Do you wonder how eccentric training, without being grueling, stacks up against non-eccentric but highly intense weight workouts?
Now some people do both: eccentric combined with very intense lifting routines.
Furthermore, eccentric training — just by itself — can be tailored to a strenuous level.
But what if you were to do mainly eccentric lifting at a moderate or sub-intense level?
How would this compare to intense weightlifting but with typically timed negative phases?
Research from Edith Cowan University suggests that eccentric but non-intense training can be highly effective at building strength.
The belief that workouts have to be painful or draining is actually stopping some people from sticking with exercise in the first place.
There will always be those who thrive on killer workouts — myself included — but there will also always be those who just can’t bring themselves to a kickass level.
There’s an alternative approach that still delivers real results, says this study.
Eccentric: Doesn’t just Mean Quirky
Eccentric also means a method of lifting weights, in which the release is slowed down.
Eccentric as a training term is pronounced E-centric. It’s another name for negative training.
To elaborate, instead of focusing on the part where your muscles contract (the actual pressing out or pulling towards, also called the positive phase), this approach emphasizes the opposite phase — when your muscles are lengthening. This is when the weight is being released.
So in a bench press, the positive or concentric phase is when you push the bar away from your chest.
The eccentric part would be the lowering of the bar to your chest.
In a biceps curl, the eccentric portion would be that of straightening your arms; in a lat pull-down, it’d be letting the bar go back up. In a leg extension, it’d be when your legs are lowering.
In eccentric training, the release phase is done more slowly, which lengthens the time that the muscle — while elongated — is under tension. The prolonged time could be two to five seconds.
Think of lowering the sled with the floor leg press — but taking five seconds to lower it instead of just letting it come down quickly before the next press. That’s eccentric or negative training.
Why this Type of Movement Is So Effective
Your muscles can actually handle more force during these lengthening movements — and they do it using less energy.
Perhaps you’ve seen someone at the gym lowering a heavy load on the leg press without using their hands against their legs, but then using their hands to help push the sled back up.
So you’re getting a strong training effect without burning yourself out in the way you would with traditional repetitions.
Most people end the set when they can no longer complete a positive phase rep. But they still have some negative or eccentric left in them.
When positive phase burnout or failure occurs, muscle fibers can continue to be worked if the set allows for assistance with the positives (e.g., single-arm triceps extension or dumbbell curl; seated dip–using the feet; single-leg extension; single-leg ham curl; seated machine chest press with foot assist).
That’s a big deal, especially for people who are unable to adhere to killer-grade workouts.
The study explains that one need not feel pummeled to make progress in the gym.
This doesn’t mean that grueling workouts don’t have their place or that you should give up your prized kickbutt routine — not at all.
It just means that if you’ve been avoiding or skipping workouts because you can’t tolerate burning intensity, you now know that you don’t have to light your muscles on fire to build strength and mass.
You can build strength and improve performance without that “I can barely move” feeling afterward.
Soreness can still happen, especially if you’re new to this style of training — but it’s not required for results or weight loss.
Eccentric Training Can Be Done Without Weights
An example would be slowly lowering into a bodyweight squat, then rising up normally, and repeating for eight to 12 reps.
For more deconditioned people, slowly lowering into a chair and then rising — eight to 12 reps.
Negative training can also be applied to stationary or walking lunges, with or without holding weights.
There seems to be no limit: Walking down a staircase slowly also counts — meaning, slow down the transition from one step to the next, rather than just making it slow by standing on the steps longer.
The conclusion is that there’s really no winner per se between eccentric and intense conventional training with resistance; both approaches work great for improving fitness and strength, and building muscle.
But even just five minutes a day of eccentric or negative training can start to improve strength and overall health. Full study report.
