When used appropriately, eccentric exercise helps you build more muscle and improves strength while giving your joints a break from the grind of concentric-focused, traditional strength training workouts.



Unfortunately, eccentric training is often overlooked and underutilized. 



In this article, I’ll answer the following questions:




What is eccentric training?



What are the benefits of eccentric training?



What are the risks of eccentric training?




I’ll explain how to combine eccentric training and tempo to build muscle faster, using lighter weights and giving your nervous system and joints a break.





What is eccentric exercise?



Scientifically speaking:




An eccentric (lengthening) muscle contraction occurs when a force applied to the muscle exceeds the momentary force produced by the muscle itself, resulting in the forced lengthening of the muscle-tendon system while contracting. During this process, the muscle absorbs energy developed by an external load, explaining why eccentric action is also called “negative work” as opposed to concentric (shortening) contraction or “positive work.”
Stéphanie Hody, et al. Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Risks and Benefits



Put more simply, eccentric contractions control movements in the direction of gravity's pull, and concentric contractions create a force against gravity.



For example, in a push-up, the eccentric portion of the movement is where you lower yourself to toward the floor. Your pecs, triceps, and anterior deltoid remain contracted as they lengthen to allow you to descend towards the floor.



In strength training jargon, an eccentric contraction is also called a "negative," and the concentric contraction may be called the "positive."



When most people weight train, they reach a point of concentric muscle failure while still having plenty of strength to continue performing eccentric contractions.



Reaching eccentric muscle failure improves concentric strength as well as eccentric strength.



Benefits of Eccentric Training



The following are some of the benefits of eccentric training:



Greater anabolic signaling



Eccentric training creates a more significant anabolic signal, which helps build muscle faster than traditional strength training. Muscle damage or inflammation may trigger a greater anabolic signal.



Less nervous system or central fatigue



Excessive heavy strength training takes a toll on your nervous system.



For a high-performance athlete who has no other focus beyond training, competing, and recovering, that might be okay.



The average person with inconsistent sleep patterns, mediocre nutrition, and higher personal or professional stress, training heavy, year-round, can't handle that same stress level. It leaves them physically and emotionally drained.



Though eccentric training is very difficult, it doesn’t cause the same drain on your nervous system as other types of strength training does. People with adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue, chronically high stress levels, or who are sleep deprived might also benefit more from eccentric training than traditional training.



Gains in strength and muscle mass



This is probably why you’re reading this article. If there wasn’t a superior benefit for muscle and strength gains, I wouldn’t be writing about eccentric training either.



Like any training style, you might eventually plateau or get bored, so I don't recommend eccentric training as the only way to train. But it can be an effective component of an annual training plan.



Improved speed, power, and agility



Eccentric movement isn’t only about weight training.



Running downhill, landing when you jump off a box or slowing your lateral momentum so you can sidestep and run the other direction are all examples of eccentric muscle contractions.



Eccentric training improves the performance of eccentric movements. So, if an athlete participates in a sport that relies on eccentric strength,