Most think that lifting weights is the best way to get “ripped,” but it turns out lowering weights builds muscle twice as fast as lifting them, says a new study.
“Eccentric” contractions, like lowering weights, involves lengthening muscles under tension.
Also known as negative reps, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson used eccentric workouts to build muscle for his roll in the new movie, Black Adam.
These techniques The Rock swears by are now backed by science.
“This latest study shows we can be far more efficient in the time we spend exercising and still see significant results by focusing on eccentric muscle contractions,” said Ken Nosaka, co-author of the study.
Researchers in Australia tested different dumbbell workouts on university students, and found participants doing eccentric exercises had more muscle growth with half the efforts (reps).
The other types of contractions are concentric (tightening muscles like when lifting weights) or isometric (like holding still in a plank position).