Introduction
Have you heard of eccentric exercise? If not, you’re missing out on a powerful tool for building muscle, improving performance, and preventing injury. Eccentric exercise involves lengthening your muscles while they contract, often in a slow and controlled manner, and has been shown to be particularly effective at stimulating muscle growth and strength gains.
This article will cover various aspects of eccentric exercise, including its science, benefits, beginner’s guide, benefits for runners, advanced workouts, and physical therapy applications. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just starting out, understanding eccentric exercise can help you take your workouts to the next level.
Eccentric Exercise: Unleashing the Power of Contractions
Eccentric exercise is a type of exercise that involves lengthening your muscles while they contract, instead of shortening them like most traditional exercises. This usually involves a slow and controlled movement, such as lowering a weight to your chest during a bench press or lowering your body to the ground during a push-up.
While concentric exercise (the shortening of muscles) is typically what most people focus on during their workouts, eccentric exercise has been shown to be particularly effective at stimulating muscle growth and strength gains. This is because the act of resisting against gravity during the eccentric (or lengthening) phase of a movement requires more force and energy from your muscles, leading to greater muscle damage and subsequent repair and growth.
Common exercises that incorporate eccentric contractions include the Nordic hamstring curl, where you slowly lower your body to the ground while keeping your legs straight and extended, and the eccentric phase of a bicep curl, where you lower the weight down to the starting position for a longer period of time than you took to lift it up.
Why Eccentric Exercise Deserves More Attention
Despite the numerous benefits of eccentric exercise, it often goes overlooked or undervalued in the fitness world. This may be due to a lack of knowledge or understanding of its benefits, or simply because it requires more effort and concentration than traditional exercises.
However, research studies have shown that eccentric exercise can be highly effective for building muscle, preventing injury, and improving overall performance. In one study, researchers found that participants who performed eccentric-focused exercises saw significantly greater gains in muscle size and strength than those who performed traditional exercises.
Additionally, eccentric exercise has been shown to be effective at reducing the risk of injury by improving the strength and endurance of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support joints. This is particularly important for athletes and active individuals who put a lot of stress on their bodies through their physical activity.
Experts in the fitness industry have also been vocal about their support for eccentric exercise. According to fitness coach and author Ben Greenfield, “Eccentric training is key for building strength and muscle mass, and also helps with injury prevention. Plus, it can add a fun and challenging component to your workouts.”
The Beginner’s Guide to Eccentric Exercise
If you’re new to eccentric exercise, it can seem daunting or confusing at first. However, there are a few key tips and exercises to keep in mind that can help you get started and see results.
Firstly, it’s important to understand some key terms related to eccentric exercise. These include “time under tension,” or the amount of time your muscles spend contracting during a movement, and “negative reps,” or the eccentric portion of a movement where you’re actively lengthening your muscles.
Some easy-to-try exercises for beginners include the eccentric push-up, where you lower your body to the ground slowly and with control, or the eccentric squat, where you lower your body down slowly and with control before pushing back up. It’s important to start slowly and gradually increase intensity and volume, as eccentric exercise can be demanding on the muscles and may lead to soreness if you overdo it.
Eccentric Exercise for Runners: Building a Strong Foundation
For runners, incorporating eccentric exercise into their training regimen can have numerous benefits. For example, eccentric exercise can help improve endurance by increasing the strength and endurance of the muscles used during running. Additionally, eccentric exercise can help reduce the risk of injuries such as shin splints or plantar fasciitis by strengthening the muscles and tendons that support the feet and legs.
Specific exercises that runners can use to incorporate eccentric exercise into their routine include the eccentric single-leg deadlift, where you lower your body down slowly and with control while balancing on one leg, and the eccentric lunge, where you lower your body down slowly and with control before pushing back up. Running coaches also recommend incorporating hill workouts into your training, as these naturally involve eccentric contractions due to the uphill incline.
Advanced Eccentric Exercise: Taking Your Workouts to the Next Level
If you’re already familiar with eccentric exercise and want to take your workouts to the next level, there are several more challenging exercises and workouts that you can incorporate. For example, the pistol squat involves lowering your body down slowly and with control on one leg before pushing back up, while the single-leg deadlift with a barbell adds extra weight and challenge to the exercise.
It’s important to progress slowly and with caution when attempting advanced eccentric exercises, to avoid injury and ensure proper form. Additionally, incorporating eccentric plyometrics, or explosive movements that involve eccentric contractions, can help improve power and speed.
Eccentric Exercise: A Missing Piece of the Physical Therapy Puzzle
In addition to its benefits for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, eccentric exercise is also commonly used in physical therapy and rehabilitation settings. This is because eccentric exercise can help strengthen muscles and reduce pain and discomfort in individuals recovering from injuries or dealing with chronic pain or conditions such as Achilles tendonitis or patellar tendinopathy.
Physical therapists often use eccentric exercise in combination with other therapies such as massage or ultrasound, to help improve range of motion and overall function. And for some patients, eccentric exercise can be just as effective as surgery or other more invasive procedures.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an elite athlete or simply looking to improve your fitness and prevent injury, eccentric exercise is a powerful tool to help you achieve your goals. From its ability to boost muscle growth and strength to its potential as a key part of physical therapy and rehabilitation, eccentric exercise is well worth incorporating into your workouts.
So whether you’re just starting out with easy exercises like the eccentric push-up or looking to progress to advanced routines like eccentric plyometrics, embracing eccentric exercise can help take your performance to the next level.
