Think negative, trainer advises

Most men who train with weights can improve their strength and size by focusing on the eccentric part of an exercise, according to Aussie Bodies exercise and fitness advisor Gary Himing.

 

Himing, a former bodybuilding champion and trainer, believes weight trainers would improve their strength by about 100% if they focused on a slow controlled eccentric contraction as well as a powerful concentric contraction.

 

Also known as "negative training", the benefits of this approach have been widely known by physiologists, coaches and trainers for several years but is sometimes neglected in gymnasiums due to lack of supervision or technique assistance.

 

"The theory is that the eccentric movement produces more micro trauma to the muscle fibres than the concentric contraction of the exercise," Himing said.

 

"This increases the muscle's adaption by the production of and laying down of more structural proteins in the muscle fibres, ready for the next training onslaught.

 

"When lifting a weight, muscle filaments slide easily together in contraction, but when lowering under pressure, the muscle is being pulled apart on a cellular level. This prompts the body to respond by releasing its own growth hormones to go to work repairing the damage, and if there is sufficient dietary protein, the muscles should recover with increased size and strength.

 

"In my experience, a training session that focuses on the eccentric phase of exercise produces results twice as good as just dropping the weight, which has become a common practice."

 

A recent study at Northern Arizona University aimed to find out how much muscle gain could be achieved by negative training.

 

A group of men trained on an eccentric cycle ergometer, another on a concentric cycle, both for eight weeks at a training intensity starting at 54% and ending at 65% of their peak heart rates.

 

Isometric leg strength increased significantly in the eccentrically trained group by 36%, as did the cross-sectional area of the muscle fibre by 52%. There were no changes in isometric strength or fibre size in the concentrically trained group.