Eccentric Training can add some variety to your workouts and provide a way to break through that plateau in a particular exercise.
Stance with feet shoulder-width apart and hold one weight in each hand overhead. Gradually lower them down over three to five seconds until they touch your sides.
1. Increased Stability
Eccentric training is a type of resistance exercise involving lengthening contractions of muscles to increase their strength, improve movement efficiency and decrease risk. Eccentric exercises may help build up muscle strength while simultaneously decreasing risk and soreness after workouts.
Eccentric muscle work has been shown to produce distinct adaptations compared with concentric work, including reduced muscle damage and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS refers to an aching feeling experienced 24-72 hours post strenuous exercise session caused by microtears in muscle fibers causing microtears. DOMS typically affects lower body and bicep muscles though other muscles may experience it too.
Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of eccentric-only training for increasing muscle strength without compromising joint stability or creating imbalances, as well as decreasing muscular imbalances. Eccentric training also helps improve balance and coordination – making it an excellent solution for anyone wanting to increase power or speed while decreasing injury risk.
One of the many advantages of eccentric training is its versatility. It can be performed using weightlifting bars, bodyweight exercises and even plyometrics – even solo! Eccentric exercises should ideally be completed with someone helping maintain proper form while increasing load over time – the key being gradually increasing it until progress has been reached.
Eccentric training not only increases muscle mass but can also improve its elasticity. Eccentric exercises increase the number of cross-bridges formed between muscle fibers during stretch-shortening cycles. This can help decrease stiffness in muscles and protect them against tendinitis-type injuries.
Excercising eccentrically has many other advantages as well, including helping older adults regain muscle function. Multiple studies have confirmed this effect as it helps prevent age-related decreases in strength and power due to its more effective way of overloading muscles than concentric training.
2. Increased Mobility
As soon as you enter a gym, it’s likely you’ll hear someone mention “negative reps.” This type of eccentric training involves manipulating the lengthening or slowing down part of a lift to increase intensity and reap its numerous advantages.
Eccentric exercise, or exercises which involve muscle lengthening while producing force, has gained significant interest among sports science and rehabilitation practitioners due to its numerous health benefits (McHugh et al, 2003). Studies have demonstrated how eccentric resistance training can increase strength, power and muscular endurance while simultaneously decreasing body fat while improving joint mobility and balance (McHugh et al, 2003).
LaStayo et al found that eccentric training proved more successful at combatting sarcopenia and improving functional abilities than traditional weight training, citing studies involving 11 weeklong eccentric resistance training that participants underwent three times per week for 11 weeks as being superior. Participants saw improvements in balance, stair descent and strength over their control group counterparts.
Physical therapists commonly incorporate eccentric exercises into rehabilitation programs for clients suffering from knee injuries or recent surgery. Evidence supports their inclusion as it improves knee stability while strengthening muscles and connective tissue while simultaneously supporting neuromuscular re-education, or reconnecting the brain to injured muscles.
Eccentric training can be demanding on your muscles. In fact, it has been known to cause delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or delayed muscle soreness after each session due to micro-tearing in your muscles caused by eccentric exercise – but this should be seen as positive sign that your body is responding by creating new muscle fibers!
As with any type of training, when first beginning eccentric exercise it’s wise to begin light and gradually increase intensity over time. This will ensure that you don’t overdo it and risk injury; eccentric exercises tend to be more prone to strains and sprains due to placing longer muscle fibers under more stress, increasing the chance of overstretch or tear.
3. Increased Strength
Squash is an engaging sport requiring much running, jumping and lateral movement requiring many muscles in both lower body and core areas to perform efficiently. Eccentric training is an effective way of strengthening such movements while also increasing power, strength, balance and stability.
Eccentric training can be an effective method to build strength by teaching muscles to function under heavier loads, according to Pedemonte. Eccentric exercise allows individuals to lengthen a muscle while engaging in an eccentric contraction that exceeds what the muscle could contract under (such as when pushing into a squat or lower into a push-up). This allows a stimulating stimulus for growth as muscle fibers learn how to adapt under these increased loads and become stronger, helping prevent injuries or overuse from taking place.
Eccentric exercise also has another great advantage – increasing muscle size by making muscle fibers split more. This leads to new fibers being formed as old ones are repaired, as well as helping boost performance by increasing tendon stiffness – something Pedemonte believes improves.
As eccentric training only causes microscopic muscle damage, your muscles should recover quickly and become stronger. Unfortunately, if this does not happen correctly it could result in DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Therefore it is so crucial that this form of exercise be included into your workouts to ensure you don’t overtrain.
As many know, eccentric training is an effective way to break through plateaus in your workouts. If you find yourself stuck at an exercise like pull ups or bicep curls, focusing on the lowering phase can help unlock potential gains and move past any barriers to progress.
Eccentric training can be an effective and safe addition to the workouts of both young and older athletes alike, contrary to misconceptions regarding its risks. Eccentric exercise may even prove more beneficial for older athletes than conventional resistance training as it allows them to overload muscles without placing as much cardiopulmonary strain on themselves – this has had positive results in terms of reversing sarcopenia as well as strengthening strength, mobility and balance among senior adults.
4. Increased Endurance
Eccentric training is an effective way to build endurance by increasing muscle strength while moving loads that are too heavy for your concentric stage (the lifting phase). Eccentric movements may produce up to 20-500% more force when done during an eccentric phase compared to concentric phase due to muscle-tendon complex stimulation during eccentric movement.
Eccentric training can also help break plateaus in any exercise by adding variation to the workout. When stuck at the top end of a rep, adding eccentric training into your routine may allow for increased concentric push.
Although unaccustomed eccentric training has long been associated with Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness (DOMS), this discomfort can be avoided by repeating eccentric contractions within 48 to 72 hours following recovery sessions involving eccentric exercises.
eccentric training not only has positive effects on strength and mobility, but can also be used to boost various measures of endurance. A study published in 2018 demonstrated this benefit when eccentric training increased both maximal force generated during leg press exercises as well as movement acceleration; therefore making eccentric training an invaluable addition to any sports training regimen that calls for frequent stopping/starting, plant/cut action or acceleration work.
Eccentric training has also been proven as an effective anti-ageing strategy. Numerous studies have demonstrated how regular eccentric training can reverse muscle loss seen among older individuals due to regular eccentric exercise leading to an increase in length in sarcomeres.