Muscle contractions are fundamental mechanisms of the body that help in movement and perform various tasks. Most complex actions such as walking, lifting heavy objects or climbing stairs use them. Understanding and training the different types of muscular contractions can greatly enhance physical performance while helping an individual live a pain-free life every day.
There are three types of muscular contractions: concentric, eccentric, and isometric contractions.
What are concentric muscle contractions
Concentric contractions occur when a muscle shortens while generating force against a resistance. For instance, the force produced by muscles while lifting weights is due to concentric contractions.
“When doing a bicep curl, you will stretch your hand, lift the dumbbell and bend your elbow. During this action, the biceps are shortening,” says Poonam Bajaj, consultant physiotherapist at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai.
They facilitate movements such as lifting weights, pushing a door open, etc. They are crucial for generating power and produce the desired movement in every day tasks that involve pushing or lifting.
Eccentric muscle contractions and work
Eccentric contractions happen when a muscle lengthens as it generates force while under tension from a resistance. “When you lower the weights in a bicep curl, it does not mean that the biceps have stopped working, the biceps are lengthening and are still contracting,” says Bajaj.
Eccentric contractions occur when we lower a weight, control our movements during a downward movement of an exercise or descend a flight of stairs. They play a vital role in decelerating movements and providing stability.
Isometric muscle contractions and daily tasks
Isometric involve the generation of force without any visible change in muscle length. These occur when a muscle contracts without changing length helping you hold a static position or stabilise the body against external forces. This type of contraction provides stability and is often used to maintain posture or hold a static position. “You can start with a bicep curl and hold it in the middle, this is an isometric contraction. There’s no movement happening but clearly the muscle is contracting,” says Bajaj.
Another way to picture this is everyone’s ‘favourite’ abs exercise, the plank. During the plank we keep the body stagnant while the abs are working. Here the abs are isometrically contracting to keep you in the plank position.
Isometrics are crucial for maintaining posture, proprioception and balance and core stability.
Why train various muscle contractions?
Understanding the different types of muscle contractions and training each one appropriately is essential for maximising physical capabilities in every day life.
“Our muscles have to work in all these types of contractions,” says Bajaj. “A real-life example would be placing a suitcase on the overhead baggage cabin in a flight. Holding your suitcase is concentric and putting it in the overhead cabin is eccentric. Now there is another bag that could fall so I hold it in place as I put my bag there, this is isometric. Holding, lengthening and contracting, that is how we live our lives, and all muscle actions are always required.”
By incorporating exercises that target concentric, eccentric, and isometric contractions, we can enhance our strength, endurance, movement control, and overall functional abilities. So, whether it’s lifting a heavy object or simply maintaining good posture, training these muscle contractions can significantly improve our performance and well-being.
Takeaways
- Concentric contractions occur when a muscle shortens while generating force against a resistance.
- Eccentric contractions occur when a muscle lengthens on the downwards movement of the exercise.
- Isometric muscle contractions happen when we hold a static position or stabilise our body against external forces.
- Incorporate exercises that target concentric, eccentric and isometric muscle contractions to enhance our strength, endurance, movement control and overall functional abilities.
