A traditional exercise program is well-rounded, encompassing all aspects of improving health. A good exercise routine includes cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, posture, and maintenance of body composition.

Start with a good warm-up by doing light calisthenics, followed by stretching to maintain flexibility. Next, enter the conditioning stage, which consists of cardiovascular work to get the lungs and heart functioning at a higher rate, followed by resistance-training to strengthen and tone major muscle groups. The final stage is a cool down to bring your heart rate to a resting level and then another stretch to give you greater mobility.

Isometrics could be used for resistance training in order to strengthen major muscle groups. In isometrics, exercises such as pushing against a wall will generate force, causing muscles to contract without a change in their length.

The advantages isometric exercise provides is the building of muscle, strength and power. The tension developed during isometric exercises is often higher than that developed during isotonic contractions (movement of a joint during muscle contractions). Isometrics can be performed anywhere and at any time, since they do not require equipment.

There is a drawback to isometrics over traditional exercise. They are not functional in nature and activities like sports where you want to see a readily transferable skill or power development. Also, this is not the way to go if you are working toward developing a bodybuilder-like physique with isometrics alone. Fortunately, combining isometrics with other traditional exercises can be exremely beneficial.