Slow And Steady Wins The Race: Your Muscles May Benefit From Eccentric Exercise

There’s no doubt that if you’re looking for a magical anti-aging elixir, exercise can be one of your primary sources. Whether cardio or strength training (or ideally both), your body and brain will age better when they receive a regular boost from exercise. In fact, as a recent post in The New York Times made clear, when you combine both cardio and strength training, your risk of dying due to any cause drops at least 40% compared to doing no exercise. So best to incorporate both into your weekly exercise routines.

However, given the enormous impact of muscle loss on functional abilities and independence, many experts especially endorse strength training for older adults, and we at agebuzz have certainly promoted the essential nature of strength training for healthy aging. Whether you find yourself at a gym or try to work those muscles on your own at home, there’s no doubt that building up your strength is not only essential for healthy aging but it’s critical if you want to stay independent and active in your daily life, whether that means getting yourself off the toilet, carrying your groceries into the house, or taking the stairs rather than an elevator when you’re out and about. For some basic leg strengthening exercises that will help you walk, balance, and carry on in your daily life, take a look here. And if you want to take your strength training regimen outside in the nice weather, you can achieve a full body workout practically equipment-free, as long as you find a bench somewhere. Add a friend or two to make that outdoor workout a bit more social and you’ll be helping not only your body but your brain and mood as well.

But if all of this sounds a bit exhausting, you may want to consider an alternative approach to strength training and muscle maintenance. According to a new research paper published in the Journal of Sport & Health Science, doing those bicep curls with dumbbells or running up stairs to improve your leg strength may be more exercise and exhaustion than you need to support your muscles. What this new research from Edith Cowan University recommends is that instead, you consider incorporating “eccentric exercise” into your exercise routine. What exactly is eccentric exercise? There are apparently 3 different ways to work your muscle: There’s shortening the muscle as you do when you pick up a dumbbell and do a bicep curl (called concentric exercise); there’s isometric exercise, where you apply the force of your muscle to stay in one place (such as doing a plank) and then there is lengthening your muscles, which is called eccentric exercise, which happens when you stride down a staircase or lower yourself down preparing for a squat. While eccentric exercise has previously received a bad rap because of concerns of muscle soreness (and experts say this can be avoided if the exercise is ramped up gradually), the reality is that this type of exercise requires less energy than concentric exercise and is easily doable for even sedentary people, so it’s perhaps more accessible than other types of exercise options. Experts say that everyone, from a child to an older adult, can engage in and benefit from eccentric exercise.

In your head, you may be conditioned to think that the push-up of a free weight over your head, or the push-up of your legs from a squat, is the source of muscle strength improvement. But the reality is that the slow movement to bring a weight back down or to lower your body into a squat (which are eccentric moves) is what may be most valuable. As a recent article in The Guardian makes clear, “One recent meta-analysis found that eccentric training is consistently effective for improving strength, power, muscle growth and flexibility across all populations, from athletes to older and clinical groups.” The key value of this type of exercise is slow and steady movement, so it’s advised that you count 3-5 seconds as you lower yourself into a squat or bring a bicep curl back to the original position. In essence, what eccentric exercise promises is better results than conventional strength training with less effort and energy. You’ll be exercising smarter rather than harder. You don’t need exhausting or painful exercises to achieve meaningful muscle results with eccentric exercise.

Perhaps some illustrations and video examples will give you the push you need to consider eccentric exercise. For some great visual representations of what it means to engage in eccentric exercise, watch here. For a longer video of 26 great eccentric exercises, grab a water bottle and click here. Or read here to find out more about this new study and to better understand the movements you can use to slowly and safely build muscle strength using eccentric exercises.