by Chris DeLeon

Whether the focus is on functionality, toning or getting bigger muscles, one thing is common. All these goals require lifting weights in some manner or another.

But it’s not necessarily how the weight is lifted that carries the greatest benefit. So much progress towards your goals can be determined by how you lower the weight.

Resistance training is all about tension and muscle contraction. There are two ways that the muscles contract. Concentric contractions are what typically come to mind as these are the contractions that occur when you lift weight.

The lesser thought of contraction is the eccentric contraction. This is when the muscle is lengthened and typically occurs as weight is being lowered. This is where proper focus can lead to great results.

For example, I will use bicep curls. Conventional lifting technique involves concentrating on the concentric contraction as the weight is lifted; slow movement to prolong tension during the shortening of the muscle. The weight is then returned fairly quickly to the starting point before the next rep.

I, however, advocate doing the opposite; lifting the weight quickly and then lowering it in a slow and controlled manner. This method, called eccentric exercise, is packed full of special benefits.

These advantages are not solely limited to muscle growth, but for my fellow ‘meat heads’ I will focus on that first. Eccentric exercise has been shown to increase protein synthesis in muscles. In layman’s terms, that means gains.

The reason eccentric exercise stimulates muscle growth is that it causes the body to release the chemical phosphatidic acid. The acid, in turn, encourages muscle synthesis.

That is why phosphatidic acid is now being marketed in supplements. But why pay for something your body produces naturally? It makes more sense to change the way you lift than it does to empty your pockets.

But wait, there’s more. Not everybody wants to be the next Arnold. Some people just want to stay fit and are not a big fan of the extended muscle soreness that can come along with it. Well, eccentric exercise helps with that too.

That soreness, which can significantly impact a person’s ability to function normally, is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Studies have been showing that continued eccentric exercise training can lead to shortening and even preventing DOMS.

What about the people who have experienced injuries, particularly hard-to-heal tendon damage? They are not excluded from the benefits of eccentric exercise.

This form of training has been shown to increase strength and reduce pain in areas of tendon damage; exceeding the benefit of standard treatment. As an individual afflicted by tendonitis, I can personally vouch for the eccentric relief exercise can produce.

Now that you are hopefully sold on the idea of eccentric exercise, I will explain how to do it. As with all training techniques, proper execution is key to achieve the desired results.

The key to remember to get the utmost benefit from eccentric lifting is to use the proper cadence. It’s slightly more involved than quick up and slow down, but only slightly. Try to lift the weight quickly, but not so fast that you jerk it up. Then take up to three seconds to lower the weight. It’s that simple.

Since eccentric exercise goes with almost every form of lifting, it would take an eternity to describe form. Just make sure to use the established proper form techniques for every exercise that you apply it to. If you are performing an exercise and don’t know the proper form to use, please ask a personal trainer before attempting the lift.