8/19/2019 Ten Things You MUST Know About Eccentric Training to Get Better Results

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Ten Things You MUST Know About Eccentric Training To Get

Better ResultsBy Poliquin Group E!itorial Sta"" 

9/6/2012 4:00:13 PM 

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$% You Are Stronger Eccentrically

You are stronger during the eccentric phase of any lift—as much as 1.75 times as strong as during the

concentric phase! Think about it: You can loer more eight in the bench press or deadlift than you

can raise.

emember" the eccentric phase of a lift occurs hen the muscle lengthens. This is the don motion

of the bench press" biceps curl" or s#uat. The concentric phase of the lift occurs hen the muscle

shortens" as in the up motion of the bench press" biceps curl" or s#uat.

&% 'or Ma(i)al Strength * +ypertrophy, -ontrol the Eccentric Phase o" E.ery /i"t0 1e.er /et

Gra.ity 2o the 3or4

You probably kno that you can increase muscle groth by focusing on the eccentric phase of your

lifts because it is ell accepted that the lengthening motion of an e$ercise triggers hypertrophy the

most. %oe&er" as you ill see belo" performing both the concentric and eccentric phase of the lift

produces greater groth than doing eccentric'only training.

There are a ide &ariety of ays to manipulate the eccentric phase for a more muscular physi#ue. (or 

strength and mass gains" ) highlight some of these strategies belo" but simply" you *+,+ ant to

ignore the eccentric motion of an e$ercise and let the eight fall ith gra&ity. You should alays loer

the eight in a controlled fashion and follo a prescribed tempo -a specific number of seconds to

loer the eight.

/hen poer is the desired #uality" then fast eccentrics are essential. The reason being that learning

to sitch rapidly from a fast eccentric contraction to a fast concentric contraction is essential for poer 

de&elopment.

5% The Eccentric Motion -auses More Muscle 2a)age * +ypertrophy

0y programming the eccentric motion of your e$ercises" you can achie&e the greatest muscle groth

by making sure you ha&e the right intensity of load and use the ideal time under tension to cause

ma$imal muscle fiber damage. tudies suggest that protein synthesis is greatest after eccentric'

enhanced lifting. (or e$ample" a simple ay to build more muscle is to use a longer tempo for the

eccentric motion -2 to 3 seconds ith an e$plosi&e or 1'second concentric motion. 4ore ad&anced

methods that ) co&er belo include hea&y negati&es" forced reps" and comple$ training.

)n studies that ha&e compared eccentric'only and concentric'only training" eccentric'only is far

superior for producing muscle damage and hypertrophy. This is because the eccentric motion

damages the myofibers and it preferentially recruits fast'titch fibers. This means there is a greater

amount of stress per motor unit ith eccentric e$ercises" producing greater muscle groth.

)n contrast" concentric'only training doesnt lead to significant hypertrophy. 6ne ell knon study had

males perform concentric'only or eccentric'only training using 2 to 3 sets of to 18 reps 9 times a

eek. t the end of 18 eeks" slo'titch fibers didnt increase in either group. 0ut the fast'titch

type )) fibers increased 1; time more in the eccentric'only group than the concentric'only group! till"

studies indicate that the &ery 0+T stimulus for hypertrophy is training that uses both the eccentric

and concentric motions but fa&ors the eccentric motion—the reason is TP or energy.

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8/19/2019 Ten Things You MUST Know About Eccentric Training to Get Better Results

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6% The Eccentric Motion Uses /ess Energy

 nother difference beteen eccentric and concentric motions is that the eccentric part of a lift re#uires

less energy -or TP to complete. This is important because it means you can perform more ork

eccentrically" hich has implications for body composition" strength" and si

8/19/2019 Ten Things You MUST Know About Eccentric Training to Get Better Results

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esults shoed that the hea&ier eccentric loads -3;" 7;" and ; kg alloed the athletes to produced

greater concentric poer than the 2; kg load. The greatest concentric acceleration as produced ith

the hea&iest ; kg load.

esearchers think the athletes ere able to produce more poer ith the hea&ier eccentric load

because loering a greater eight increases muscle tension and cross'bridging of fibers. lso" ase$pressed relati&e to the athletes 14 bench press" the eccentric load that led to the best bench

thro for the 2; kg load as 33 percent of the athletes 14 bench thro.

;% 'ast Eccentrics Pro!uce the Greatest +ypertrophy

(ast and hea&y eccentrics arent Aust for athletes. nyone ho ants to gain muscle si