It sounds contrarian, because it is contrarian, but if the Washington Post’s Moving Crew recommends it, Geezer will listen. Negative strength training — also known as negative resistance training (NRT) or eccentric muscle training, refers to the lengthening of a muscle, the Crew tells us, as when you lower the weight or allow a machine to retrieve the bar. The Post advises that a muscle can handle substantially more weight when it’s lengthening
than when it’s contracting, and that means the alternate part of the exercise — the
exhale move, the release, the return —
should really be exploited as a work-down. As the Crew puts it, practicing controlled
returns, with the muscles fully engaged, is like adding an extra set
for the opposing muscles without changing machines or moves. Doubtful? The Crew points out that this counterpoint of positive and negative
exercise is what makes Pilates so effective as a conditioner; it
emphasizes simultaneous concentric and eccentric motion. Read more and start thinking negative.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 31, 2025
Although you may not remember or be aware of the fact, Authur Jones (the inventor of Nautilus equipment) was espousing these then known facts during the early seventies. Two of his young followers, Mike and Ray Mentzer developed highly effective routines based on doing “negatives”. Since then, many bodybuilders and powerlifters have utilzed this approach to both increase muscle size and muscle strength. It seems that not a month goes by when either Flex magazine or Ironman doesn’t produce an article where someone is promoting this style of exercise. This is nothing “new” and it has been practiced for years by a great many individuals. Keeping up to date and in the know would seem to be important if one is trying to be a sports “guru”, even for the older folks, like myself. Otherwise, you are simply recycling what is already well known. Aftrer a while, no one will listen.