A lesser-known type of exercise, known as eccentric exercise, can help build strength and improve fitness while remaining accessible to less active individuals. This form of training, which involves the lengthening of muscles, can generate more force with less energy, supporting muscle, heart, and even brain health.
While many focus on concentric exercises—the powerful movements that shorten muscles like lifting a dumbbell—eccentric exercise, the phase of a movement where muscles lengthen, offers unique advantages. According to research published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, eccentric training can help build muscle strength with less strain on the body, potentially offering specific benefits over concentric exercise for muscle rehabilitation and brain health.
Understanding Eccentric Exercise
Muscles contract in three fundamental ways: concentric (shortening), eccentric (lengthening), and isometric (static). Eccentric contractions, where a muscle generates force while being stretched, were not well understood by scientists until the mid-20th century due to their counterintuitive nature. Muscles can produce significantly more force during eccentric movements—over 20% more than during concentric or isometric contractions—while requiring less metabolic energy.
Kazunori (Ken) Nosaka, PhD, director of Exercise and Sport Science at Edith Cowan University, aims to normalize eccentric exercise, stating, “Every eccentric contraction counts. People may be discouraged by thinking they have to do lots of exercise to get fitter and healthier. But people can do a small amount of these exercises and still benefit.”
Benefits and Risks
Eccentric exercise offers unique benefits, including greater mechanical loading, allowing individuals to handle heavier weights and thus aiding strength development and muscle growth. These movements are also less fatiguing, enabling greater training volume through additional repetitions. Research also suggests potential benefits for the brain through neural adaptations related to motor control and coordination.
For non-athletes, eccentric exercise provides a low-friction way to improve fitness. Activities like walking downhill and descending stairs are forms of eccentric exercise that have demonstrated health benefits. A 2017 study found significant multisystemic improvements in older women with obesity after a 12-week program emphasizing eccentric contractions during downhill walking and stair descent, including better heart rate, blood pressure, and lipid profiles.
Historically, eccentric exercise has been associated with a greater risk of muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). However, these risks can be mitigated through proper training, warming up, and technique. The
