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Time under what?  This Eccentric Training is killing me!

Posted 8th May 2016 by Josh Schouten

gainyoumustThe new strength phase has started at CrossFit Hackney and week 1 has been a shock to the system for some.  Where did this delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) come from?  I’ve not felt this sore in a long time?  Welcome to the wonderful world of slow eccentrics training my friends.

After 5 weeks of the basic building phase we have launched into a new 16week strength focus.  Over the first 4 weeks this focus will be on slow eccentric movements in squats, deadlifts, overhead pressing and pull-ups.  “The time under tension (TUT) dictates the training response.”  TUT is critical for strength development and slow velocity movements have been shown to deliver greater strength gains than fast explosive movements.  It is far easier to gain relative and absolute strength by performing slow controlled movements than fast movements.  This is the money maker right here.

The theory behind this stems from the intra-muscular tension and the hormone stimulus from the adaptive process of strength development.  This intra-muscular tension helps to not only strengthen the muscle, but also strengthen the connective tissue between the muscles and bones.  The slow eccentric movements cause micro-tears in the muscle fibres and this in turn leaves us with the enjoyable sensation of DOMS.

The speed of the lift has significant role to play in the metabolic adaptation of the training stimulus. High intensity (heavy weight), slow-speed training is associated with an increase in muscular glycogen, CP, ATP, ADP, creatine, phosphorylase, and the kerbs cycle enzyme activity. In english, this means you will burn more energy when you are lifting weights slowly, comparison to explosive movements.

Why are your coaches torturing you?

The objective of this 4 week phase is to increase your absolute strength capacity and set your bodies up for the remaining 12weeks ahead.  The adaptations form this eccentric phase will prepare the body for the gradual increase in intensity and the continue levels of strength development.   Our goal is to establish new personal best in squats, deadlifts, overhead pressing and pull-ups.   The gradual approach that we will take during this 16-week strength phase will deliver the maximum potential for you to set new person bests.  As you know there is always a theory to the StreTch’s programming madness.. <insert evil laughter here>

Your goal in the eccentric phase?

As the weeks pass your aim should be to make small increase in weight form week to week.  In week 1 the aim was 60-65% on the bar. In week 2 you should aim to increase this to 65-70% on the bar.  Strength take time to build and those who have the patients to slowly increase the weight will achieve the best results.  DO NOT go to failure, DO NOT ignore the percentages.

Focus on your technique and try to think about the muscles that you are using to lower the weight.  Understand how to move correctly and fire the correct muscle to make the movements easier.  The smart lifter will be able to activate higher levels of motor units to accomplish the task at hand.  The impatient lifter will only waste their time in this phase and never appreciate the application of motor unit recruitment and the fact that strength development is about far more than just training for muscle pump.

If you struggle to count you repetitions and tempo at the same time you should ask one of your training buddies to count for you.  This will allow you to focus on the real task at hand, moving the correct loads with perfect form and a high level on control and mindful application. 

Stay focused, record your weights, be the patient lifter and may the increase of force production be with you in throughout the strength phase.