Issue 051

July 2009

So everyone is on the same page nowadays, right? We all know that properly applied strength training is great for combat athletes. All those irrational fears of being too bulky or immobile have been cast aside by the various great authors in the training section of Fighters Only magazine.  


So now that you are lifting, lets make sure your lifting is as productive as it can be. There are usually three components to a resisted movement.  

  • Eccentric portion (the load is decelerated, e.g. the bar is lowered in a bench press) 
  • Isometric portion (the load is stabilized, e.g. the bar is stopped)
  • Concentric portion (the load is accelerated, e.g. the bar is lifted in a bench press)  

If you are concentrating on shifting the load as quickly as possible, you are probably not working the eccentric action.  


Why train eccentric actions?

I would do it because I would want to be disgustingly strong. There was a cool study that tested people’s responses to eccentric-only versus concentric-only training programs on maximal strength development. Both groups got a lot stronger, but the greatest increase in maximal strength was seen in the eccentric-only group – 85% increase versus a 78% increase.  

If you are lowering the bar super-fast on each rep you are de-emphasizing your biggest tool for maximal strength development. With maximal strength being the foundation for improving athletic performance in combat sports, we really should be doing everything in our power to develop this.  


Why emphasize the isometric portion of a lift?

Unlike many sports, the isometric demand in MMA is huge. Aspects of the game such as clinching, holding position or maintaining grips are examples of this demand. I have lost count of the number of guys I have seen with superior striking get dragged into a horrible, energy-sapping clinch battle that they were not prepared for. Randy Couture made this his trademark throughout his career, and more recently GSP mentioned his strategy to burnout BJ in the clinch during the opening round of their world title bout.  

The strength developed by isometric actions are joint angle specific. This makes isometric training a great way to overcome sticking points in conventional lifts and develop strength in certain positions important in competition. 


Training eccentric and isometric actions

There are lots of cool training modalities for working the eccentric and isometric phases of a lift, but a lot of benefit can be obtained from doing exactly what you have already been doing, but simply slowing down the eccentric action. A controlled eccentric (down) followed by an explosive concentric (up) is what I am after with our normal strength-training work.  

If you are eliminating the eccentric by performing it quickly and with the aid of gravity, you will be inhibiting your potential strength development.  

To really work the isometric and eccentric phase I will throw in some specific things in the third and fourth week of a four-week phase. These sorts of protocols are very taxing, and for this reason I only really use them for two weeks at a time (and I only use them with my more experienced guys).  

One of the methods I have really been digging is super-slow eccentrics combined with isometric holds at the bottom of a lift. For an 80% 1 rep max front squat, it would look like this:  

  • Unrack bar
  • Descend to the bottom of the squat, taking eight seconds to do so
  • Hold the low position for eight seconds
  • Drive up as explosively as possible
  • Rack bar and curse the day you ever picked up this magazine

Below is a table giving some guidelines:


Load as % 1 Rep Max: 60%, 65%, 70, 75%, 80%, 85%

Length of Eccentric: 16 sec, 14 sec, 12 sec, 10 sec, 8 sec, 6 sec

Length of Isometric: 8 sec, 8 sec, 8 sec, 8 sec, 8 sec, 8 sec

Number of Reps: 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1


If you haven’t got any.training partners to hand the metronome application for the iPhone is an awesome aid to this modality (or you could just use a real metronome). Some exercises lend themselves to this sort of training, and others do not. In the past we have used front squats, pull-ups, inverted rows, bench presses, split squats and a few other things.  

There are many ways to train eccentric and isometric actions – the crucial thing is that we understand the importance of emphasizing both (along with concentric actions) to develop greater maximal strength and subsequent athletic enhancement  



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