How eccentric muscle training can make you stronger and leaner quickly
Eccentric exercise focuses on working muscles as they lengthen, and is essential for balance, mobility and physical functions such as walking down stairs or lowering objects to the ground
Are you trying to get in shape for a big sports event or race? Do you want a bikini beach body this summer? Try eccentric muscle training – there’s a lot of evidence to suggest it is more effective than typical concentric exercises to achieve a stronger and leaner physique in the shortest period of time.
By “eccentric” we’re not referring to behaving slightly strangely; rather it’s about how a muscle contracts while it is still producing force. Concentric exercise shortens the muscle to initiate a movement and produce force (think of Popeye’s bulging bicep), whereas eccentric exercise focuses on working muscles as they lengthen (typically the return phase of an exercise).
It’s simple to understand: do a strong bicep curl and look at your bicep rise up; now slowly straighten your elbow and watch your bicep lengthening along the humerus (upper arm bone), stretching from shoulder to elbow. Now poke the bicep with a finger from the opposite hand – it’s firm, right? That’s an eccentric contraction in its simplest form. The eccentric portion of the move happens as you slowly open your elbow, and, if you were holding a weight, you’d feel the burn as your muscles resist the weight while still extending.
During typical daily activities, concentric actions start movements, whereas eccentric actions slow the movement down, acting as a muscular braking system. For example, when running, the quadricep muscles propel the runner forward with concentric actions, while the hamstrings slow the forward motion.
