Eccentric Training: A Load of Interest

Eccentric Muscle Action (EMA) is a critical contributor to training, whether it is for competition or health-related physical performance, such as falls prevention in older adults. EMA is not well explained by the cross bridge contributions and capitalizes on the accumulation of elastic energy during sarcomere lengthening [1]. During lengthening, sarcomere stiffness is reduced, allowing implementation of the series elastic element while storing elastic energy. Roberts and Azizi [2] refer to “springy tissues” and their capacity of stretching while storing elastic strain energy and recoiling later to release energy, when force is reduced. They asserted that tendons have three times the energy storage capacity of muscle fascicles and described tendons as mechanical buffers [3].