Stretch or Contract?

Find out

what stimulates maximum growth

In recent years, marked progress has been made in identifying the signaling
substrates essential for muscle growth and development.
When performing resistance exercise, the eccentric component, or the lowering
phase, seems to be an essential component for muscle hypertrophy. Maximal eccentric
contractions have been found to cause greater increases in protein synthesis;
additionally, eccentric contractions produce several differences in gene expression
in muscle compared to concentric exercise (lifting the weight).
It has been reported that eccentric contractions can cause large increases in several
genes involved in the inflammatory responses. The resulting cytokines produced from
inflammatory mediators are thought to play important roles in muscle
degeneration/regeneration and growth.
Interestingly, concentric contractions dont seem to activate this pathway, as
concentric contractions dont induce muscle damage as eccentric contractions do. Both
animal and human studies point to the superiority of eccentric contractions in increasing
muscle mass.
One study found dramatic differences in muscle size between subjects performing
isokinetic concentric contractions as compared to isokinetic eccentric contractions. Type
I muscle fiber percentages didnt change significantly in either group, but Type II fiber
area increased about 10 times more in the eccentric contraction group than in the
concentric group.
It was concluded that adaptations to training with maximal eccentric contractions
are specific to eccentric muscle actions that are associated with greater
neural adaptation and muscle hypertrophy than concentric exercise.
In a new study, researchers wanted to examine IGF-1 (an essential growth factor)
responses to eccentric training. Participants trained for eight weeks, loading the
quadriceps in a shortened or lengthened position, followed by four weeks of detraining.
The resistance-training program was performed three times a week and involved
a combination of free weights, machines, and body weight. Knee-extension exercises
were performed for 34 sets of 810 reps at 80% (short-length group) or 55% (longlength group) of full range of motion 1RM. Quadriceps strength, vastus lateralis
architecture, anatomical cross-sectional area, and serum IGF-I (insulin like growth factor
1) were measured at Weeks 0, 8, 10, and 12.

Researchers concluded that greater increases in muscular strength and anatomical

crosssectional area of the quadriceps resulted from resistance training at long muscle
lengths in comparison with resistance training at short muscle lengths, despite the
same mechanical loading and joint excursion in each case.
This should be a real wakeup call to bodybuilders to emphasize the stretch on
the muscle when contracting for optimal muscle growth and strength. -