Eccentric Training

Eccentric training has skyrocketed in popularity. Scroll through any Instagram page and I bet they have at least one workout with an eccentric focus. To quote Will Farrell from Zoolander “eccentrics are soooo hawt right now.”

First of all I would like to cover what eccentric means. Eccentric is the lowering motion of a movement. A bicep curl for example would have a concentric motion, the curl up, and an eccentric motion which is the lowering of the weight. So what does it do? How is it applicable? Does it work? Will it get you jacked? In short yes, to all the above.

Eccentrics primary function is to control the downward movement of the movement. Much more power is produced during an eccentric contraction so it is a quick way to build strength in a muscle group. It is also used to load the stretch reflex to perform a dynamic concentric movement. Basically, it’s how your body generates power. So what does this do? It allows your body to load and accommodate to a resistance to recruit the correct amount of muscle fibers to get the task done. You will break far more tissue down and be much more sore after an eccentric workout.

You can apply eccentrics to your workouts anywhere if you are just trying to get bigger. Start small with one or two exercises and as your body adapts add eccentrics to more movements to keep improving the stimulus. This will get you jacked. You are breaking down far more tissue this way forcing the body to recover from more breakdown and create muscle growth.

If your goal is performance based such as powerlifting, Olympic lifting or sport performance timing is everything when adding eccentrics in. this is down primarily in the offseason to get muscle growth and to increase the ability to handle maximal loads. Do not every toss this into a meet prep, especially if you have never done them. You will kick your peak right in the balls by adding these in for shits and gigs. More importantly your performance will suffer on the platform.

Moral of the story, if you’re looking to add on some size quick so you look good a Billys’ wicked sick beach party add in eccentrics for a couple weeks prior and fill those pipes up with blood. If you’re looking to perform well in a sport strategically put them in during an offseason and watch your total climb!