Indeed -- it's called eccentric contraction, and the reason you do it is that it works the same muscles in a different way. Exercise routines that combine ecce

Indeed -- it's called eccentric contraction, and the reason you do it is that it works the same muscles in a different way. Exercise routines that combine eccentric and concentric contractions (where the muscle shortens as it contracts) are probably more effective at increasing strength than ones that focus only on concentric contractions. This is a really big error, and I don't see how it could be a typo. Agonist ("doer") and antagonist (opposing) muscles contract simultaneously when stabilizing a joint, but when lifting weights, the antagonists of the primary action (triceps and to some extent anconeus for curls) are relaxed both during concentric and eccentric contraction of the agonists (biceps, brachialis, and to some extent brachioradialis and a few other muscles of the forearm for curls). That is to say, the author's claim is absolutely wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction#Eccentric_contraction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction#Eccentric_co...