When we lift weights, our muscles do three kinds of contractions: concentric, isometric, and eccentric (that last one is pronounced EE-centric, not Ek-centric, which pains my English major self, but there it is.).
The concentric contraction is the one we usually think about: the lift itself where we are working against gravity. The isometric one is the part where we’re holding still at the beginning or end of the lift. We are using just enough force to keep the weight from falling, but not enough to lift it farther.
The one I am interested in today is the eccentric one (and not just because I aspire to eccentricity as a character trait). The eccentric contraction is the lowering phase where we return the weight to its starting position. Now it is perfectly possible, though rarely desirable, to get to the top of the lift and let go, allowing gravity to do the work of lowering for us. This often creates a very loud noise and sometimes dents the floor or any toes that happen to get in the way. It also does nothing to build our strength. However, if we focus on lowering the weight slooooooowwwwwwly back to the starting position, we do a lot more for our peak strength and we get bonus points for working our stabilizing muscles extra. This contributes to good form as well.
How does it work in practice? Let’s say we’re doing bench press. There we are, on the bench, our dumbbells at our chest. Keeping them from falling to the floor is an isometric contraction. We take a breath in, exhale, and push the dumbbells up toward the ceiling for a count of one: the concentric contraction. Whatever time we spend with the weights up there is another isometric contraction, usually about another count of one. Then, if we are emphasizing the eccentric contraction, we lower the weights slowly and with control for a count of four. Yes, it takes mindfulness and a lot more work; I’m not sorry. The same 1-1-4 count can be applied to any exercise we want.
Try it!
No comments:
Post a Comment