Conditioning Research

here is one for the HIT boys: "only 30 min of eccentric exercise per week for eight weeks was sufficient to improve health risk factors". A Weekly Bout of Eccentric Exercise Is Sufficient To Induce Health-Promoting Effects Abstract PURPOSE:: The effects of chronic eccentric-only versus concentric-only exercise on muscle physiology and blood biochemistry were investigated. METHODS:: Twenty women performed on an isokinetic dynamometer a concentric (n = 10, age 21.0+/-0.4 years, body fat 22.0+/-0.9%) or an eccentric (n = 10, age 20.0+/-0.3 years, body fat 23.2+/-0.7%) exercise session using the knee extensors of both lower limbs once a week for eight subsequent weeks. Muscle function (isometric, concentric and eccentric peak torque, range of movement and soreness) was evaluated before, immediately after and 48h postexercise in each one of the eight training weeks. Body fat, resting energy expenditure (REE), lipid and carbohydrate oxidation rate as well as blood chemistry measur...

Just to add to the controversy Effects of strength training with eccentric overload on muscle adaptation in male athletes The enhanced eccentric load apparently led to a subtly faster gene expression pattern and induced a shift towards a faster muscle phenotype plus associated adaptations that make a muscle better suited for fast, explosive movements. So the negatives - not "fast" moves - worked towards making the athletes faster....