Starting Out by Starting Strong
Starting Out by Starting Strong
Eccentric Exercise to Increase Muscle Length
I absolutely love training new clients. No matter what their experience is with fitness/strength training, I am always able to teach them some commonsense tricks of the trade so that when they work out on their own, they will understand that there is an efficient and effective way to train their body.
Right off the bat I demonstrate that there are multiple parts to every exercise - pushing and pulling, raising and lowering. And while it may sound odd to break up a single exercise into multiple parts, there are advantages to understanding each. With every exercise there is both a concentric and eccentric component. A concentric movement happens when your muscles contract, while an eccentric movement occurs when the muscle lengthens.
My clients quickly become familiar with a third type of muscle movement - isometric contraction. Unlike eccentric and concentric muscle movements, an isometric movement involves a muscle contraction without movement. In simplest terms, an isometric movement is a static hold. While isometric exercises can help build strength, they won't increase mass or power (since the exercise is done without movement). However, since isometric movements allow you to fully engage your core to remain steady, some of the key benefits include increased balance, core strength, and posture. Typical isometric exercises are wall-sits, plank or holding at the top of a pullup.
Concentric movements occur when your muscle fibers shorten. The concentric portion of a movement works against the force of gravity (think of your arm curling towards your body in a bicep curl) and are known as "positive" movements. Benefits of concentric exercises include increased power and speed.
Eccentric exercise involves increasing muscle length. During the eccentric phase of an exercise, you work with the force of gravity (like lowering your arms back toward your sides in a bicep curl). These are often called "negative movements," and have been shown to help build muscle mass and increase strength. The majority of muscle damage (which sounds like a bad thing but is actually necessary for muscle growth) occurs during eccentric training. Therefore, one of the main benefits of eccentric exercises is muscle hypertrophy, or the growth of your skeletal muscle cells.
Another reason to love eccentric training is it can help you conquer various resistance exercises - exercises that often seem beyond your athletic ability. This is commonly known as "negative training." Negative training involves performing slow eccentric muscle contractions to gradually build strength. Examples include:
Eccentric pushup: Can't quite do a pushup? Start at the top of the plank (on your toes - no knees here!), then slowly lower yourself to the ground. Once you reach the floor, you can use your hands and knees to return to a plank position.
Eccentric pullup: A full pullup (without momentum) is one of the hardest bodyweight exercises. To start, use a step stool or resistance band to pull yourself above the pullup bar. From there, gradually lower yourself until you're fully extended, then let go. Climb up the steps again to repeat.
Eccentric boat pose: Want to target your core? Start in the top of a boat position, then slowly lower yourself until you're fully extended (a hollow body hold). Try to take as long as you can.
My goal is to educate my clients so that they understand that whatever muscle component they are focused on should be done with the mindfulness of what they are trying to achieve. Plus, I preach - always remember to engage your core, breath and slow down your reps to allow your muscles to fully contract, extend or hold their intended position. This is how you’ll build a stronger, smarter and resilient anatomy.
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Kim Duke is a certified personal trainer and owner of Core Performance Fitness and Training, located at 55 Bristol Lane, Ellicottville, NY. Kim resides in Ellicottville where she raised her two sons, Zach and Nik. For more information about her studio visit her Facebook page, go to www.coreperformancefitness.com or call her directly at 716-698-1198.
