Transform Your Body: The Fitness Strategy Everyone Is Ignoring
Do you feel like you're working out consistently, but not seeing the results you want? Are you looking for a way to take your fitness routine to the next level? You're not alone. Many people are struggling to see progress in their fitness goals despite putting in long hours at the gym. But what if there was a simple yet highly effective fitness strategy that you've been ignoring this entire time? This technique is not about adding more weight or reps to your routine. It's based on the tempo or speed of your exercises, and it has the potential to transform your body. Get ready to discover the power of this underused fitness strategy that has been hiding in plain sight!
First, it’s important to know that when you lift a weight, your muscles go through two phases: the concentric phase, where the muscle shortens, and the eccentric phase, where the muscle lengthens. Many people are familiar with the concentric phase of the exercise, the eccentric phase is even more important and provides unique benefits when incorporated into a training program.
Eccentric movement, also known as the negative phase, is the controlled lowering or lengthening of a muscle under load. This type of movement is often overlooked, but it can be an effective way to increase muscle strength, power, and hypertrophy, as well as improve joint stability and prevent injury. This is the most muscle-producing (ie: muscle-damaging) phase during an exercise and has the greatest potential for strength gain. Specifically, slower lowering phases during eccentric training have been found to be more effective in increasing strength gains and muscle size.
To incorporate eccentric movement into your training program, try incorporating the following exercises:
1. Eccentric Chin-Up
The eccentric chin-up is a challenging exercise that targets the back, biceps, and forearms.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Begin by grabbing a chin-up bar with an underhand grip, with your palms facing towards you and your hands shoulder-width apart.
Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar, and hold this position for a second.
Slowly lower yourself down, taking at least 5 seconds to lower your body until your arms are fully extended.
Repeat for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps.
2. Eccentric Deadlift
The eccentric deadlift is a variation of the traditional deadlift that targets the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with the barbell in front of you and your shins close to the bar.
Hinge at your hips, bending your knees slightly and keeping your back straight, and grip the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Stand up, lifting the bar until it's just above your knees.
Slowly lower the bar back down to the starting position, taking at least 5 seconds to lower it.
Repeat for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps.
3. Eccentric Push-Up
The eccentric push-up is a variation of the traditional push-up that targets the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Begin in a high plank position, with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet together.
Lower yourself down into a push-up, taking at least 5 seconds to lower your body until your chest is just above the ground.
Once you've reached the bottom of the movement, roll back up or press up from a kneeling position to return to the starting position.
Repeat for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Be sure to start with a weight that you can control throughout the entire range of motion, and aim to increase the load gradually over time. To take this underused fitness strategy to the next level, consider incorporating eccentric movement by controlling the tempo on the lowering phase of your exercises. By slowing down the eccentric or negative portion of your lifts, you increase time under tension, which can lead to greater muscle damage and ultimately, muscle growth. For example, if you're performing a squat, take 3-5 seconds to lower yourself down instead of dropping quickly. This added time and control will help to challenge your muscles and create new opportunities for growth.
Two major meta-analyses demonstrate superior results with increased time under eccentric load:
A 2017 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Sports Sciences reviewed 14 studies on eccentric training and found that it was more effective than concentric or traditional training in increasing strength and muscle size. The researchers also noted that longer eccentric durations (i.e., slower lowering phases) resulted in greater strength gains.
A 2014 meta-analysis published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports reviewed 13 studies on eccentric resistance training and found that it was more effective than concentric or traditional training in improving muscle strength and size. The analysis also found that eccentric training with longer durations resulted in greater improvements in strength.
These studies demonstrate the importance of incorporating eccentric training, and specifically slower lowering phases, into your workout routine to see superior results in terms of strength and muscle growth.
So, if you're ready to take your fitness routine to the next level, give this simple yet effective technique a try and see the results for yourself!