It’s positive to add negatives to your training. It sounds funny, but it’s true.
Let me explain.
There are three main phases in a workout rep: the concentric phase, the eccentric phase, and the isometric phase.
The concentric phase entails the shortening of a muscle. Think of curling a dumbbell toward your shoulder. The muscle is getting shorter as you’re bringing the weight up.
The eccentric (negative) phase is the opposite. It’s the lengthening of the muscle. This phase occurs when you are lowering the dumbbell back down from your shoulder.
And that’s where the magic happens! You can stimulate greater muscle growth by overloading the eccentric (sometimes referred to as “negative”) phase of your lifts. Simply put, eccentric exercise focuses on working your muscles as they are lengthening, rather than as they are contracting.
(Note: The isometric phase is a short pause or zero movement between the concentric and eccentric phases.)
One simple (but challenging) method to work eccentric training into your routine is to slow down the eccentric phase of each rep. Concentrate on lowering the weight on a four to five second count. So when you’re doing a dumbbell curl and have already brought the weight up to your shoulder and are going back down, lower the weight more slowly. That will put your muscle under tension for a longer period of time, stimulating more muscle growth.
So remember…it’s ok to be negative with your fitness routine!
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