Effects of concentric and eccentric training on muscle strength, cross-sectional area, and neural activation

Abstract

Higbie, Elizabeth J., Kirk J. Cureton, Gordon L. Warren III, and Barry M. Prior. Effects of concentric and eccentric training on muscle strength, cross-sectional area, and neural activation. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(5): 2173-2181, 1996.-We compared the effects of concentric (Con) and eccentric (Ecc) isokinetic training on quadriceps muscle strength, cross-sectional area, and neural activation. Women (age 20.0 6 0.5 yr) randomly assigned to Con training (CTG; n 5 16), Ecc training (ETG; n 5 19), and control (CG; n 5 19) groups were tested before and after 10 wk of unilateral Con or Ecc knee-extension training. Average torque measured during Con and Ecc maximal voluntary knee extensions increased 18.4 and 12.8% for CTG, 6.8 and 36.2% for ETG, and 4.7 and 21.7% for CG, respectively. Increases by CTG and ETG were greater than for CG (P , 0.05). For CTG, the increase was greater when measured with Con than with Ecc testing. For ETG, the increase was greater when measured with Ecc than with Con testing. The increase by ETG with Ecc testing was greater than the increase by CTG with Con testing. Corresponding changes in the integrated voltage from an electromyogram measured during strength testing were 21.7 and 20.0% for CTG, 7.1 and 16.7% for ETG, and 28.0 and 29.1% for CG. Quadriceps cross-sectional area measured by magnetic resonance imaging (sum of 7 slices) increased more in ETG (6.6%) than in CTG (5.0%) (P , 0.05). We conclude that Ecc is more effective than Con isokinetic training for developing strength in Ecc isokinetic muscle actions and that Con is more effective than Ecc isokinetic training for developing strength in Con isokinetic muscle actions. Gains in strength consequent to Con and Ecc training are highly dependent on the muscle action used for training and testing. Muscle hypertrophy and neural adaptations contribute to strength increases consequent to both Con and Ecc training. electromyography; isokinetic muscle actions; muscle hypertrophy; training specificity; quadriceps muscle; women IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED that the primary stimulus for increasing the maximal force that can be exerted in a given movement (strength) is the repeated development of force by skeletal muscles at levels above those encountered in everyday activities (17). The increase in strength is proportional to the amount of overload as measured by the relative force developed and the number of muscle actions performed during conditioning (17). Because greater maximum force can be developed during maximal eccentric (Ecc) muscle actions than during concentric (Con) or isometric muscle actions (6), it has been suggested that heavy-resistance training using Ecc muscle actions may be more effective than training using Con or isometric muscle actions in increasing strength (3,7,13).Studies comparing the effectiveness of Ecc and Con muscle actions in increasing muscular strength have been equivocal (3, 4, 7-9, 18, 20-22, 24, 26, 40, 43). Different training protocols and methods of assessment have contributed to different outcomes. In studies ...

A Greater Reduction of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Elasticity in Women Compared to Men as a Result of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

“…When people who do not exercise often begin an unfamiliar exercise program, they easily feel delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (Higbie et al 1996;Calbet et al 2001;Kauranen et al 2001;George et al 2007;Hubal et al 2008). DOMS is defined as post exercise muscle discomfort that includes muscle pain, soreness, and stiffness (Cleak and Eston 1992;Lewis et al 2012).…”

Cellular mechanisms regulating protein synthesis and skeletal muscle hypertrophy in animals

“…Particular emphasis has been placed on 1) alterations in mechanical loading and regulation of protein synthesis in both in vivo animal studies and in vitro cell culture studies and 2) upstream mediators regulating mammalian target of rapamycin signaling and protein synthesis during skeletal muscle hypertrophy. mechanical stretch; REDD2; overload; IGF-1; amino acids IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED that repeated bouts of resistance exercise/ high-force contractions produce compensatory growth of skeletal muscle (35,42,47,95). The increase in skeletal muscle mass results from rates of protein synthesis increased more than changes in protein degradation with the net result being an accumulation of protein and increased fiber area (66,96).…”

“…IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED that repeated bouts of resistance exercise/ high-force contractions produce compensatory growth of skeletal muscle (35,42,47,95). The increase in skeletal muscle mass results from rates of protein synthesis increased more than changes in protein degradation with the net result being an accumulation of protein and increased fiber area (66,96).…”

Força muscular em idosos II — Efeito de um programa complementar de treino na força muscular de idosos de ambos os sexos

“…Neste sentido, a literatura parece ser unânime em considerar que, apesar dos valores absolutos iniciais serem diferentes, as mulheres e os homens idosos adaptam-se de forma similar ao treino de força (16,22,36). Assim, tal como observado no presente estudo, independentemente da idade e do sexo, com estímu-los adequados de treino é possível aumentar a força muscular dos músculos exercitados (15,19,20,22,30). Aumentos na força muscular entre 60 a 100% de 1RM têm sido observados como resposta ao treino de força (2).…”

“…O seu uso na marcha lenta e rápida (21), na subida de degraus (27) e no movimento de levantar da cadeira (29) tem sido bem documentado em estudos cinemáticos, de electromiografia e de análise cinética. Numerosos trabalhos têm demonstrado que estímu-los adequados de treino em idosos, independentemente do sexo, retardam a diminuição da força e da massa muscular normalmente associada ao envelhecimento (15,19,20,22,30,36). Assim, programas com intensidade suficiente para aumentar a força e o equilíbrio devem ser implementados como forma de prevenção de quedas e lesões.…”