant factor of the COD-ability. Consequently, physical fitness coaches should include isometric muscle strengthening exercises in addition to traditional dynamic muscle strength exercises. Moreover, they should implement specific lower limb strength exercises depending on players' deficit in each COD's angles.
- Measures of preseason isometric hip abduction and external rotation strength independently predicted future non-contact Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury status in competitive athletes. The study data suggest that screening procedures to assess ACL injury risk should include an assessment of isometric hip abduction and/or external rotation strength.
- Higher short-latency isometric neck muscle tension, developed prior to impact, can lower magnitudes of post-impact kinematics of the head. Therefore, strength-training programs that facilitate increased gains in short-latency rate of isometric force development may be an important component of neck strength training programs to lower the risk for concussion.
- A retrospective analysis of professional rugby union players revealed that isometric training reduced match-related cervical spine injuries and a prospective study found that greater overall isometric neck strength reduced concussion risk in high school athletes.
- Results indicate that isometric mid-thigh pull variables are significantly associated with 20-m sprint kinetics. Specifically, isometric mid-thigh pull rate of force development appears to be related to the initial acceleration kinetics of a sprint. Strength and conditioning professionals can possibly implement the isometric mid-thigh pull for improved assessment and monitoring of athletic performance and training.
- The maximum isometric strength level in shoulder internal rotation was strongly related to serve velocity, and a large part of the variability in serve velocity was explained by the maximum isometric strength levels in shoulder internal rotation and shoulder flexion.
- The isometric mid thigh pull provides an efficient method for assessing isometric strength in athletes. This measure also provides a strong indication of dynamic performance in Division 1 football players.
- The results from the bivariate correlations suggest that a few strong statistically significant relationships occur between isometric force production characteristics and baseball offensive performance do occur, partially supporting the hypothesis. Specifically, isometric RFD seems to produce the strongest relationship with doubles, SLG and HRs
- The results suggest that explosive force production during isometric squats was associated with athletic performance. Specifically, sprint performance was most strongly related to the proportion of maximal force achieved in the initial phase of explosive-isometric squats, whilst jump height was most strongly related to absolute force in the later phase of the explosive-isometric squats.
- After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, patients have persistent Hip External Rotation (HER) strength, knee extension strength, and hop test deficits in the operative limb compared to the control and non-operative limbs, even after starting sport-specific drills. Importantly, HER strength independently predicted hop performance. Based on these findings, to resolve between-limb deficits in strength and hop performance clinicians should include (isometric) HER strengthening exercises in post-operative rehabilitation.
- Concentric, eccentric (both at 20°/s velocity), and isometric voluntary activation levels were then calculated. The mean activation levels during maximal eccentric and maximal concentric contractions were 88.3 and 89.7%, respectively, and were significantly lower with respect to maximal isometric contractions at 95.2%.
- These results suggest that increases in Maximal Voluntary Contraction observed in the first few days of isometric resistance training can be accounted for by an increase in the rate of activation at the onset of muscle contraction.
- High school cross-country runners with weaker (isometric) hip abductor, knee extensor and flexor muscle strength had a higher incidence of Anterior Knee Pain. Increasing hip and knee muscle strength may reduce the likelihood of Anterior Knee Pain in high school cross-country runners.
- The primary findings of this investigation indicate that the use of isometric muscle actions within a complex training sequence may promote improved performance in selected dynamic whole-body exercises.
Citations
- Burgess, Katherine E., et al. "vs. isometric training influences on tendon properties and muscle output." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 21.3 (2007): 986-989
- Rouissi, Mehdi et al. “Change of direction ability in young elite soccer players:determining factors vary with angle variation.” J Sports Med Phys Fitness,(2017) 7-8.
- Khayambashi, Khalil, et al. "Hip muscle strength predicts noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury in male and female athletes: a prospective study."The American journal of sports medicine 44.2 (2016): 355-361.
- Gilchrist, Ian, et al. "Neck muscle strength training in the risk management of concussion in contact sports: critical appraisal of application to practice."Journal of Athletic Enhancement 2015 (2017).
- Hrysomallis, Con. "Neck Muscular Strength, Training, Performance and Sport Injury Risk: A Review." Sports Medicine 46.8 (2016): 1111-1124.
- Townsend, Jeremy R., et al. "Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Performance Is Associated With Athletic Performance And Sprinting Kinetics In Division I Men And Women's Basketball Players." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (2017).
- Baiget, Ernest, et al. "The Relationship Between Maximum Isometric Strength and Ball Velocity in the Tennis Serve." Journal of human kinetics 53.1 (2016): 63-71.
- McGuigan, Michael R., and Jason B. Winchester. "The relationship between isometric and dynamic strength in college football players." Journal of sports science & medicine 7.1 (2008): 101.
- Bailey, Christopher A., Kimitake Sato, and William G. Hornsby. "Predicting offensive performance in collegiate baseball players using isometric force production characteristics." ISBS-Conference Proceedings Archive. Vol. 1. No. 1. 2013.
- Tillin, Neale Anthony, Matthew Thomas Gerard Pain, and Jonathan Folland. "Explosive force production during isometric squats correlates with athletic performance in rugby union players." Journal of sports sciences 31.1 (2013): 66-76
- Kline, Paul W., et al. "Hip external rotation strength predicts hop performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction." Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2017): 1-8.
- Babault, Nicolas, et al. "Activation of human quadriceps femoris during isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions." Journal of Applied Physiology 91.6 (2001): 2628-2634.
- Del Balso, Christopher, and Enzo Cafarelli. "Adaptations in the activation of human skeletal muscle induced by short-term isometric resistance training."Journal of Applied Physiology 103.1 (2007): 402-411.
- Luedke, Lace E., et al. "Association of isometric strength of hip and knee muscles with injury risk in high school cross country runners." International journal of sports physical therapy 10.6 (2015): 868.
- French, Duncan N., William J. Kraemer, and Carlton B. Cooke. "Changes in dynamic exercise performance following a sequence of preconditioning isometric muscle actions." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research17.4 (2003): 678-685