Concentric VS Eccentric Regional Hypertrophy Effects!

Aloha my friends!

I’m currently traveling and don’t have the time or resources to do a full “episode” of the current Fitness-Tip Friday mini-series I’m doing on eccentric-overloading (see FTF Week 89) … but I still wanted to get something out to you guys, so I thought I’d share a quick but important tip that’s also related to eccentric training!

I’ve said before that contraction type (concentric vs eccentric vs isometric) has regional hypertrophy effects and implications — meaning that the contraction type changes (often drastically) what part or region of a given muscle is worked the most, and therefore undergoes the greatest degree of growth.

Well, in my extensive research and work on the science behind regional hypertrophy and how it works, I’ve discovered a consistent pattern that I want to share with you!

It’s this:

• ECCENTRIC (aka negative) contractions usually preferentially work the DISTAL (“lower”) regions of muscles
• CONCENTRIC (aka positive) contractions usually preferentially work the PROXIMAL (“upper”) regions of muscles

Obviously that’s a highly generalized statement, and like virtually all trends or principles related to the human body, there are exceptions. The size of the effect also is highly variable; sometimes the growth differential is huge… and sometimes it’s insignificant.

However, I’ve found surprisingly very few exceptions to the basis of this rule over many years of research — so it IS a pretty fair assumption to make if you’re wondering how to focus in on the proximal or distal end of a muscle, and don’t have the time or experience necessary to dive into the scientific literature yourself (and if you don’t have access to the Regional Hypertrophy Training section of my All-Access Memberships!)

This also demonstrates another important example of why I repeat over and over ad nauseum that VARIETY IS ESSENTIAL in ALL aspects of training!!! Even though eccentric overloading is one of the absolute best (if not the single best) techniques you can use to boost your gains… you should NOT use it to the exclusion of all else, or you’ll end up with uneven growth, muscular imbalances, and the inevitable injuries that follow!

Application: You can usually use eccentric contractions to emphasize the LOWER region of a muscle, and concentric contractions to emphasize the UPPER region of a muscle!

Relevant Previous FTF Tips (for All-Access Members):

1) Week 89 | “Self” Eccentric-Overload Technique #1: The Quads!

Relevant Research Article(s):

1) Architectural, functional and molecular responses to concentric and eccentric loading in human skeletal muscle

Relevant Dr. Gains YouTube Video(s):

1) Inner Quad / Teardrop / VMO Regional Hypertrophy NEW Science & Lifts (Build Your Vastus Medialis!)

Relevant Dr. Gains Workout Program(s):

1) Regional Hypertrophy Training (included in both All-Access Memberships)