Have you thought about the different phases of exercises you do in the gym? Take the humble squat, for example. You lower into the squat, pause at the bottom, then drive upward to stand; these three phases are called eccentric, isometric and concentric muscle contraction, and if your goal is to build muscle or strength in the gym, you need to know more about them.
Most of the time, our focus as gym-goers is on shifting weight at the most resistance — lifting a weight up, standing from a squat, or pulling ourselves over the bar during a pull-up — but it turns out that each movement phase can benefit you, your strength gains and muscle hypertrophy (that’s muscle growth).
