3 types of muscle contractions and their application

There are 3 types of muscular contractions. The muscle contractions are Concentric, Eccentric, and Isometric. This article will in brief discuss those contractions and their application to sports performance. Applying practical use of these contractions will help the athlete achieve optimum performance.

Eccentric Muscle Contraction
This type of muscle contraction is also known as the negative contraction. The forces go with the force of gravity in a downward momentum. By moving with the force of gravity potential energy is stored within the movement and then released in the final phase assuming a short amortization phase. Think of the downward movement of a depth jump or the downward movement of a bicep curl. Eccentric contractions are associated with a lengthening of the muscle fibers which causes them to stretch or become longer in length.

Concentric Muscle Contraction
This type of muscle contraction is also known as the positive contraction. The forces produced by the muscles for the most part move against the force of gravity usually in an upward movement. Think about a vertical jump or the upward movement of the bicep curl. Concentric muscle contractions usually cause a shortening of the muscles. The muscle cross bridging come together which causes the muscle to shorten in length.

Isometric Muscle Contraction
This type of muscle contraction is unique in that there is no movement associated with the contraction. There is no velocity associated with this movement thus in physics terms it's a scalar because it still has magnitude. There is still force production within the contraction. An example is a wall squat where you contract using your muscles and push against a wall.

Sports Performance and muscle contractions
Concentric and eccentric muscle contractions are usually employed during sports performance since most sports require movement. Take for example plyometric training. In order to fully utilize the stored elastic energy coming from the eccentric downward movement of the jump the amortization phase of the movement must be as short as possible. If not, dynamic energy will be lost as heat. Another example is the stretch reflex of a squat. The eccentric movement has potential energy that when coming off the bottom of the squat with an extremely short amortization phase will transfer to kinetic energy getting a dynamic boost from the bottom of the squat.

All the best and see you on the platform.

Coach Cap