1 Answers
An eccentric contraction is the motion of an active muscle while it is lengthening under load. Eccentric training is repetitively doing eccentric muscle contractions. For example, in a biceps curl the action of lowering the dumbbell back down from the lift is the eccentric phase of that exercise — as long as the dumbbell is lowered slowly rather than letting it drop.
An eccentric contraction is one of the distinct phases in the movement of muscles and tendons; they include isometric contraction , isotonic contraction and concentric contraction.
Eccentric training focuses on slowing down the process of muscle elongation in order to challenge the muscles, which can lead to stronger muscles, faster muscle repair and increasing metabolic rate.
Eccentric movement provides a braking mechanism for muscle and tendon groups that are experiencing concentric movement to protect joints from damage as the contraction is released.