What You Should Know About The Different Types Of Movement:

Focusing on each type of movement can score you even more benefits, from strength gains to flexibility.
By Gabrielle Kassel

Do you train for strength regularly, but feel totally unmotivated after doing the same moves week after week? Are you hitting a plateau and not seeing any new results? Your first instinct might be to add some fancy new exercises to your routine. While, sure, complex exercises can spice things up, you can actually work your muscles in a fresh way if you just pay attention to training an exercise in its various ranges. If you're scratching your head thinking, "Ranges!?" keep reading.

Believe it or not, every strength-training exercise (whether bodyweight or heavy lifting) can be broken down into three main parts: the concentric (flexing/lifting) portion, the eccentric (lengthening/lowering) portion, and the isometric (stationary) portion of the movement.
"The concentric portion happens when the muscle contracts, the eccentric portion happens when the muscle lengthens, and the isometric portion happens when the muscle doesn't move at all," explains physical therapist Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S.,

Nine times out of 10, you're going to do an entire squat/deadlift/push-up. However, training each part of the movement separately does have its benefits. Below you’ll learn more about the concentric vs. eccentric movements, what isometric exercises are, and the benefits of training them together or separately.

Concentric Movement: The concentric portion of a movement occurs when the tension in the muscle increases and the muscle fibers shorten or contract, explains Wickham. The easiest example of a concentric movement is the bicep curl. Think about bringing the dumbbell from hip height up to your shoulder. "As the weight gets closer to your shoulder, the biceps muscle is shortening and the tension in the muscle increases," he explains.
Other common concentric movements include:
   Lifting an object off the ground (or the first half of a deadlift)
   Pressing to the top in a push-up
   Standing up during a squat
   Hamstring curl
   Upward motion of a sit-up

The Benefits of Concentric Movement Training: "The concentric portion of a movement lends itself to increased power, speed, and strength," says Wickham. However, this portion doesn'tstrengthen the muscles as much as the eccentric portion of a lift does.

You'll get more on why below, but it's helpful to understand that in order for a muscle to get stronger, you actually need to damage the muscle. "You need to create microtears in the muscle that the body repairs and rebuilds even stronger than before," explains Wickham. Concentric movements don't damage the muscle as much eccentric movements do. While this means less strength gains per rep, it also means less delayed onset muscle soreness (aka DOMS), faster recovery, and less added muscle mass, he explains.

There's not much benefit to training *just* the concentric portion of a movement, according to Wickham. But there are three times when you might want to focus on the concentric portion such as, before a competition or race when you're worried about being sore, if you're a serious sprinter, or If you're trying to dial-in form.

The bottom line on concentric training: "Unless there's a specific reason you don't want to be sore the next day, it's best to train the concentric portion with the eccentric portion," says Wickham.

Eccentric Movement: Also known as 'the negative,' the "eccentric movement involves lengthening the muscle fibers," says Ally McKinney, ACSM-certified personal trainer. Usually, this means returning the weight to start position. For instance, during the biceps curl, the eccentric movement happens while you're lowering the weight down to hip level.
Typically, "eccentric training" refers to training that emphasizes that portion of the movement. Think:
   Slowly standing up during a squat
   Lowering the dumbbell as slowly as possible during a row
   Slowly rolling back during a Pilates roll-up
   Slowing allowing the weight to return to the start position of a triceps extension

The Benefits of Eccentric Training: "Eccentric training places a greater demand on your muscles and central nervous system, so it's going to take you longer to recover from doing eccentric movements," says Wickham—but it's worth it. Remember: Eccentrics (lengthening) damage your muscle more than concentric (shortening) movements do.

"There are so, so many benefits of eccentric training," says McKinney. In addition to strengthening your muscles, eccentric training helps strengthen your tendons and ligaments, which decreases your risk of injury, she says. In fact, one review found that eccentrics may help reduce the risk of muscle strain and tears, which is huge.

"Eccentric contractions can also literally make your muscle fibers grow, making the muscle itself physically longer," says McKinney. "Longer muscles means greater flexibility, and greater flexibility means greater injury prevention." Wondering if you would benefit from eccentric training? "The better question is who wouldn't benefit," says McKinney .

Isometric Exercises: “During an isometric move, you're literally holding completely still at a particular angle so that there is no lengthening or shortening of the muscle," says McKinney. Not every exercis will include an isometric portion—but you can add an isometric portion to most by adding a pausing mid-movement.

Let's return once again to the biceps curl: Image curling your bicep to 90 degrees, so that your forearm is parallel to the floor, and then holding the weight there for ten seconds. That's isometric training. "Any movement that entails holding completely still might be considered an isometric hold," says Wickham.

That might look like sitting in the bottom of a squat, holding your weights with arms outstretched for 10 seconds or holding chair pose in yoga. There are also some exercises that are isometric by nature. Think:
   Plank hold
   Wall sit|
   Hanging from the pull-up bar
   Front loaded kettlebell hold

The Benefits of Isometric Training: If you've ever done a wall sit or sat in the bottom of a squat, you won't be surprised to hear that even though you're not actually moving, "Isometrics still force you to engage your muscles, and therefore can help make you stronger," says McKinney. Because holding still requires you to really engage your core, isometrics can be used to increase balance and body control, too, she adds.

Isometrics can also help you break through a strength plateau. You're weakest in your end ranges of motion, explains Wickham. Think about a heavy back squat for example: pushing the weight up from the very bottom is typically where most folks struggle. But sitting in the bottom of your squat with a weighted barbell on your back can help you develop the strength you need to stand the weight back up and hit a new level, he says. The same concept applies to the push-ups or bench press, he says. Holding your body an inch or two above the ground during a push-up, will help make the entire movement easier.

"While you can't only do isometrics from now on and expect to get stronger, isometrics are great for anyone trying to break through a strength plateau or improve their mobility," says Wickham.

Yes! "If you use concentrics to build strength through the entire range of motion, eccentrics to build stronger and more resilient muscle tissue, and isometrics to increase strength at your end range of motion, you'll be a force to be reckoned with," says McKinney.

Still, you should only do this sometimes. You can't only train the parts, says Wickham. "You need to train the movement in full." Because as Aristotle once said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."