So eccentric training produces greater gains in eccentric strength than in concentric strength (and vice versa).
So eccentric training is helpful for preventing muscle strains, but this may be partly because of various specific changes that happen after eccentric training, including specific gains in eccentric strength (relative to isometric or concentric strength) and not just because of overall strength gains.
Not exact matches
Eccentric load in some of the basic, compound strength
training exercises can range anywhere between 120 % and 140 % as a combination of 1/3 of weight on the bar — on an average 45 % to 65 % of 1RM — and 2/3 of weight on each additional plate
so that, upon release, an increasing amount of force can be applied against lighter weights.
So, the next time you
train arms, target one of the exercises to lengthen the
eccentric contraction.
This will
train the
eccentric portion of the lift, or the controlling of your body weight down to starting position
so you can pull yourself up again!
So although there might be small differences in regional hypertrophy between concentric and
eccentric training (because of the differences in the muscle architecture adaptations), it is still unclear whether this phenomenon is responsible for the specificity of strength gains after
eccentric training.
So here's the good news: if you're dieting you probably will lose muscle and strength, but
eccentric training helps preserve your gains.
So you could have a
training partner take the weight on the
eccentric while you lift on the raising, or concentric, phase.
Even
so, the adaptations that produce
eccentric - specific strength after
eccentric training do not appear to be strongly velocity - specific (Alt et al. 2017), and there are indications that athletic populations display smaller differences between maximal involuntary and voluntary
eccentric force, even in unfamiliar movements (Amiridis et al. 1996).
This may be why
eccentric training is
so effective for helping reduce muscle strains in sprinting, because it allows the athlete to continually absorb these large forces with every stride.
It is unclear why
eccentric training is
so beneficial for such a range of different muscle strain injuries and tendinopathies.
This increased ability to absorb energy may be why
eccentric training is
so effective for reducing muscle strains.
So it should not be surprising that
eccentric training is the default option for reducing hamstring strain injury risk.
Slow
eccentric and explosive concentric
training is completely overlooked by most people and doing
so severely compromises the quality and benefits you get from your bodyweight workouts.